The observant will note that this is a flower, maybe a petunia. Really close up.
So, here’s why I’m a greenie. Not the flourescent bulbs. Not the obsessive turning off of lights, Noooooooooooo. It’s my new car. Today we took delivery of a shiny new Honda Civic Hybrid. I picked it out, it was my turn to pick. I figure that all my long travels are going to cost about half as much for fuel as with my Honda Element (and this last 12 months that’s been a heck of a lot of miles: Cape Cod to Peoria; Peoria IL; Peoria to Sanford FL; Sanford to Las Vegas–and back; Sanford to Peoria to Estes Park Co–and back; Sanford to Cape Cod (I haven’t added up the miles, but that’s a lot of gas it would have been nice to have reduced by half). Yay!. Drove around a while today, from Hyannis to Harwich to Chatham and back west on Route 6 past Hyannis and Marston Mills and through Mashpee on into Falmouth (meaning about 18 miles of steady driving at abt. 55 mph out of the total of abt. 70 miles). So mostly small town and slow rural other than the highway stretch. The verdict? 48.6 miles per gallon. Yay! Satellite radio and voice-activated nav system too (in case I get lost going to the 7/11). It was this or the Prius, and I picked this little number.
[This is added later than the main post]. I thought I’d address my driving habits. The short version is that out on the old expressway I’m the guy in the far right lane driving right at the speed limit (although I slow down in inclement weather). I set that cruise control right on the double-nickel (or whatever), crank up my tunes, and get where I’m going when I get there. I tend to get the best gas mileage out of whatever I’m driving. I keep those tires inflated properly. I get those tune-ups (well, I did back when cars needed tune-ups). I’m never in a hurry. I really feel bad when someone wants to pass on the right (that would be about 80% of motorists these days), cause I’m over there, and I ain’t speeding up or pulling off the road for those folks. I almost never pass anyone. And did I mention those tunes? 2 iPods on board (thousands of songs), usually one MP3 CD in the slot. In school zones, I do the required. Occasionally, I put a book on one of the ‘Pods. I’m such a driving fuddy duddy, and pretty much always have been. The reason for this long-winded recitation is to make anyone who reads this understand why I don’t give a hoot in hell that my new car, my ride, is pretty much powered by a lawnmower engine and a ceiling fan motor!
Other than that, I’ve been gardening, and mulching with organic buckwheat hulls. Organic, mind you.
What next? Maybe I’ll adopt a gorilla.
