Grady (left) and his friend with no front teeth enjoyed a fun St. Pat's Day party at daycare. I've seen that look on Grady's face before. I bet Miss Fawn, the daycare provider, was a tired lady last night.

March 17, 2017 - Saturday

30 degrees/cloudy/calm winds

Pentoga Road

It appears that winter isn't going gently into the night, or day, or anywhere for that matter. We awakened to advisories Friday morning and by daybreak, a mixture of snow and rain was falling.

My feet went out from under me more than once during my walk, but I managed to recover in time to keep from falling flat on the ground. 

Spruce logs, harvested from a nearby wood lot, are stacked alongside the road.

Sargie said the primary roads were in fairly good condition, but our's were horrible. I think the county put the snow plows away sometime ago as there wasn't a one in sight, but that's a story for another time.

My former student of many many years ago, Matt Morin, sent a couple of pictures that need no explanation. 

Matt and family live in southeast Missouri where he teaches broadcast communications. He quipped that since I'm always feeding some sort of wild critter by hand, he wanted to share these pictures. Matt added this deer simply wandered in and is tame as a puppy dog.

Though I go to great efforts to keep the hoards of rampaging deer out of our yard and garden, I'm jealous. 

I had a pet moose named Mable while living in the Arctic Circle. Like Matt's deer, she simply showed up one day and within minutes, we were rubbing noses while I scratched behind her ears. I once called the local grocery on satellite phone, then rode my snowmobile seventeen miles to our local village, simply to purchase a bag of very rare and expensive carrots, not for me, but for Mable.

My beautiful moose stayed for two years before suddenly disappearing. I assume she was either shot or done in by wolves.

The deer pictures bring back a lot of memories. Thanks for sharing them, Matt. 

With Easter approaching next month, it was time to step out of my comfort zone and attempt turning an Easter egg and stand, all from one piece of wood. In my case, it was wild cherry stolen from Neighbor Mike's stack of firewood. He's in New Zealand and wouldn't miss it anyway.

It was a bit of a challenge to remember exactly how an egg is shaped. I've cracked a million of them, but do you think I could get a hunk of wood to actually look like something an Easter bunny might deliver? Initially, my egg looked as though a ping pong ball had given birth. 

In the end, I walked back to the house, removed an egg from the carton, and simply stared at it. After that, my creation began to take shape.

The egg I'd seen turned on the internet had a ribbon with plenty of color. I needed to make dents and score around the middle. What to use?

I found a roller that is used to press the cord into a frame when replacing screen material on windows. 

It was originally perfectly round, but after a session with the grinder, the wheel resembled a gear, something that would create minute dents in the wood.

What to use for colors? Sharpies were suggested. I found several around the house.

NEVER turn a guy who can't see worth a darn loose with a fist full of Sharpies. How dumb is that?

I was less than pleased with my coloring efforts. That's why Sargie does all the artwork.

There will be more Easter eggs in my future and this was merely the first. Live and learn.

I needed to practice my egg-making skills. With an abundance of inexpensive cull 2x2 pine lumber, I cut off a piece on which to practice.

I purchased an entire bundle of 2x2 lumber, all rejects, from Home Depot for two dollars last month. They are worthless for construction, but cut into smaller lengths, are perfect for projects.

A piece was mounted and I began practicing some basic chisel skills.

The egg was coming along nicely when suddenly, something hit my face shield. It sounded like someone had fired a bullet directly at my head.

Thank God, I wear a face shield. The pine, a soft lumber, had cracked apart and flown through the air at lightening speed. I never saw it coming and hate to think of the damage it would have done to my eyes, teeth, or face, had I not been wearing adequate protection.

Not to be daunted, I removed the bad piece and began again. A new mini egg and stand began to emerge.

The last shop project of the day was to assemble and glue the Easter bunny rabbits. By afternoon's end, two eggs and a herd of bunnies were moved into the house.

The polyurethane caused the color to run when applied to the Easter eggs. I had to sand both eggs and reapply the color, something that was much easier to do the first time around. 

Sargie arrived home early last night from the Vision Center and it wasn't long before we were on our way to meet Yooper Brother Mark and Sheri for a fish fry. We were later joined by Jerad and Jenna and it was good to catch up on everyone's happenings. 

Sargie works late today and closes the Vision Center tonight. I have a few honey do jobs to finish this weekend before heading to Indiana Monday morning. I hope to make another Easter egg or two, then clean the shop from top to bottom. I'd hate to come home to a mess. 

With that said, it's time to get Sargie up so she can begin her day. 

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

It didn't take long to clean yesterday's snow from the drive.