May 31, 2015 - Sunday morning

29 degrees/clear/calm/frosty

Pentoga Road

I was relieved this morning when I found the temperature was a mere 29 degrees. Last night's weather forecast was calling for twenty-five, even colder in low lying areas... that's us, so I think we dodged a bullet. I'll know for sure after the sun comes up and I uncover the vegetables and flowers.

I was looking out the windows yesterday morning with the binoculars when I saw a starling land on the raised vegetable planter. It strutted over to the last remaining tomato plant and easily cut it off at ground level, grabbed the fallen plant, and flew into the barn. 

I'd blamed the deer and if you remember, Sargie and I had gone to all that work to install a deer fence the night before last. Needless to say, I charged out of the house with pellet gun in hand, all to no avail. I can't hit the broad side of a barn with a gun, but just firing in that general direction made me feel better.

Thankfully the starlings didn't bother these vegetables.
A mini-salad all in one place in the raised garden planter.
On the right - radishes. The left - carrots. We should be eating the radishes this coming week.

The barn door is closed now unless I'm outside and it appears the starlings have found a new place to build a nest. Meanwhile, I'll pick up a couple more cherry tomato plants to trellis up the side of the barn AFTER I build a cage made from chicken wire to arch over the tomato plants. 

The majority of the day was spent working up the trailer full of wood. It was good and solid, but some of the stringiest stuff I've swung a maul at in years. Seems as though I couldn't avoid the knots and what should have taken two to three hours stretched into the afternoon. 

Strange, the load before this one was just the opposite. All a person had to do was look at the wood and it almost split itself. Just luck of the draw.

After a quick, late, afternoon lunch followed by a short nap, I headed to the garden to begin covering the plants. Sargie was home early and helped. 

I'm not sure what we have on the agenda for today. It's dawning clear and calm, with highs predicted to reach into the upper fifties to low sixties. No doubt, we'll go for our usual Sunday afternoon drive. 

So with that being said, it's time for another cup of coffee accompanied by some deep thoughts.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Sargie's looking over a very full Menominee River in Niagara, Wisconsin

May 30, 2015 - Saturday morning

50 degrees/cloudy/breezy

Pentoga Road

I noticed a warning light flashing when I opened the internet browser this morning. Naturally, there's a freeze warning in effect for the next two nights with temperatures forecast to drop well into the twenties. I had nothing special planned for today other than work up the trailer full of wood, so I'll be spending time getting out the frost blankets, styrofoam cups, and old ice cream pails in preparation of covering all the delicate garden plants later this afternoon. 

I'm a bit concerned with my giant pumpkin plant. It's about outgrown the Wall of Water and beginning to spread. It will get covered one way or the other.

Frost is one thing, but this freezing business is beginning to get old. I registered 19 degrees a week ago when several delicate plants were frozen solid even though they were covered. Hopefully tonight won't be so severe.

Friday was a fun day. Sargie and I left Pentoga Road fairly early bound for Green Bay. Though we'd heard horror stories of road construction delays, we only ran into a couple and both required very little wait time.

We made several stops during the day doing more window shopping than actual purchasing. 

Lambeau Field towers over much of the city. It seems the Packers and much of Green Bay is already gearing up for another big season ahead.

I saw this portico and swing combination at Sam's Club and immediately decided I had to have one just like it. Naturally, I'm not going to spend the big dollars required to purchase such a thing, but I will take some time and effort to build one. Just another project for this coming winter.

It was mid-afternoon before we faced the car north and began our drive back home. A stop was made in Niagara, Wisconsin, to take some pictures of the very full Menominee River. There are flood warnings out for the Michigammie River near Crystal Falls today. The recent rains have swollen all the local rivers and streams.

We stopped at our favorite greenhouse in Florence, Wisconsin, to purchase this summer's red geraniums along with several other types of plants and vines. 

Vegetables are my department, flowers and pretty stuff falls into Sargie's. She doesn't have to work next Tuesday and will plant them after the forecasted cold spell is well past.

I became very angry late Friday afternoon while checking the garden and yard and saw that a deer had pruned two of the three tomato plants growing in the large raised planter by the barn. 

With Sargie's help, I strung an electric fence around the terrace, protecting both the planter and the strawberry pyramids. Thankfully, I had a spare charger.

Sargie is back to work today, but has Sunday off. With highs only forecast to be in the fifties accompanied by a goodly breeze, I hope to finish working up the wood in the trailer today. The wood that the neighbor gave me a couple of weeks ago needs to be covered with a tarp and still another pile, that worked up last year, needs to be moved to the shed for burning this coming winter. With the much-cooler temperatures, it's the perfect day to don a pair of jeans, a flannel shirt, and some work gloves, and get down and dirty.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

May 29, 2015 - Friday morning
60 degrees/cloudy/calm
Pentoga Road

It appears as though this is the calm before the storm. After a day of respite from the rain and thunderstorms, a front is sitting just to our west and is headed this way. We're still an inch or two below normal for the yearly rainfall, so we'll gladly take more. With all the precipitation, the lawn is growing by leaps and bounds.

Most of Thursday afternoon was spent on the riding mower.

Thursday dawned sunny and warm and I was on the lake shortly after 7 AM with high hopes of filling my fish basket.

Weather conditions might have been perfect, but with the lake several inches higher than normal and murky, the bluegills were hesitant to hit my small lure and I had to work for them. Enough were finally caught to make a meal for Sargie and me.

Mowing the lawn was next on the agenda. It's been one week since the grass was last cut and it was almost ankle high. 

I continue to be amazed at the varieties of wild flowers growing around the perimeter of the yard.

Choke Cherry blossoms

These little blue flowers (below) in Sargie's perennial garden are beautiful and delicate.

I finished the day by working in the garden. The winter squash are beginning to pop through the surface and I look for everything to be up and growing this coming week.

Brutus's veterinarian's appointment was changed to next Tuesday so we could go to Green Bay today. Sargie's off, we need household supplies, and it's to rain, all perfect excuses to drive to Title Town.

Maybe I'll give Mike and Aaron a call on our drive down, see if they want to do lunch while Sargie's shopping. I've come up with a couple of new ideas that might work for this upcoming season. 

It's time to scrub the bugs off the windshield of the Kia and get ready for our journey to Green Bay.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

I was sitting alongside a raised bed in the garden weeding when I put my hand down onto this wood chip that moved. A toad that was perfectly camouflaged.

Our first baby Bambi and mama of the new spring

May 27, 2015 - Wednesday evening

68 degrees/cloudy/calm

Pentoga Road

I was delighted this afternoon to have a doe and her new baby cross the trail ahead of us. Actually, Brutus saw them long before I did and let me know something was ahead. I immediately started taking random pictures as I knew both would run into the woods before we got very close.

The rain quit by midmorning after dropping another inch overnight. We've received exactly two-and-half inches over the past three days. Perfect. Rain is mentioned in the forecast into the weekend.

I made a quick trip into town to purchase a loaf of freshly baked homemade bread. In fact, it was still warm when I bought it. Stops were made at Insurance Liquidators and the local hardware store that sells bedding plants. Though I didn't buy any, their greenhouse was filled with thousands of beautiful flowers.

Arriving back home, I immediately started working in the garden planting the rest of the Navy beans, fertilizing the giant pumpkin plant (that has doubled in size in the past two days) and doing a bit of weeding.

The next order of the day was to pack the box on the four-wheeler with tools and head to the backhoe.

Due to a design flaw that allows water to run into the muffler, if the engine isn't covered during a rain storm, water gets into the crankcase and oil. I simply forgot to put the cover on the engine last Saturday before the rains began later that evening.

Over the next three hours, I made eighty or a million trips to the shop, also drained and changed the oil, drained and cleaned the carburetor, and doing more than my share of muttering. 

I'm not that good of a mechanic under ideal conditions. I'm even worse when working in the field. Still, by afternoon's end, the backhoe was back to running smoothly. I bet it will be a long time before I forget to cover the engine again. 

It will be a while before I resume digging fill. The hole where I've been getting the dirt has filled with water.

I'm really amazed how beautiful the catkins are on the sugar maples this year. I'm certain they've been there every year, but this is the first I've noticed that they've been so brilliant red.

I ended the last two hours of the day by working up about a third of the wood in the trailer that I brought home on Tuesday. It was a tired boy who threw in the towel at 5:30 this afternoon and crawled into the shower.

Sargie had to close tonight after a long day in the Vision Center. She works early on Thursday and has Friday off.

Weather permitting, I'll continue to work up the firewood on Thursday. With all the rain, the weeds are beginning to appear in the garden. There's never a lack of things to do.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

The apple trees are out in full blossom

A new procedure for open heart surgery... orally. Heart surgeon Dr. Kushion and Nurse Peggy performing a very delicate procedure.
OK, I lied. I was really at the dentist's office.

May 26, 2015 - Tuesday

61 degrees/rain/calm

Pentoga Road

I was up early this morning so I could ride to Iron Mountain with Sargie. Taking our time, we had a good visit on the way over and after a bit of shopping, I was kissing her goodbye and heading back home.

A stop was made in Florence, Wisconsin, to purchase this year's sweet and jalapeno peppers which, along with Navy beans, were planted between rain showers later in the day.

Yooper Brother Mark had texted earlier saying the trailer was filled with wood and was ready to bring home. I went directly into town and with Mark's help, got the heavy trailer attached to the Blazer. Mark will be heading to their plant in Kentucky early tomorrow for a week to ten days.

I called my friend, Brenda, the Office Manager at Today's Smile to confirm an appointment to have a tooth prepared for a crown. She said I could come in at any time. 

Yup, those are my choppers. The real things look much better than the x-rays. 

I've never gone to a dentist's office, had so much fun, and left two hours later feeling better than when I entered. 

I spent almost two hours helping Eric and Peggy decide whether to use a #6 or #8 drill. Knowing #6 was his "go-to" bit, I concurred when he decided to use his old faithful. Later, when he really got serious, he switched to the heavy hitter... the #8. 

At one point, Dr. Kushion zapped me with an alpha ray or two, supposedly to help some sort of filler harden, but he later confided that if he zapped me enough times, I'd become a super hero. I'm still waiting.

In the end, I walked out sporting a pretty, temporary, crown with the promise of a new permanent one to be installed the second week of June. Thanks, Brenda, Peggy, and Eric. 

It rained all Tuesday afternoon and is still coming down tonight. Carl the Weatherman said we have the possibility of receiving another two to three inches between now and tomorrow afternoon. I'd say our dry spell might be over.

Sargie's working on Wednesday. Assuming it's raining as forecast, I plan to spend most of the rainy day in the shop. I saw a small garden bench/planter earlier today at the greenhouse that I have to try to imitate. 

It's about bedtime and I'm tired. Hey, it's not easy working in the garden and hauling wood, all on the same day as having open heart surgery.

I'm not surprised. After all, a man's work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

May 25, 2015 - Monday evening
63 degrees/cloudy/calm
Pentoga Road

The name of the game for today has been rain, a whole inch and a half of it! It started last evening, rained all night and didn't stop until this afternoon. 

Other than grade a few assignments today, I did absolutely nothing. Even Brutus didn't leave his bed until almost 1 this afternoon. The pup was listening to rain hitting the roof and evidently decided it was easier to sleep than greet the morning... or the afternoon.

I did make a trek back to get retrieve the memory card in the trail cam. There were several interesting pictures, but the best was of this singing, dancing, little girl. She strongly resembles our niece, Aubrey!



I drove over to Iron Mountain late this afternoon to meet Sargie and ride home with her. We've had a lazy evening in front of the tv.

Sargie opens on Tuesday and I'll be riding back with her and come home in the Blazer. I might stop at Home Depot to purchase some primer for the barn. I'm not sure I'll begin painting very soon, but at least I'll have it and if the mood hits me, I'll be able to start.

It's about time for bed. I'm tired and I have absolutely no reason to be. If it's raining (as forecast) again tomorrow, I'll head to the shop to spit and whittle. It's better than sitting all day on my backside.

Deer meets crow vying for the watermelon rinds. 

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Grady and his daddy, Macrea

May 24, 2014 - Sunday evening

58 degrees/rain/calm winds

Pentoga Road

The house seems eerily quiet tonight. Gone is the laughter of a little boy, the squeals, and continual dialogue that only he can understand.

Since the internet was out this morning, I pulled an "old school" and was in the garden shortly after daylight.

A row of pole beans. The trellis will be built later in the growing season when they begin to send out runners.

It felt good to be working in the dirt so early, listening to a local Tom turkey trying to attract a late-season female.

Strawberries in blossom

By late morning, I'd planted the tomatoes, sunflowers, cucumbers, winter squash, and three types of beans. Rain was in the forecast and I wanted to take advantage of it.

Grady was up fairly early this morning. Sargie finished washing some of Macrea's laundry and both packed Grady's goodies in preparation of leaving.

I took leave of the garden to come in the house and have one last good play session with my little buddy. He can roll a mean ball.

Grady and his daddy left early this afternoon. Neither Sargie or I wanted them to leave. Oh well, there's always next time.

Grady and Macrea, sound asleep Saturday night.

Jerad and his friend, Jenna, stopped for a visit. After, Sargie and I took our usual Sunday afternoon drive.

This evening has been spent watching television. I've been busy grading weekly assignments and trying to keep abreast as they pour in. This week's assignments are due tomorrow.

It's raining... real honest-to-goodness rain. Half an inch is forecast to fall during the nighttime hours, another half an inch tomorrow morning. That much precipitation would be a lifesaver.

Swallowtail Butterfly

Sargie is back to work on Monday. Yooper Brother Mark and I have talked about going fishing, but it's looking iffy at best because of the weather. Failing that, I'll enjoy the rain.

I need to let Brutus out to do his nightly duties and pack Sargie's lunch. Then it will be time to go to bed. This grandpa and grandma are two tired kids tonight. After all, a man's work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...