Mom and Sargie at the Iron Mountain airport Friday afternoon.

December 31, 2016 - Saturday

17 degrees/snow showers/calm winds

Pentoga Road

Seems kind of odd around here this morning. I've gotten into the habit of rising early and warming the house before Mom or Sargie get out of bed. Mom's safely back in Indiana and Sargie doesn't work until 10 this morning so she is able to sleep an extra hour. 

The past several days flew by. It was over a week ago, on Christmas Eve, that we attended the Mighty Milligan Christmas Eve celebration at Tricia and Donnie's.

Eighty-nine years separate Piper and Mom

The little cousins

The big cousins, parents of the little ones

Sargie's descendants 

Niece Sasha and me. We're excited that Sasha and Alex will be getting married next September. 

Christmas morning was a mellow affair. Mom, Sargie, and I, took our time opening presents.

Unfortunately, we didn't make it to Milligan Mountain for the annual family Christmas gathering. We were about twenty miles away when freezing rain began to fall. It quickly stuck to the windshield so we made the decision to turn around and come back home. By night's end, there was over an inch of snow/ice frozen on the roads.

The temperatures were quite warm the day after Christmas. I used the opportunity to scrape the ice and freezing rain from the drive by hand.



With the sun shining, the black pavement soon radiated enough heat to melt the remaining ice.

Now that Christmas is over, I can show a couple of things I'd been working on in the shop prior to the holiday. 

I made this frame and butterfly insert on the scroll saw for Mom as a Christmas present.

I also cut a mother/child piece for Sargie.

Though I didn't spend a lot of time in the shop this past week, I turned this small bowl from a piece of birch firewood and gave it to Mom.

I'm currently turning another project from a chunk of maple fire wood.

Sargie gave me a drone that takes video and pictures, along with other goodies, for Christmas. For two days after, the wind howled. Finally, it subsided enough that I felt comfortable taking the drone for a test flight in the front meadow, well away from any trees.

All went well until I allowed the drone to gain altitude above the trees. The wind caught it and away it went... up... up... up.

I can't see more than a few feet and quickly lost sight of it. Not knowing what to do, I cut power and soon saw it falling from the skies in a controlled stall towards the trees.

I took off running through the snow and lost sight of it again. Where did it go?

Thankfully, the lights were flashing on the drone and I finally found it hung up in the top of a skinny, but very tall, popple tree.

I tried shaking the tree to no avail. It was too small to climb, yet too big to do anything with other than watch the drone dangle from a branch up high.



Sargie and I own forty-two acres, almost all of it heavily wooded. I did what any good outdoorsman would do to get his drone back. I got my chain saw involved in the action.



The tree was cut so it would fall under the drone, not on top of it. In the end, I retrieved my flying machine fully intact.

Mom and her best friend, Brutus, had a love fest each and every moment during the week.

After an evening filled with our hundred-pound puppy crying and carrying on, we called Mom last evening and put our conversation on speaker so Brutus could hear her voice. He's obviously missing his buddy. As soon as he heard Mom's voice, he quickly calmed down and assumed his usual place in front of the wood stove.

Mom and I did a bit of post Christmas shopping. I purchased a lighted reindeer and sleigh on clearance for Sargie. It will be used next Christmas.

We took Mom to the airport to catch the noon flight Friday morning. We've had a wonderful past two weeks and both Sargie and I hated to see her leave.

Mama promised she'd be back in June so we can properly celebrate her 90th birthday... and celebrate we will!

Sargie works today from 10 to 6. I think I'll clean the drive and deck of snow then head to the lake for a few hours of ice fishing. After a couple days of warm weather and rain, the lake was a mess. 

Someone took his snowmobile out on the lake with several inches of slush on top of the ice.

Thankfully the glop has frozen solid. It's time to get serious about putting meat on the table.

It feels good to be back writing again. After thirty-plus years of composing and publishing in some manner or the other, old habits die hard.

It's time to throw another log on the fire and sip some serious coffee.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

December 24, 2016 - 2016 

Here we are, in the batter's box, the day before THE day. Christmas is almost upon us. 

Tonight, munchkins the world over, big and little alike, will be going to bed in anticipation of what might be under the tree in the morning. 

I feel a bit cheated as there's no sense in writing a Christmas letter. If you want to know what's been happening on Pentoga Road this past year, scroll back through the hundreds of logs. You'll learn more than I can probably remember. 

Our sons, all seven of them, seem to be doing well and the nine grandchildren are healthy, active, and doing whatever it is grandchildren do.

Six months away from turning ninety, Mom is still firing on all cylinders and is more active than many who are twenty years younger. Her philosophy remains, "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!" 

Sargie and I are so happy.  There's not a day pass when we don't thank each other for simply being there. God gave us the ultimate gifts when he gave us each other. 


During this time of presents, family, friends, and love, remember why we celebrate Christmas, to recognize our Savior's birth, that of Jesus Christ our Lord. 

I'm going to take a break from writing for a few days. If history is any indicator, I'll be back sooner rather than later.

Once again, from those of us on Pentoga Road, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

May God Bless!

Sargie and Tom

Grady the Red Nosed Munchkin

December 23, 2016 - Friday

26 degrees/clear/breezy

Pentoga Road

I was up early this morning as Mom and I will ride to Iron Mountain with Sargie to get the Blazer that we left in town last night. Why is it that on mornings when I have to get out of bed, it seems I could sleep until noon? 

Thursday was a busy one. I went ice fishing first thing in the morning.

There are several inches of ice on the lake, but also, there's that much water on top of the ice. We've had enough snow that it's pushed the ice down, forcing the water to flow upwards through any cracks or holes making walking miserable and very slippery.

I slogged out to where I was fishing the day before yesterday and jigged for over an hour. My efforts produced two small bluegills, nothing worth bringing home. I'll wait until the week after next when the temperatures are forecast to plummet before I go again and let the overflow freeze.

I was home by midmorning and asked Mom if she wanted to ride with me to take the power auger to the small engine repair shop. 

It was a beautiful and warm day and we enjoyed our ride, sight seeing a bit, and talking a mile a minute. In the end, we found a local mom and pop restaurant where we enjoyed the daily special, hot turkey sandwiches, mashed taters, gravy, and salad. It was a great date. Thanks, Mom!

Once home, I scraped the drive again and played outside. The registration stickers were put on the snowmobile and I'm now riding on the right side of the law.

I may be on the right side of the law, but I definitely fell off the trail. I certainly got stuck, but the nice thing with a Tundra, it was easy to get out.

Mom and I left for Iron Mountain later in the afternoon to meet Sargie, then go on to Mel, Macrea, and Grady's for our little family Christmas. 

The pictures tell the story better than I can:

With bellies filled with pizza and arms full of presents, it was past my bedtime before we left. Things were going well until we found the Kia had a flat tire.

This is the same tire that mysteriously went flat a month ago. Neither the tire store nor I could find a leak in the thing after it was once again inflated. 

We were across the street from a filling station last night, so I inflated the tire and we came on home. 

Mom and I will be taking the Kia back to the tire store this morning and I'll have them check it again. The mystery of the rapidly deflating tire continues, at least for now.

So the countdown continues towards the biggest day of the year. Mom said she'd help me wrap presents later today when we get home from Iron Mountain. Other than that, the sky's the limit. 

It's time to get busy. After all, a man's work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Several more inches of heavy snow fell on Wednesday

December 23, 2016 - Thursday

29 degees/clear skies/calm winds

Pentoga Road

Once again, Carl the Weatherman missed the mark in predicting Wednesday's snowfall. He said we'd receive "some light snow... probably not much." Last week, his forecast of light snow turned out to be eight inches deep. Yesterday, another six, possibly a bit more, fell. 

I walked a full five miles first thing Wednesday morning. It felt wonderful to stretch my legs and get the heart pumping. One thing is certain. After the holidays are over, I'm going to be walking some major distances to shed these Christmas pounds that have been accumulating around my middle. I'm getting that beach ball look again... just paint me red, white, and blue, and roll me down the road.

It began snowing soon after I walked in the house. Gas was needed for the four-wheeler as well as propane to heat the shop. I suggested to Mom that we leave for town sooner rather than later.

Who is that Christmas nymph? Why, that's my mom!

Initially, the snowfall was light, but soon turned heavy. I had difficulty seeing the road so we drove straight to town and right back to Pentoga Road.

Once home, I began working on the snowblower. The outlet at the bottom of the fuel tank had become clogged causing the engine to cut out after running for a minute or two. There was nothing to do but remove the tank and thoroughly clean its interior.

The gas cap disappeared last week while I was using the snowblower. The only thing I can figure out is that it vibrated off and landed somewhere in the deep snow. No doubt I'll find it with the lawn mower next spring. It's a magnet for lost items that are hiding in the yard.

What to do? I fashioned a temporary tin foil cap and secured it onto the gas tank with a small bungee cord. Don't laugh. It works.

I really wanted to go ice fishing, but hadn't yet looked at any of my equipment since last year. I tried to start the power auger, but it wouldn't fire. I'll take it to the small engine shop later today and leave it to be made ready for another season of use.

Some time was spent sorting my fishing equipment on the living room floor. It wasn't long before I told Mom goodbye and headed to the lake.

I drilled a test hole and found in excess of five inches of solid, clear, ice, more than enough.

My stay on the lake was brief. The snow was coming down so hard that I began to worry about getting the Blazer up a hill from where I was parked and I hated to leave Mom at home alone for very long during a heavy snow storm.



Still, I found fish on the sonar, enough that I think I'll head back out first thing this morning and see if I can catch a few bluegills or crappies.

My view from inside the ice fishing tent. You can see on the screen that the water temperature is 32 degrees and the depth is 16 feet.

Back home, it took almost two hours to plow the drive and clean the back patio.



Sargie left work a couple of hours early. Able to drive home in the daylight, she said the roads were all snow covered and quite slippery.

Yooper Brother Mark and Sheri stopped out last night bearing a bag of Christmas goodies.



They leave on Saturday for Wyoming to enjoy a week-long visit with Isabella, Sarah, and Curtis.

I'm going fishing first thing this morning. It's to be a beautiful, warm, sunny, day, ideal for sitting out on the ice for an hour or two.

You want to mess with Grandma?
Go right ahead, it will be fun to see how far you get.

Sargie opens the Vision Center this morning. We're going to meet her in Iron Mountain late this afternoon at Grady's house where we'll have our own little family Christmas with Mel, Macrea, and ol' Hambone.

So that's about all the news from this end of the North Woods. Christmas is almost here and I think I'm ready. Well, there's a present or two to wrap, but otherwise, we're ready for Santa.



Time to get this show on the road. There's Sargie's lunch to pack, breakfast to be made, and coffee to sip.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

December 21, 2016 - Wednesday
22 degrees/cloudy/breezy
Pentoga Road

Boy, I don't know who hit me in the head early this morning, but I was dead to the world when the alarm rang, something that is quite rare for me. My over sleeping must be stress related from eating all those Christmas cookies, watching Christmas movies on television, and even sneaking in an occasional afternoon nap. Darn straight.

The bird feeders have become one of the more popular places in the area.

I finally strapped on my hiking boots and took a three mile stroll Tuesday morning. It felt good to get the blood flowing again, break up all the fatty clumps that must be sitting in my veins, and walk a bit. I plan to do the same again this morning.

I arrived home and with Mom watching The Price is Right, I warmed up the shop and worked on a deer piece... well, worked long enough to saw on the wrong line and ruin the thing. Oh well, nothing was damaged other than my delicate ego and thankfully, Mom was here to hold and rock me, tell me everything's going to be okay, kiss me on the forehead, and make the hurt go away.

I also took the time to play with the new chuck on the lathe. I didn't do much other than see how it really worked and practice turning a scrap piece of birch.

In the end, I made a beautiful cylinder of firewood

It's amazing how many birds have found our feeders. It seems that flock after flock can be seen at various times of the day.

Taken through the shop window

Sargie was home by mid evening and while she wrapped presents in the living room, the three of us watched America's Got Talent and the Pentatonix Christmas Special on DVR . I wish we had that quality of programing all year round. It was a good night of television.

Our dining room resembles Santa's workshop

Sargie opens the Vision Center today. I'm going for my usual walk then we'll see what the rest of the day holds. Mom and I will drive to town for an errand or two at some point, but otherwise, the sky's the limit.

Time to get a move on here. I'm running a day late and a dollar short, but then as we all know, a man's work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Eileen sent this picture of their son, Andrew, who now lives, works, and goes to school in Fairbanks, Alaska. I had Andrew from the time he was in sixth grade until he graduated from high school. We also took a year-long guide's course together many many years ago.
We'll be able to call Andrew, Dr. Cyr, next year after he finishes earning his PhD.