Boxes of Christmas decorations from the storage unit. Let the season begin!

November 30, 2012 – Friday morning

20 degrees

Pentoga Road

It’s already the last day of firearm deer season and almost time to put away the rifle for another year. I’ll be processing the buck this morning so we’ll see how much meat there is when I’m finished. There’s a doe that hangs around that has no fawn. She could be a last minute addition to the pantry if she meanders too close.

I lost a student from my electronic grade book online. I attempted to enter a project grade a bit ago and am unable to find her listed anywhere. I’m not worried; she’s been a top-notch scholar and has earned her A with no question. Still, it bothers me. I’ve already written the tech people at the university asking what/how/where this happened and how to find her semester’s marks.

Mandy Jo sent this picture last night. Sitka at sundown from the parking lot at UAS. 

It was a busy morning in Iron Mountain yesterday. After riding with and telling  Sargie goodbye at the Vision Center, I filled both vehicles with fuel. If one loads money onto a Walmart cash card, he receives a ten-cent a gallon discount. Unfortunately, I think the price will do nothing but continue to climb in the coming years.

After, I drove to the storage unit and filled the car with boxes and totes of Christmas decorations. Sargie loves Christmas and has accumulated the dressings of the holiday over the years.

I also stopped at Home Depot where I finally found some boards for a dog-eared fence. I’ll use those to make ermine boxes for trapping. In fact, I hope to start on those this weekend.

I arrived home around noon and unloaded the SUV. It was cold, cloudy, and very damp. The pumpkins were finally removed from the front porch. They were frozen solid and I rolled most along by shoving them with my foot towards the wheelbarrow. They’ve been thrown out back of the yard for the deer to enjoy.

Next was working up two day’s supply of wood. Enough has been used from the shed that I could probably get another load from Yooper Brother Mark’s plant. I’ve only used a few sticks of maple hardwood this winter. Burning the log-end popple has been easy, convenient, and has saved me no small amount of time and money.

Sargie enjoyed dinner with Mr. Milligan at the VA last night and was home later in the evening. We had left over left over left over’s and can finally call Thanksgiving over. And if you can make any sense of that, you’re doing well. Sargie decorated for a couple of hours last night while I cheered her on from my recliner, listening to songs of the season.

The angel once agains reigns from atop the Christmas tree

Mandy Jo sent a picture of the bobcat fur hat she made at her business, Sewin’ by the Sea, in Sitka. Mandy Jo and her best friend, Brandi Jo, had a great time at the Christmas bazaar in Sitka last weekend and Mandy sold out of most of her sewn items.

Mandy Jo modeling the bobcat hat she made for a customer from a skin he supplied.

If anyone is looking for a different-type of Christmas gift, try Mandy Jo’s website: http://www.etsy.com/shop/SewinByTheSea. Her work is really outstanding!

I’m going to work the buck up this morning. Hopefully, that won’t take too long. I’ll quarter him in the barn then bring those pieces inside to cut and wrap. If I’m going to make jerky, I’ll have to find some refrigerator racks somewhere and make a stand to fit over the wood stove. The last one I constructed is still in my cabin north of the Arctic Circle. I guess I could hop in the car and drive up to get it… or not.

As mentioned earlier, a last minute doe might be harvested if I feel we need more meat. I’ve got the tag. For sure, none of it will go to waste. A man’s work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road…

Meat for the table

November 29, 2012 – Thursday

14 degrees

Pentoga Road

I’m writing quickly as I’ll be riding with Sargie to Iron Mountain this morning and later, onto our storage unit to gather some boxes of Christmas decorations. It’s that time of year.

Hmm, does the white stuff mean the swimming season is over?

Ice and snow on the diving platform

The big news from Pentoga Road is I harvested a deer yesterday, a fairly good-sized spike horn buck. He’s been coming around, chasing the girls, and yesterday, I decided since we needed the meat, it was time.

I wish I could brag about my shooting prowess, how I adjusted the scope on the rifle for the elevation, wind, and humidity, but in all reality, the shot was close, very close. When one lives IN the woods rather having to drive TO the woods, the critters are never far away.

FOLLOWING IS GRAPHIC – SKIP THE NEXT PARAGRAPH IF YOU HUG TREES AND TICKLE TEDDY BEARS

I could see fairly well through the scope and use it as one might binoculars. The buck refused to turn sideways for a good heart/lung shot. I waited for quite some time with the gun ready to fire. He eventually sensed I was close by as he raised his head, looking directly at me. The deer was quivering and jumpy, indicating he was about to bolt. I decided to take him by putting the shot under his chin, into the windpipe, resulting in a direct hit on his heart and lungs. He jumped into the air making a ¾’s turn, ran about twenty feet towards the woods, and crumpled. When cleaning him later, I found the heart completely disintegrated, as were the lungs. Other than the heart, no meat was wasted.

OK – YOU CAN CONTINUE READING

Compared to cleaning a caribou, a deer is a piece of cake. I dragged him to the barn, had him hung from the rafters (using a come-along), gutted, and skinned within twenty minutes. I HATE skinning a cold animal, especially a large one, so decided to get that chore out of the way. I’ll brag a bit more and say I didn’t put one nick in the hide. There’s a local person who has a sign in his yard saying he buys deer hides. I’m more than happy to let him have it.

My buddy, the blue jay is just hanging out, waiting for some free goodies

I worked most of Wednesday morning on classes… again. I’m completely caught up with this semester’s class and feeling good about it. If I could just complete next semester’s ALST 600 classes, I’d be at the top of the world. It’s coming, but feel it’s almost the same process as writing a book; some chapters zip by, others are a struggle. Right now, academically, I’m struggling a bit. It will unfold, of that there’s no doubt.

My tootsies got chilly during yesterday’s five-mile hike in ultra light running shoes. I purchased an inexpensive pair of boots yesterday at Walmart, something that ought to get me by until I can get a real pair of cold-weather hikers.

Indian Lake was almost completely frozen over except for a spot in the middle that the wind was keeping open. We’d be ice fishing in the next few days except a warm front is to come through this weekend and predicted temperatures are to be in the lower 50’s for a day accompanied by rain! After that, it cools off again. Oh well, its not even December yet. There’s an entire winter left ahead for drilling holes in the ice and catching fish.

I had to hurry yesterday after cleaning the deer to get to Iron Mountain before dark. Since the glare of others’ headlights makes driving difficult, I was relieved when I pulled into the parking lot. Sargie still had an hour to work, so I walked around and did some window shopping. I found the pair of boots on clearance and we also purchased a pair of discounted summer sandals for Sargie.

The foxes are active

It was fun riding home together and we talked the entire way. She made a “Thanksgiving casserole” last night by combining all the leftovers from Thanksgiving (except the cranberries, they are long gone) into a cake pan, making biscuits to put over the top, then throwing the whole thing into the oven. It was delicious and there was enough left to have it again tonight.

So, does that mean we’re having leftover leftovers?

God lives up there somewhere

This morning will be spent at the storage unit and around Iron Mountain. I need to stop at Home Depot and buy some dog-eared fence out of which to make ermine boxes for trapping. Now the hunting season is almost finished, it’s time to get serious about trapping again.

I hope to hike this afternoon, no doubt will grade some projects, and I promised Sargie I would vacuum and sweep the floors. It seems some insensitive person, in his enthusiasm after shooting a deer, sneaked in the house and tracked all over as he was looking for a knife, paper towels, and all the things necessary to put meat on the table. Darn him, anyway! Didn’t his mama bring him up any better?

Time to get this uploaded and greet the day. Daylight’s burnin’. A man’s work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road…

As Kelly Labrock used to say in the old Prell Shampoo commercial, "I can't help it I'm beautiful..."
The hat was given to me last year as a gift from my friends in the Ukraine. It's warm!

Sargie's shopping at our local Ben Franklin 5 & 10 for wreath-making materials

November 28, 2012 – Wednesday

18 degrees

Pentoga Road

I slept like a rock last night and feel like a million dollars this morning. Must have been a result of all the hard work I did yesterday. Yeah, that was it.

No one died of a heart attack around here on Monday. After writing, I worked most of the morning reading projects. It’s that time of year… final work is coming in and some are really quite remarkable. Others… well, they’ll pass and get their credit. And naturally, there’s always one or two that I have to wonder why they even signed on the dotted line and wrote a check to take the class.

Sargie and I did a bit of shopping yesterday afternoon. She found some Christmas tree ornaments priced right that are beautiful. I imagine we’ll go over to the storage unit this next weekend and get some more decorations.

She also made a beautiful wreath out of a bare, old, ugly one, last night. Driving from Iron River to Crystal Falls, we stopped at Ben Franklins 5 & 10 where she bought the needed goodies. The new one she constructed even has lights. It’s gorgeous. I’ll hang it on the front of the house today.

I experimented in the kitchen last night and made a cracker dip from a jar of canned pike I pressure cooked last Christmas holiday. It came out tasting pretty good (Sargie and I ate the entire contents of one jar) and I think I'll make a large amount to take to the Mighty Milligan Family Christmas Eve feast. 

I find I’m becoming more and more busy with schoolwork. Isn’t that wonderful how the seasons and academic obligations work out? I’d have hated staying in when the weather was so nice, but now that it’s colder and less can be done outside, I have plenty to do inside. For sure, my life continues to be blessed. For that, I’m very grateful.

This morning will see me doing more schoolwork. More final projects came in during the night so that will keep me busy for the majority of the morning.

Yooper Brother Mark called last night from the Iron Mountain Airport saying they’d just landed and made it back to the UP in good shape. I’ll go into town today to see him. I’ve missed my good friend.

I need to get back to walking again. My belly is sporting a holiday look in an attempt to be the first to arrive regardless where I go or what I’m doing. I find as I get older, it’s much more difficult keep the pounds off and stay fit. It doesn’t take long to fall out of shape!

If I can't get there by walking, I can always row there. This machine was a gift from Jerad. I prefer walking.

I need to get one of the snowmobiles from the rear of the barn and attempt to get it started and ready for a few months of riding. Ah, so much to do, so little time. A man’s work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road…

With the lake effect snow showers on Monday morning, the back yard looked like a snow globe.

November 27, 2012 – Tuesday

8 degrees

Pentoga Road

Happy Birthday to my second son, Luke! My little guy (who never was little) is 33 years old. A firefighter, he’s working today. I hope there are no fires or emergencies so the boy can relax and enjoy his special day. The card’s in the mail. I love you, buddy.

I see that the temperature rose during the night. It was 5 above zero when we went to bed. There’s a quick warm-up forecast for late this coming weekend with temperatures in the upper forties for a day or two, then they are to sink back to more seasonal norm.

Monday was a busy one. The wood stove began burning dirty this past weekend. I assumed the flue wasn’t clogged as I’d scrubbed it a couple of months ago and was puzzled why smoke and ashes would suddenly begin flowing out the door rather than the top of the chimney.

The doors were closed to the living room as I started work. After shoveling the coals into a bucket to save outside, the stove box was cleaned and inspected. Nothing there.

I removed the flue and using the wet/dry vac, vacuumed any suet that might have fallen down the pipe into the stove blocking the vent. Nothing there.

The only thing left was to climb onto the tin roof… the roof that was covered with six inches of slippery snow. Thankfully, the pitch is shallow and other than one close mishap that sent my stomach into my throat, there were no problems.

The solution to my back-belching stove was immediately obvious. A screen that prevents bats and birds from flying down the chimney was completely clogged. I removed the thing and banged it on the heel of my boot watching the suet fall in hardened globs. A nice, warm, clean, fire was burning in the stove ten minutes later.

I put the patio furniture away for the winter season. I don’t think anyone will be sitting outside enjoying the cool evening air until next… May? We’ll let the furniture rest for a few months.

This was from the latest snowfall. I'd already cleaned the table off once before.

The deer are arriving in the backyard in droves. I guess I ought to shoot one, but had more fun yesterday taking pictures. There was a fairly nice spike horn buck that appeared late in the day. I got my rifle and went around the side of the house. Evidently he heard or saw me as, when I quietly poked my head around the corner, he was bounding away. I’ve still got several days in which to harvest a deer.

I made split pea soup on Monday with carrots, onions, and lots of big hunks of ham.

Sitting on the wood stove simmering all afternoon, the concoction made the house smell delicious and reminded me of Hilltop Camp where there was always a caribou or moose roast sitting in a pan of simmering water and onions.

I also made cornbread and for once, my timing was perfect. I was removing the pan from the oven at the exact time Sargie arrived home from work. We were enjoying the soup and eating thick pieces of cornbread slathered in slices of butter within minutes.

Projects from my class were graded yesterday and I see there are six or eight that arrived via email overnight.

Airing out the Christmas comforter for another season of use.

I think I’ll end and begin reading the submitted projects. A man’s work is never done, you know.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road…

Deer grazing in what used to be the popple woods.

I'm guessing it may be time to put away the patio furniture for the year. 

November 26, 2012 – Monday

14 degrees/snow showers/breezy

Pentoga Road

I’ve been sitting here watching the silhouettes of three deer grazing on the other side of the windows a mere ten feet away. Lord, almighty, even I could hit one at that range.

Sunday was one of the laziest days we’ve had on Pentoga Road in quite some time. I didn’t even write until almost noon.

Sargie and I ventured into town during the early afternoon hours. Growing tired of watching the Chicago Bears beat up Minnesota, I welcomed the opportunity to get out of the house.

You know the day was exciting when one of the more adventurous activities was fixing Sargie's shoes. The man-made soles had cracked resulting in wet feet after this past week's snowfall. No doubt we'll be going to Green Bay shopping in the next week or two. One of the first things on our list will be finding new shoes for Sargie.

I fixed these shoes early last spring and they held up well until this past week.

We played cards last night while listening to Christmas music and I had my clock thoroughly cleaned.

I read and graded five projects and was happy with what I saw. Though next semester’s class is filling rapidly, I’m going to miss the majority of the current students. Most communicate well and are conscientious, making my job much easier.

I eagerly anticipated the Green Bay/Giants game Sunday evening and was at television-side an hour early. Unfortunately, the Packers that I know and love forgot to show up. I realize they are riddled with injuries, but the aggression and fight our boys are known for is missing. They’re going to have to get serious about winning a Super Bowl or they might as well pack it in for the season and head south. I turned the game off during the third quarter when it became apparent the fans wanted our team to win more than the players.

Today will be spent putting away the patio furniture. I was so busy with the popples these past couple of months that I completely forgot about the furniture until it snowed.

I’ve got to find some sort of heavier footwear I might use to continue hiking the five miles daily. There must be something in the closets around here.

And then there are the classes to prepare for. Hopefully, I’ll be looking at the end of that process in the next couple of weeks. It’s been fun preparing a brand new and exciting way of teaching/learning, but I’m more ready for the beginning of ice fishing season. The way the temperatures have been falling, it could be sooner rather than later. The National Weather Service just put out a bulletin saying our winter temperatures are forecast to be well below normal this year. Someone better tell Al.

Oops, time to get Sargie up for the day. It’s cold and dark and a Monday. She’s not going to like getting out from between the sheets.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road…

Sargie continues to decorate, making our home look more and more festive

It's that time of the year

November 25, 2012 – Sunday

25 degrees/breezy/snow showers

Pentoga Road

I’m keeping one eye on the Bears/Vikings game and enjoying the warmth of the fire. The skies are overcast, there’s a fairly good wind, and after blowing the snow from the drive, I’m happy to be back inside looking out.

I could have harvested a doe this morning. Sargie and I were joined by the deer and her fawn, almost grown, as we ate our breakfast. She's lucky we’d just started. I didn’t want my omelet to get cold.

Saturday was very quiet. I worked for the majority of the day on my ALST 600 class for next semester and made good progress. A few more sessions should see it finished.

Jerad stopped out for an hour or so and we had a nice talk. My young friend is working outside of St. Ignace, Michigan, about four hours from here, so I see little of him when he’s home on the weekends. As a homeowner, he’s finding out what it’s like to maintain a house while living away for the majority of the week.

I worked during the late afternoon hours in the barn putting equipment away for the winter months. There’s still plenty to do.

This morning started late. Hearing the wind blow and knowing there were several new inches of snow on the ground, we were happy to lay in bed longer than usual. I eventually got up, took a shower, then enjoyed reading the Sunday news online. I later fixed super omelets for Sargie and me.

After eating from the garden all summer, we've decided we don't like "regular" omeletes. Sargie's been buying tomatoes, cucumbers, and other goodies to add to our breakfasts.

I wanted to try the snow blower. Andy went over it last spring while visiting as it hadn’t been started in over two years and I hadn’t started it since early last May. After spraying starter fluid down the plug hole, it fired right off and performed perfectly.

Today appears like it will be a lazy one. We’re in no hurry to do much of anything. Green Bay plays the Sunday night game, but other than that, there are no plans.

Still, I should find something to do. After all, a man’s work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road…

Grandpa Stauber

November 24, 2012 – Saturday

16 degrees/cloudy/snow flurries

Pentoga Road

My condolences go out to Yooper Brother Mark and the family. Mark’s dad, Ed, passed away in Arizona yesterday after an ongoing battle with cancer.

 I enjoyed Grandpa so much when he and Mark visited last year in Sitka. We had a week of real guy-time… fishing, gabbing, and eating, mixed with no small amount of laughing. I feel fortunate that Mark would share his father with me.

Our guy time sporadically continued via Skype this past year. We talked about one thing or the other, it really didn’t make any difference what the subject was. We simply enjoyed each other’s company. I was lucky to get to know him. Grandpa was a gem. We’ll all miss him.

And just like that, we’re into winter. I well remember way back, two days ago, when the boys were outside following the Thanksgiving meal in shirtsleeves, playing basketball while I sat on a bench and talked with my sons on the phone, laughing about how warm the weather was.

Sargie putting up the tree on Friday

An inch or two of driving snow fell on Friday. It’s hard to tell how much as it fell at an angle. Sargie and I ventured into town and the roads were slick. At one point, she rounded a curve and the car unexpectedly performed a full 180 degree circle in the middle of the road. Thankfully, there were no others nearby. It’s that time of year.

Other than the quick trip to town, most of Friday was spent inside. I took the time to make two pumpkin pies from Grandma Reinhardt’s recipe. Other’s pies are good, but I’ve always loved Grandma’s recipe. I think they were okay. For sure, I made Sargie a believer and she even suggested that possibly, I make the pies for next year’s Mighty Milligan Thanksgiving feast. I’m not sure about that, but maybe I’ll contribute a couple.

Yesterday was spent feeding the fire and working on next semester’s classes. Sargie was busy decorating the house, putting up the Christmas tree, and together, we listened to Christmas music, sang, and at one point, even danced in the dining room. It was fun… just plain, good, old-fashioned, silly, filled-with-the-Christmas-spirit fun.

I don’t like to decorate. It’s not that I’m a Scrooge; I love Christmas, but oh, to decorate… it ranks right up there with having a root canal. Thankfully, there are the Sargie’s of the world, otherwise, wouldn’t Christmas be dull and boring?

I was crowned Rummy Champion of Pentoga Road after playing a quick game to 500 last night. I barely won… by forty points or so. No doubt, the Rummy Queen who lives here will demand a rematch in the near future.

I’ll be working on classes for part of today. I want to finish those as soon as possible and get that worry out of the way. It’s all coming together and I’m confident I’ll be ready to teach in six weeks.

Sargie has to work at the Vision Center today then will have supper with Mr. Milligan at the VA tonight.

It’s getting light outside. Time to greet the day and get busy. A man’s work is never done, you know.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road…