October 4, 2016 - Tuesday
51 degrees/partly cloudy/calm winds
Pentoga Road

I was up very early this morning with an itch to get outside. We had a light frost the night before last, although certainly not a killing one, but enough that I can begin to bring in the fall crops and store them away for the upcoming winter months.

I remained in bed for well over an hour simply thinking. Not only do the squash and other vegetables need to be packed away in the basement, but Sargie's flowers have to be planted in shallow sand and placed under grow lights for the next six months. We save about five hundred dollars each spring by doing so, but it's a chore to haul them from one place to the other, then keep them tended all winter long. The next two weeks are going to be busy ones. 

Monday started off with a big, fat, fizzle. It was cold in the house so I turned up the thermostat on the furnace. The motor jumped to life, then quit. The reset button was pushed producing the same results. I'm going to have to call the furnace man. The heating unit is an old beast, but according to the furnace technician, it's not in bad shape. 

Well, of course, he'd say that. He makes $75 each time he comes out and turns a knob or makes an adjustment. I need to buy a new, efficient, propane furnace, but there's just one little obstacle... money. Our intentions are to have a new unit installed at the same time we add the bedroom/bath on the first floor. For now, I'll pay the $75 and we'll make do. It's not difficult since we use wood as our main heating source. The only time we need a furnace is when we go away for a weekend or our yearly week long winter getaway.

Monday was a gorgeous day in the UP.  We awakened to find a light frost coating everything, but once the sun rose, the temperatures climbed into the mid 60's with sunny skies and little wind. 

Fog lifting from a local beaver pond

Grady awakened early and was calling to Grandma Sargie to come rescue him from his bed. After a quick breakfast and bath, Hambone was ready to ride back to Iron Mountain with Sargie where she dropped him off at home before going on to work.



After my morning walk, I decided it was too nice a day to stay home. Time to go fishing!



It began with plenty of excitement. Four nice bluegills were in the fish basket within the first five minutes. 



With the cooler weather, I changed from using all artificial lures to the good old-fashioned bobber and worm. 

Unfortunately, what God giveth, He can taketh away. After a dozen or more fish had been caught, they quit hitting. 



I wasn't daunted and remained out on the pond, floating and fishing, mostly soaking up a lot of fresh air and sunshine. When my head began to nod, I knew it was time to come home.



The remainder of the afternoon was spent being lazy. I watched some television, played with Brutus, fed Jimmy, but mostly, I sat in front of the barn with the back of my head resting against the wall. My eyes kept closing as my body absorbed the heat from the late afternoon sun. Seems as I get older, that old lawn chair outside the door of the barn is becoming one of my favorites. I used to laugh at the old men who sat for hours at the feed mill in our home town. Most had hand rolled cigarettes dangling from their lips and all seemed content to simply sit in the sun and soak up the warmth, even on summer days. I'm beginning to relate.

Sargie had to work over last night. Once home, we watched Dancing With the Stars and called it a day. 

She closes tonight, so it will be another long one for her. I'm going to walk this morning then hop on the rider and mow the yard, meadows, and trails, hopefully for the last time this year. It's time to get ready for the cold months ahead.

Whoops, it's also time to get Sargie up for the day. There are barges to tote and bales to lift. 

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...