Invite Mother Nature in
Bonnie Bradshaw
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6/18
So, you think you're all fancy with your fancy diving board and your fancy swimming pool. That's OK, city slicker, but we'll stick with our swimmin' hole--that mucky pond we share with the bullfrogs, the box turtles and the minnows. You can't convince us that chlorine shocks and pH testing are anywhere near as exciting as seeing new tadpoles or noticing the first water lily bloom of the season. Less than enchanted with that unnaturally blue, sanitized concrete pit that usurped your back yard? Texas Discovery Gardens wants to teach you how to build a natural water habitat--one that's fish-, plant- and environment-friendly. You don't have to sacrifice your $20,000 swimming pool, but if you can devote even a small corner of your yard to Mother Nature, members of the North Texas Water Garden Society will be glad to advise you on pond designs and care of aquatic plants and animals. Pond-er it and then visit Texas Discovery Gardens, 3601 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 18 during A Day at Fair Park. Cost is $3 for adults and $1.50 for children. Call 214-428-7476. --Michelle Martinez
On the Rocks, On the Green
6/17
At our first Dallas Margarita Society meeting, things didn't shake out as expected. We came fully prepared--beach shorts, Cuervo and Jimmy Buffett tapes--but nobody asked if we knew the way to Margaritaville (and our answer would've been "This-a way, man!"). See, members were too busy organizing Friday's DMS Charity Golf Classic at Los Rios Country Club, 1700 Country Club Drive, Plano, to offer a drink. The charitable group hosts its 18th annual golf tourney in support of children's organizations, and, for $175, you can tee off and help a good cause. Registration starts at 10 a.m. Call 972-424-4546. --Sam MachkovechHelen Wheels
6/19
Here's what I remember about roller derby from Saturday mornings spent watching it on television: tall, tough-looking women--the sort who parked a cigarette in the hole where a front tooth used to be--skating around a banked track, beating the crap out of each other. Supposedly, there were teams, "points" scored and eventual winners. Dunno really. When you have one big rolling catfight, do you really need rules? Apparently you do. The Web site of the Dallas Derby Devils, one of the city's new female flat-track roller derby leagues, includes a description of the rules--something about "jammers" and "blockers" and stuff. Whatever. We asked Amy Gruss, league spokeswoman, if a player can still sink an elbow into a competitor's sternum at high speed. "You could. Just know you're going to be facing them again," she said. We certainly hope so. Otherwise, why pay $10 at the Holiday Skatium in Haltom City, 2920 Carson St., to see the Horns vs. Tails at 6:30 p.m. Sunday? Well, the event raises money for charity, and there's the sportsmanship and competition and music by The Fags and Minority. But we'll take a good catfight over that any day. Visit www.dallasderbydevils.com. --Patrick Williams
