Entry #2

1. The house is 6 years old.

2. The house is made of concrete block, wood trusses, and tile shingles.

3. The house is not very well insulated and there are a lot of windows and no ceiling fans, so we run the AC almost constantly; same with the heat in the winter.

4. 1200 sq ft under AC; 3 people live here.

5. My home is about 10 minutes from school and work and about 30 minutes from my clinical sites.

6. St. Augustine grass, lots of bushes and trees that are kept manicured.

7. I live on less then a half acre lot. The community maintains the yard for us, but it requires chemicals such as pesticides and gasoline to mow the grass.

8. No pool.

9. We store bleach and cleaning products under the sinks.

10. No inside pets. Outside: rabbits, gators, fish, birds, snakes, lizards, raccoons.

11. I think a "natural"environment is one that is undisturbed by man. Therefore, I believe I live in an unnatural enviornment. All of the scrubery and lakes were man-made or planted; nothing is natural.

12. I do not think I am "of nature." I enjoy a natural environment, but I also enjoy driving my non-hybrid car, living under AC, and sleeping in a bed every night.

My home/community reminds me very much of the movie "Pleasentville." If you look around, every yard is perfectly manicured, as are the people. My neighbors are your picture perfect single family. All of the houses are 1 of 4 different styles that can be chosen from. All of the grass is perfectly mowed at the same time every week; all of the scrubs, trees, and bushes are cut back at the same time every week. As out of place as I feel, the neighborhood fits its environment well. All of the communities in this area are deed-restricted and HOA controlled. My home is conservative in some ways and not in others. It is wasteful because the insulation is not very thick, so when it's hot (which it always is, lets be honest) the AC is running. As in winter, the heat is running. Our house has 2 big sliding glass doors and a ton of windows so the heat gets in easily. On a conservative note, all of the houses in the community have gas, so we save on electricity there. As far as our natural neighbors go, they fare surprisingly well. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't see at least 2 or 3 rabbits in someones' yard. There are always birds flying, lizards all over the house, and alligators sunning themselves on the banks of the lakes. This makes me happy to see that man hasn't ran them all off by developing their environment.

The picture at the top is of my boyfriend and I in my house :)