July 30, 2014 - Wednesday
46 degrees/clear/calm
Pentoga Road

The past two days have been pretty mundane, being filled with mowing, gardening, a bit of construction, and landscaping. 

 Mom and Brutus keeping a discerning eye on my work.

I've walked five miles each day and am happy that with my fourth toe taped to the little one on my right foot, I have absolutely no pain. I'm more eager than ever to begin the Pictured Rocks hike starting a week from Friday. It's been quite the journey during the past twelve months. There was the knee procedure last summer, taking a full year to recover, then the Morton's Neuroma  reocurring two months ago. Mom keeps saying that age is only a number, but as the number gets higher, it seems I have to occasionally remind my body.



I've been working in and around the garden. For the first time this summer, I've had to begin watering. It's not critical, but we could certainly use a good, old-fashioned, all-day rain. Compared to the drought we suffered three, four, and five years ago, we're in good shape.



I picked the first batch of this season's cucumbers on Tuesday. Hopefully, there'll be a few more in the next day or two and I can begin making bread and butter pickles. I purchased all the ingredients on Tuesday.





The landscaping and side yard are coming together very nicely. Hopefully, the next few days will see it finished. 

These aren't rocks in this hole, they are boulders, many weighing several hundred pounds each. Andy dug the five to six foot deep hole while he was here earlier this summer.

No more hole! The excess dirt will be scraped into more low lying areas.

I'm getting excited about my upcoming hike. I think I'll start wearing my backpack with fifteen to twenty pounds of weight on my daily walks. It's been two years since I've done any serious long-distance trekking and I want to eliminate of as many bugs in my equipment as possible.

Checking for any problems with my hammock. The only problem I've found so far is that I tend to fall asleep.

Today is Mom's last in the UP as she's scheduled to depart on Thursday's noon flight. I'm not sure where the past two weeks have gone, but they've flown by all too quickly. For sure, I'm going to miss my building buddy!

I hope to finish the worst section in the side yard later today. Mom and I are going to run a few errands in town first and tonight, we're going to have a big fish fry of bluegill filets, deep fried mushrooms, French fries, and cole slaw made from cabbage out of the garden.

This is what happens to a full grown cabbage after a sudden downpour of rain in dry weather. There was no room for it to grow, so it split as it swelled with water. This cabbage will be made into Wednesday night's coleslaw.

But first, it's time to get a cup of coffee and listen to the news. 

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