June 20, 2013 – Thursday

49 degrees/clear/calm

Pentoga Road

I’m up way too early this morning, but keeping it positive, I know my heart is strong. I can feel each and every beat in my left knee. I finally gave up trying to get comfortable around 4 AM and came downstairs so Sargie could sleep.

Wednesday was a perfect birthday. Sargie made sure that whatever I wanted to do or needed, she’d be there to wait on me.

There was a large wood shelf and another woodbin that didn’t get carried in by the pavers. With Sargie driving the tractor and operating the front-end loader, we got them back in the barn. I was grateful that she saved me from having to climb on and off the tractor a million times.

I filled an upside down flowering hummingbird feeder Sheri had given me a couple of weeks ago with potting soil and red petunias and hung it from the old apple tree. After plucking off the old blooms, I’m hoping it will have bright red flowers by next week and attract even more of the pint-sized birds.

I also noticed yesterday that it’s time to refill the feeder with sugar water. The hummingbirds have really been active this year.

We spent the afternoon fishing on one of the local lakes. The weather was absolutely perfect with the temperature in the low 70’s, no humidity, sunny skies, and light breezes.

Sargie was the guide and oarsman and drawing on her Yooper-girl instincts, put me onto the bluegills. Using a fly rod and small poppers, the fish weren’t huge, but the majority were nice and in the end, we brought home twenty, more than enough for a good old-fashioned fish fry in the near future. 

I filleted our catch at the new cleaning table in the garden. What a treat it is to have running water and keep all that mess outside. If Dad were still alive, he’d think he was in high cotton. In the old days, we used a 1x8 board covered in newspaper on the garage floor when cleaning fish. Now, I get to stand and process the fish at waist height and keep everything clean with a constant supply of fresh water.

The biggest surprise of the day was the new “tough” camera Sargie gave me; one that is shock, water, dust, and cold-proof, to replace the one that died a few weeks ago. It has all the bells and whistles, including high definition video and a GPS. It’s wonderful. Thanks again, honey. 

She also have me a fifty foot hose that when not in use, crumples into a very small space. I’m going to put a “Y” connection onto our main water supply outside, use the new hose around the deck and house area and the conventional old hoses for the garden.

Sargie took me out for pizza last night. We had a very relaxing supper simply talking and stuffing our faces.

And to top it all off, we came home and ate carrot cake that Sargie had made earlier in the day and ice cream for dessert. The two-layer cake was baked to perfection. She added extra raisins and grated carrots and covered it with coconut. That girl can bake a good cake! Again, thanks for the perfect day, sweetheart. It was wonderful.

I heard from Mom and the boys yesterday, and Yooper Brother Mark called last night. He and Sheri are pulling their new trailer to a local lake to try it out this weekend and we might try to catch up with them on Saturday evening for supper.

Sargie’s back to work today although she has off Friday, but works Saturday. I have to call the insurance company to let them know about Monday’s procedure. I also have to return a call to the hospital to find out what time I need to be there on Monday morning. The frost blankets need to be folded and put away, there’s the barn that is calling me to come and arrange, and of course, there’s those darn fish that are begging to be caught.

If only you were me, but then a man’s work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road…