BOO! Consider yourself frightened!
Bennet and Emerson as Mickey and Mini Mouse.

October 31, 2016 - Monday

33 degrees/rainy/calm winds

Pentoga Road

Happy Halloween! Ah, for the days when we were in elementary school, dressed in our costumes, parading through the other classrooms. The cupcakes, punch, games, and fun we had...

I guess that in many schools throughout America, Halloween parties are no longer allowed. I'm told they are offensive to a minority and the treats are considered unhealthy. 

Too bad. We've become so proper and righteous that we've forgotten how to have good, old-fashioned, fun. It's okay that we test our children ad nauseam for days on end, but God help us if we allow them to giggle and laugh, dress in silly costumes, eat cupcakes, play games, and parade through the school. 

To those who don't think Halloween should be a fun, end of the day, hour-long, holiday for kiddies in elementary school, might I suggest you read Dickens A Christmas Carol.

Oh, and BOO! Consider yourself scared. You deserve it.

I was out the door at daybreak Sunday morning unloading the rest of the wood from the trailer. What's particularly nice is having the small wood splitter close by. 

Each chunk is removed, laid on the splitter, then the pieces are thrown into the pile. I'm grateful that I no longer have to swing that twelve pound maul. It was getting a bit cumbersome.

Sargie was doing her thing inside the house and the morning was still early. I decided to go back to the plant and get yet another load of fire wood. 

Once home, I backed the trailer up to the wood pile knowing I would have this week to unload it.

Poor Jerad caught another critter in his trapline. A skunk.

We texted back and forth on Sunday morning about the best ways to dispatch a skunk, none of them spray-proof. Different trappers have different methods, but as far as I'm concerned, they all stink. (Hey, that was supposed to be a joke. It deserves at least a chuckle.)

Sargie and I enjoyed our usual day-off foray to town, purchased some fried chicken from the local deli and got her Coke. The rest of the drive was spent looking at lake homes, seeing how the other half lives.

We were home in time to watch the Green Bay/Atlanta game which was lost by one point. Normally I'd be upset, but really, the Packers played pretty well. We were beat by a better team and Atlanta deserved to win. 

Last night was a quiet one spent in front of the television. 

Sargie opens today. I'm going for my walk then I hope to finish cleaning the garden. One full day of work would see it ready for the winter months, but it seems as though that day never arrives. 

BOO! Got 'cha again!

After today's rain, it's to be sunny and warm for the rest of the week. I hope to finish the seasonal outside chores and move into the shop for the next few months. 

There's not a lot to write about this early morning. I can hear the rain hitting the metal roof overhead, the fire is crackling in the stove, and honestly, if I closed my eyes, I could probably fall back to sleep. It's dawning that type of day.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

A Halloween decorated, chainsaw carved, bear holding a fish.
BOO for the last time!

My friend, Eileen, occasionally sends pictures from the area where we lived and I taught for many years in northern Maine. These two bull moose were sparing less than a mile from our old family home.

October 30, 2016 - Sunday

36 degrees/partly cloudy/calm winds

Pentoga Road

I'm sitting here looking at the picture of the two moose. They were taken by the daughter of a former teacher and friend, Jenny. Jenny's daughter, Nicole and her husband live in her parent's old home outside of St. David, Maine, where she snapped the photo.

Nicole was the cutest little girl. After school, when the halls were empty and the teachers were finishing their workday, I'd grab a rolling secretary's chair from the front office and bring it out into the hallway. Nicole loved to sit on my lap and I'd push the chair around in circles with my feet. Just three or four years old, she'd laugh and giggle and beg for more.

Nicole's all grown up now and married. I haven't seen her in many years, but those memories of that little girl laughing and giggling are some of my favorites. I've known some really good people during my lifetime. Nicole, her brother Matt, and her mom, Jenny, were some of the best.  

Oh, I also have several moose stories, but my favorite is of being chased onto the roof of the old chicken coop in our yard and throwing rotten zucchini squash at the one-antlered, crazed, bull. He eventually gave up and trotted away.

Mt. Katahdin in Maine

Eileen also sent a picture of Mt. Katahdin in north central Maine, taken after the first major snowfall of the season last Thursday.

Mt. Katahdin marks the end of the Appalachian Trail that begins in Georgia and finishes in Maine. Along with my sons, I've climbed it and a neighboring mountain, Double Top. It's my dream, probably nothing more than a fantasy, to climb Katahdin one more time when I too complete hiking the 2,100 mile Appalachian Trail. 

Meanwhile, back to reality in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan...

I rode to Iron Mountain late Saturday morning with Sargie and drove her car to the Jiffy Lube place to have the oil changed. With almost 170,000 miles on the little Kia, it still runs like new, due in part to the fact that Sargie is diligent about having the synthetic oil changed frequently. 

It was past noon before I arrived back home. I played with Brutus a bit then hooked the trailer onto the Blazer and drove to town for a load of wood.

Yooper Brother Mark has mentioned several times that there is quite a pile of wood laying on the ground outside the plant and has arranged to have it hauled away and dumped. Usually, one has to wait in line to get a load of burnable wood, but this year, due to the low cost of energy, it appears many are choosing propane as their main heating source. 

A trailer load of the soft wood, mostly popple and butt ends, equals a full month of heat for Sargie and me. Our house is small and though it burns faster than maple, oak, or other hardwoods, I don't mind putting a piece or two into the wood stove more often. I'm retired and for the most part, have plenty of time to do so. We've only burned a quarter of a tank of heating oil in the past four years, so I guess the wood heat does the job. 

After an hour of throwing wood into the trailer, I stopped by Mark and Sheri's for a quick visit before returning home. 

The afternoon was spent doing small things around the yard and house. I eventually returned to the trailer and began unloading wood, splitting the larger pieces as I went.

It was well after dark before I quit. There's still half a trailer full sitting out there, but that will be emptied after the sun rises this morning.

Sargie had to close and wasn't home until 9:30 last night. Poor thing, I was all done in from a day of loading and working up wood and couldn't keep my eyes open. She was wide awake and wound up after just finishing her work day. I'm afraid I wasn't much company for her last night. In fact, I don't even remember when she came to bed.

Sargie's sleeping in this morning. I'm going to finish unloading the trailer and might sneak back into town this morning and get another load. I'll put it on the ground and keep it covered with a tarp. It'll burn just fine over the next winter or two.

Meanwhile, there are yesterday's pictures to download and another cup of coffee to pour.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

If you look closely in the middle of the picture, there are several ducks swimming around in our meadow. After receiving seven inches of rain two weeks ago, the water is finally beginning to recede.

The rotary mower was rescued from Lake Pentoga on Friday

October 29, 2016 - Saturday

47 degrees/cloudy/calm winds

Pentoga Road

I'm sitting here feeling pretty sassy, perky, and oh yes, saucy, this morning. I had a dentist's appointment Friday morning, first a cleaning, then an exam. Other than one small "pit" in the side of a tooth, my choppers and gums were pronounced healthy and strong. 

I really like my dentist, Eric, and his staff, but I detest anyone having his hands in my mouth. It just doesn't seem natural and I have to suppress the urge to bite down and draw blood. I think it's a genetic carryover from the cave man days.

I'll return in December to have the one small cavity filled, then will be finished with that for another six months.

Who's that good lookin' baby giving herself kisses?
Why, It's Ivy!

I was home by midmorning and while the shop was warming up, decided to install the battery in the Ford tractor.

It didn't fit.

For whatever reason, the opening was about a quarter inch too small. I was working from a step stool, upside down, and growing tired in my attempts to drop the heavy battery down into the compartment, right side up, upside down, and sideways. 

Technically, it's supposed to slide in through the side, but the added arms of the front end loader prevented that from happening.

I finally took an interior tool box out of the compartment and was happy when the battery finally dropped in. The tool box was eventually reinstalled and the tractor was good to go.

The old Ford didn't start willingly. It's been cold and damp and I believe the sixty-four year old beast would have been happy to have simply hibernated in place until next spring. That wasn't an option. There's still work to do before snow flies. 

I steered into Lake Pentoga as my goal was to retrieve the rotary mower from under the water. I haven't captained a large vessel since living aboard my mini tugboat/trawler in Alaska. 

One difference. When I drove into a deep hole, I was reminded that the Ford didn't float, the boat did. Still, I was able to continue on to rescue the mower.

Meanwhile....

I've had something weighing heavily the past few days, whether I should purchase a portable sawmill.

I compare my desire to own a sawmill with one who still buys material and sews her own clothing...  because she can. I rest my case.

There's a fairly large infestation of Spruce Bud Worm in many of our spruce trees, especially in the middle of our property. I suppose the trees have some marketable value, but I'm not certain it would be that much. Besides, I don't want large ruts caused from heavy logging machinery scarring our property. 

I've decided to build a barn over the next couple of years so any grandchildren or nieces/nephews can be exposed to something other than video games, smart phones, and computers, for which I'll need a substantial amount of dimensional lumber. Then once Grady's older, there's a tree house to build that I promised we'd do together, the one that will be big enough for Pawpaw's recliner, a coffee pot, and can also double as a seasonal elevated deer blind. The reasons to purchase a sawmill are infinite.

My bank is offering another promotional 0% loan for fifteen months. It's the same type of deal that enabled me to purchase the backhoe, trailer, and high pressure washer. It's money that I can use and doesn't cost me a cent.

I talked with the bandsaw dealer yesterday who's located in west central Wisconsin. I can purchase a demo unit resulting in a savings of several hundred dollars. 

What to do? What to do? Stay tuned, this could get interesting.

Some time was spent in the shop on Friday afternoon, sanding, drilling, and cutting. I might have also sagged into the overstuffed recliner for a few minutes of quality Grandpa time.



It's time for a visit to Jiffy Lube to have the oil in Sargie's car changed. I decided to drive to Iron Mountain Friday afternoon and ride home with Sargie, then visit Jiffy Lube this morning.

When I walked into the Vision Center, I saw a walking talking cheeseburger who closely resembled Hambone.



It seems Grady's day care had their Halloween party on Friday and Mel, Grady's mommy, had stopped by so Grandma Sargie could see her 3rd generation cheeseburger. 

Grady's mommy, Mel, and Grady

Last evening was a quiet one. Both Sargie and I were yawning well before bedtime and it didn't take either of us long to fall asleep once we were in bed.

Sargie is back to work today and closes tonight. I'll do the Jiffy Lube thing then come back home and do whatever it is I do. In this case, I think I might hitch the trailer to the Blazer and go in and get a load of wood from Yooper Brother Mark's plant. He said there's quite a pile sitting on the ground that needs to find a home. It might as well be here.

Time to get this show on the road.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

October 28, 2016 - Friday
33 degrees/cloudy/calm winds
Pentoga Road

As you can see, our niece, Sasha, has created her yearly pumpkin artwork and sent a few pictures last evening. The Minion, on the left, is a huge children's favorite and who doesn't love the howling wolf on the far right? The white pumpkin perfectly outlines the BOO! Now it feels like Halloween.

Thursday was a catch-all day on Pentoga Road. I vacuumed and swept the rugs and floors before Sargie left for work. She closed last night and didn't have to be at the Vision Center until 11 AM.  I rode with her five miles down the road and hiked back. After a day off, it felt good to get the blood flowing once again.

I was walking along Thursday morning when I felt a sharp pain in my foot. Seems I stepped on a porcupine quill that went through the sole of my hiking boot.

A trip to town was made to purchase a new battery for the Ford tractor. I'll hook it up today.

Strange, I didn't realize how much I use that old tractor until the battery went dead (and stayed that way) a week ago. There's been several times I wanted to use it only to remember that I was tractorless. It's not a good feeling when one is by himself and doesn't have a set of spare muscles to help lift and carry. That old Ford does the work of six or eight men.

The rest of the day was spent in the shop where I cut out nine more game pieces and rough-sanded six. 



I typically carry my Macbook Pro to the shop as I keep most of my shop patterns/plans on the hard drive, plus I look at various turning (lathe) instructional videos online. It's hard on the computer, carting it back and forth. One screw that keeps the lid tight is stripped and after years of traveling in bush planes, boats, and on snowmobiles in Alaska, just like its owner, the old Mac is showing some age. As the saying goes, we've both been ridden hard and put away wet... literally.

I remembered an old laptop, a PC Windows Vista, from my Alaska days. Hmmm.

I worked on the laptop computer off and on for the rest of the day. It didn't take long for me to remember why I don't like PC's and the Windows format. I was either defragging or updating, condensing, finding missing registry lines, downloading a new anti virus, or otherwise mumbling. In the end, I was saying words that would have depleted Mom's soap supply from washing out my mouth. The mini machine from hell was downloading more stuff last night when I went to bed and has started doing it again this morning. 

At one point, I was reading "how-to" instructions from the Mac so I could apply them to the PC.

I think that little laptop is going to belong to Grady. He can pound on it all he wants and believe me, anything he does, including break the thing, will be an improvement.

I'm going to purchase another Chromebook, similar to the ones I got Sargie and Mom. There's a newer model that features a fifteen inch screen, one large enough where I can see the fonts, and it's certainly much cheaper ($175) than a Mac or even a new PC. It's nothing I'd care to have for my main machine, but should work just fine in the shop. Since Chromebooks have no hard drive to speak of, I'll keep my plans on an external flash drive and watch the videos online. The Chromebook can be kept in the desk in the shop or carried back and forth to the house. Either way, it will alleviate the wear and tear on my old Mac.

Sargie's been decorating a bra for the annual "Bras for a Cause" banquet to be held on November 5th. Held in honor of Sargie's sister, Susy, who passed away from breast cancer a few years ago, the annual event is a major social occasion in Iron Mountain and is headed up by sister-in-law, Debbie. Bras for a Cause brings in major money from not only donations, but also an auction where the bras are sold one by one.



Sargie was home late last night, opens today, then closes again on Saturday night. I'm beginning to think we're the two ships that meet while passing quietly in the night.

I have an early dentist's appointment this morning then hope to continue cleaning out the garden. The new battery needs to be installed in the tractor and if there's any time left in the day, I'll work in the shop. 

It's a busy life we lead on Pentoga Road, but as everyone knows, a man's work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

My little bunny rabbit, Ivy

Granddaughter, Abigail, is in the hospital for a short stay.
Get well, soon, Abba!

October 27, 2016 - Thursday

34 degrees/cloudy/calm winds
Pentoga Road

An Abigail update... after a one night stay in the hospital, she's home! Hang in there sweetheart, we love you.

Talk about a crummy day. It rained all day Wednesday and well into the night. We saw our first snow flakes just prior to going to bed, but thankfully, the ground is warm enough that it didn't stick.

Grady and I had to adjust to the inclement weather on Wednesday. The first order of the day was to check the traps.

Since we couldn't find Grady's mittens and hats, he had to make do with PawPaw's. Wearing those made him feel rather boss-like and the munchkin wasn't slow in telling me what I was doing wrong while remaking one set.

It began to rain... and rain... and rain some more. What do two guys who were planning on hanging out in the woods do when it rains? We go to see Yooper Brother Uncle Mark!



That's Mechanic Dave of the left. He was just going on lunch when Grady spotted his banana. Well, it was Dave's banana. How it ended up in Grady's hands, I'm not sure, but he enjoyed it down to the last bite.

Mark made sure Grady got to see all the action and there's little doubt that given the chance, Grady would have gone to work right then and there.

Grady gave two thumbs and a one banana up to the all the bales of animal bedding.

Hambone's most favorite part was the tractors, those big, loud, noisy, beeping, tractors.

We returned home and spent the rest of the day by the wood stove. Seeing him yawn, I asked Grady if he was ready for a nap. He said he was, but asked if he could sleep on the couch. Why not?

And so the day went, cold, rainy, and miserable outside, warm and fun in the house.

Grady kept singing, "Rain rain go away, so Grady can go outside to play."



It never did. It just kept raining.

Daddy arrived around 4 PM and after a quick bowl of homemade beef stew, the boys took off for Iron Mountain.

Sargie was home early last night and as was the case during the day, we spent it in the living room soaking up the heat from the wood stove and watching television.

Today will be a mixed bag of goodies. Sargie closes tonight so it will be a long one for her. I'm going for my walk then drive to town and purchase a 6 volt battery for the tractor. At some point, AT&T and I are going to tangle about an unresolved bill and since I didn't get to play in the shop yesterday, I'm going to make a point of doing so today.

Meanwhile, it's time to throw another log on the fire, sip some coffee, and think some deep thoughts.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Look who walked in the door late last evening.
Hambone and PawPaw are going to hang out today.

October 26, 2016 - Wednesday

32 degrees/cloudy/breezy

Pentoga Road

I don't know if it's the impending rain or I'm just getting soft, but I can hardly keep my eyes open this morning. That's not like me, but I was up several times during the night. That's not like me either.

Having that large mug of green tea during the late evening hours didn't help. I was up several times heeding nature's call.

I'm not very bright. WHY, I wondered at 2 AM, would I drink so much tea that close to bedtime? 

I used to drink a large mug each evening when I lived in Alaska. It was relaxing, my reward for surviving a day of hard work or play. It didn't cause me to awaken and nature was kinder to me in those days.

I just love getting old. Other than my belly, it seems as though every other part of my body is shrinking or not working nearly as well as it used to. So much for an evening mug of tea.

Arriving home from my walk on Tuesday morning, I immediately donned my hip waders and muddled out through the waters of Lake Pentoga to the trailer. 

Wouldn't you know it. Most of the depth was shallow enough except for that area directly in front of the trailer. It would have covered the engine of the four wheeler by six inches. 

I reached down into the water and grabbing the tongue, began rocking the entire trailer back and forth while pulling. It crept ahead a bit, then more, and finally, a foot or two, enough that I could safely hitch it onto the ATV.

Life's victories come in different packages. Yesterday's rescue of the trailer was a good one. 

I couldn't grease the wheel bearings until I moved the boat and trailer from in front of the barn. Deciding that our fishing season is over, I made the boat ready for the next six months of snow, emptying and turning it over, then parking it in it's usual place for the winter.

With both trailers taken care of, I turned my attentions to taking down the lattice that the black cherry tomatoes had been growing on alongside the barn.

After, I finished cleaning out the homemade trug and the four pyramids. It was only two and a half weeks ago when the south side of the barn was a lush, plush, garden with flowers and vegetables. 

October 6, 2016

October 25, 2016

All sorts of piddly, get-ready-for-winter, chores were done on Tuesday. I dug the dahlia bulbs and set those on newspaper to dry.

The dahlia bulbs, along with the squash and other vegetables, will soon be carried to the basement for winter storage.

So the afternoon went. Cuttings were taken of the ruffled petunias and placed in water to take root. Those will be planted in vermiculite and taken to the basement to be kept dormant for the next five or six months.

It was late afternoon and the shadows were getting long. I called it a day and plopped in my recliner to watch the 1964 movie, Fail Safe, with Henry Fonda and Walter Mathau on the Turner Classic Movie Channel. I well remember when the nuclear holocaust film appeared on the big screen and how frightened I was at the thought of an atomic war. I still am.

Our evening was short last night as Sargie had to close the Vision Center then pick up Grady on her way home. She opens today.

I'm not certain what's on Grady's and my agenda. If it doesn't rain, we'll be outside doing one thing or the other. I thought of making a toy wooden boat in the shop so he could float it on Lake Pentoga, but it's to rain and besides, it's too cold. 

At some point, we'll be going to town as I need to purchase a new battery for the Ford tractor. No doubt, we'll stop in and see Yooper Brother Mark at the plant. Other than that, who knows?

Well, there's one thing that's common knowledge:

A man's work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...