Do you see what I see?
I was walking Friday morning when I heard a snort, hooves clicking, and other deer sounds. Since they were beyond the range of my vision, I simply started taking pictures in that general direction and this morning, I found out what was looking at me.

March 12, 2016 - Saturday morning

29 degrees/clear/calm winds

Pentoga Road

Ouch! I am suffering from Halo Thumb... a malady caused by removing the peel from those little bitty tangerine-type orange things that I'm heavily addicted to.

 Tough little buggers to get started, I use my thumbnail to initially dig under the peel. Seems the flesh and thumbnail on my left hand have separated exposing the nerves to the Halo's juice. This eating healthy thing is not for sissies.

Page Two:

Sargie had stripped the bed early Friday morning and put our sheets in the washer. With the sun bright and a forecast predicting warm temperatures, once done, I hung them on the line to dry.

With the early morning temperature in the upper teens, steam rose from the warm, wet, sheets.

City people and/or southerners probably can't relate to the joy of hanging laundry, especially sheets, outside to dry on one of the first warm days of spring. What a pleasure to hang laundry that actually dries before it freezes. Yesterday was perfect.

Getting into bed last night between the clean and fresh smelling sheets made me want to do a bit of thrashing along with a supine dance of joy. I did none of the above, but rather, simply smiled as I dropped off to sleep. 

Page Three:

With the sheets hung and Sargie ready to depart for work, I strapped on my hiking boots and rode five miles up the road with her so I might walk back.

I hadn't walked but several hundred feet when my nostrils were assailed with the smell of dirt. With the ground rapidly thawing, I could smell real honest to goodness earth; the stuff that farmers use in which to plant crops, the medium gardeners depend on to grow their veggies... and it smelled heavenly. 

The walk was pleasant. Deer seemed to be everywhere and I had to step around a road kill raccoon. Evidently I'm not the only one who's spending more time than usual frolicking and playing during these ideal days (and nights) of spring. 

Once home, I opened the front and back doors, cracked a window or two, and cleaned the first floor of the house. It felt good to have the first breeze of the year drift through, taking the winter's continual waft of woodsmoke with it. 

The steam cleaner was used on the laminate floors to remove any hint of winter. At least for now, they are shiny clean.

I went downstairs to water the summertime flowers sitting under grow lights, those used in the outside planters. Most have come through the winter in fairly good shape, but several were looking sickly. I brought them upstairs and sat out on the back patio cutting off anything that looked dead. It appears all will make it, especially now that I've put them in the indoor greenhouses. Maybe we'll have early geraniums and other flowers this summer.

Loading the strawberry pyramids was next on the agenda. The two-wheeled cart was used and none were hard to move, but securing each with ratcheting straps into the trailer took quite a while. All are tightly fastened and ready to go later this morning.

The last major activity of the day was to start the little ATV four-wheeler, my workhorse used during the summer months. 

The machine hadn't been started since last fall. Rather than repeatedly pull on the starter cord in hopes that it might magically jump to life, I simply removed the spark plug and squirted starting fluid directly onto the cylinder. Old Blue started on the first pull and after idling for several minutes, I drove it down to the lake and back. 

If past history is any indication, the ATV will easily start each time I need it until I put it away next fall. 

Yooper Brother Mark stopped out for a visit. The poor guy, he wanted to get out of the plant around noon, but due to equipment problems, didn't leave until much later. We talked and gabbed and in the end, I sent him home with a jar of maple syrup, another of pickles, and since he had the pickup truck, the strawberry planter I made for Sheri.

After closing the Vision Center, Sargie didn't arrive home until later in the evening. She was still up and busy when I called it a day not long after. Playing outside in all that fresh air had tired me out and I couldn't blame her for staying up. Who wants to come home and go to bed an hour or two later? 

Today's to be even nicer than yesterday. I noticed the buds are beginning to swell on the apple trees. I hope nothing blooms or leafs out too early. I lost several fruit trees and shrubs five years ago when we experienced highs in the 80's and the trees came out of dormancy too early then later froze and died when temperatures returned to normal. 

Sargie and I will be taking off mid to late morning to deliver the strawberry pyramids. While in the Iron Mountain area with the trailer, I want to stop by Home Depot to purchase lumber before heading home. Next week begins some new projects.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Though there's still plenty of it, the ice on our local lakes is turning a dull, dark, gray color, a sure sign of melting.