Sasha doesn't carve pumpkins, she creates works of art.

October 31, 2015 - Saturday
41 degrees/rain/calm winds
Pentoga Road

It seems to be dawning a fairly typical Halloween day in the North Country. Temperatures are chilly with skies rainy and overcast. At least no snow is predicted. I've witnessed many Halloweens where the munchkin trick or treaters are wearing costumes pulled tightly over snowsuits. Tonight's candy-gathering expeditions might be damp, but they shouldn't be too cold.

As remote and far out of town as Pentoga Road is, we don't get any ghouls or goblins at our front door. Halloween night is pretty much a non event.

I thought I'd share this Fox News headline this morning. Seems one of our local Iron County residents made the national news. 

http://www.foxnews.com/story/2005/03/10/cat-shoots-owner-with-mm-handgun.html

Even during my years living in the most remote areas of northern Alaska, I can't say I ever did a lot of cooking with a loaded handgun placed upon the counter in the kitchen. It takes all kinds.

Page two

Friday morning was spent taking dirt from the large vegetable planter and filling the strawberry pyramids. I was shocked this summer at how much the soil had settled in each. The plants on the bottom of the pyramids did quite well. Those on the top, not so much. The jury's still out on the success of the pyramids. Stay tuned until next spring. At the very least, they'll make beautiful flower planters.



I continued cleaning out the garden and pulled a few beets yesterday. We'll take those that are left and put them in sand along with the carrots to enjoy this coming winter. There are still several hundred pounds of potatoes to dig.



I do enjoy growing giant vegetables. The beet is NOT a sugar beet, a variety that normally grows quite large, but a cylindra beet, known for it's thin skin and tender texture.



The rest of the day was spent cutting and working up the large amount of white birch that has been sitting by the wood shed. Cut while green and alive, it's fully dry now and should make for some good heat while burning this coming winter.



Speaking of wood, I estimate that I've burned about one-fourth the wood this year as compared to last. Our wonderfully mild temperatures have made heating the house very easy. I know bitter cold will arrive sooner or later... I'd rather it be later.

I also worked up wood from a downed maple tree

Brutus and I made a large sweep of our woods in the afternoon in search of dead maple trees to use for this year's "overnight" wood that will burn slowly, yet give off a lot of heat. We found three maple trees on the ground and in good shape. I'll be working those up in the next week or two.

Sargie was home early yesterday and walked in the house bearing a large family-sized pizza. We had a wonderful and relaxing evening in front of the television doing absolutely nothing. 

Sargie's off today. We'd thought about going to Green Bay, but have decided that with our trip to Indiana to see Mom coming up, we'd save our money and stay closer to home. Sargie can sleep in and get some much needed rest. Yooper Brother Mark called last night and asked if I might want to go to Watersmeet with him to get his side-by-side ATV from the shop. I think I'll keep him company and we can catch up on all the news from this past week.

Oops, time to grab another cup of coffee and throw a log on the fire. It's tough, but someone has to do it. 

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Jimmy's back! I hadn't seen him yet this fall and was working on the planters when I heard the flutter of wings and felt a bird land on my shoulder. Within seconds, he was trying to climb into my jacket pocket in search of sunflower seeds. He wasn't disappointed.

Aubrey and Marley gearing up for Halloween. Tomorrow, I'll publish the picture of what niece Sasha did with that pumpkin the girls are leaning on. It's a true work of art.

October 30, 2015 - Friday

34 degrees/ partly cloudy/calm winds

Pentoga Road

Ah, the goblins and ghosts are, no doubt, in the wings getting ready to hit the streets tomorrow night. For certain, Aubrey and Marley will be ready and I'd be willing to bet that Grady will enjoy his first real trick or treating experience Saturday evening. 

Wearing his monster Halloween t shirt, Grady's ready for some action.

As for Sargie and me; well, there are times it's good to be grandparents and simply let it all happen around us. 

Yooper Brother Mark was talking earlier this morning, trying to decide if he should dress in costume tomorrow night for an event they are to attend. I'm going to suggest he don a tutu, a little ballerina outfit. After all, Mark is such a delicate little guy.

Though it rained part of the day, much of Thursday was actually salvaged and some things were accomplished. I began by sanding the black kettle that sits on top of our wood stove. It's unreal how much lime and other gunk can coat the thing by the end of the heating season. Of course, once we begin burning wood, water in the kettle boils twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

It took almost two hours of hard work, sanding, grinding, chipping, digging, chiseling, swearing, and spitting, but in the end, the kettle came out looking okay.

It wasn't raining too hard and there were several poles that badly need replacing on the deer fence. I spent the next two hours on two of them, taking out the rotten popple wood in favor of treated posts.

I was on a roll. The giant pumpkin has rotted considerably since I first set it by the drive. 



It was time to say goodbye to this past summer's passion. I initially hoped that I might roll it onto the bucket of the tractor. Boy, that was a pipe dream. In the end, it went on, but in big, goopy, sloppy, wet, smelly, pieces.

Other than playing fetch with Brutus, that was my day. I enjoyed a late lunch followed by the mandatory grandpa nap. 

Sargie wasn't home until 8:30 last night. Needless to say, our evening together was short.

She opens today and hopefully, will be home fairly early this afternoon. Having tomorrow off, we've talked about a quick trip to Green Bay to pick up household supplies. 

I want to continue working outside today, replacing more popple poles in the deer fence. I'm going to experiment making a frame for the corrugated polycarbonate to fit on the solar heater, although it may not be permanently installed until the promised nicer weather of next week arrives. 

It's time to pack Sargie's lunch and get breakfast ready. 

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Regardless of when she gets off work, Sargie calls from nearby Alpha on her way home to let me know where she is. Knowing he'll get a treat as soon as she walks in, Brutus wanders to the kitchen as soon as the phone rings and waits patiently for Sargie to enter. 

Isabella's ready for Halloween

October 29, 2015 - Thursday
35 degrees/rain/windy
Pentoga Road

"These are the times that try men's souls..."

Thomas Paine wasn't referring to the weather we're currently experiencing, but I think most of us can identify with his words. It's cold, it's rainy, it's windy, and really, all I want to do is go outside and play. This weather is really cramping my lifestyle... big time.

Sorry the picture isn't clear. I was dodging raindrops.

With that being said, Wednesday was pretty much a washout. Brutus and I split our time between the house and the shop. I spent part of the morning putting tools away and doing a bit of cleaning. At one point, I felt creative and made two wooden knobs to fasten onto a drawer on the work table. 



Oh, and I also put plastic over the window to help keep the cold out. The single pane barn window will be replaced as soon as I find a used one that will fit. 



I got really wild dodging the raindrops and carried in firewood after lunch. At one point, Brutus didn't see me coming and I tripped over him. Poor guy, he thought he'd done something wrong and spent the rest of the day trying to make it up to me.

Other than watching the Republican debate last night, that was the sum total of my day. Sargie didn't get home until later, but her day seemed to be like mine, not very action-packed. 

The poor girl closes tonight... another long day for her. I've got a couple of carving pieces I've been working on. The kettle that sits atop the wood stove needs to be sanded and repainted in preparation for another season of boiling and hissing steam into the air.  

Then there's the book I've been meaning to work on. Mom has been saying for the past decade she hopes I'll get it finished while she's still young enough to read it. Ah, at 88 years old, Mom's good for another forty years or so. I've got plenty of time.

Decisions decisions. Life is full of them. Meanwhile, I think I'll pour another cup of coffee and think deep thoughts. Now, if only I could decide which deep thought I should concentrate on. 

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Sargie's working on her "Bras for a Cause" project for this year

October 28, 2015 - Wednesday

41 degrees/rain/wind

Pentoga Road

If it were ten degrees colder, all this rain that is pelting down would be snow, inches and inches, maybe feet and feet of snow. I'm glad it's a relatively balmy forty-one degrees. I'm not yet in the mental or physical frame of mind to begin shoveling snow, at least not yet. 

Tuesday found me hacking and coughing. About the time I thought I felt better, another bout would set on and I'd bark for several more minutes. Sargie had finally had enough and insisted I call the doctor's office. I had endured ten days of being sick and I finally agreed. 

Young Dr. Katie, who's somewhere between my youngest son and oldest granddaughter's age, came bouncing into the examination room full of smiles and energy. I told her my symptoms, she shined a light into my ears and throat, listened through the stethoscope as I coughed and breathed deeply, then prescribed some medication. 

I mumbled something about getting a flu shot and mentioned that with the last vaccination, I'd become violently ill. Katie affirmed I should have one anyway. I looked at her as I pondered the next step.

Katie was probably still in elementary school and playing Barbi's with her friends during recess when I got the shot from hell.

I was north of the Arctic Circle, seventeen miles from my closest neighbor, enduring -40 degree temperatures while repeatedly discharging the contents of my stomach, including all my vital organs, into a five gallon bucket. I hesitated and was about to decline when Little Katie flashed her beautiful smile as her eyes assured me that a flu shot could be a good thing. How does a father/grandpa say no to that?  I sighed and rolled up my sleeve.

Vaccinated and prescribed for, Sargie and I left the clinic and drove back to Iron River to purchase bread. We were almost to the store when she reminded me that it was Chicken Tuesday! 

I understand that in other parts of the universe, Chicken Tuesday doesn't mean a whole lot, but in our neck of the woods, that means an eight-pack of fried chicken is a dollar cheaper at our local grocery/deli. One is greeted in the parking lot with a waft that reminds me of Mom's Sunday dinners of old and it only gets stronger as he walks through the door. We later exited with a box of freshly fried chicken and a loaf of homemade bread.

The rain had stopped and the sun was trying to come out. I decided to make an attempt to remove the glass from the solar heater. That that Garry and I installed turned out to be energy efficient glass embedded with metal to reflect the sun's rays, not at all what I want covering a solar heater.

I pried and it appeared the panel might pop out in one piece. A bit more pressure was applied. 

The sound could have been straight from a Road Runner/Wily Coyote cartoon. I heard a crackling, quite small and insignificant. The sound got louder and I watched as the glass cracked into a million pieces. As Sargie later said, if glass were diamonds, we'd have been millionaires.

Thankfully, we had a tarp on the ground to catch the mess. With Sargie's help, we made quick work of the removal and I later stapled clear plastic cloth on the front to protect the interior from the weather. 

It's to be in the fifties and sunny next week. I'll wait until then to custom make the frame and mount the new polycarbonate panels.

There was still some daylight left. I grabbed a chain saw and cut up a dead maple tree that had been felled earlier into chunks. I'll move and split those when the weather clears. 

I watched television last evening while Sargie worked on her Bras for a Cause project. Each year, the Iron Mountain community has a huge event to raise funds for breast cancer research in honor of Sargie's sister, Susy, who passed away several years ago from breast cancer. Several hundred bras are decorated, modeled, and auctioned off, making thousands of dollars. Sargie's past works of art have sold for some hefty money and I'm sure this year's bra with the sunflower motif will do the same.

I'm feeling so much better this morning that I can hardly believe it. What to do? What to do?

Sargie opens today at the Vision Center. I wish she could stay home by the wood stove where it's dry and warm.

As for me? It's cold and rainy and any outside work is out of the question. I think I'll turn on the heat and clean the shop. Tools are still sitting around from Garry's and my solar project of two weeks ago. After, well, I think maybe Brutus and I will start a new project, maybe even spit and whittle a bit. After, it should be time to come inside, eat lunch, then take a nap.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Yay, Coleman!! Grandpa's grandson earned a 100% on his spelling test. 

October 27, 2015 - Tuesday

40 degrees/fog - mist/calm winds

Pentoga Road

Just when I thought I was feeling better on Sunday, my body decided otherwise and once again fell victim to this bug I've been fighting for over a week. The past two days have been spent lying in the recliner. I've taken more naps in the past 72 hours than I have in the last five years.

I sneaked outside Sunday afternoon and ran the lawn sweeper over the yard. By adjusting the height of the brushes, the machine gathered the majority of the maple leaves.

Evidently I did too good of a job on the adjustment as when I passed over the lightweight garden hose, a pocket variety, it was caught up in the brushes.

That's been the sum total of my activities since arriving home. Sargie has worked every day, but has today off. I'm feeling much better and when I do cough, it's a beneficial one, producing stuff too ugly too mention. The fever and chills are gone, so I won't have to ask Yooper Brother Mark to come out and put me down.

The weather has been typical late fall. It's rained daily with temperatures a few degrees above freezing. At one point yesterday, the National Weather Service was calling for up to three inches of snow Wednesday night, but I see it's been changed to all rain. I'm glad. There's too much to do outside before snow begins falling.

Hopefully, I'll get back on track here in the next day or two. Meanwhile, there's coffee to sip and deep thoughts to think.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Brutus missed me and I sure missed my constant companion while on the East Coast. He's been glued to my side since returning.

An added postscript: Since posting the original log earlier, Sargie talked me into calling the doctor's office. We'll be heading to Iron Mountain for a 10:30 appointment this morning. 

I'm leavin' on a jet plane....

October 25, 2015 - Sunday
32 degrees/clear/calm
Pentoga Road

I feel as though I may have risen from the dead, although the verdict might still be out. The bug that decided to call my body home while visiting on the East Coast sure kicked the poop right out of me.



For the most part, flying home was seamless. I tried to cough delicately, covering my mouth and nose each time, but there's only so many ways a person can disguise an erupting volcano. 

 I felt like a second class, third world, person when I ordered at Starbucks. Everyone else had six or eight names for their java mix. I said I wanted a plain, lowly, cup of coffee with nothing in it.

The first nose bleed began between Detroit and Minneapolis. I was coughing, sneezing, and my skin was prickly. I'm grateful the Ebola scare has ended or I'm certain I'd have been quarantined and deported to the Congo.

I spent almost all of the seven-hour layover in Minneapolis trying to find the furthest, secluded, place in the terminal so I wouldn't infect others. I was feverish, I had the chills, my nose was bleeding, and the coughing was nearly nonstop. I was ready to beg someone, anyone, to just put me out of my misery. On the last leg of my journey home, I found a seat in the rear of the plane, several rows removed from anyone else.

We landed in Rhinelander to let off passengers then sat on the tarmac and waited, then waited some more. Finally, the pilot announced the weather was too bad in Iron Mountain. The flight was cancelled and a bus would take us the rest of the way. 

I'm not sure which airport they were talking about as Sargie was waiting for me in Iron Mountain and said the weather was fine, as did several others who were waiting for their loved ones.

Yooper Brother Mark offered to come pick me up in Rhinelander. It would take him a bit over an hour. Sargie was on the opposite end in Iron Mountain and it would have taken at least her two hours, driving on dark, remote, country roads by herself. I took Mark up on his offer.

It was 1 AM before he dropped me off at home. How can a person ever repay that kind of friendship? On Pentoga Road, we refer to him as Saint Mark.

Sargie had to work Saturday. I got up long enough to see her off, then slept in my recliner until 1 PM. I awakened to see two deer grazing in the garden area on the wrong side of the fence. What?



Sure enough, a pole had broken, one that was due to be replaced before snow fell, causing the electric fencing to short out. 

I gathered the necessary tools and a new post and spent the next two hours replacing the old one. There's another one or two that are showing signs of rot and distress. 

All the leaves are brown and the sky is gray...

Sargie's off today. No doubt, we'll take our usual ride and I'd like to replace at least one of those two rotting fence posts. Other than that, I can already feel another nap coming on. I'm told sleep is the best cure for getting over this bug. Sleep equals a nap and napping is something I do well. 

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

There's nothing like chicken soup to make one feel better. Sargie made this for me.

Coos Canyon in Byron, Maine

October 22, 2015 - Thursday evening

62 degrees/cloudy/calm winds

N. Waterboro, Maine

I hope to get today's log entered this evening, my last, before boarding the plane early in the morning to wing my way westward. The past two days have been busy ones, although both have been plagued with a bug that insists on calling my body home.

Before I continue, I want to wish my youngest granddaughter, Emerson, a happy 2nd birthday. Jessica sent this picture early this morning.

Hmmm, hmmm, I just downloaded the latest batch of pictures onto my computer and I see that someone was taking pictures. I don't know their initials, but I think their names are Mommy and Abigail.

I awakened with a horrible sore throat and stuffy head Wednesday morning. Luke insisted that I rest while he finished the floor and trim in the den.

In the end, it came out looking like something that should be featured on HGTV. He did a really nice job.

A real cook, as opposed to his father who dabbles in the art, Luke made homemade chicken and noodles last night along with mashed red potatoes, leaving the skins on.

He used an old family recipe for the noodles, one that has been passed along for quite sometime. No one went hungry in the Luke Pennington household last night.

The day was drawing to a close. I accompanied Luke to Coleman's two-hour football practice last night. After being in the house all day, it felt good to inhale some clear, cool, air.

It was a quiet evening after we arrived home. Coleman watched something on his daddy's computer, Melinda tried to relax after a long day at the clinic, and Luke helped Abigail with her math homework.

I awakened this morning with a stuffy head, an upset stomach, and a sore throat that I wished belonged to anyone else other than me.

Luke gave me several pills of one variety or the other and I pronounced myself fit to travel. After seeing Coleman and Abigail off to school we drove to the mountains of western Maine, where the Appalachian Trail winds to the north.

I almost grew misty-eyed as I walked a few yards into the woods. Attempting a through hike on the trail has been a goal for over forty years. With an aging body that's been ridden hard and put away wet from too many other adventures, plus diminishing sight, I don't imagine I'll ever have the opportunity, but a guy can hope. Just stepping foot on the footpath brought that dream a little closer.

We drove in rain and mist for a goodly part of the day, the weather clearing just as we reached the mountains. The views were spectacular.

It was time to head back home, hopefully to arrive before the munchkins walked off the bus. We made it with an hour to spare. Luke laid down on one couch, I on another, and we both took naps.

We'll be departing for the Portland Airport tomorrow morning around 4:00 AM. I'll fly from Portland, Maine, to Detroit, onto Minneapolis, and finally, am due to arrive in Iron Mountain around 10 Friday night. Poor Sargie has to work all day Friday, close Friday night, then wait around town for three hours for me. To make matters worse, she works all day Saturday. 

Remember those surprise pictures I found on the camera from last night? Well, you know what they say about paybacks.

My oldest, beautiful granddaughter who is filled with beauty, poise, and grace.

It's time for supper, so I guess I ought to be finishing and wash up in preparation for another of Luke's great meals. After all, a man's work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

My artistic side. A rearview mirror selfie.