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6- The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday June 14, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 905-632-4440 Circulation: 845-9742 The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone (416) 340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate.The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline. Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Commentary Guest Columnist Try to be water wise with lawn and garden Gary Carr, Halton Regional Chair ater is an essential need, so ensuring you have clean, safe and top quality drinking water is important to us. Water is also a precious resource that needs to be protected and conserved. It may seem that we have an endless supply of water from Lake Ontario, but we can all play a stewardship role in protecting and preserving our water supply, now and for future generations. With the warmer weather approaching and many of us beginning to work on our lawns and gardens now is a good time to think about outdoor water efficiency. Households use millions of litres of clean, treated drinking water to maintain traditional lawns and gardens. If you want to know how you can spend less time watering this summer, then I encourage you to sign up for a free consultation from Halton's Water Efficiency Landscape Advisor. The Landscape Advisor will visit your home and provide water efficiency tips and tools to assist you in using less water while maintaining a healthy landscape. To book your free Water Efficiency Landscape Visit this summer, please contact 905-825-6000 or toll-free 1-866-442-5866 or TTY: 905-827-9833, e-mail, accesshalton@halton.ca. By reducing outdoor water use, you can minimize your impact on the environment, extend the life cycle of Halton's water supply, reduce pressure on our water treatment systems at peak times, and even save money on your water bill. There are occasions when extended periods of hot, dry weather can put a strain on our system at peak times. As a result, Halton may put water use restrictions in effect to ensure an adequate supply for essential household needs and for firefighting. Any restrictions put in place will be publicized to the community. We would like to encourage everyone to be Water Wise, a little conservation by all of us can make a significant difference. Here are some tips for outdoor watering: · Plant water efficient, drought tolerant plants. · Use a rain gauge on your lawn to measure how much rain you're received and if you even need to water. Remember your lawn generally needs at most, only 2.5 cm (1 inch) of water weekly, delivered in one or two good soakings. Pick up your free rain gauge at Halton Region's main office or your Local Municipal office. · Set your mower blade to 6 to 8 centimetres (two to three inches) high -- taller grass shades the roots and helps the soil stay moist. · If you have a built-in irrigation system adjust accordingly, and install moisture sensors to avoid using automatic irrigation systems during, or right after significant rainfall. If you're not sure how to do this, contact the company that installed your system. To learn more about water efficiency outside your home and inside, contact Halton Region or visit www.halton.ca/waterconservation. Gary Carr NEIL OLIVER Publisher DAVID HARVEY General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director SANDY PARE Business Manager Metroland Media Group Ltd. includes: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser, Alliston Herald/Courier, Arthur Enterprise News, Barrie Advance, Caledon Enterprise, Brampton Guardian, Burlington Post, Burlington Shopping News, City Parent, Collingwood/Wasaga Connection, East York Mirror, Erin Advocate/Country Routes, Etobicoke Guardian, Flamborough Review, Georgetown Independent/Acton Free Press, Harriston Review, Huronia Business Times, Lindsay This Week, Markham Economist & Sun, Midland/Penetanguishine Mirror, Milton MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA ANCHOR Circ. Manager WEBSITE oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver is a division of IAN OLIVER Group Publisher Media Group Ltd. Canadian Champion, Milton Shopping News, Mississauga Business Times, Mississauga News, Napanee Guide, Newmarket/Aurora EraBanner, Northumberland News, North York Mirror, Oakville Beaver, Oakville Shopping News, Oldtimers Hockey News, Orillia Today, Oshawa/Whitby/Clarington Port Perry This Week, Owen Sound Tribune, Palmerston Observer, Peterborough This Week, Picton County Guide, Richmond Hill/Thornhill/Vaughan Liberal, Scarborough Mirror, Stouffville/Uxbridge Tribune, Forever Young, City of York Guardian RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America W THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: United Way of Oakville TV AUCTION On thread counts and saucy soufflés and kissing the cook I t happens to most men, or so scientific research reveals. As we age, we go a little girly. I know a guy, formerly a real man's man -- a huntin' and fishin' and burpin' and scratchin' and poker playin' with the boys kind of guy -- who, as he sneaks up on his 60th birthday, suddenly can't be found without a Kiss The Cook apron cinched around his waist: baking banana muffins for the grandkids, cooking comfort food for the missus, whipping up a saucy soufflé. The other day I was at his house when he tried to engage me in a delicate conversation on thread counts (apparently he'd been out buying linens). Well, I told him that his pantyhose had a big, fat run, and then I hightailed it out of there faster than you can say `Girly Man.' So, the questions arise: why are males becoming more feminine and why does Old Man Time tend to goose this girly side of men? Ah, there are many pieces to these puzzles. But surely part of the answer is hormonal: as men age their testosterone levels lag, and estrogen levels actually increase (alas, I don't know whether this is actual fact or something I just made up, but it plays well into my hypothesis so I'll present it as fact). And part of it is the Just Don't Give A Damn Anymore What People Think stage of life wherein a man who once would have felt insecure and self-conscious about donning a frilly apron and baking banana muffins -- because frilly aprons and baking have long fallen into the stereotypical female domain -- suddenly doesn't give a flying fig what people think. He wants homemade banana muffins, so he damn well bakes `em. And if anyone has a problem, they can cram banana muffin mix in their ears (as they Andy Juniper age, men also tend to get kind of cranky). Another part of the answer, or so alleged experts say, is simple evolution. Back in the old days, men had to be all manly and macho in order to adequately provide for their families. Basic survival demanded that men leave the cave, find wild prey, and beat it do death -- ah, clubbed sandwiches. Furthermore, men needed to protect their families from marauding mastodons, door-to-door vacuum salesmen and such. The final part of the answer is societal. In Western society, gender lines are continually being crossed. Women are generally becoming more like men, and men -- and not just older men -- are becoming more like women. Even as I write, there may well be a whippersnapper out there baking banana muffins for his kids because, simply, his kids wanted banana muffins, so why in tarnation would he not make them? I believe it was Sting who suggested that to be a good father in this day and age no longer necessarily means being a fiscal provider (men and/or women can bring home bacon), or a manly protector of home and property (we have Joel Matlin and AlarmForce), but, rather, being able to make your family a decent dinner. Recently my wife overheard me on the blower with a buddy, exchanging recipes. When I got off the phone -- once she'd finished laughing -- my wife suggested that I was going all girly on her. Seriously, she mocked, exchanging recipes! Well, I scoffed defensively, the recipes we were exchanging were for stew. I mean, you can't get much more manly than a hearty batch of stew. It's not like we were talking about soufflés, or thread counts for that matter. Hmmm. I guess while I may have gone a bit girly, I haven't quite reached the inevitable Just Don't Give A Damn Anymore What People Think stage of life. Andy Juniper can be visited at his Web site, www.strangledeggs.com, or contacted at ajuniper@strangledeggs.com.