One of the parsnips harvested Tuesday afternoon

April 7, 2015 - Tuesday morning
29 degrees/cloudy/calm
Pentoga Road

We're suddenly awash in robins. One of those here today/gone tomorrow type of things. Where'd they come from? Yeah, I know... an egg. 

Assuming FedEx or the UPS man didn't drop them off in the middle of the night, I'm guessing they flew in from somewhere south of Pentoga Road. But here's the big question of the day: Has anyone ever seen a flock of robins migrating? There are flocks of ducks and gaggles of geese that fly overhead, but the mysterious robin pulls a magic act. The bird simply appears from nowhere.

Being a thinker of deep thoughts, I spent three or four minutes in a sphere of higher cognition and conducted a bit of research, all very informal, and certainly NOT peer reviewed. (That's a big deal if one is a professor. If a work is not read and approved by a few thousand fellow academics, then it simply can not be true. That's why I've always called myself a school teacher; it's easier that way.) Anyway, here's an FYI fact:

The male usually arrives first in the spring to protect his territory. A man robin has been performing an ongoing dance of love in our back yard since I awakened earlier this morning. I'd take pictures, but I'm not that kind of guy. Plus, my camera's in the other room and I'm too lazy to go get it.

But all of that doesn't answer my question. How can robins simply appear each spring? I'm glad they do. Like most of us who live in the North Country, when I see my first one of the year, I know spring isn't far behind. End of deep thoughts.

Tuesday evening

It's been a busy day. Arriving home after my usual morning stroll, I finished grading the assignments that arrived overnight then composed this week's test. 

I've been wanting to continue my spring cleaning in the shop and one of the first tasks was to hang an older set of shelves that had been sitting on the floor. 

The wall before the shelves

It was a bit of a circus act to lift the shelves and hold them in place while balancing on a tall ladder and attempting to put in the initial screw. 

Installed! (upper right)

After cutting wood for this spring's projects, a small mountain of sawdust was sitting under the table saw. I began by sweeping it into a pile and ended with using a shovel. 



And so the afternoon went. l wanted to wash out the maple sap barrels, but couldn't find the hose. It's one of those shrinking, cloth-types, and no doubt, was wadded into a small ball and put somewhere safe with the intention of easily being found this spring. 



I took a break and dug a few parsnips from the garden. The seeds were planted last May and the roots were allowed to mature all summer then left in ground over the winter months so the starch would turn to sugar. 



I grow them for Yooper Brother Mark and Sheri and later called Mark. He arrived within the hour and we spent some time just talking and catching up on life. 

Sargie had to close tonight and had a beautician's appointment right after. It'll have been a very long day for her by the time she arrives home later this evening.

I grilled pork loins and red sweet peppers for supper this evening. I'll warm Sargie's meal for her when she arrives home. 



I'm planning to walk my five miles first thing Wednesday morning and work the rest of the day in the shop. I've got a lawn sweeper to assemble, things to fix, others to put away. It's going to be a busy time.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...