Sargie's modeling a new winter coat. With the hood up, she reminds me of Kenny on South Park. 

November 18, 2015 - Wednesday

51 degrees/cloudy/windy

Pentoga Road

It appears this current bout of warm weather is not going away gently. Thankfully, Sargie doesn't have to work today, so we're not worried about driving.

It's hard to believe that I was ice fishing a year ago now. Thanks to the El Nino (I'm told) we continue to experience temperatures well above normal accompanied by wet conditions. It's to change beginning tonight and normal temperatures are forecast for the near future.

Tuesday was a relaxed day on Pentoga Road. It was rainy and windy so playing outside was out of the question. I did pull in the other old snowmobile and work on that for a while in the barn. Other than having it fire once while outside, I've been unable to resurrect the old beast back to life. If I'm unsuccessful today, I'm going to sell both Arctic Cat snowmobiles and see about getting a better machine for ice fishing.

I also spent over an hour adjusting the blade on the scroll saw in the shop. I took the saw apart and discovered where the adjustment screw had slipped off the arm. It was an easy fix and I was delighted when it purred and cut like new.

Page Two

Andy sent a picture of a coin he was presented from Shell Oil for his work as a supervisor aboard a large vessel used in the arctic. Andy was in Alaska this past summer and is currently working in the Pacific off the coast of Washington State. 

Page Three:

Luke was in the interior of northern Maine hunting this past week and sent a few pictures of the places where we used to camp when the boys were growing up.

Seminary Brook is about forty miles from the closest community, assessable only by dirt and gravel roads. Little did I know it at the time, but the big woods (as the locals refer to it) of northern Maine were my training grounds for what was to become my future, the Arctic Circle of far northern Alaska.

That's the St. John River. We fished, hunted, and swam in that area for years and the boys and I probably knew those thousands of square miles as well as anyone. It was our stomping grounds.

To the left is Longs Rapids. Though you can't see them very well, the current is very fast and choppy. On hot summer days, the sons and I would swim in the rapids, letting the swift water wash us down (feet first, on our backs) through the rocks, to the calmer water below. Andy was so light that I would tie a rope around his waist and let him zip down the rapids, then haul him back up between the rocks where he would surf on the surface. I often thought of Longs Rapids as nature's water park. We had a great time that only northerners who grow up in the woods can understand.

 

Page Four:

Sargie and I made a quick trip to town on Wednesday afternoon. Since we'd ridden for ten hours the day before, we skipped our usual ride around the countryside. 

Once home, we unloaded the cedar chest. I have to glue a couple of the legs that have dried out over the years, but otherwise, it will be ready to carry upstairs.

After being cooped up for several days, Brutus was acting crazy and delighted in running, playing fetch, and mock attacking anything that looked as though it was moveable, including chunks of fire wood.

Sargie made one of my favorite meals for supper, a huge pot of chili. I ate entirely too much and have every intention of doing the same today. 

Last night was spent watching the latest episode of Dancing With the Stars on the internet. We missed Monday's live performance.

This is Sargie's last day of vacation. With the forecast as it is, I doubt we'll get too wild. I am going to continue working on the snowmobile. I also want to work in the shop. 

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

I was too lazy to get the ladder, so I stood on a tractor tire when storing the chairs above the shop that had been sitting on the front porch.