Holly for Christmas? No, just asparagus berries that have turned red. 

October 5, 2014 - Sunday 

34 degrees/cloudy/windy

Pentoga Road

I've spent the past two days sitting on the inside looking out, watching the rain and wind, hoping that we get another two or three weeks of decent weather before it gets too cold. I've made great strides working in the basement, but that can be done during the winter months. Hopefully the month of October will be a good one in the weather department.

Mark came out to see me on Friday afternoon and we had a good visit. He also took me back into town so I could drive the truck home filled with wood. I hope to get it worked up today, at least emptied.

You can see a dent has been made in the wood bin on the left. With the early freezes we've experienced this late summer and fall, I've begun burning wood sooner than usual.

It's been a time of seed collection, to pick out those vegetables that grew well this summer and save the seeds to propagate next growing season. I picked some Italian beans, those given to me by sister-in-law, Holly, that were given to her by a family friend. An heirloom variety, they grew well this past summer, were somewhat sweeter in flavor than the traditional pole bean, and I think will also make excellent dried beans for soup and stews in the future. I had just a few this year and other than one or two pickings, anything I raised were saved as seed for the coming years. 

Italian beans in the pods

... then shelled and spread out to dry for next year's seed

I also gathered seeds from the four varieties of tomatoes I grew this year. All did well and are about the earliest producing I can find for this area; Siberian, Scotia, Beaver Lodge, and the Ukrainian Kibit. 

Unfortunately, tomato seeds have to be somewhat rancid before being dried, so I have them in small bowls of water by the wood stove. I'll scoop them out of the "glop" before I leave to visit the sons on Tuesday morning, let them dry while I'm gone, then package those when I arrive back home.

I had a few jalapeño peppers hanging on the plants that were simply too good to go to waste.

 I spent some time on Saturday making hot pickled peppers.

I made the mistake in years' past of cutting hot peppers without wearing gloves... and spent the rest of the day with my hands under cold running water. As it was on Saturday, I must have wiped my brow while working with the raw peppers as it burned into the evening hours.

Seed from the biggest and best jalapeños were also saved for next year's planting.

Sargie arrived home by mid-afternoon from the funeral. It sounded as though she and sister Jeanne got caught up on any conversation during the two hour car ride and since Macrea drove down from Marquette, Grandma Sargie got to hold and see Grady. 

Sargie works today, the last Sunday the Vision Center is to be open for the foreseeable future. I hope to work up some of the wood in the pickup, refill the wood bin, and store the rest under a tarp behind. 

I know there are papers waiting to be graded. Other than that, I'll see if I can find the energy to throw an occasional log of the fire.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...