"William Clodius" wrote in message
...

As to fancy houses, you should se the house two doors up from us. 7500+
square feet, with marble columns, fancy stonework everywhere, and a yard
smaller than ours. Built by a local landscaper for himself. Which is odd
as the house is so large there is no room for landscaping. The only
plants so far are the aspens he has stuck in back as storage for when he
needs them for his projects. And he seems to be waiting to sell his old
house before he completes his new one, so with all the fancy stonework
it lacks front steps and has sat unchanged for at least six months.

It's a shame that people put so much money into huge houses that are symbols
of conspicuous consumption and monetary status, while they are also not even
harmonious with the local environment. Such extravagence is a monument to
the excesses of an economy and lifestyle built on cheap energy and other
resources, as well as lucky financial speculation. There may always be a few
very wealthy and smart people who can maintain such a lifestyle, but many
have lived far beyond their reasonable means and are now caught in the
inevitable implosion of the real estate market and other previously
lucrative endeavors.


The landscaper's original house has very different priorities. A gem
rather than a palace. I think a little under 3000 square fett, no
columns, but fancy exterior stornework and the most gorgeous landscaping
out front.

One wonders at the motivation to spend so much on a lavish new house, rather
than using the money for more satisfying purposes. I can't imagine someone
would really be happy in a huge dwelling unless he has a large extended
family who will share it with him.


Then there's the house around the corner that had the same builder as
ours. (FWIW the builder has a very well trained basset hound, and their
daughter has a golde retriever) He decided to do something different
from the general Southwestern feel (stucco and wood), and built a more
modern design that emphasized glass and metal (in addition to the
covenants stucco) and won a few awards.

What will become much more important in the next 10-20 years or so will be
environmental impact, energy efficiency, and sustainability in a world of
post-peak-oil economic conditions. In the Southwest, especially, much green
space has been artificially created and maintained by dwindling water
supplies. It may revert to desert when fresh water must be made by
desalination of seawater and expensive pumping through long pipelines.

I am seriously considering building a modest sustainable home on my
property, and it will use many environmentally friendly materials and will
incorporate many techniques designed to minimize adverse effects on the
local and global ecosystem. Here is a website that shows a sample design and
quite a few items that can be used to live happily in harmony with natu
http://www.harvestchapelmission.org/view/sustainable

Look at the "Sustainable Steel Strawbale Housing". It's a 1500 sq ft
dwelling with an additional 1500 sqft of porch and hothouse space, which is
available as a kit for $22,000 and can be built in about a week using an
Amish labor crew for about $50,000. I met Mark Fisher on Sunday and he will
check out my property for suitability and I will inspect his first structure
when it's ready by the end of summer. I think this should meet my needs and
Muttley should be happy. I could afford more but I'd rather spend money on
other things that are more important than a fancy house.

This is not meant to be critical of your choices for your garden project,
however. It looks beautiful and and having a nice outdoor venue to enjoy is
certainly healthier than using up nearly all natural space to put up walls
to isolate oneself from the great outdoors and nature. Even during the nasty
double blizzard in February I was glad to be in a setting where I could
enjoy the challenges and beauty of the deep snow.
http://cygnus.smart.net/~pstech/Mutt...Snow1_0012.jpg
http://cygnus.smart.net/~pstech/Mutt...Snow1_0017.jpg
http://cygnus.smart.net/~pstech/phot...House_0035.jpg
http://cygnus.smart.net/~pstech/phot...Snow2_1040.jpg

Paul and Muttley