With another six to eight inches of wet snow, even the electric fence wire is sagging. So much for spring.

March 28, 2014 – Friday

24 degrees/overcast – snow/breezy

Pentoga Road

Poor Sargie came through the door last night and was absolutely exhausted. She’d left Iron Mountain around 5 PM and didn’t arrive home until after 8, a drive that normally takes 45 minutes. Wet, sticky, heavy, snow had been falling throughout the afternoon and at one point, the National Weather Service said it was accumulating at the rate of one to two inches an hour.

She was driving the Blazer, but the snow was so sticky that it quickly clogged the tire treads and it was as though she was driving a giant snowball on very slippery roads.

Sargie was coming up a steep hill and the Blazer began to lose traction and came to a halt near the top. A county plow truck came along and backed up to the SUV, spreading sand in front, then the driver asked Sargie if she wanted him to try to get the Blazer up the hill. She gladly agreed and once they reached where he’d sanded, the SUV gained traction.

There was another time Sargie found herself sideways in the road and couldn’t go forwards or backwards. It was the drive from hell, but she made it.

Pentoga Road hasn’t been cleared yet this morning and Sargie’s staying home today. I’m not sure who aged more last night, Sargie, who was white knuckling it all the way home, or me, who was worried sick the entire time.

Yooper Brother Mark picked me up yesterday morning and we made our way to Rock, Michigan. To make a long story short, I didn’t buy the backhoe. We learned that the seller had purchased it four or five years ago and had never used the thing. Meanwhile, it had been sitting the entire time. There were two or three major leaks in the hydraulic system and simply put, the thing didn’t work.

Mark and I believe there may have been more wrong than the seller was telling us as he didn’t offer to replace the leaking fluid so we could see it operate. He simply said it would work fine once filled. We weren’t so sure.

I asked him his bottom dollar. He told me and I countered for exactly half that figuring if I could purchase it cheap enough, I’d be able to replace what was needed and come out okay. He shook his head back and forth we came back home. The last thing I need is someone else’s problems, then have the privilege of getting to spend some major dollars fixing them.

I’ve decided to order a new backhoe out of California. It carries a three-year/parts and labor warrantee and the ratings on the machine are outstanding. In talking with others who have purchased that same model, all, including a couple of gold miners in Alaska, have raved about how well it works and the dependability. Hopefully, I’ll take delivery in May.

Mark and I stopped at Menards Lumber in Escanaba on our way home. I purchased a sand point to drive a well in the garden for irrigation and the necessary couplings. I was going to purchase the sand point in Green Bay, but I found the identical one for almost $15 less. Buying it was a no brainer.  

We arrived back home Thursday afternoon and I began grading papers. Snow started to fall and at one point, I couldn’t see the barn from the living room. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen flakes that numerous and large.

I plowed the drive last night before Sargie arrived home and see that several more inches of snow fell since. I’ll plow again this morning then spend the rest of the day grading papers and final projects. I don’t think we’ll be going anywhere, at least until the county plow comes through.

Yooper Brother Mark just called saying he’d been plowing snow at the plant since 4:30 this morning. He said that at one point, he witnessed an electrical transformer blow somewhere in town and that it was like watching a fireworks display on the Fourth of July.

It’s time to get another cup of tea, get this uploaded, listen to the news, and think a few deep thoughts.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road…