Thursday, December 26, 2013

Still Standing




On December 23, we had a very strong storm pass through our area.
The star blew down again!
On Christmas Eve, Scott, Jacquie and I raised it up again.
Incredibly, all the lights continued to work.

This photo was taken Christmas Day, just at sunset.

The Star Shines!

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Snow Melting On The Pines


Yesterday's snow melting in pine branches

(Near Old European Restaurant, Pullman, WA, 12/22/2013)

Sunday, December 15, 2013

I Was Hit By A Falling Star And Lived To Tell About It







For Christmas 2011, I built a lighted star to erect near the top of a 200’ hill behind our house. It looked great! Sometime the next spring, a big windstorm blew the star down. Last year, I waited too long to put it back up and snow prevented a safe operation. Therefore, the star layed, face down, on the side of the hill, for almost two years.

This year, I promised to get it back up … but, again, almost waited too long. About a week ago, with the temperatures down around zero, I got the star propped up on a couple of sawhorses to see what the damage was and if any of the lights survived. Surprisingly, most of the lights survived, with only about a dozen lights requiring replacement.

Last Wednesday, Jacquie and I decided to try to erect it back up. Unfortunately, we had a slight snowfall the night prior, but it did not look like a “deal killer.” Now understand, the star is not light, in weight, and is on about a 30 percent grade. Both of us huffed and puffed and got the star up to about a 45 degree angle, when my footing slipped and the star came crashing down … on top of me! Other than a slightly strained thumb, no one was hurt. Jacquie raised the star enough for me to slide out from under it. It was now about dark and neither of us was in a mood to try it again. I was hit by a Falling Star and lived to tell about it! (How many people can say that!)

Thursday, we got about four inches of new snow and I told Jacquie that star was dead, for this year, as it was not possible to even try it again.

Starting Saturday morning, we were getting unexpectedly warm weather and a little rain. Today, Sunday, after church, the situation looked better and I decided to give it one more try, if I could get some strong arm help. I called my friend Scott and he was available, so we gave it one last try. By 3pm, we had it up and again, surprisingly, every light still worked.

It was worth it!

Long Live the Star.


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