On This First Day of October 2011

autumn in my life
memory, muted pastels
with soft golden light

I have lived in Mexico for 5 Years.  These past years have been an Adventure and Learning experience (unfortunately, one of the things that I haven't learned is to be fluent in Spanish but, happily, I'm able to communicate fairly well, with the skills that I have developed to date).  This Blog has been created to Celebrate the Adventure that I have had and the things that I have learned.

I live in a house that my wife and I and numerous workers built.  We came to this area, from the Central Coast of California, to build an environmentally friendly (though not perfect) house and live a sustainable lifestyle.  To that end, our house is constructed of Adobe.  It is situated just east of south, so that the Patio Room can act as a Passive Solar component, providing heat in the Winter and keeping the direct Sun out of the house in Summer.

Besides the Passive Solar Element, we have Solar Panels to collect sunlight for electricity.  And, as much as possible, we collect our own water, throughout the Summer rainy season.  This we supplement with water deliveries, when necessary.    And we've built a Garden are to grow food and flowers and to create an Oasis, of sorts, in these high plateau drylands.

Since we are collecting our own Water, we have a heightened sense of its value.  We treat it with respect.  The water we use for washing ourselves, our dishes and our clothes is used a second time on many of our trees and bushes.  We also use a dry composting system for our toilet, which uses no water at all; this eliminates the need for the extra water to move so-called "black water" out of the house and onto a leech field or into a septic system.  This means that all of the water we use for ourselves can be used safely, a second time.  And the rest of the water can be used for the food and flower gardens.

That's a quick overview of our home.  We call our house Casita Dos Arbloitos; this means, the little house of two trees.  This is a reference to the entwined Palo Dulces that are growing in front of our front door and also to the two pillars, on either side of the door, which support the overhang.

At present, we are selling the two house we own here and will be moving back to California.  Still, Mexico has offered heere heart to us and we accepted.  And this Blog is an opportunity to share some of that heart-energy with anyone who chances upon it.

For More Information and Pictures About Casita Dos Arbolitos Click the Link!!

Sustainable Living in Mexico