2012's first Snow in Carnation Washington

Well the weather predictions were correct, just wish someone in the media would explain to the new people here what wet snow is really like...

Not Just Another ToY SNOW....http://youtu.be/Pl5X_l2HsGw was fun putting together. Note that editing is not one of my better talents; playing in the snow mixed with dry humor, these are..

....the National Weather Service has predicted....

SNOW, SNOW, and more SNOW

This forecast (see below) is very reminiscent of the one we were presented, but ignored in the winter of 2003 - 2004. Mid-westerners like Gail and I grew up in cold snowy winters. No big deal right?

Differences in location produced similar Arctic weather patterns, but the mountains, and a close proximity to ocean moisture have changed our perception of what a "snow-advisory" truly is.

Thus we found a need to understand our environment taking over. Now a chain saw, sandbags plus winch and accesories all are standard equipment when fall arrives. It only takes one storm, and you understand what being prepared is really all about. The CERT training we took helped so much.

One of two vehicles was constructed

 to travel off-road, but this one got a

snow plow and a 10,000 pound winch.



Bottom of the driveway, Lake Joy Drive is behind us 
as we approach the 100ft verticle climb it takes
along the sides of my hilly property.

This ToY 4Runn'r worked great for extracting a 2004 Suburban from a culvert.
 It was on it's side                                     

Special Weather Statement

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
1032 PM PST SUN JAN 15 2012

WEST SLOPES CENTRAL CASCADES AND PASSES- 1032 PM PST SUN JAN 15 2012

THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THAT SOME 

LOWLAND LOCATIONS COULD RECEIVE SEVERAL INCHES

 OF NEW SNOW BY TUESDAY AFTERNOON.

A POTENT PACIFIC STORM WILL IMPACT ALL OF WESTERN WASHINGTON

 LATE TUESDAY NIGHT AND 

WEDNESDAY. THIS SYSTEM HAS 

THE POTENTIAL TO 

PRODUCE SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL AMOUNTS ON BOTH 

THE MOUNTAINS AND LOWLANDS. THIS COULD RESULT 

IN POWER OUTAGES AND HAZARDOUS WINTER

DRIVING CONDITIONS...

ESPECIALLY ON THE LOWLANDS. AT THIS TIME... 

EXACTLY HOW MUCH SNOW 

WILL FALL AND EXACTLY WHEN THE SNOW WILL CHANGE 

OVER TO RAIN ON THE LOWLANDS WERE STILL

UNCERTAIN.

LOCALLY HEAVY SNOW SHOWERS WILL DEVELOP OVER WESTERN WASHINGTON
MONDAY AFTERNOON AND PERSIST INTO TUESDAY...(SHOULD READ THUSDAY)
...A POTENT STORM MAY BRING WIDESPREAD SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL TO
WESTERN WASHINGTON TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY...(AND IT DID!)

TODAYS PREDICTION

AFTER A BRIEF BREAK...(IT ALMOST FOOLED ME)
LOOK FOR SNOW SHOWERS TO INCREASE MONDAY AFTERNOON OVER THE AREA.
THE SNOW SHOWERS WILL BECOME LOCALLY HEAVY...ESPECIALLY IN THE CASCADES...
MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY AS A WEATHER DISTURBANCE MOVES ACROSS THE REGION.

All of this and much, much more came to our Cascade foothills. The extended forecast began to include Thusrday as well

OK. The RATS created a problem.

Found the no-start problem. Took some pictures. Rat damage. They love to eat the insulating material in spark plug wires and most anything electrical/insulated they find in the engine bay. For now all I need is a coil wire; a full set of wires are on the way. If you wanna see pictures just scroll down..

                                              Ahome for big, greasy, stinky dead RATS!

                                                             Did you say RAT!!!

                                         

No conductive material remains in the coil wire

Norwegian?

Used Oil and the Do-It-Yourselfer

Used Oil Considered Threat to Environment

Used engine oil contains elements that are unhealthy for you. Copper, tin and lead are just a few that come to mind. But one metal, lead, is known to cause birth defects. Studies haven't proved conclusively that used oil is a carcinogen, but when burned it emits high levels of airborne lead! A 20-year old article.

If you're a DIY’r; you change your own oil. Be a wise DIY’r; drain the oil from the filter before disposing of it. Simply punch a small hole into the metal dome-like end and let it drip-drip-drain for 12 hours.

You may find as much as a shot glass full of used oil has drained from your old filter.

Here at John's Lake Joy ToY, we use bottled oil. But the empty bottles are not recyclable, even if cleaned. We decided to use a capture device allowing new oil film from inside the bottle to drain into a common container. My wife Gail designed and assembled this one in ten minutes.

Empty bottles from every 8 cases collectively provide enough new oil to service a small four cylinder engine.

Recycled Oil Skimmer

- Oh so GREEN -

WHERE DO YOU DISPOSE OF THE WASTE

If you’re going to change your own oil, recycle it. Return used oil the parts retailer that sold it and is responsible for its collection. If you have a problem properly disposing of your used oil, ask your retailer, a service station or a local recycling center for help. If you live in Washington State you can also visit this website. Another website informs you about what, where and how of recycling.