February 16, 2016 - Wednesday
37 degrees/heavy rain/strong winds
Pentoga Road

I think I should have skipped building the planters and concentrated on constructing an ark. Rain began last evening and steadily increased throughout the night, waking me several times in the wee hours of the morning banging on the metal roof overhead. 

What the heck is this that just popped up on my screen? A winter weather advisory? 

Another one to three inches of snow are forecast to fall Thursday night so if simple arithmetic serves me right, we could end up with eight inches of wet, gloppy, stuff, before it's finished. It was a beautiful, but short spring we enjoyed.

Page Two:

At least Tuesday was a nice day, good enough to do my usual walk, then clean the area where the woodpile had been in back of the shed. 

I was surprised at the amount of bark, limbs, and odd-sizes pieces of wood remaining on the ground. The Ford tractor made six trips to the burn pile, the bucket full each time. 



It was almost 1 PM before I came in the house, satisfied the job was finished. 

Every fall the burn pile is reduced ashes and I swear it will never be used again. Yet come summer, it grows up to ten feet in height. It's a never ending cycle.

The bathroom sink has been draining slower and slower. There was nothing to do but take out the stopper and remove the trap underneath. I can't begin to describe the goo that insisted on clogging the drain. The unpleasant job took less than half an hour. 



It was nearing time to go to the chiropractor. I ran through the shower and donned a fresh set of clothes. 

The doctor did exactly what was done by the chiropractor in Sitka years ago and so far, the results are the same. I experienced immediate relief and slept the best last night that I've slept in the past two months. I'll go again Thursday and after that, it will be on an "as needed" basis. As bad as I felt previously, I'm optimistic this story will have a happy ending.

By the way, I was told that I'm in terrific shape. I can't tell you what that does for the human ego, especially when the body seems insistent of falling apart. 

Back home, I changed out of my city boy clothes and headed to the barn. Sargie had to close last night and there was no reason to stay inside.  

The compressor still had a leak. I tore the thing apart again and found that it wasn't any of the components that I'd suspected, but rather a rubber gasket in the pressure switch that's gone bad. The fix is a major one, so I'm not sure whether to tear the switch apart and attempt to reseal it or call it quits and simply purchase a new one. A new pressure switch costs two-thirds what a new compressor does. I'll probably end up mixing a small batch of epoxy in an attempt to seal it from the outside. If that doesn't work, I'll put it back together and limp along with the thing until we get back to Green Bay where I'll buy another machine.

Sargie didn't arrive home until later in the evening last night. We watched a bit of television and talked until bedtime.

She opens today so it should be an early evening at home for her. I imagine I'll put on my rain suit and go for my usual morning walk. Other than that, my day is wide open. With highs forecast to be only in the mid-thirties, I'll probably sequester myself in the shop and work on my next garden project. If that becomes too stressful, there's always the possibility of an afternoon nap.

The spring on the trip bucket of the front end loader died a long time ago. I could tear it all apart and replace it, but I've found that winding a new bungee cord around the lever each year works as well.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

The holes are caused by deer trying to lick the salt along the shoulder of the road. I put a salt block out several years ago and after it was gone, the deer kicked, dug, and licked a hole where it had been sitting that was almost three feet deep.