Surrounded by shredded leaves from an earlier onslaught of hail, the great pumpkin is still growing. It should be ready for Halloween.

August 29, 2013 – Thursday

60 degrees/cloudy/calm

Pentoga Road

I awakened at 3 this morning after sleeping too long in the wrong position. No matter how I moved, my heart insisted it be felt in my left knee. I lay between the sheets feeling each and every beat and finally gave up any hope of going back to sleep.

I think the current knee-thing is a positive turn of events. Just a week or two ago, I’d have been incapable of falling asleep in the wrong position. It simply would have been too painful. It’s healing… very slowly. Now that I’m up and around, my heart has migrated back to its rightful place and the joint seems almost normal.

No writing was done Wednesday morning. There simply wasn’t much to write about. The UP, like the rest of the Midwest, has been stuck in a high-pressure system that has refused to budge. A storm moved through the area Tuesday night and left 2.25 inches of precipitation in its wake. 

Rather than lessening the muggy air, it served to ratchet up the moisture leaving everything damp and sticky. Consequently, I did what needed to be done before noon and spent the rest of the day inside.

I’ve worked the past two mornings on Brutus’s doghouse. Progress has been slow. I make a mark, check the angle, recheck it, then often cut in the wrong place. Thankfully, I’m using light and less expensive 2x2’s for framing. This project has turned out to be an exercise in patience and humility. I’m retired and time is one thing I have plenty of. After being built and completely torn apart, the garage is finally framed. It is designed to be bolted to the house and serves as a cunnisuk, an Inupiaq Alaskan arctic porch, that blocks any direct wind.

I also began cutting out the foam insulation for the roof and walls. The overgrown pup should be warm when using his digs this winter.

I was distraught Tuesday morning when my band saw once again broke down. A hinge that keeps the upper wheel taut and supplies tension on the blade cracked and fell apart. It’s made of simple pot metal and the years and metal fatigue became too much.

My band saw is a major part of my shop. It’s handy and I can more easily see what I’m cutting than with any other piece of equipment. Thankfully, I found the part online for under $20.

I’ve been cleaning the garage and it’s beginning to look like a… garage. How have we accumulated so much? Everything is slowly finding a permanent resting place (including the dump) and the barn and garage are being made ready for the coming winter months. The garage door is beginning to show further signs of weakness and might have to be replaced before bad weather arrives. I made repairs late last spring, but the wood is beginning to rot at the bottom. I’d hoped to get one more year of use, but I’m not sure the board across the bottom can be replaced. It’s hinged and fits with the rest of the door in an intricate manner. I’ll probably just bite the bullet; get a decent door and an automatic opener.

I went into town on Wednesday to purchase a small can of stain for the bathroom window and came up on a caravan of ATV riders. Turned out it was an entire family. Dad was leading with the children carefully following.

Now that hot weather has arrived, the garden has begun producing. I picked a pail of green beans, carrots, beets, a small zucchini, broccoli, and tomatoes just before supper last night.

 Sargie cut everything but the beets onto foil and covered all in Italian dressing to let simmer on the grill along with bratwurst patties. A better summer supper has never been had.

My new metal detector arrived yesterday and I played with it until the sweat started pouring into my eyes. Beneath the surface in the backyard, I found a broken file, pieces of tin beer cans, an old fencing staple, and other bits of buried treasure. Just because the above ground has been made litter free doesn’t mean below isn’t a dump. As soon as the temperatures return to normal, I hope to explore several nearby areas, no doubt to discover rare and ancient artifacts worth thousands, if not millions, of dollars. Failing that, it ought to be fun to simply dig around and see what turns up.

So that’s the news from the past two days. Sargie’s working some long hours this week. She’s off Saturday, but will be at the Vision Center on Sunday and Labor Day.

If it ever cools off, there’re all kinds of chores, inside and out, that need doing. With the heat and humidity, I’ve not been overly energetic.

Meanwhile, it's time to pour another cup of coffee, listen to the news, and think deep thoughts. After all, a man’s work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road…

Sargie's off to work