Sargie's hauling wood chips on Thursday afternoon

April 22, 2016 - Friday

32 degrees/snow flurries/breezy

Pentoga Road

Yesterday was sunny and calm with highs in the sixties. Today it's snowing. Is there no mercy for the poor northern people of the Upper Peninsula?

Years ago, while living in the furthest reaches of northern Maine, six of us, all teachers and administrators, were camping on the St. John River near the Quebec border over the Memorial Day weekend. It was our annual man time, an end of the year fishing blowout supplemented by cases and cases of beer. 

We went to bed one night with the thermometer showing almost seventy degrees and awakened the next morning to six inches of snow on the ground. There was no mercy for us poor outdoor partiers back then either. 

Page Two:

Sargie and I made our way to Iron Mountain Thursday morning with the intentions of bringing home a new kitchen window. In the place we shopped, one can buy brand new windows, but there are thousands of seconds, returns, and overstock items. 

I immediately found a window that will fit in the shop. A brand new unit for $45. Perfect.

We looked and sorted, walked through all eight buildings, and couldn't find what we wanted for the kitchen. In the end, we ordered one to be built to our specifications and measurements.

Sargie's looking through one of eight warehouses for the perfect kitchen window.

After we arrived home, I removed all the inside trim and measured the existing opening. The new window should slide into place and we'll be all set to go. No muss, no fuss, just a lot of muttering on my part. It's to be ready in three weeks.

With the interior trim removed, I could accurately measure the opening.

Page Three:

It was warm and with little breeze, we decided to begin laying down the black material mulch over the new garden area. Without it, I'd be fighting weeds and grass all summer. New gardens, those that haven't been tilled and tended for at least a year, are notorious for being weedy, often to the point that a grower will give up and let the unwanted growth take over. 

Sargie was soon at my side and together, we got the mulch unrolled and secured. 

I'll plant only vine or bush crops in the new area this year and will simply poke holes in the mulch to plant them in the dirt below.

At Sargie's suggestion, we loaded the Blazer with empty trash barrels and made our way to Yooper Brother Mark's plant for a load of wood chips.

We began hauling as soon as we got home and again, with Sargie's help, all were soon dumped on top of the black mulch.

There were two tired kids who showered and climbed the stairs to bed last night. After a very long and fun day, we were exhausted.

Sargie closes tonight so she starts work late this morning. I'm going to make two or three trips into town to get more wood chips. After dumping them, I'll spend time this afternoon raking the piles out over the mulch.

Other than that, it appears to be the perfect day for a grandpa nap. 

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

There's something about Ivy that makes her old grandpa smile.