Long, Slow Burn

While we’ve got temps in the 60s, I figure it’s a really good time to test out the snow gun. At 6am and 20F is not a good time to experiment with snow gun adjustments. My neighbor, Steve Bishop, was nice enough to contribute to my cause with a gas powered pressure washer and what a difference it makes! I should be able to make twice as much snow as I could with the electric powered pressure washer. Excited. Now I just need to get some temps in the low 20s or lower.

One more note, with the gas powered pressure washer, the noise is *MUCH* louder. I’m definitely going to have to talk to the neighbors and get their blessing. Who doesn’t want a white blanket of fresh powder?!? Yikes!

I think that’s a great picture that Kim took of the snow covering one of our dwarf juniper bushes. Can’t wait to make more of this white stuff.

I got out of bed at 6am. It wasn’t until 7:05am that I started making snow. 15F this morning and low humidity! Good snow making weather. It’s all a learning process of course. It took a long time to get everything out there and set up.

I put the compressor in the back of our minivan and ran the electrical and air line through the side window. That did a really nice trick of dampening the noise of the compressor. I had a cardboard box around the pressure washer to help dampen that noise.

I went to turn on the water. Nothing. Frozen. I had to get out my heat gun to thaw the spigot. Once that water started flowing, I went to turn on the pressure washer. Nothing. The water had frozen at the nozzle of the snow gun. Again with the heat gun. Thawed that out and the pressure washer was going and it was 500PSI.

I let loose the air compressor and we’re making snow but all of that took over an hour. There was a good breeze for Georgia so the snow really spread out over the yard but after an hour, I had a good coating. Take a look. Tomorrow morning will be cold again. Perhaps I’ll make some more.

This is what it looks like from inside the spray … with a flash on the camera.

I’m attemping to mount a high definition antenna up in my attic and fish a coaxial cable down the wall to get to our TV so I can try out some free HD TV when the phone starts ringing. It’s Mike Johnson and he asks me what I’m doing. “Nuthin” I reply. He said “Good, we’ll be there in a couple of minutes.”

The Johnsons are good friends of mine, both from home schooling circles plus they’re on the board of the Forsyth County Archery Club with me.

I go outside to turn on the Christmas lights so it’s all festive when they come over and I’m hearing sleigh bells. Around the corner comes the Johnsons, some friends, and they’re being pulled in a horse drawn sleigh / carriage. That’s Christmasey!

“I’ve abandoned free-market principles to save the free-market system,” Bush told CNN television, saying he had made the decision “to make sure the economy doesn’t collapse.”

Bush’s comments reflect an extraordinary departure from his longtime advocacy for an unfettered free market, as his administration has orchestrated unprecedented government intervention in the face of a dire financial crisis.

Dunderhead! If we let the free market work, we’d have a bunch of pain (such as a fever) but then we’d be on the road to recovery (such as when a fever breaks). Now, who knows if we’ll survive the wisdom of our government officials.

“I am sorry we’re having to do it,” Bush said.

Not as sorry as I am W.

The parts are all here for me to build my Sue15b snow gun. Or so I thought. As you can see from the pictures, one adapter isn’t quite right so the water is really pouring out where it is coming from the pressure washer.

Everything looks like it was working really well and would have made a lot of snow, if it wasn’t for the high temperatures and high humidity. I’m hoping that Saturday morning, the conditions should be close to perfect. Can’t wait.

I had a guest the other day. No, it wasn’t this guy. It was a red bellied woodpecker. I set up the camera in case he came back but he didn’t as far as I know. While I was testing out the camera, I caught a picture of this little fella. Cute, but he’s costing me a fortune. At least he doesn’t have a long furry tail!

Laughed at! Are these people eating crow now? Financial advisor on the Ron Paul presidential team, and right all of these years. I guess I’m becoming a Peter Schiff fan.

Note to self: Must slap Ben Stein next time I see him.