Emerson went to visit her Uncle Luke at the fire station in South Portland, Maine, where he serves as a lieutenant 

January 14, 2016 - Thursday
7 degrees/cloudy/calm winds
Pentoga Road

I'm running late this morning. My intentions were to be up around 6 and onto the ice before 7 AM. Instead, I awakened at 5 and thought that I'd snuggle up to Sargie for a few minutes longer. The next thing I knew, it was almost 8 o'clock. So much for being out on the ice at daybreak.

Wednesday morning found me unloading the new sled and equipment fairly early and heading to the ice shack. 



The sled worked perfectly. I was worried a bit about the center of balance since the power auger weighs so much and is off to one side, but thankfully, the sled is wide enough that tipping isn't an issue. 



Fishing was fun, if not too productive, for the first two hours. I caught one large crappie, several smaller bluegills, and a few bass. I also missed many more fish than were lifted through the hole. Even with a direct light shining on the tip of my rod, I often fail to see when I have a hit. Consequently, I don't always set the hook into the fish's mouth. 

A small battery clip-on LED light sits down near the ice and shines on the hole

The fish quit hitting around mid morning so I packed up the sled and trudged back to the Blazer. A strong wind was blowing out of the north and the car's thermometer registered -7 degrees. 

Page Two

I received some wonderful grandbaby pictures over the past couple of days. 

Andy sent this picture of a sleeping Ivy. He sure can't deny that Ivy's his daughter.

Isabella with her Cheerios and sippy cup. Life doesn't get any better.

A very positive comment was made the other day about having pictures of the grandbabies on the web page. It's what grandmas and grandpas do. If they don't show off the grandchildren, then they should resign from the Grandma/Grandpa Club.

Page Three

I was famished when I arrived home from fishing. What to have? 

Ah, fried egg and Swiss cheese sandwiches on homemade bread. They were delicious. I'm pretty certain that fried egg and Swiss cheese sandwiches are a food group. If not, they should be. 

The rest of the day was spent doing laundry and some light cleaning. Lest I make it sound as though I performed domestic chores nonstop, let me clarify I also closed my eyes for a half hour nap and enjoyed a horrible B science fiction movie intermixed with the household activities.

It was cold enough on one exposed wall in the basement to cause the heat tape that wraps the pipes to turn on.

Sargie walked into the house early last night carrying a pizza. The evening was spent stuffing our faces, watching television, talking and laughing. Perfect.

I'm not sure what's on today's schedule. Sargie's off and she mentioned that there are some good sales happening at our two area grocery stores. I know there are two or three other stops she wants to make while in town, so it's going to be a busy afternoon.

Meanwhile, I may try to sneak out to the shop for a while. There are several projects in the works, none of them nearly completed.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...