There's definitely frost on the pumpkin this morning

September 16, 2013 – Monday

30 degrees/clear/calm

Pentoga Road

What hasn’t been killed previously in the garden by frost will be withering after this morning’s freeze. I just walked out onto the deck to get an armful of wood and almost fell onto my backside. The thick coating of frost has made the surface downright slippery.

Sunday was a real combo platter of activities… or lack of them. I spent a good part of the morning grading papers. It was rainy and cold and my want to go outside was something less than slim to nil. Neighbor Mike called and said one of his apple trees was loaded with delicious fruit. They’d picked all they could use and offered the rest to me.

Apples are one of my favorite fruits, especially the old-fashioned, non-hybrid, heirloom varieties. Those of Mike’s taste like the type that grew around our home when I was a little boy; pure, tart, and crunchy. They don’t have the lack of flavor like most found in a grocery store’s produce section.

Two full bags were plucked from the branches and I munched several more while picking. It was an activity I enjoyed a great deal.

I returned home to watch the Packers beat up the Washington Redskins. They still are making some mistakes, but are beginning to look like real contenders. As some of our guys come back from injuries, we should get nothing but better.

Sargie and I made our usual Sunday afternoon jaunt to town. After, Sargie made an apple cake from some of those I'd picked earlier.

Sargie's homemade, right-out-of-the-oven, apple cake was about the best I've ever eaten.

Later in the afternoon, I worked in the barn. The tools have been put away and now there are scraps of wood, saw dust, and an occasional nail to sweep up from the floor. I don’t need any senseless flat tires.

The geraniums were pulled yesterday and placed on newspaper down the basement. As soon as they are dry enough, I'll bind them together with twine and hang them from the ceiling. Hopefully they'll spring back to life next spring to flower for yet another year.

Mark and Sheri stopped for a visit. Sheri wanted to pick a bag of green tomatoes and we also pulled a few other garden goodies, carrots, a parsnip, and a large turnip. After this morning’s freeze, I’ll be turning my attentions to harvesting the root crops. Several, including the parsnips, only get better with freezing weather, turning the starch to sugar.

Sargie’s back to work today. There are no less than seventeen assignments that came in during the night to read and grade. The barn still needs my attention and after it warms up, I’ll load the little four-wheeler into the Man Truck and drive to Mark’s plant, then ride the four-wheeler home, leaving the truck for a load of wood. I hope to stockpile enough for next spring’s maple syrup boil.

So there’s plenty to be done on Pentoga Road, but first, I need to get another cup of coffee and listen to the news.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road… 

Brutus in his attack mode