I had the computer in the shop with me on Friday afternoon, referring to downloaded pictures of the various phases of greenhouse construction, like the one I'm assembling. You can see who wanted attention. Elmo the Ermine also spent a few minutes on the work bench chattering. Jimmy didn't leave me all afternoon and even flew alongside when I later took a walk. Yeah, I know, I really need to get a dog. This bird thing is getting stupid.

March 23, 2013 – Saturday morning

19 degrees/cloudy/calm

Pentoga Road

I awakened at 3:30 this morning and lay in bed for over an hour thinking about the greenhouse. After Friday’s successful assembly of the base, I think I’m ready to begin putting up the walls today. The forecast high is 34 degrees with sunny skies. I want to make hay while the sun shines. Construction is a go.

Check out this stalagmite that grew on the garage floor.

Friday morning was spent sitting on the opposite side of the desk from a tax-preparer. It took her two hours to put everything together, all the documents from Alaska, which has no income tax, to Michigan, that does, IRAs, annuities, real income from teaching, retirement income, percentage of the year as a resident in one state and then another, etc. etc. etc. Though the fee was more than I’d anticipated, it appears I’ll be able to do it next year myself and I was happy to get the transition completed by someone who actually knew what she was doing. At least I’ll be receiving a refund, the first in over ten years.

After, I picked up Sargie at the Vision Center for lunch. Since it’s Lent and meat on Fridays is a no-no, we enjoyed a fish sandwich each. Our dining out place was in the car while parked at the local cemetery alongside the graves of an aunt and uncle of Sargie’s who died many years ago. Their graves are just feet from the small cemetery road, so we parked there to eat and talk. It beats the parking lot of Walmart.

I arrived home around 1:30 and immediately got busy measuring, marking, cutting, and assembling, the base of the greenhouse. It took almost four hours, but in the end, it came out square and strong. I lay the sills on the 2x12 boards when finished and everything looks good to go for today’s construction of the walls.

I talked with Luke, Abigail, and Coleman during the afternoon on Skype. They are having a maple sap boil on Sunday with people coming over, a social affair. I’m hoping to begin gathering sap towards the end of this next week. The forecast high for a week from today is 39 degrees with warm weather forecast after. Hopefully, our maple season is about to begin.

I managed to slip in my five-mile walk before dark last night. Sargie arrived home soon after I got back and we had a quiet evening together.

Sargie’s off today. I’m going to slip out of the house fairly soon, when it gets light enough outside to see, and walk my five miles. After, I intend on spending some quality time in the barn working on the greenhouse. With maple season in the offing, I’m eager to get it completed so I can concentrate on making syrup.

A man’s work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road…

On Skype with Luke... and the birds.