From the ground it doesn't seem that high, but when looking down the ladder...

February 20, 2014 – Thursday

24 degrees/clear/calm

Pentoga Road

Depending on who you listen to, we’re in for a storm that can dump from an inch of rain, followed by two inches of snow, up to sixteen inches of pure snow, depending on where the storm tracks. This time of year, I’d much rather have the snow. If the rain freezes, we could have a real mess and probably no electricity for quite some time. Not much we can do about it either way, so let ‘er rip. Thankfully, whatever we receive is not to get here until three this afternoon, giving us ample time to get to Iron Mountain and back.

Wednesday was the first day we’ve had since November 17^th that got above 40 degrees. It was wonderful… absolutely gorgeous.

I began the day by shoveling the snow from the living room roof. I’m thankful I began as early as I did. Once the snow began to melt, about halfway through the job, the tin roof became very slippery. It was hard to stand, let alone move the heavy, wet, snow. Still, in the end, I got the majority of the weight removed and fell only once.

Before

After

Shoveling the snow from the Man Truck went quite a bit easier. Getting the full garbage cans from in back of the west woodshed proved more challenging. Wading through waist-deep snow, I had to wrestle each one to the drive, then hoist it into the truck. This was one chore where Brutus was absolutely worthless. No matter how much he stayed at my side and tried, he was helpless when it came to dragging and loading the trash. He gets an A for effort. He tried.

The trip to the dump was uneventful, although it’s beginning to get expensive. When I first bought the house, the minimum charge was $16. It’s now $21. I guess I shouldn’t complain. I only go twice a year making it much less expensive than curbside pickup… and that’s a good thing as we have no curbs on Pentoga Road.

The snow on the trees is the result of the spray from the plow as it rushes by when clearing the roads

I used the snow rake and removed a goodly amount of heavy white stuff from the front porch roof. I was hoping it would slide down on it’s own, but in the end, it took a bit of coaxing. I didn’t care. It was an excuse to remain outside and play. 

Hmm, there were still a couple of hours of daylight. I hurriedly came in and strapped on my hiking boots for my daily, if somewhat delayed, walk. The southerly breeze blowing, the occasional smell of dirt… perfect. I took my time and enjoyed each step. What a privilege to be outside on a perfect day.

Brutus and I ended Wednesday by playing fetch. He ran and ran much like a kindergartener turned loose from the classroom at recess time. I wasn’t the only one celebrating the brief respite from winter.

Sargie had to work late so I spent the rest of the day and evening reading and grading papers. After a hot shower, a bowl of soup, and sitting by the wood stove, it was all I could do to keep from nodding off. Sargie arrived after 9 PM and we had a short evening watching the end of the Olympic figure skating competition.

We head to Iron Mountain in a bit. Sargie has a hair appointment. I’m going to the auto glass place armed with my Kindle and knowledge that there’ll be a two-hour wait. It’s our intentions to head to the Chinese buffet restaurant after for a big noon meal, then we’ll zip home before the storm arrives.

Sargie and I are both in great moods as this is the first of her four-day mini vacation. Since she has to use vacation days or lose them, she’ll also have the first week of March off. Now if only the weather will cooperate. If not, that’s okay too. We have plenty of canned food in the basement and lots of wood with which to keep warm.

Time to get this uploaded and grab a quick cup of coffee before we depart.

You know, a man’s work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road…