The ice on one of our local lakes is turning chalky gray... a sure sign that it will be going out fairly soon. All that is needed is a good rain and a strong wind.

April 8, 2015 - Wednesday evening

39 degrees/cloudy/calm winds

Pentoga Road

I guess we're in the calm before the storm. This is what we have to look forward to:

We awakened this morning to ice/snow covered roads. Thankfully, it was warm enough that it wasn't horribly slippery, just enough to make driving (and walking) miserable.

I rode with Sargie five miles up the road and hiked back. After arriving home, I started working in the shop, cleaning, putting away, and most importantly, THROWING stuff away. 

A neighbor called later in the morning, a widow whose husband passed away early last fall. She's been asking if I wanted any of his wood working tools, all high quality and in good shape. Honestly, other than a simple router (wood working, NOT one for internet) I really didn't need any, but she said she was eager to get the tools out of her garage. Would I please come and look?

To make a long story short, I came home with a scroll saw, a 6 inch Delta jointer, two routers, and a large stack of sand paper. 

Five heirloom Roma tomato seeds Neighbor Mike mailed me have finally sprouted. They are from a few very special plants that he claims bore some of the best-tasting fruit he's ever tasted. None of the seeds he planted were any good and out of the thirty or so he gave me, only these five were viable. Still, all we need is one plant to bear tomatoes so I can collect the seed next fall to maintain the lineage.

Sargie hates to see me build a heated shop in the barn as I'm sure she'd much rather I do the transplanting while sitting at the dining room table.

More time was spent this afternoon in the shop. I think two more days of work will see it finished and ready to begin the construction process, that of building an insulated room, approximately a third the size of the entire barn. As I've said many times before, I need a heated place where I can spit and whittle during the winter months. I hope to finish it before cold weather returns late next fall. Walls and a ceiling are not the only things I'll be building. Also in the works is a forced hot air solar heating system.

Neighbor Mike had asked that I check the trail camera he has set up on his land. Turkey season is approaching and he hoped to see pictures of a flock or two. All he got was multiple photos of deer.

I took my computer so I could upload the photos in the field.

I changed clothes late this afternoon and drove to Iron Mountain to meet and drive home with Sargie. She's worked some really long hours and by meeting her after work, we got some extra time together tonight and will have the same Thursday morning. There's a new Mexican restaurant that opened in Iron Mountain, so we made a date out of it. The price was reasonable, the service very good, and the meals were excellent. We'll go back in the future.

Thursday is to be cold and rainy. I'll ride back to Iron Mountain with Sargie and after, who knows? With a high of 38 degrees forecast, I question as to how much I'll actually work in the shop. I've got a few errands to attend to in Iron River that I've been putting off, so tomorrow might be the perfect day.

Final projects for my class are beginning to trickle in. I've spent over an hour this evening grading. I sure miss my Mac, the large screen and its ability to read to me, but the computer is being fixed right and should be ready in time to kick off the summer session. Meanwhile, I'll continue to plow through with this large screen Chromebook. 

It's time to end and at least consider the possibility of heading upstairs to bed. Sargie opens tomorrow so it will be an early morning for both of us.

Deer in a field at the end of our road.

Am I surprised? Naw. Everyone knows that a man's work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...