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Living in South Florida, we are told we are in a drought even though last year’s rainfall was an inch or two above normal. Our water system is “managed” by South Florida Water Management District(SFWMD), a governing body tasked with watching out for our delicate water supply and ecosystem.

I for one don’t believe the drought is real. It is based on low levels in Lake Okeechobee, the secondary water supply for a lot of South Florida. The levels of which are supposed to be maintained by SFWMD. I think in reality they let too much water out of the lake in anticipation of a bad hurricane season that never materialized.

South Florida is covered with interconnecting canals. When a lot of rain comes at one time it causes flash flooding and the canals fill. There is a pumping system that pushes the water out into the ocean when SFWMD opens the gates.  It seems like the SFWMD could reverse those pumps and direct “extra” water into a holding reservoir for filtering, and then into the Lake instead of wasting fresh water by dumping it into the ocean.

They have imposed water restrictions, allowing watering of lawns and landscaping to one day a week. In the winter that’s not really too bad, although some of my neighbors still INSIST on running their sprinklers EVERY night.  A little EDUCATION might help people stick with the schedule.  Grass doesn’t grow at night-water just keeps the roots wet and can promote molds and fungus’s in your yards. The ULTIMATE watering time is just before dawn.

The more often you water the shallower the root base for your grass grows. That makes your lawn dependent upon daily watering to survive.  Landscaping is a major part of home maintenance down here. Our lush green lawns and landscaping are part of what makes living here a little like heaven on earth. If people would do some research, learn to make their lawns and landscaping a little more drought proof, they would be much better prepared for a real drought, and the water restrictions imposed on us any time the powers that be decide to impose them.

We do own a well, it’s not dry and we do pay for electricity. Is it really constitutional to restrict my use of it?? I wonder…I wonder if the expensive housing developments and mansions on Palm Beach really restrict their water…well-that’s a topic for another day.

As a builder, some of my hobbies relate to building, in an offhand way. I love building model airplanes. While doing a little research I bumped into a lot of info on Lego’s. I used to build those with my son when he was younger. I couldn’t believe the collector attraction to Lego kits!! I discovered a lot of our Lego’s had yellowed after digging them out to see if I had any of the “treasured” sets.

I found a lot of incredible info online about the yellowing of the white Lego’s and suggested methods for removing the discoloration. The official Lego site says it comes from artificial light, and exposure to natural light will lighten it. It does, but only slightly. The best solution I found was to soak the white plastic pieces in bleach for a while. So if you are into Lego collecting, try it. It will brighten up your displays.