A parallel example is that during water shortages, the lawns of government buildings are kept lushly green, while the taxpayers are forced to live with dead lawns.
I noticed this during this past summer, the Great Barack Drought of '12. We ourselves never had a shortage of water--not enough people around to use it up--but big places such as Lincoln did. People were getting tickets into the hundreds of dollars, for running their lawn-sprinklers.....while the grounds surrounding governmental buildings were kept as green as the taxpayers' currency used to water them.
So you did notice that too.
First year we lived here we did have water restrictions, next year I took a page from Lady Birds book and bought bags of wild flowers. Come the ides of March I did not run about throwing he seeds in the air to land where the wind blew them, I invested in $60-70.00 of the plastic doodads to place around an English garden in the worse dry spots in the yard. The soil in my yard is horrid, no matter what kind of stuff put down on it, even grass and weeds have a problem growing.
English gardens are great, no weeding is called for and with the Oak Trees you never when a tree may begin to grow. We now have OakTrees growing amid the wild flowers and there is color all 3 seasons.
Far as cold bedrooms go, most every 3 years we have to replace the bedroom window stashing. I keep the door closed and the window open a few inches and the snow does come in as the rain and ice. I invested in a feather comforter so I am warm unless the temp. goes below -20. That and two cats and one small dog under the covers keep me warm better then the Hot brick grandma put in my bed in a farm house with no heating in the bed chambers.
Only thing I miss is awaking in a cold bedroom to the sound of steam heat radiators with air in the pipes clinking and banging away. Or even the sound of Grandpa in the cellar shaking down the embers of a coal furnice.
Sorry Kids these will never be part of your life, memories of a time long gone. But fear not, when you age the memories of your childhood will be totally foreign to your grandkids. I told a grand child I was almost 40 years old before I bought my first Microwave for home use. Cost was a factor.
Cold air to sleep and warm air to spend the day, heaven on earth.
