What is that red stuff - and rain? Where?

Unless you are living in a cave you have seen scenes of planes dropping red stuff onto fires out west.  OH, that is flame retardant everyone says.  But WHAT is it!

Well - mostly water - nothing SUPER special. Water is a fire retardant right? It's also 10% fertilizer (ammonia phosphate and sulfate ions) and the red is iron oxide for color.

And here I thought it was just some major cool chemicals or something.  Water puts out fire, the fertilizer will grow plants back after the ground is burned and the red is so the pilots can see where they have dumped.

BUT WAIT - the ammonia phosphate is a big deal because if/when the water evaporates and flame hits the ammonia phosphate there is a chemical reaction which creates only carbon and water—preventing a flammable combustion.

What happens is that after the plane dumps the slurry the feet on the ground go into the red mess and create a fire break by chopping down trees and so forth.

The GREEN SLIM is the cool stuff but I have not seen images of that yet. This is a liquid concentrate of super absorbent polymers. Mixing with water creates tiny “bubblets” of water surrounded by a polymer shell.  this actually glues water to houses!!

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Friday, all of a sudden there are dump trucks rolling down the 16th fairway.  At first we thought they took a wrong turn but then 4 more showed up and then more and more, right in front of our house (well, the back actually).   All dumping giant piles of dirt.

I figured it out.  They are making a roundabout on the 16th fairway so when the cart girl comes down there won't be any accidents.

I love roundabouts.  Seems Nathan on the CDA (of which I will soon be a member of) does not appreciate them.  WHY!  There is nothing bad about them. They save SO MUCH fuel and are basically accident free and when there IS an accident it's only a fender bender.  There has never been a T-Bone accident on a round about, no deaths!

Of course you can go too far I suppose. 

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I hear there are major plans in the works for Hwy 60 through town and also the southern exit of 73/151 will be closed fora while in a year or so.   Here is the plans that will make travel about Columbus more convenient.

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I did some senior photos Friday.  I think I have a winner for the yearbook on this one.

 Thank you Nathan. Fun times at Olbrich Gardens.

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I was in Madison Thursday (Friday? am I getting days mixed up?) and it was POURING and lightning and thundering a ridiculous amount which seemed like a lot but only about 1.3 inches of rain fell on most stations.  Columbus only received 0.47 inches.

Here is a chart for the last 4 years of rain in Cbus.     

What surprise's me is that I remember last year and it NEVER RAINED!!  But it actually did rain, we just don't remember tiny storms.
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Preparing for the New Glarus Art Fair this Sunday.  Today I'm getting freon or what ever it is that goes in ACs put into my 200,000 mile car.  I use the AC like twice a year, seriously, but after an art fair I think I might like a cooler ride home rather then open windows.   Why are people afraid of sweat anyway. I've never understood this.

AND BTW - cars do not operate better with the AC on rather then windows open. Urban myth.  Windows open cars use less fuel.