May 31, 2014 - Saturday
52 degrees/sunny/calm
Pentoga Road

Okay, so who stole May? I mean, really, where'd the month go? We couldn't get rid of March and the end of winter, April came skipping in, and suddenly, it's one day away from June. Lord almighty, there simply aren't enough hours in the day when the weather's warm, nor are there enough days in the month. 

A late flock of geese heading north on Friday morning

An update on Baby Grady; he's fully off the respirator now and doing quite well. Hopefully, we're down to counting days before he can come home rather than weeks. Before we know it, I'll be throwing the little guy on the back of the four wheeler and we'll heading off into the woods for some quality guy-time.

The backhoe continues to work well. Here I'm digging out an old pile of logs and boulders. The area will soon become part of the back yard.

I made fourteen pints of rhubarb jam on Thursday. Using orange juice rather than water, with added sugar, it came out pretty good, even if I say so myself!

I swamped out an old road along the other side of the garden on Thursday just in time to receive the five yards of top soil I'd ordered. It will be used to fill the new raised beds as well as Sargie's flower pots and planters.

It's been a long winter without fresh fish. I spent Thursday afternoon readying the boat and my tackle for another season of putting meat on the table.

The mosquitoes have been horrendous this spring. I had to be careful that I didn't inhale any while fishing.

Friday night's supper

It's nice having an entire lake to myself

The Direct TV receiver in the bedroom quit working. The repairman quickly found the problem; water had dribbled in the cable causing corrosion. Problem solved!

I started making new raised beds within the garden area. First the wood chips had to be removed, then the plastic mulch underneath. After, the incline had to be dealt with. I'll finish digging today and hopefully will set the first frame, then fill it with new topsoil.

It's been hot so Brutus and I have been going to the lake each day for an afternoon swim. 

Sargie's preparing the fillets for Friday night's fish fry

We do the frying over a propane burner in the garage to keep the odor and grease out of the house.

Sargie is working some long hours due to coworkers' vacations. She's closed three times this week meaning she gets home just in time to go to bed so she can get up the next morning and begin all over again.

With summer in full swing, I often have four or five jobs going at once here on Pentoga Road. Added now is putting meat on the table which means I have to go fishing at least twice a week, sometimes more. 

This life of retirement isn't for the weak of heart, but then I'm not surprised.

You know, a man's work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Sometimes it feels SO GOOD to roll in a pile of dirt then beg to go to the lake to be washed off.