What used to be the popple woods was mowed for the first time ever on Monday afternoon.

May 10, 2016 - Tuesday

37 degrees/clear/calm winds

Pentoga Road

Whew, I don't know which eighteen-wheeler ran over me during the night, but I slept like a rock right up until the alarm rang this morning. After only two to three hours of slumber the night before, I was a tired boy. Thankfully, my mind didn't insist on working overtime and allowed me to sleep the night through.

Arriving home from Iron Mountain on Monday morning, I immediately got to work cleaning out the area around the back patio. Sargie has been sounding the alarm about a critter getting under the deck, most likely, a skunk. She suggested a proactive approach might be preferable to that of being reactive.

I stalled and tried to make up any excuse that came to mind, even saying that skunks need love too, but in the end, she was right.

I have several rolls of used chicken wire. It wouldn't take much. After gathering the tools, I began. What a pain. 

After several hours of frustrating work, the wire was cut and stapled to the bottom of the deck, then buried several inches into the ground. We should now remain critter-free.

It was afternoon before I started the old Ford tractor and used the front end loader to move the boulders that were dug from the yard on Sunday afternoon.

I was driving through the woods to dump a large rock when I ran up on a dead log, causing one end to rise and break the exhaust pipe that runs under the floor board of the tractor.

Thank goodness for my always-pleasant, calm, and even personality, even in times of unplanned malady. Okay, I lied. Mom would have definitely washed my mouth out with soap.

There was nothing to do but drive the tractor to the shop and get to work. I found some flashing and muffler clamps to temporarily patch the thing.

I even found a piece of heavy aluminum to bend and put over the flashing to give the pipe some strength. At first, I was going to weld a repair, but the exhaust was too rusted. There was nothing solid to weld to. An entire new system only costs around $35, so that'll be on my list of things to do for later this summer.

The rest of the day was spent mowing the front half of the old popple woods. After cutting thousands of saplings four years ago and spending the time since cleaning up garbage from the area area, I was finally able to get the mower over part of it. I've alway dreamed of having that area be a park-like setting, maybe even fencing part of it for a few head of livestock, a miniature pony and an alpaca or two. Anything is preferable to the saplings, weeds, and thistles that have always grown there.

Sargie had a good day on Monday and was home in time so that we could watch Dancing With the Stars. Bedtime came soon after.

Sargie opens today which means she should be home early this evening. I'm going to have coffee with Neighbor Mike first thing this morning, swap a few lies, then work some more around the patio area. Other than that, the sky's the limit.

It's time to get the boat ready for another season of fishing.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

The radishes planted three days ago are beginning to pop from the ground.