Grandson, Bennet, was one-month old yesterday

March 6, 2016 - Sunday
26 degrees/cloudy/windy
Pentoga Road

According to Carl the Weatherman, this is the last cold day for a while. I'm talking about nighttime lows remaining above freezing. 

Excited? Oh, you bet! I've got barges to tote and bales to lift and both tasks are much easier to accomplish when the temperatures moderate. *

At any rate, I've got spring fever and as I murmured in this morning's pillow prayer, "Put me in coach, I'm ready to play!"



Saturday dawned breezy, chilly, wet, and damp. I spent the first part of the morning clearing the drive.



An inch, almost two, had fallen the night before and I didn't want it to get in the way of any melting process.

For the first time in the past six years, there's a frost heave, a ditch, running down the middle of the drive from the barn to the garage.



For those southerners who aren't lucky enough to experience the yearly spring ritual of having their yards, drives, and roads rise and fall, frost heaves happen each spring when the dirt begins to thaw and causes the top several feet to expand and contract. Many a muffler has been separated from the undercarriage of a car when a poor, unsuspecting, driver hits a two-foot ditch or bump, a place that might have been perfectly smooth the day before. Thankfully, once the ground is completely thawed, the surface usually returns to normal and frost heaves are forgotten about until they rear their ugly heads (or ground) the next spring. 

Page Two:

We had purchased a pork loin that was on sale earlier this week. I finally decided to cut it into two, freeze both pieces for now, then put them in the smoker later this spring.



I smoked some loins last fall, sliced them, placed everything in a freezer bag and then into the freezer. It's so easy (and delicious) to get out what we want for supper, warm it, and we're ready to eat.

Sargie and I decided to take a drive to Rhinelander, Wisconsin, Saturday afternoon. We made stops at Aldi Foods, Kohls, and Menards Lumber. 

I found a comfortable chair attached to a patio set and parked myself for a couple of hours while Sargie browsed the clearance racks. I don't believe she ever bought for herself, but was successful in finding things for others.



The most worthless item seen yesterday? A Darth Vader toaster.



The most valuable? Peeps! It's my oldest son, Josh's, most loved Easter treat. He's been known to inhale an entire flock of baby chicks in one Easter season.



And so our day went. We stopped at Menards and priced windows and doors as all need to be replaced sooner or later. We're just waiting for the latest lottery results.

Last night was spent watching reruns of MASH on Netflix while eating spaghetti. I spent some time reading about how to germinate delicate seeds, mostly those of petunias. Indoor sowing will begin this coming week.

This is Sargie's last day of vacation for the year. It's been wonderful having her home. There was the big Milligan weekend, then Grady came to visit for a couple of days, followed by some shopping trips and nice drives.  

I'm going to hang the service station that Sargie gave me for Christmas in the garage today. It supplies light and air from above via retractable hoses and cords. Nothing is ever easy as I have to attach a couple of 1x6's between the rafters before any permanent installation happens. Other than that, we'll take our usual drive and enjoy each other's company. 

I see that Ted won a couple of primaries yesterday and Bernie won two over Hillary. All that news and a nickel won't buy me a cup of coffee, so I think I'll just stick to researching how to plant petunia seed. That might be more productive.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

A big kiss from big sister, Emerson

* "Tote that barge and lift that bale," is a line used in the song, Old Man River, from the musical Showboat. It was one of Dad's favorite's and he was fond of using that quote when there was work to do.