Backyarders articulated a set of sensual and embodied engagements with water. It is a part of nature that is usually a source of pleasure, as illustrated first by discussions of the pleasures of watering, of which Jacqui’s quote is an example. A number of women described a time of relaxation at the end of a day’s work. This enjoyment of watering goes so far as to influence the watering systems they install, several describing deliberate decisions to not install drip-irrigation systems in at least part of their garden so that they could continue to enjoy hand-watering. Themes of pleasure, tranquillity and meditation came through in these conversations:
I water a lot in summer and when I’m miserable I talk to the plants; I go out and let the plants cheer me up. And they tell me when they’re thirsty or over-watered. (Betty)
At least a few times a week I get out there in the morning and I water the garden. For me that’s before I start my day and that is a very pleasurable activity, and as I water the different pots that are on the wall I check on the wellbeing of the plants just to see how they are travelling … and they’re like my babies. And so I start my day with that uplifting experience and that’s a major activity for me … I jog around the street, come back here and while I’m cooling down I’ll water the garden and just check on the health of everything. (Patrick)
As Patrick indicated, this is a time when detailed observation of processes occurs. People do not just water; they observe the activities of ants and monitor the growth of plants. This is something that is lost if watering is an automated process in which the human does not have to participate. However, these are certainly not universal feelings. Jessica, for example, said: ‘I hate watering. Some people love standing there with the hose and I hate it.’
In the Alice Springs context a strongly connected theme was shade, the necessary labour of creating a cool, green oasis. Long-time residents have watched the town change from the early days of bare-dirt backyards to a city with green lawns and automated sprinklers. Kerry, who has spent most of her life in Alice Springs, is aware that the changes in technology have created the demand for something that was previously not possible, but a past ethic of frugality has been usurped by habits and practices that are now well established and provide pleasure: ‘… we do keep getting told that it is not a renewable resource and it will conk out. But yeah, it’s a bit hard to think in those terms when it’s there. And the water is actually very good … it’s just so nice to do that, you water by hand.’
An extension of these pleasures is that participants voiced desires for more water in their everyday environments; swimming pools, ponds, streams, and water features were called on to bring serenity and the touch of water. Such desires are both fed and gratified by the lifestyle industry. Water is very clearly connected to visions of a nature that is tranquil and peaceful. In speaking about water features, people referred to beauty, the sound of running water, soothing natural sounds and the notion of creating a restful place within the garden: ‘[H]aving been in a city, close to the water, every day I passed the water and there’s something tranquil and relaxing about that. Again, that’s nature’ (Diana). Justin described his swimming pool as not being about swimming, but ‘about having water, being around water’.
The pleasures associated with water influence consumption in opposing directions. Hand-watering can increase or reduce consumption depending on how it is undertaken. If acted on, the set of desires focused on water features and swimming pools would increase the consumption of water. Other areas of unease relate to desires associated with increased affluence. In this quote the desire for a swimming pool is a somewhat guilty add-on to a conversation about replacing lawn as a water conservation measure:
But we don’t want grass, we are very pleased that we don’t have any grass too … It just takes water in Alice Springs, says us who are about to build a swimming pool [laughs]. (Alice)