We've Got Water Issues

Growing up in Rochester, NY sure did not get me ready for the weather here in the mountains. I always pictured the Rockies to be just like the Appalachian mountains...only much bigger. You know...lush forests, crystal clear mountain lakes, and snow topped peaks. Boy was I wrong. Where Rochester has about 300 days of rain/snow a year, Colorado Springs has about 300 sunny days a year. I've heard the area described as a high plains desert...which I'm guessing is pretty true.

It is extremely dry over here. If you dig into the soil (if you want to call it that), you find that it is actually only sand. In the summer, we get almost daily afternoon thunderstorms which usually dump a whole bunch of rain (and sometimes hail) in about 20 minutes. Then the clouds blow away and it's clear skies for the rest of the evening. The drenching will do very little for actually watering the lawns (and all the water just drains through the sand immediately); as a result, almost every house in the Springs automatically comes with a sprinkler system. You have to let the water run for about an hour every day in order to keep your grass green. I just about had a heartattack last year when I opened my first utility bill which reached $300...$250 of which was the water portion alone.

At that point I decided that having a green front lawn really didn't matter. Our house is located in a portion of the street that doesn't lend itself to playing out front. The solution, out with the lawn and in with the rocks and mulch. We will have a small island next to one of the trees where we will plant native plants. The rest will be rocks. I've rerouted our sprinklers so that they only cover the tiny little island. For the most part, we will keep the back yard the same. At least we will be cutting out half of the watering needs for our lawn.

We've been working on this project most of the summer. We've just finished tilling the lawn into the ground. Now all we have to do is lay down the lawn fabric and bring in the rocks. I'll post some before and after pictures once the project is finished.