Tales from Pentoga

Turtle anyone?

June 10, 2014 – Wednesday

58 degrees/clear/calm

Pentoga Road

Our sleep was interrupted at 1:30 this morning by one of the strongest storms I’ve experienced since living in the UP. Looking at my phone, I see the National Weather Service sent out all kinds of storm warnings around 1 AM, but we were three hours into our nightly slumber by then. It was the heavy rain pounding down on the metal roof overhead, accompanied by the lightening that lit up the sky and ensuing thunder that awakened us. I got out of bed, looked out the window, visited the bathroom, crawled back between the sheets, smiled, and fell sound asleep. Can’t beat a good old-fashioned summer storm for good sleeping.

The internet is out this morning. I’m assuming that the tower, located about a mile from here, was struck by lightening. I’ll call later this morning and let the company know. Hopefully, it’s not on my end.

Tuesday dawned hot and humid and remained that way all day. With the thermometer showing 78 degrees and the humidity pushing 100%, even the mere act of thinking caused one to drip with sweat.

I went fishing for a while on our local lake. Honestly? I could have caught a mess of fish, enough for a meal, but there were several boats on the lake and I don’t like to share the water. Besides, the fishing was somewhat slow and it was hot sitting in the sun. I packed it in after an hour and a half and came back home.

The summer camp, located on our local lake, is gearing up for another season of activities. They host a nationally known music camp that is recognized throughout the Midwest and much of the US.

I planted the last four tomato plants in the garden. They were the ones that I saved just in case something happened to those I planted a couple of weeks ago; frost, birds, bugs, disease, etc. Other than the starling issue, everything has grown like there’s no tomorrow. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen conditions so favorable, causing everything to jump to life. Let’s hope it remains that way the rest of the summer.

I was taking a break when I looked out the window through the binoculars and observed a Tom turkey courting a couple of hens. The lust-filled boy was so deep into his hormone-crazed condition that I was able to sneak out the door and get fairly close to him. Suddenly, a deer jumped out in front of the turkey and I managed to capture both in one frame.

I mowed the back meadows and all the trails yesterday afternoon and was shocked to see how tall the grass was after just one week. It appears that some of the thistles I sprayed a week ago, those that immediately wilted, look as though they are coming back to life. Those things seem to be almost impossible to kill, but I’m not going to stop until they’re dead. I’ve worked too hard to let the beautiful meadows become overrun by the thorny weed.

I drove to Iron Mountain last night to meet Sargie and ride home with her. I’ve got my appointment this morning in Iron Mountain and it was a good excuse to spend a couple more hours together.

We took our time coming home and saw lots of deer and…. turtles! I don’t know if it’s the mating season for turtles or all are simply out getting their exercise, but Sargie saw three on our way home.

It was a beautiful evening and we drove down by the Brule River where we saw a small snapping turtle. Though he hissed and made his presence known, I picked him up for a closer look.

Sargie will be back to work today. I’ll have my mid-morning meeting and should be home before noon. There’s no rain in the forecast, so I think I’ll fill some of the cracks in the blacktop that were caused by the frost heaving out of the ground this spring.