My oldest grandbaby, Abigail, holding one of their bunnies that was born a couple of weeks ago.

November 23, 2014 - Sunday

44 degrees/cloudy/calm

Pentoga Road

I was going to take advantage of the warmer temperatures on Saturday and work on the fish shack until Yooper Brother Mark called, saying that there was quite a pile of wood on the ground at the plant and to come get it.

What followed over the next fifteen minutes is reminiscent of The House that Jack Built. I had to shovel the snow from in front of the snowmobile so I might move the tractor to finally be able to drive the Man Truck from alongside the wood shed. It was a process, but with the truck finally freed from the tethers of early winter, I was soon chugging into town.

I spent the next hour-and-a-half throwing wood into the bed of the truck. It's all soft wood, the butt ends of logs that were too long to be processed for animal bedding. 

Many who burn wood would never consider using softwood, mostly popple (aspen) and red pine or spruce, as fuel... it burns rather fast and isn't always the cleanest, but I'm here all day anyway and filling the stove once an hour with wood isn't a problem. I've always loved working with firewood, hard or soft, and have found that in retirement, it's become somewhat of a hobby.

After talking with Mark for a bit, I finished loading the truck and retraced my route back home.

I've NEVER loaded a truck then worked up all the wood and put it away in one day, even when I was much younger. 

With a forecast of freezing rain, I wanted to get the load split and under cover as soon as possible. The next five hours were spent doing just that. In the end, I'd set a new record for myself. It was an empty truck that I parked back alongside the woodshed last night. Both woodsheds are completely full.

With the warmer temperatures, the snow has been falling off the metal roof and onto the patio. I spent almost an hour shoveling and scooping, getting ready for the next big snowstorm.

My son, Luke, began wading into the rabbit business while I was visiting in early October. He's remodeled the original coop for both chickens and rabbits, keeping both separate, yet under one roof.

One of his original does, Sarah, had a litter a couple of weeks ago and Luke finds himself as other rabbiteers have before him, flush with bunnies!

Ol' Coleman has, literally, a snuggle bunny

Luke and I have been talking bunny rabbits since last summer and like his father, has never been known to do anything half measure. When Luke jumps into the water of life, he doesn't wade in, he picks the deep end and let's 'er rip.

Well, darn his hide anyway, because of Luke, I've caught the bunny bug and am making plans to acquire a couple of does and a buck next spring. The meat is low fat and delicious (I've done the bunny thing before) and just as importantly, I need the manure to use as fertilizer in the garden. Sargie isn't quite as enthusiastic, but when I fix rabbit for supper, I'll tell her the same thing I did the boys when they were little... that it's really chicken. Mmm...

Considering I had a day-long workout yesterday working up firewood, my body feels pretty good this morning. Though my brain thinks I'm forty years younger, the rest of my body refuses to believe it. I wish they could coordinate. It would make my life much easier.

Sargie's off today and we'll take our weekly drive into town after the Packers/Vikings game. 

Tomorrow brings my dumb-down day as a fourth of my wisdom will be removed. My upper right wisdom tooth is due to be pulled at 11:30. 

Until then, I think I'll spend any spare time today grading papers and thinking deep thoughts... while I still have them.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Even big, tough, Firefighter Luke, isn't impervious to a baby bunny.