Neighbor Mike doing some exact Yooper chainsaw work on his log deer blind

September 20, 2013 – Friday

66 degrees/cloudy/calm-humid

Pentoga Road

I just finished looking at my online bank statement and see that the first paycheck for this semester was deposited. As the government keeps deducting more and more money to satisfy their burgeoning national deficit, welfare, and socialized medical programs, there won’t be much left for those who actually work or have saved and earned the right to retire. It doesn’t seem fair, but then no one ever said life is fair.

Whew, where did this humidity come from? The high for today is supposed to be 64 degrees. It’s already 66. Looks as though the weatherman lied… again. Thursday was very warm, in the upper 70’s, with 100% humidity. It was foggy all morning then misted the rest of the day. Last night brought heavy rain and thunderstorms, but it didn’t clear the air. I believe a cold front is to come chugging through sometime today. I hope so.

Sargie and I were up early so she could take me into town to get the truck loaded with wood. We later left the truck at home then rode onto Iron Mountain together. I kissed her goodbye at the Vision Center and made stops at a hardware store going out of town and later, in Crystal Falls, to take advantage of a one-day sale at the local grocery.

I took the trike for my maiden peddle. I figured a ten-mile trip would be good. In the end, it was more like a short three-miler and my legs were burning by the time I returned back home. This bike seems to be geared, all 24 of them, for fast road travel. I wish it had two or three lower gears to make climbing hills (or future mountains) easier. Still, after a summer of inactivity and being ten to fifteen pounds overweight, I need to get back into shape. This bike should help me do just that. I’m going to begin walking again, so between the two, the lack of lower gears should make little difference.

I was about to start working on the band saw when Neighbor Mike called and asked if I might give him a hand. He’s been building a log deer blind from poles that came out of an old barn on his property. We played, I mean worked, the next several hours in the name of putting meat on the table this coming deer season. I always enjoy my time with Mike. He’s full of stories about this area and being a retired teacher, we talk the same language.

Sargie was home early last night. We fixed super nachos for supper and spent the evening watching television. I was tired from a day of being retired and went to bed early.

I can't figure our why I'm ten to fifteen pounds overweight. Nachos, smothered in jalapeño peppers and all the fixings. One of my favorite food groups.

Sargie’s off today. She said she wanted to help me unload the firewood from the truck and I can certainly make that wish come true. I want to make a trip into town and purchase an electric trim chain saw that is mounted on the end of a nine-foot pole. Sargie gave me holy heck the other night for earlier working from the top rung of an extension ladder while trimming tree branches. The trim saw will be safer and is on sale.

Sargie and I head to Appleton, Wisconsin, tomorrow to Great Niece Brielle’s first birthday party. All the Mighty Milligans will be there and it should be a fun time. We’ll leave early in the morning to do a drive-by of Sam’s Club in Green Bay for groceries before heading to the party and hope to be home by dark Saturday evening so we don’t have to dodge quite so many deer.

It’s time to move along and begin grading this morning’s electronic pile of weekly assignments.

You know, a man’s work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road…