Let it snow

Living in balmy south Georgia, Gene Long knew his wife Crystal pined for the winter snows of her native Pennsylvania.

So he decided to do something about it.
Armed with a homemade snowmaking machine, the 41-year-old paramedic and firefighter stayed up overnight during a rare subfreezing snap and crisscrossed their property.

Saturday morning, he presented her with an inch-deep blanket of snow on their lawn.
"She thought it was pretty cool," Long said. "We actually had a little snowball fight."

Crystal Long said her longing for snow grows deep this time of year.

"Oh yes, especially at Christmas time, because people down here are still wearing shorts and tank tops in the middle of December," she said. The 23-year-old native of Cresson, Pa., and her husband have lived in south Georgia's Long County for five years. The community is about 46 miles west of Savannah.

Tapping into plans he found on the Internet, her husband built the snow maker from a pressure washer and an air compressor.

"I find it kind of fun," he said. But he added, "It's kind of ironic, because I don't like cold weather."