September 26, 2012

Pentoga Road

Happy Birthday, Dad. Passing away eleven years ago today, he would have been 84. I love you, Dad.

It is 27 degrees outside this morning and I’ll bet it’s not over 50 inside. The fire went out last night before we went to bed and I was too tired (or lazy) to rebuild it.

Mistake!

I didn’t want to turn the oil furnace on this morning, but hated shivering like a little school girl. Sargie will be up in a bit and she dislikes waking up to a cold house more than I do.

I’ve become soft. While living at Hilltop, it was common to awaken to an inside temperature of twenty to thirty below zero. I’d make a fire and hover directly over the stove while a pan of ice melted and eventually brush my teeth, eat breakfast, and sip coffee, soaking up what little heat there was, waiting for the rest of the cabin to become livable.

I checked the trail cam last night and discovered we’ve been feeding a big ol’ bear and a fat and sassy raccoon who won’t share a meal with a poor hungry fox. It still amazes me what animals roam these woods after the sun goes down.

Tuesday consisted of work in the morning and cutting more firewood in the afternoon. I drove the Man Truck to the camp and I think Paster Tracy and Chris were secretly envious of my four-wheel-drive chariot. One let me know he especially loved the sheet metal riveted on the side and front quarter panel. It’s not always easy owning a Man Truck.

I started cutting a large maple that was lying on the ground shortly after noon and finished with half of it three hours later. Rather than just cutting the wood into chunks and splitting it here at home, I decided to work it up as I went.

The tree is quite large and hopefully, I’ll finish this afternoon. I estimate there’ll be close to a month’s worth of heat in all that wood. For that, I’m grateful.

The Kingdom of Yooper is brilliant now and I find I snap the same pictures over and over. The trees that frame our little home are gorgeous even if they do tend to clash with the red roof. It’s a wonderful time of the year to be alive.

Someone inquired the other day how I take such gorgeous pictures. I’m chuckling here to myself. I don’t take gorgeous pictures, they take themselves. I simply take a lot of them. It’s a number’s process.

Often, I can’t really tell how a picture will turn out until I get it downloaded on the computer and magnified. I simply use the best of what I have on any given day. For every one used, there may be twenty or more that are discarded. Thanks for the compliment, but it’s simply a process of elimination and what you see is what made the grade. And if you notice, on any given day, there are few pictures.

After unloading and stacking the maple last night, I finished splitting and stacking the spruce that was left from Monday. I was happy to feed the bears, bring in and fold the laundry that Sargie had hung out before she went to work earlier in the day, and finally, take a shower. It had been a good day.

I spent last evening grading assignments and watching required training segments concerning substitute teaching on the internet. Oh yes, a new sub must watch seven cartoon-like videos to become a real certified substitute teacher in Michigan. At the end of each, one must pass a multiple choice/true/false exam. So far, I’m batting 100%, even after falling sound asleep during one.

Since Sargie had to work late, I enjoyed cooked rice with milk, sugar, raisins, and cinnamon last night for supper. I couldn’t get the water and rice to come out even so kept adding a bit of one or the other as it cooked. In the end, I probably ate a serving meant for six people.

Poor Sargie… she didn’t get home until almost 10 last night. It seems the girl just gets in the door, grabs a bite to eat, lays her head down for the night, and it’s time to go back to work. Saving the eyeballs of America is not for the weak.

I received the lost retirement check, the one the State of Alaska has cancelled, in the mail yesterday. It only took a month to make the journey from Juneau to  Michigan. The retirement folks promise a newly issued check will arrive early this next week. Hmmm.

Today should be a repeat of yesterday; working at the camp in the morning and cutting firewood in the afternoon. Sargie’s off early so I should try to fix a decent supper for us tonight. Something with meat in it sounds good.

Tomorrow we go to Marquette for the day. We’ll see Sargie’s sons, do a bit of shopping, and I’ll attend a two-hour class on how to be a substitute teacher. After that, I need to get my fingerprints recorded and finally, will be qualified to reenter the world of education.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road…