April 30, 2013 – Tuesday

46 degrees/cloudy/calm

Pentoga Road

As is my routine, I just glanced at the weather forecast and see there is the possibility of measureable snow at various times towards week’s end. An inch here, two there. Now we’re getting into Alaska weather, although I can remember one spring north of the Arctic Circle that it was significantly warmer than this current one. Oh well, we’ll do what the farmers in Maine do when it snows… we’ll let ‘er snow.

Sargie dropped Brutus and I off five miles down the road on her way to work Monday morning. All went well until a squirrel ran in front of us.

I wrap the leather leash around my waist so he won't inch ahead while we walk and I can use both arms to aid in walking. Ninety-nine percent of the time, I forget he’s even there. For a big ol’ dawg with a muscular body, he glides along the ground effortlessly.

Brutus forgot we were attached.

Sometime, for thrills and spills, bind a 120 lb bulldog to your side at waist/knee height while jogging and have him yank sideways as hard as he can. I think we both were shocked as he suddenly remembered he had a 200 lb man attached to his collar. I broke my fall by supporting myself on his back and we lived happily ever after.

The winter’s accumulation of garbage stored in the cans in back of the woodshed have started smelling. In the summer months, we feed the scraps to the bears back in the woods, but in the winter, we place the bags in the six large barrels until spring arrives when I take them to the dump. Yesterday was dump day.

It was Brutus’s introduction to the Man Truck and he copiloted quite admirably by looking out the passenger side window. The poor pooch had to stay inside the cab while I emptied the cans. There was simply too much for a dog to explore… and roll in… to get all stinky.

Back home, I got out the high-pressure washer and attempted to clean the back deck. Brutus thought the washer was spraying for his entertainment and in the end, I had to fasten him to a quickly improvised run to keep him away. I did the same thing when I later sprayed Thomson’s Water Seal.

I also started cleaning the maple syrup equipment and hope to get it all put away today. After that came Brutus’s favorite, the four-wheeler. When I started the machine, he promptly hopped onto the homemade rack I’d constructed last fall. We rode around the yard a bit before he discovered riding an ATV isn’t about luxury, but necessity and work.

I put the snowmobile away for the summer and raked around the deck area. It’s nice to finally have to it cleaned up for the year.

Brutus’s hardest lesson on Monday came in the form of the electric deer fence and the garden. He was desperately trying to bury the last of his chew toy, a leather rawhide bone. First he dug a hole by the edge of the yard and pushed it in with his huge nose. That didn’t seem to satisfy him.

Next he attempted to dig one by the house. The mean owner who lives here nixed that attempt.

Then he made the ultimate mistake. He trotted to the garden and decided to bury it in one of the raised beds. I called and called, but there’s a reason for the old adage, “Stubborn as a bulldog.”

Just as he was crossing through the wires, I turned on the electricity. Brutus shot out of the fence faster than any speeding bullet, ran as quickly as he could towards me, and cried like a baby… literally. And he cried, and cried, and cried. … and cried, and cried…. Then cried some more.

Lord Almighty, after assuring him I’d been shocked several times and survived, giving him all sorts of oogee boo boo’s, holding his bushel basket-sized head, and doing everything but wiping his nose, I finally told him that that was enough.

I hope he learned that the garden area is off limits. He began trotting that direction again last night and I called him back. At least he listened. We’ll see how really stubborn he is. There’ll be a lot planted in the garden this year, but a doggie bone isn’t one of them.

Sargie was home early last night and we had a pleasant evening watching Dancing With the Stars. She also arrived bearing a new chew toy for our puppy. With jaws that exert around 325 lbs of pressure with each chomp, he’s goes through chew toys at the rate of one every two days. That’s not including the chunks of firewood he’s made into kindling when outside. Thankfully, he’s been well trained and realizes shoes and furniture and household items aren't an option to substitute as chew toys.

Brutus showed us a new trick. While watching television, we heard the bathroom stool lid open and close. He'd trotted in, opened the seat and lid with his huge nose, enjoyed a long, cool, bowl of water, then gently closed it all. Personally, I don't care, but NOT in Sargie's house. I was commanded that he'll unlearn that trick. 

I notice the pup has two modes of play. The first is a gentle wrestling-type. He mouths one’s hand and is careful to push, but not too much.

The second mode is a no nonsense, take off the gloves, we’re gonna-get-down-and-dirty fight until he gets too rough and we quit. He delights in gnawing on my hands and refusing to let go until commanded to do so. I grab his huge head before he can use it as a battering ram, and make growling sounds. That’s like shifting him into overdrive. We wrestle and growl, shove and push, and in the end, if I’m on my hands and knees and begin to get tired, I get up before he realizes he has the best of me. When a halt is called to the rough play, he immediately flips over onto his back, throws all fours up in the air, and begs for his belly to be rubbed.

Training is coming along really well. Yesterday, we were walking back home when several hundred yards from the house, I commanded him to stop. He immediately halted and after undoing his leash I said, “home.” Brutus stepped out by about ten feet, looked around, saw I wasn’t coming, and halted. When I started walking, he continued, never getting more than a few feet ahead, and led me into the drive and to kitchen door where he waited for his treat. I think that pup is going to have a great future.

Bringing me home

We’ll walk our five miles this morning then see what the rest of the day has in store. It appears the rush of final projects in my classes is beginning to dry up. I hope to upload the summer session material online before the weekend.

If it stays dry today, I’ll bring out the deck furniture, spray it off and get it ready for the upcoming summer. If it rains, I’ll begin to lay the flooring in the upstairs bath.

After all, a man’s work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road… 

Clean and ready for another summer

Pentoga Lake keeps getting larger. Initially, I was going to plant a hundred blueberry plants where the center of the huge puddle now lies. It will remain in grass as part of the yard.

April 28, 2013 – Sunday evening

63 degrees/clear/calm

Pentoga Road

Since Brutus and I will be riding with Sargie early in the morning and hiking five miles back home, I thought I’d start writing this evening.

Mallard ducks

It was a year ago today that I boarded the ferry in Sitka to begin my long journey home from Alaska. It wasn’t that long ago, was it? It seems like a month, maybe two. I still listen to KCAW – Raven Radio, broadcasting from Sitka, several times a week to keep up on the local news. Though I know better, it seems as though I could hop on a jet, arrive in Sitka, and be back aboard my mini-tugboat in less than a day.

Brutus slept well last night. He started on his bed downstairs, but I think he might be afraid to be alone. He ended up sleeping on the floor at the foot of our bed all night. I don’t think he made any noise; leastways neither Sargie nor I heard him.

Once in awhile, he’ll cry just a bit… for less than a minute. With that big ugly mug of a face, he looks so sad. Tonight I got down on the floor and we had a dog to man talk. He’ll be okay. I think the poor pooch misses his former family and it seems the evening hours, after a day of hard play and walking, are tough. Like anything else, it’ll take time.

One thing about it; I wanted a buddy and I sure have one. No matter where I go, Brutus is beside me. He’ll settle for Sargie if I sneak away, but otherwise, he’s at my side continually. I don’t know if he’s afraid of missing some action, fearful of being left behind, or a healthy combination of both, but we’re glued at the hip. That’s okay… if I have to be attached to a pooch, I’ll take Brutus. We talk the same kind of language.

He'd been outside romping through the water and rolling in the mud. Poor guy was confined to the rug by the door until he was dry and the dirt brushed from his white coat.

Today’s been sunny and warm and the three of us were outside most the time. I started the day by putting a load of clothes in the washer. While they were doing their thing, I spent over an hour and a half grading projects, reading assignments, and doing other university chores. I hung the clothes on the line before we went for our walk.

It’s the end of the semester. Grades have to be entered at week’s end, yet it amazes me how many students simply don’t seem to care. Actually, my undergraduate munchkins seem to be more diligent at getting their homework in on time more than their graduate/master degree-seeking, counterparts.  Oh well, it is what it is.

Brutus and I clicked off five miles this morning in nothing flat. He’s so good at heeling that I forget he’s even trotting alongside. His nose is usually even with my right foot and the few times that he forgets and begins to get ahead, I need only to click my fingers or make some kind of sound to remind him.

Brutus wasn’t slow to hop into the water along the shore of our large local lake. I had no idea that American Bulldogs liked water so much, but this big guy actually acts as though he prefers swimming over walking.

After arriving back home, we played fetch for forty-five minutes and talked with Sargie. After, we took a short drive and went to town.

Mark and Sheri stopped out this afternoon in their new side-by-side four-wheeler. Sargie and I both would like one so maybe an unknown rich uncle will pass away and leave us untold millions of dollars. Oh, wait, I only have one uncle still living and I can guarantee he doesn’t have millions.

I attempted to assemble several “Walls of Water” with which to surround my tomato plants this early spring. There was just one problem; the dog. First, he thought the plastic insulating handles for the electric deer fence were fetch toys and spotting one on the ground, picked it up and started to run until the wire grew taut and yanked it from his mouth.

Then there was the garden hose. He seemed convinced it was there for his entertainment. I squirted him as he attacked the stream of water. We played that game for well over half-an-hour.

Sorry there's no sounds with the video

Then he wouldn’t stay out of the raised beds. With the warm dirt, soft and rock free, he was determined to lay in it and roll around. I don’t even step in my own raised beds. No 120 lb bulldog is going to start now.

In the end, I assembled six walls of water in the garden before quitting. I also plugged the fence in for the year. I thought maybe Brutus would touch it tonight, but he wasn’t around the garden. I think after his nose touches the electric fence, he’ll probably not want to enter any more. I hope not. I have the feeling that my garden and orchard is one place Brutus will have to stay out of.

Sargie spent her day doing laundry and scrubbing the interior of some of the kitchen cabinets. It’s that time of year… spring cleaning.

We played Rummy tonight. As usual, Sargie handily defeated me.

Tomorrow should be a busy one. Brutus and I will do our morning hike and after, I hope to grade papers, then power wash the back deck after that. If the flooring arrives for the upstairs bath, I’ll begin installing that and then there’s the new vanity. It’s to get colder beginning on Wednesday with snow forecast for the end of the week.

Time to turn off the lights and head upstairs. A man’s work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road… 

Brutus, the American Bulldog

April 26, 2013 – Friday evening

63 degrees/sunny/calm

Pentoga Road

The internet has been in and out all day. Thankfully, it was on long enough that I could grade papers and do my university correspondence. The intermittent service has been an ongoing problem that seems to get worse in the summer and not nearly as bad during the winter months. My guess? I think the radio that sends and receives my information to the tower is in conflict with another. I think when someone else gets on the net, I get the boot.

In talking with the provider today, he’s decided to switch out the radio on my antenna. If that doesn’t work, he’s going to install a big ground tower so I can more altitude and a stronger signal. I don’t think that’s the problem, but he’s willing to go to any length and for that, I’m appreciative.

Spring has sprung! Today’s high is in the lower 60’s and they are promising we’ll see the 70’s for Saturday and Sunday. The last of the snow is quickly disappearing and I’m getting the itch to get down to the garden and begin that process. I have thirty Walls of Water to set up and get my tomato plants in the ground as soon as possible. Supposedly, this will add two months to their growing season. We’ll see. I’m a bit skeptical.

The past two days have been spent in the upstairs bath. I applied two coats of paint yesterday and another today. I’m disappointed. We purchased a very expensive gallon that had primer already included. By the time I brushed on the third application for good coverage, it took almost the entire gallon. I’m not sure there was any primer in the paint.

Whoever hung the old light fixture years ago put it off center from the vanity and mirror. It was the same with the bathroom downstairs and I’ll have to concoct a hollow artificial face plate in the shop so wires can be run through, then mount it covering the old hole, but so the fixture can be centered. I know why the old light was hung off center… rather than scab a two-by-four to hang the electrical box, the person simply fastened it to the closest stud and called it good enough. Who does that? Thanks to his unwillingness to do it right, I’ll get to remake it now and hopefully, will be centered and look nice in the end. I had to do the exact same thing in the downstairs bathroom.

I have walked my five miles each of the past two days. After slogging through snow, sometimes deep, in heavy clothes and boots all winter, it is almost a sinful pleasure to jog along wearing lightweight clothing and shoes.

I took a break from the bathroom this afternoon and shoveled the remaining snow from the back deck. It’s to be warm on Sunday and I hope to use the high-pressure washer then treat it with water seal. After, the summer patio furniture and swing will come out the barn. It’s that time of year!

Yooper Brother Mark and I will leave early in the morning for Stevens Point, Wisconsin, to meet Brutus and his owner. To say I’m excited would be a vast understatement. I’m a bit nervous, but only because I’ve wanted a good dog for quite a while. I almost feel like we’ve got company coming, only this guy will stay. There’s freedom from responsibilities when one doesn’t own a pet, but there’s also a lot of loneliness if one is by himself most of the time. I’m getting to the age where I’m looking forward to having a hiking partner and the company.

Sargie and I are going out tonight with Mark and Sheri for fish. Sargie should be home in the next half-an-hour and we’ll head into town. Hopefully the internet will be up and running this evening so I can get this uploaded. I’ll not be writing on Saturday morning as I hope to be out of the house before six. After all, a man’s work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road…

April 27, 2013 – Saturday evening

69 degrees/sunny/calm

Pentoga Road

Mark and I left this morning at 6:30 and were in Stevens Point a bit ahead of schedule. Brutus’s owners and I texted back and forth and it wasn’t long before we both arrived at our meeting place.

It was love at first sight. I saw how gentle Brutus was around their little boy, yet we played fetch and tug of war and I could see he was full of energy. When told, he sat immediately, lay down on command, and even offered both paws. There was no doubt, I wanted Brutus to become a part of our family.

He hopped in the back of the car as if following a script. I gave him a leather chew bone and he immediately became busy and stayed that way for most of the way home. If he wasn’t chewing, he was sight seeing out the side windows. I think the pup believes he’s human.

I introduced him to Pentoga Road and he was like a kid in a candy store. Though he never went far, he delighted in running around the yard and into the woods. Occasionally I’d whistle and he’d immediately return to my side.

Brutus found a snow bank and promptly dove in

We only walked three miles tonight. I’m not sure who was more tired, Brutus or Tom. He heels perfectly and most of the time, I didn’t even know he was on the leash. If I walk slower, he does the same. When I say stop, he immediately halts. I’ll teach him to automatically sit at any intersection but already does it on command.

One of our neighbors came outside and commented how well behaved Brutus was. I gave his former owners all the credit. They did a wonderful job of socializing and training him.

Though Brutus is supposed to be a purebred American Bulldog, I secretly think he’s a weird looking white Labrador retriever. Pentoga Lake (the giant puddle in back of the yard) is three feet deep in some places. Just for giggles, I threw Brutus’s toy into the water and he plunged in and swam to where the toy sunk. I was impressed, but the poor pooch couldn’t find it. I ended up wading out and showing him, but he didn’t want to get his face wet. Finally, when he was looking down at his toy, I pushed his head under and he grabbed it.

I took the toy and threw it again. He ran/swam to where it sank and this time, ducked under, blowing bubbles in the water the entire time, and retrieved it. From then on, playing fetch became a water activity. In fact, I had to drag him out of the water when we were finished.

So those are the initial Brutus stories for today. I think I wore him out. He’s stretched out on his doggie bed alongside my recliner sleeping. Armed with doggie goodies and treats, Sargie’s on her way home. I have a feeling that she and Brutus are going to be BFFs. He’s a very calm, very gentle, extremely smart, puppy dog. I’m feeling extremely good about our future together.

Brutus and I are going to hike our five miles first thing in the morning. After that, I hope to use the high-pressure washer on the back deck. After, I may start to rake the back yard. It’s that time of year. A man’s work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road…

The boys from Duck Dynasty and I hung out for a while on Wednesday and talked about a sister show... Yooper Deer Camp Dynasty. 

April 25, 2013 – Thursday

30 degrees/snow/drizzle/breezy

Pentoga Road

And just like that, Spring is gone. It arrived Wednesday morning in the form of sunshine, calm skies, and perfumed air that smelled of butterflies, bluebirds, flowers, and hearts. 

Today’s smells of snow, rain, mud, and cockleburrs.

Sunrise this morning. Lake Pentoga, center/back, continues to grow.

I made arrangements to meet and pick up Brutus on Saturday. It’s to be at 10 AM somewhere around Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Yooper Brother Mark and I will be leaving fairly early and I’m looking forward spending some quality guy-time together. He’s so busy and I’m so active that we don’t get that opportunity often.

Brutus’s owner had his veterinarian fax the pup’s medical records yesterday. He’s current on all his vaccinations and this will alleviate them being unnecessarily repeated.

Jimmy heard about Brutus's imminent arrival and is jealous. He hung around me all day Wednesday. The first trick; getting Jimmy to ride Brutus without getting chomped.

Most of Wednesday was spent working in the barn and shop. Some idiot must have spent the entire winter dropping his tools at the first available place and leaving. I sorted, sized, and put everything back in its proper place. Strange, when it’s twenty-below zero and one has been using a wrench barehanded, he doesn’t have the urge to carefully place it back in its proper order among the other wrenches.  That was yesterday’s job.

Stacking and sizing wood

Out of season stuff goes up and over the rafters

At this writing, most of the tools are where they belong, in order, wiped clean of grease and grime and ready for another season of heavy use. The workbench is still a mess as is the bin that contains nuts, bolts, and various goodies. Brutus can help me go through that stuff next week.

I made the journey to Iron Mountain late in the afternoon to go pooch goodie shopping. The ladies from the North Woods Animal Shelter were shopping in the pet section and I told them about Brutus. They’ve been cheering for me to find a pooch and were excited. All three made me promise I’d bring him by the shelter to introduce him.

Sargie and I exited Walmart with much lighter wallets. Brutus now has a huge cushy bed, fifty pounds of dog food, num nums and treats for training and good behavior, a leash, a couple of chew toys, a kennel… the pooch has it better than I do and he’s not even arrived.

I’m going to walk this morning, grade whatever papers have come in during the night, and attempt to paint in the upstairs bathroom. I’ve received notice that the flooring and light fixtures are in transit and with any luck at all, we might be able to finish the bathroom in fairly short order. That will be a huge project out the way.

These shelves, made by the previous owner, were in the upstairs bathroom. Though well made, we decided the hearts had to go. So...

Once they are painted, one won't even know the hearts are missing!

I see the forecasted highs for next week stretch into the 70’s. Just as I suspected, it appears as though we’ll skip spring this year and go immediately into summer. Thankfully, the snow as sunk into the ground rather than run off as melt water. While the rest of the Midwest seems to flooding, our melt has gone straight into the aquifer. It’s been a frustrating, but beneficial spring.

Time to grab another cup of coffee and begin looking at some assignments. A man’s work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road… 

I'm sure we're close to sealing a deal on Yooper Deer Camp Dynasty. I told him I'd have my man call his man and they could do lunch.

Armed with a stir stick and dressed in my old clothes, Sargie's getting ready to begin painting the bathroom ceiling.

April 24, 2013 – Wednesday

17 degrees/clear/calm/cold

Pentoga Road

I’m feeling a bit spunky this morning. No, darn it, I’m feeling spunky, sassy, AND perky. Oh yes, definitely perky. I finished my final exam to upload for the undergraduate class I teach yesterday. While Sargie was upstairs painting in the bathroom, I buried myself (and my computer) in work and as of 8 o’clock last night, finished.

Most students find final exams stressful. The same applies for this professor. When so much of the semester’s work and final outcome lies with one test, I feel very obligated to make it pertinent, worthwhile, and hopefully able to be used as a learning tool… right up to the very end. The test will be sent to the educational tech person today so it will magically appear online Friday. They’ll have five days to complete it and that will end the semester.

It appears official. Brutus the Bulldog is going to become the newest member of our Pentoga Road family. Yooper Brother Mark agreed to go with me on Saturday morning down to central Wisconsin. The Stevens Point area is about halfway to Rockford, Illinois. Brutus's owner and I texted back and forth last night and I’m to call him this morning to make final arrangements. I know Sargie’s and my lives are about to change by adding 120 lbs of American Bulldog to the mix. One thing I’m fairly certain of; Brutus and I will be walking five miles every day together. We’ll get a lot of his puppy energy burned off in a positive way.

My hiking buddy, Mandy Jo, called yesterday from Alaska and we talked about a pack for Brutus. If he’s going to be a canine hiker companion, he’ll have to carry his own weight. While he’s at it, he can carry some of mine. Mandy’s dogs have always carried packs. After Brutus settles in, I’ll begin working on his pack and work skills. The American Bulldog breed loves to work and be active. The bulldog in Brutus is about to have his dream come true. I wonder how his chain saw and computer skills are?

We took time out from our chores yesterday to take a short ride. Spring has arrived in our neck of the woods and suddenly the snow is sinking and there’s a promise in the air of nice days to come. The robins have magically appeared and are everywhere. I hear flocks of geese honking their way north and the garden area is slowly becoming visible once again. That itch to get out there and begin working is growing stronger. It must indeed be spring.

The hydro electric dam on the Paint River in Crystal Falls

The Bridge Over River Paint... hey, it was worth a try.

While I was performing academic wizardry on Tuesday, Sargie was painting the ceiling of the bathroom. It really looks nice and we’re anxious to apply the yellow to the walls. It’s slowly coming together and hopefully, will be finished in a few days. The flooring and fixtures are on order from Home Depot, but should arrive in short order.

I’m going to take my hike this morning, talk to Brutus’s owner along the way and make final preparations for a doggie exchange on Saturday, then return home to work in the bathroom. Since there’s not much I can mess up, I think I’ll try painting the walls. Other than caulking around the tub, we’ll be at a standstill until the new flooring arrives.

Sargie closes tonight at the Vision Center. It’s going to be a long day for her. I’m sure she’ll tell you that her day will be as busy (or busier) than mine and as we all know, a man’s work is never done.

When the snow disappears, Pentoga Lake, now lying under the remaining snow, will become visible. 

So are the tales from Pentoga Road…

If we want to talk on our cell phones, we have to go out by the road where the signal is stronger.