A new natural & organic restaurant opened recently in Austin, Texas called Terra Burger.
With 2 Austin locations, Terraburger allows you to get healthier choices in fast, convenient food. I visited the location at 10611 Research Boulevard (aka 183) on the northbound access road in between Great Hills Trail and W. Braker Lane near Costco. They have a drive thru as well as eat-in and outside play area replete with a water spray fountain for the kids to cool off in.
Terra Burger uses 100% Recycled Earth Wise napkins as well as a full organic foods and beverage menu. The day I tried it I ordered a Terra Burger with a white cheese, 1 regular sweet potato fries, 1 large size cream soda as a combo for $11.26. This meal was enough for 2 people or 2 meals.
This Austin, Texas event is great for people who like looking at beautiful yards & water features. It’s a great way to get ideas for your own projects. For refreshments I am planning to serve organic lemon grass tea, organic mint tea from my gardens. My yard is accessible. There are slightly uneven surfaces but no steps. Many other ponds are accessible as well.
Water Features
Leopard Frog on Lilly in My Pond
My Water Features include a disappearing fountain by my front door, which was my 1st water feature. When I bought my home there was a full size oleander trying to live in this small 2’ X 2’ space!! I lined the hole with an EPDM liner, added a grate, small pump & vessel. After adding river bed rocks and water I was in business and amphibians moved in.
The Creation of my waterfall and bog
My pond, waterfall & bog are in my backyard & were hand built over 2 years. It all started when my son and I started digging a small hole for a small pond one evening. Every article on pond building that I read said that many pond owners felt their pond was not big enough and encouraged you to build a pond a good size from the beginning. So we did. I have goldfish and a hybrid koi/goldfish in my pond. Also Rosy Reds, snails, Leopard frogs and toads. A teeny tiny, bird sounding frog called “Peepers” live in my yard too.
I do organic edibles and xeriscaping in my front yard. The front yard is, sadly, water hogging St. Augustine, what yard I have left. The small back lawn is a wide blade Zoysia- it rocks! I have numerous Native Trees & other plants that support butterflies, bees & wildlife. My yard is a National Wildlife Federation Certified Wildlife Habitat™. I share my peaches, blackberries, tomatoes, water & other food with wildlife. I put the lights in my backyard so I could work in the yard in the cooler nights of HOT Summer.
The Cabana, Patio and Greenhouse
The bar is made out of an old Mexican blanket chest I found on Craig’s List. Topped with a solid piece of stone, we added shelves, a native juniper (“cedar”) foot rest & native stone around the bottom. The 2 signs are from Craig’s List.
Stone Patio: Well over 10 tons of locally quarried Native stone were used in this project. I went to Florence and Jarrell to pick out and order stone. I set the natural patio stones in sand and finished it off with decomposed granite. This created a permeable surface to allow the rain to water my beloved Live oak trees. It is part of my get rid of lawn process. The large stone patio is also a surface that our active & large German Shepherd (from Blue Dog Rescue) cannot tear up.
My greenhouse is built out of primarily recycled materials which include a used door, used window and 3 sheets of glass from old sliding glass patio doors. The greenhouse has been great for keeping my plants from freezing in winter.
My large, irregularly shaped Dog Run is made of hog fence panels, landscape timbers & cedar posts installed in a shady, breezy area with a low maintenance, no-mud pea gravel floor.
Current Improvements
I am currently doing more retrofitting of my home to be even Greener. On my list is finishing the gutter system and adding a large rainwater collection system. I plan to use tall, rectangular brown colored tanks that will fit up against the house. I will be taking out the strip of grass on the east side of my driveway and installing crushed rock.
With record setting high heat, drought, and lake levels getting lower and lower it seems that xeriscaping would be all the rage in Central & South Texas but it’s not. Who started the fad of growing these expansive water hogging St. Augustine (“carpet” grass) lawns anyway? I have yet to know the full history behind this ecological disaster. However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, there is a way out, and it is called xeriscaping. Not “zero scaping ” as it often is miscalled, implying that xeriscapes can’t be beautiful when they can be colorful & artistic when well designed. Xeriscaping is landscaping that is designed for drought and water conservation to protect our water supply and environment. A xeriscaped yard is not only beautiful, but uses less water, requires less maintenance and the native plants and flowers attract & provide habitat for native species of birds, butterflies & other living things.
Getting Started
One of the first steps in a xeriscape landscape plan is to reduce or eliminate the lawngrass. Another alternative is to replace the existing lawn with a grass that needs little water to live like zoysia or buffalograss. I look at many homes and landscapes in the Austin, Texas Metro area. Right now so many lawns are that sickly, depressing shade of yellowish brown. If left on their own, lawn grasses may die and weeds fill in. The next year I see people trying to re-sod with St. Augustine only to start this cycle again.
Learning More about What and How To Plant
Some great ways to learn about xeriscape plants are through the Native Plant Society of Texas, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, and local nurseries. The “big box” store nurseries still carry invasives, and plants that “look pretty” but are not good for conserving water. Some cities such as Leander, Texas and Austin, Texas have recommended plant lists. Leander’s is on the City of Leander website- search for Preferred plant list.doc and the City of Austin has a Grow Green section on their website. Go to the Plant Guide section. There is also a Grow Green booklet free of charge at the City or many Austin area nurseries. The City of Austin also has a Xeriscape Advisory Board to help homeowners design these water-wise gardens. Texas A & M Horticulture has some great information. The Williamson County Extension Office at 3151 Inner Loop Rd. in Georgetown, Texas has local demonstration plots at to see xeriscape plants & grasses growing. There is a map in the Extension Office & plants & trees are labeled & staked. The Wilco Master Gardeners maintain the xeriscaping gardens.
Professional Advice and Installation
You may choose to hire a professional landscape architect or designer to design a custom plan for your yard. The Austin Area has many experienced and knowledgeable professionals with many completed projects on the ground (or should I say “in” the ground! LOL). Many will design the landscape plan, giving you a drawing of where to plant what and a list of desired specimens but allow you to carry out your plan thus saving you money. Or, you may choose to have the entire design implemented completely by professionals while you relax in the air conditioning watching through the window! You avoid heatstroke that way!
Enjoying Your Xeriscape
Now that your own yard is a Texas Hill Country heat lovin’, water shruggin’ paradise, you may want to take a further step and get your home Certified as a Wildlife Habitat through the National Wildlife Federation or the Texas Parks and Wildlife Texas Wildscapes or Best of Texas Backyard Habitat programs. Get a cool glass of fresh- squeezed lemonade, hibiscus tea or other cold beverage and go hand with your butterflies and birds, relishing in the thought that you are having a share in conserving water and our wonderful state.
I learned about the commuter bus from Austin to San Antonio on the EchoTown.net web site Blogs from a biking blogger upset about public transportation. Tired of waiting for a commuter rail to get from Austin to San Antonio or vice versa, this blogger uses the commuter bus service. The Austin-San Antonio commuter rail line has been under discussion for many years. Expected to begin March 30th, 2009, Austin’s Leander to Austin commuter rail is not in operation for the public yet either. So what’s a carless person to do? Taking the bus may be the best current option. Here is the BT Interurban website to guide you through the process. There is WiFi on the bus system for laptop use in route and bicycle racks to carry your transportation to the next destination. Bus tickets are available at HEB grocery store locations in San Marcos, New Braunfels and Kyle. The two bus routes run along IH 35 between Austin, Texas and San Antonio, Texas with stops in San Marcos, Texas in Hays County. For more information about bus and other transportation options in San Marcos see the CARTS or Capital Area Rural Transporation System website. For information on Bicycle Transportation in San Marcos see the Texas State University website section on bicycling. In San Antonio the bus service connects with San Antonio’s Via bus system. In Austin stops are tied to existing Capital Metro bus system locations which extend as far north as the Leander Station Park-n-Ride in Leander’s TOD with Express Bus Service. For more on the Long-Range Transit Plan for the Austin area see Capital Metro’s All Systems Go site. The CapMetro site also has information on the Regional Commuter Rail project for the Austin-San Antonio Intermunicipal Rail District. For more information on the San Antonio area’s Alamo Regional Transit check the Alamo Area Council of Goverments web site.
Sometimes new green jargon is a lot for the newly green to feel comfortable with. Net zero is a term with many definitions but all run in a similar vein. In a nutshell, net zero means no overall energy consumption or “net zero” and zero annual carbon emissions. In other words, even though some energy is used, the energy is from renewable energy sources and no energy is purchased from the grid or external energy producers because the home produces as much energy as it consumes. Hence the term “off the grid”. There is extensive information out there for the person wanting to learn more about net zero. The White House is doing research on net zero energy green building design technologies and strategies. According to the Federal paper on Net-Zero Energy, High Performance Green Buildings (October 2008), “the greenest energy is that which is not used”. Are net-zero homes affordable for the average consumer? One builder, Ideal Homes based out of Norman, Oklahoma built a zero energy home for under $200,000. Why can’t we do this other places too where lot prices are reasonable? I am always dissapointed when I attend green home events and home prices are so high the average consumer could never afford them. You Tube has many videos on Net-Zero Energy, Zero Energy homes and buildings. Wikipedia has several definitions of zero-energy building. ASHRAE or the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers does a lot of research and has a lot of information on Net-Zero homes and commercial buildings.
Home Sweet Net-Zero Home, oh give me that kind ofTexas Organic Home!
A Valence Press Release announced that Valence Technologies, Inc. of Austin, Texas as well as China, Northern Ireland & Las Vegas, Nevada chose Leander, Texas as the site for their $585 million dollar facility. Valence has applied for an Electric Drive Vehicle Battery & Component Manufacturing Initiative Grant as part of the Recovery Act. The State of Texas, Williamson County and the City of Leander, Texas are offering incentives. Valence’s manufacturing facility will be considered a sustainable industry because electric vehicles which include hybrid electric vehicles (HEVS) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), electric vehicles (EVs) & neighborhood electric vehicles (NEVs) are more efficient, and help reduce noise and air pollution because they are quiet, powerful, low to zero-emission vehicles.
According to the Indoor Air Quality Association problems with the air inside a home may cause the home’s occupants to have issues with both comfort and health even causing Sick Building Syndrome (see the US EPA site ). One friend of mine said that she had to rethink things when she was diagnosed with allergies and chemical sensitivities. She says that she almost died from problems associated with bad air, mold & chemicals in a house, so now she is very cautious. Indeed, Indoor Air Quality or IAQ is more important than most people realize. Energy Efficient homes need to have a tight “envelope” being tightly insulated & sealed resulting in less air exchanges but at the same time need to have good Indoor Air Quality. Sometimes whole house HEPA filters and whole house dehumidifiers are used to help with IAQ. Materials used in construction, furnishings and accessories in the home are also contributing factors to the quality of air inside the home. The American Lung Association has a lot of information on their website about Indoor Air Quality including information on Indoor Air Pollutants such as carbon monoxide and formaldehyde. They include Tips on Creating a Healthier Home for Children and on Controlling Asthma Triggers. The American Lung Association of Washington discusses major indoor pollutants like volatile organic compounds or VOC’s & others & encourages home occupants to use less toxic products for pest control both inside and out.
Betty Saenz is a REALTOR and a Certified EcoBroker, not an MD. For any medical issues see a health practitioner of your choice. For further information on Indoor Air Quality follow the links above. Betty understands the issues of IAQ and will help you find or build a home that provides comfort and a healthier environment (reducing carbon footprint).
Austin, Texas will soon be having the 2009 Cool House Tour. This year there are twelve projects that will be on the tour. Homes were chosen for the tour based on their being examples of green building. Tickets are available at both Austin Central Markets. The Cool House Tour is produced by Austin Energy Green Building as well as the Texas Solar Energy Society. The ticket is your Guidebook. Pick the homes you want to see or see them all.
The new Austin Energy Audit in Austin, Texas is getting mixed reviews. I personally think that the ROI or Return on Investment can be great with energy efficiency improvements and I think an energy audit can be a great starting point for needed information on where and how your home is losing energy. One of the check off points for the Austin ECAD auditors relates to how much sun the home’s windows receive each day. This is very relevant since windows are considered a weak point in a home’s envelope. The recommended way of dealing with this is solar screens or tinting. However there are other options. One option not at the forefront of most discussions is to install energy efficient window coverings inside the home. These can include the honeycomb type shades, Roman shades or other options. Black out lining or insulation like quilt batting can be applied to most ready made curtains and roman shades or you can make your own window coverings. Fabric stores sell black out lining, ring tape and other items needed for making roman shades. I personally like this option because in the winter when I have my plants inside my home I like to have the windows uncovered during the day to let the sun shine in.
If you are looking for a veterinarian for your pet(s) who adds non-traditional medicine such as acupuncture and holistic medicine to his repertoire of traditional medical skills, you might try Crystal Mountain Animal Hospital on Bee Caves in Austin, Texas. Dr. Vandermause provides standard exams for dogs and cats but also offers a holistic approach looking at the “whole” animal including all factors involved. He offers holistic treatment such as diet changes, antioxidants, acupuncture, herbs, nutraceuticals, homeopathy and other treatments or lifestyle changes. He has recipes on his website VanderVet.com for Natural Raw Food Diet (NRFD) for your pets.
