The biggest building project begins with the first board. So began the strawberry pyramid.

March 13, 2015 - Thursday
36 degrees/partly cloudy/calm
Pentoga Road

It's promising to be another nice day in the North Woods. I'm not sure what we did to deserve this almost-perfect weather, but no one seems to be questioning the reason. We're simply enjoying the warmth and sunshine.

Wednesday began with my usual five-mile stroll. I wore my ultra-light hiking shoes for the first time this year. Those, combined with dry roads, allowed me to finish fifteen minutes earlier than normal. I was a picking them up and putting them down.

I resumed cleaning the barn, even expanding into the garage. It's an ongoing project, this cleaning thing. I hung and put objects away, thew away stuff that was once deemed to valuable to live without, and it seemed a fire burned in the barrel most of the morning. 

The ice fishing equipment was even put away for the year with the Clam sled hung high on the barn wall. Even with all the warm weather, I could fish for another two or three weeks, but I'm totally into getting ready for the warmer months ahead. We've got plenty of fish in the freezers and it shouldn't be that long before I'll be angling from my small fishing boat, catching bluegills for that night's meal. 

One thing, when the real spring arrives, I'll have a head start on many of those chores I usually do in April and/or May. 

Construction on the strawberry pyramid was started and I've never seen so many angles. Even the angles have angles. I discovered a few flaws in the plans I'm using. If one is making a brace that is 90 degrees and the two angles used don't add up to 90, it's pretty hard for it to be correct. In the end, I decided to change some of the plans. So far so good. I'm hoping to have the pyramid completed by day's end, tomorrow at the latest. 

Talk about angles. Lord, almighty. I had Dad's old sabre saw cocked clear over to cut a 45 degree angle on this treated post. I later revised the plans to make the entire project a bit more "builder friendly."

If it all works, the end game should see me building three pyramids to replace the large strawberry bed that is currently growing alongside the barn. Each structure will grow 90 strawberry plants, more than adequate for Sargie's and my needs (along with the second patch in the orchard) and the pyramids will bring the berries closer to eye level so I don't have to crawl around looking for the ripe ones. 

The main frame. The real work will begin today. More angles, more measuring, more cutting... more muttering.

I ordered a new utility trailer that will be picked up in Green Bay next Thursday, Sargie's next day off from work. It's 6.5' by 10' with a read fold-up ramp. I hate to say it but the man-truck is going to be retired from the open road. Since the frame rusted through in the middle, I've been a bit leery about using it to haul wood from Yooper Brother Mark's plant, fearing that it would simply fold when full of wood as I'm going down the road. The old beast will be used only on our forty acres to haul wood. 

I threw a couple of pork loins on the grill last night and along with baked potatoes, Sargie and I had a great supper. The poor girl works late tonight and with it being Lent, there'll be no meat in this evening's meal. Looks like a salad night on Pentoga Road.



Neighbor Mike is down at his camp and I'll go up there this morning and sip coffee while catching up on all the gossip. After, I want to continue my cleaning and hope to resume my construction project later. 

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road... 

Bless his heart... Brutus wants to help, but when I'm building, he's always under foot. I bend down to look at a cut or mark and he shoves his head in for a look too, often moving mine out of the way. If I say something, he simply turns his head, looks at me, and gives me a big, sloppy, bulldog lick on the face.
I finally gave him his favorite toy, the tennis ball, and moved him out of the shop. He lay on the outside looking in, chewing his ball and seemed content to supervise.