WEEKEND RAMBLINGS - IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN, TIGERS WIN, AND OTHER STUFF

Actor Ed Begley, Jr. recently wrote about how he ripped out his lawn when he first arrived in southern California. Found this interesting. He writes:

"What do you do for your yard that is "green" (ecologically sustainable and natural)?

One of the first things I did when I moved into my current home in Los Angeles in 1988 was to rip out the lawn. I realize that this borders on heresy: If the American Dream were a book, it'd probably have a grassy green lawn on its cover.

I have no problem with garden gnomes or lawn-jockeys, if that's your thing. But lawns are thirsty, and in Southern California we get nearly all of our water by dipping our straw in someone else's drink. Nationally, it's estimated that 50 to 70 percent of residential water use goes toward landscaping, most of it to water lawns.

When I got out my shovel, though, I wasn't just looking to conserve water. A lawn is usually composed of a single species of grass - often one that's not local to the area - and this reduces biodiversity. If you're looking at one yard, this isn't a big deal, but nationwide, an estimated 20 to 30 million acres of land is covered by lawns..."

CONTINUE READING THIS POST AT MCNIGHT

My weekend looks a whole lot better because the Tigers took three games out of four from the Yankees this week. The Yankees ran into two relief pitchers, Jose Valverde, the .089 ERA closer and Joel Zumaya who throws 100 miles an hour. Didn't help the Yankees that Justin Verlander shut them out Thursday. Then there was a Game One homer by former Yankee Johnny Damon and the power at the 4-5 spots-Miguel Cabrera and Brian Boesch. The Tigers enter a weekend series against the Red Sox five games over five hundred.

I have a new on-line small group at my church. It's a Bible study called Biblical Joy. Right now we're studying the Gospel of Matthew. Lively discussion, great questions and answers, personal sharing and support--just like a face-to-face group except over the internet. 13 people now are a part. Yesterday the web site had 101 visits--so more people are benefiting, too. Click the link and check it. Maybe you'd like to be a part of this group.