June 14, 2014 - Saturday morning
34 degrees/foggy/calm
Pentoga Road

It's a good thing Andy looked at the weather forecast late Friday afternoon and saw there was a forecast for frost or I'd have probably lost the delicate plants and all our flowers due to frost. 

I even employed Uncle Terry's drop cloth that he forgot last summer to cover the hanging flower planter

Living in the valley, we're usually a few degrees colder than everyone else around. Everything was covered last night and the plants should live for another day.


Andy arrived on Wednesday as scheduled. We've had more fun digging holes, moving rocks and dirt, and landscaping. The far side yard is looking much better than I ever dreamed and already, I'm making mental plans to move my greenhouse and attach it to a potting shed (yet to be built), pound a sand point well, and... who knows? 

As usual, I'll let the pictures do the talking. 

We stopped to see Yooper Brother Mark at the plant. Attending an upcoming  game or two at Lambeau Field and talking about the Packers was high on the agenda.

Andy hasn't forgotten how to split wood! Together, we worked up an entire truck load in under an hour.

One open wood shed is filled with another to go. Plus, there's still the brown wood shed to be filled. Getting ready for next winter will be an ongoing summer project right up until snow flies.

I came up with a new way to move the backhoe long distances. I pick up the front end with the loader on the Ford tractor and simply tow it while backing up. It's simple and so much easier than taking the time to move the wheels and stabilizers.

I was lifting a large boulder of several hundred pounds with the tractor on Thursday evening when a hydraulic hose broke and sprayed fluid everywhere. It was Andy to the rescue. He patched the hose good enough to get the tractor to the barn, then after having a new one made on Friday morning, replaced the old one and we were back in business.

Towing the backhoe from the front meadow to the side yard.

We're having fun and getting lots of landscaping done. I'm going to kidnap Andy this morning and take him fishing. He loves "playing backhoe" and the yard and surrounding area is beginning to look like a combination park/golf course. 

We spend no small amount of time laughing, often so hard that we have tears in our eyes. After spending many hours alone with Brutus, who's a great companion, but slow on conversation, I'm enjoying the company a great deal. 

Andy's here until the 20th and we have plans to go kayaking, fishing, and of course, there's backhoe to play. 

But then, I'm not surprised. 

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...