Watch Out!! Biker Grandma... or in Mom's case, Biker Great Great Grandma!

June 28, 2015 - Sunday evening

66 degrees/partly cloudy/calm winds

Pentoga Road

That's right. Mom is the eldest of five living generations... a great great grandmother. How many other great great grandmothers do you know ask if she can go for a four-wheeler ride? We made that happen Saturday afternoon.

The firewood remaining on the trailer was finished and put away Saturday morning. Both outside sheds are full and now it's time to begin filling the brown shed.

I'd ordered new fly line and tippet (leader) from Bass Pro using part of the gift certificates that I received for my birthday and spent part of the day taking off the old and winding on the new. Time was also spent rearranging the tackle boxes.

Yes, Mom really did ask sometime ago if we might go for a four-wheeler ride. In the tradition of my Grandma Reinhardt, Mom's mother, who while in her senior years, asked if I might take her for a motorcycle ride, I put a helmet on Mom and away we went.

Back to Grandma Reihardt... I was in college and home for the weekend. Grandma and Grandpa were visiting and I noticed Grandma was looking at my motorcycle. When I kiddingly asked if she wanted to go for a spin, she didn't hesitate to accept.

I was a considerate and respectful grandson, so we putted down the road. After a while, I noticed Grandma was simply riding and didn't seem to be enjoying herself. I stopped and asked if she were okay. She replied that there was no joy in going so slow and what she really wanted was to have some fun off the road.

What was a grandson to do? I told her to hang on as I twisted the throttle wide open and took off across an open field and up a fairly steep hill. What I most remember is Grandma, her house dress hiked as high as necessary for her to sit on the motorcycle seat, whooping and laughing as we flew through the waist-high grass and into the woods. (This is the same grandma who sent me a burned bra in the early 70's when women's lib first became popular, but that's a story for another time.)

So, in the spirit of Grandma Reinhardt, Mom and I made good time going down the road, turned towards town on the four-wheeler trail, and traveled several miles. Before the ride was over, we also went down to the Brule River, and finally came back home. 

Sargie was home early last night and we enjoyed brats done on the grill, chips, and beet greens. We were all tired and bedtime came fairly early Saturday night.

Either there are prehistoric caveman hieroglyphics on the side of our burn barrel or raccoons visited during the night. 

I was up early Sunday morning and fishing on one of my favorite lakes shortly after sunrise.

Unfortunately, the fish didn't cooperate. I threw everything in tackle box, umpteen lures, threw a few flies and poppers, and even tried an old fashioned bobber and worm. I picked up a few fish, but nothing worth bringing home. My fishing mojo is currently less than 100%. It'll be back... sooner or later... I hope. I am no longer able to make those accurate casts that I once did, so the fish have to come to me. They stayed home this morning.

I'd planted some bush beans a few weeks ago and discovered in the past few days that they are really pole beans. I like to think the package was mislabeled, but I very well might have misread it.

Whatever the reason, a trellis needed to be built. With Mom's help we built one.

After building the trellis, I picked the rest of the honey berries. We had quite a few more this year than last. When the bushes are fully mature, five to seven years of age, we can expect each bush to bear five to ten lbs a year. This year, I picked a small fraction of that amount.

Yooper Brother Mark and Sheri's son, Jerad, talked with me the other night saying that Mark and Sheri's daughter, Sarah, and granddaughter, Isabella, were going to surprise her parents by flying in from Wyoming. Jerad asked if we'd be at the house Sunday afternoon to help celebrate and take a few pictures. 

It was wonderful. Both Grandma and Grandpa Stauber were so surprised and we were honored and lucky to be a part of their family celebration.

We left soon after Sarah and Isabella arrived so Grandma and Grandpa could enjoy their company. We'll see mama and baby later before they fly back to Wyoming.

We did a bit of shopping this afternoon and after a short ride, came home and enjoyed a meal of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and gravy. 

This evening was spent watching the Glen Campbell special on CNN about his battle with Alzheimers and his final tour. What a musician and performer he's been for over forty years. It was a bitter sweet video that was so good, yet so difficult to watch at times.

Sargie's back to work tomorrow. No doubt, Mom and I will find some project or the other to work on. We're birds of a feather in that category.

After all, a man's (and a great great grandmother's) work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...