January 16, 2013 – Wednesday

20 degrees/snow/wind

Pentoga Road

Brrr, I just went to the box on the back deck to gather an armful of firewood. It’s cold and snowy out there. What the heck! One would think it’s the middle of January in the UP. I see there’s a forecast for temperatures next week in the -15 degree range with wind chills approaching -25. Oh yeah, just like the good old days.

I didn’t write yesterday. I don’t know, it’s difficult to reword the same activities that occur daily. I don’t interact with many people (my choice), and there are only so many ways one can describe household chores, walking, ice fishing, grading assignments, and the weather. All  are things I enjoy doing, but they do present a daily literary challenge.

I understand a number of people read this while chomping their Post Toasties every morning, others just before dropping off to sleep, and there are some more mature folks who look forward to hearing or reading Pentoga Tales, so I’ll not quit writing, but I think I’ll only write when there’s really something to say that’s new or worthy of print; possibly once a week, sometimes more, possibly less.

Pictures are another challenge. There are only so many ways to photograph frozen bluegills lying in a stainless steel sink, an ice shack on the lake, the newest ingredients in a three-egg omelete, or the framed shot of the Common Redpoll eating seed beneath the bird feeder. Photographically speaking, winter's full of a lot of black and white and no more than I travel, new subjects are few and far between.

It's become a chore to keep the blog fresh. 

The book needs to be written before too much more time elapses. I’m only eight years late in meeting the publishing date. As I mentioned yesterday to someone, there are only so many words that pop into my head each day and the majority are spent writing this blog.

Ah, we’ll see. 

Classes are going well. Almost twenty papers have been graded in the past two days and I seem to have a more mature group of kidlings this semester. Several are teachers who are taking the class for certification purposes, one or two are in the social services, and then there are the traditional college kids who are plodding through four years of classes on their way to becoming educators.

OK, time to think about going ice fishing. It seems the fish hit the best shortly after sunrise and are especially aggressive on days when the weather is cold, snowy, and blowy. Today has almost perfect conditions.

I’m not sure if I’ll write tomorrow or next week. Regardless, know that I’ll be reading assignments, doing some writing, carrying in wood, fishing, getting beat at cards by Sargie, and other daily activities. After all, a man’s work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road…