The leaves are beginning to change along the ATV trail

September 27, 2013 – Friday

51 degrees/clear/calm

Pentoga Road

Thursday was one of those types of days that a person wishes might last forever. The temperature approached seventy degrees, yet there was no humidity but enough breeze to keep any flies or gnats at bay. Perfect.

After my usual grading of papers in the morning, I took advantage of the day by finishing the construction of the chimney on Brutus’s house. Honestly, for something that should have been simple, I ran into all kinds of problems with knots in the wood, angles, and deciding how large/tall/wide to make the thing. Each difficulty was magnified every time I had to walk down the drive to the shop to make a simple cut or adjustment. Still, within two hours, the basic chimney was finished.

I decided to take the four-wheeler into town to deliver a couple of items to Yooper Brother Mark. I found him in the middle of several tasks at the plant where we talked a bit, but one would have thought the boy was working. I left him to his managerial activities after a few minutes and continued onto the hardware store where I purchased a small amount of paint to finish Brutus’s chimney.

The trip to town was like a ride through a wildlife park. I spotted a bear under a wild apple tree just a quarter of a mile down Pentoga Road. Several flocks of wild turkeys were seen, a partridge was almost hit, and multiple deer were seen grazing.

I returned later to paint the chimney and lay out the cement block pattern to imitate the flue on our house.

The antenna was started and hopefully, will be finished today. It involves a lot of drilling, some soldering, and if I can get the heat just right, a bit of welding.

I'm trying to make this antenna more powerful than mine so Brutus can receive all the Packers games.

I talked with a gentleman asking if I would consider building a doghouse to match his family home. After some discussion, I declined his invitation. The poor guy was under the impression I’m a craftsman of some type. I assured him I’m strictly a piddler, one who questionably qualifies as a Jack-of-all-trades and definitely is a master of absolutely nothing.

Sargie gave me a great surprise and pulled in the drive early last night. For the first time in a long time, we enjoyed the late afternoon outside and ate supper at a normal hour. She spent the rest of the evening cleaning and preparing for her weekend ahead.

In looking for a particular picture from the past last night, I stumbled across many from Alaska, some from Maine, and of course, those that have been taken since the house on Pentoga Road entered my life. Poor Sargie was trying to clean and I kept saying, “Come here and look at this one!” It’s a wonder the girl got anything done. Looking at the pictures was a mostly good trip down memory lane.

Here I'm lecturing, via satellite, while teaching from my porch north of the Arctic Circle.

Sargie will be joining her sisters beginning today and through the weekend along the shores of Lake Superior in Marquette where a walk-a-thon/fundraiser for Alzheimer’s research will be occurring. It’s been well over a year since we’ve spent a night, let alone two, apart. I’m glad she’ll get to enjoy some quality family/girl time and no doubt, there’ll be some power shopping going on. Cale and Macrea also live in Marquette, so I’m betting Mom will treat two of her sons to lunch or supper… or maybe the sons will treat Mom.

Brutus and I are not without our chores. I want to finish his antenna today and get it mounted. After, I think I’ll mow the grass and trails. It really doesn’t need it, yet there are just enough high places where the grass has grown that it’s beginning to look a bit shabby.

Andy and Mollie are scheduled to leave today to begin their drive from Louisiana. We’re really excited about their visit and the best part is they’ll be back in December for Christmas. Life continues to get better.

So that’s my life on this Friday morning. It’s time to greet the day. After all, a man’s work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road… 

Brutus's antenna wasn't the only one worked on Thursday. I ran a speaker wire out the shop and fastened it onto a popple pole, then hung it from another. I'm now able to pull in stations from as far away as Iron Mountain and Marquette. The secret? I think one has to have an old ice fishing shack where to prop it up to make the whole thing work.