I was overwhelmed by all the responses I received from my last posts. Thanks for sticking with us. I think with that, I should at least post something entertaining, so I am going to pick a story from quite a few years back that all our long-timers may remember, but new customers will not unless they read our old posts.
This is a story I posted on Saturday, November 17, 2018, that happened the day before, and is probably one of my all-time favorite moments:
“I was hooking up my hose to a backflow preventer near the street when a man in his mid-fifties stopped by while walking his dog. He told me that I shouldn’t be doing this blowout because the temperature had been below freezing every night for several nights, the system was frozen and I would damage the backflow by trying to blow it out, and that it was probably already frozen solid and not usable anyway. I asked him where he got this information and he said he blew out sprinklers for 10 years. I smiled while I thought to myself, “I’ve done this for 21 years.” I asked him if he knew about factors that affect soil temperature like daily air temperature fluctuations, precipitation, vegetation, etc., and he looked at me like an embarrassed little kid asked to answer a question that he didn’t know the answer to in front of the entire class. I let that soak in for a minute and fired up my machine. What a beautiful site. 6 zones popping up all over the yard with enough water to fill Orson Well’s bathtub. Before I could bring out my trusty thermometer to check the ground temperature and explain a few things to him he walked off not saying a word. MADE MY DAY!”
I need to point out that the backflow was a Double-Check and inside a box underground. I have blown out sprinklers when it was 13 below zero because the freeze level hadn’t reached the sprinkler piping yet. The sprinkler system did better than my machine. Compressors don’t like cold weather. Condensation in the hose generated by the compressor can freeze very quickly under those weather conditions.
Hope you got a chuckle from reading that story. Now on to the important stuff…..
Cyclone has been down for a few days because of a hose leaking on the hydraulic side that we are trying to Jerry-rig enough to get by for the rest of the season, so Jesse took out Purple Rain yesterday on its first voyage since Todd dumped in on the freeway. Getting Purple Rain ready today took a little time, so Jesse didn’t finish his route. On top of that, Brian’s vehicle broke down after doing two blowouts but is now ready to go for tomorrow. It had something to do with his key fob and start button. So our Garden City route didn’t get finished either. The good news is Jesse will finish Eagle today and then go to Kuna as scheduled, and Brian will be in Kuna also. We may not finish Kuna today since Jesse will have to be in Eagle first. If not, he can finish it the following day.
More good news is I am interviewing another person tomorrow to get our 4th machine going, but we still have to get Cyclone running.
I will be gone a lot of the day today because my wife is having knee surgery. I hope to be able to take my laptop so I can at least keep an eye on my guys, and answer the 70 texts I get an hour. On the downside, I have a sinus infection, so my head feels like it is going to explode.
Here are the routes for today:
83616 and Kuna – Jesse With “Purple Rain”
N Colline Bello Way
W Wind St
N Seven Golds Ave
N Rivington Way
W Goodale Trail Ln
N Big Star Pl
N Thistle Dr
N Cranesbill Ave
S Hayward Av
S Stibnite Pl
W Deserthawk Dr
S Jake Ave
E Wild Primrose Ct
E Wild Lilac Ct
S Wiston Pl
N Lahar Pl
N Shady Grove Way
S Blue Oak Ave
Dunrobin
N Hawaiian Pl
S Royal Gala Ave
Kuna – Brian With “Leroy”
W Hubbard Rd
W Ballad Ct
S Fuego Ave
S La Pampa Way
N Hose Gulch Ave
N Destiny Ave
E Whig Dr
E Whitbeck St
W Soldotna Dr
N Tumbler Pl
W Allspice
W Big Rack St
N Four Point Pl
W Farmall Way
N Antimony Pl
N Pingo Ave
N Veridian Ave
83714 – Bruno With “Orange Julius”
N Roe Ave
W Utahna St
N Sunbelt Ave
N Sunglow Pl
Rooney Ave
N Misty Cove Ave
N Dodgin Ave
W Claudia Rd
N Yaquina Head Way
W Pandion Ct
W Atwater Dr
N Willowdale Pl
Do you have any indication on when you will finish out South Meridian, specifically 83642?
Since we are based out of Meridian, we are trying to get the numbers down in our other areas and then hit Meridian with a steady flow each day. We are almost to that point, and then Meridian will go fast!