It's springtime on Pentoga Road and the Mighty Brule river is flowing large.

April 1, 2017 - Saturday

24 degrees/clear/calm winds

Pentoga Road

Indeed, spring has arrived in the Upper Peninsula and with it, plenty of projects to usher in the coming summer months.

It won't be long and I'll be working in the garden. There are raised beds to repair, new wood chips to spread in the rows, and even stubborn weeds to pull that managed to overwinter before they gain a foothold in the aisles.

I left home on foot for Pentoga Village early Friday morning. Though it's only three miles, roundtrip, there are a couple of hills to get one's heart pounding. 

I'm obviously out of shape as I huffed and puffed up one hill and down the other side. It seems in my more mature years that it takes a never ending regimen of physical activity just to maintain the status quo. I have ten pounds to shed and they aren't going willingly. Of course, eating an entire school of fried bluegill filets for supper doesn't help.

OK, so I cheated on my first day of the diet. It's Lent and yesterday was Friday. Not eating fish on Friday during Lent is like saying you don't believe in Baby Jesus. I'll reboot the diet today.

Now where was I? Yesterday's walk was beautiful. The snow, for the most part, is gone and one can inhale that magic springtime scent that I love so much, the simple smell of dirt. 

Once home, with Sargie's help, we moved the squash that had gone bad from the basement.

Loaded into a trash can and on a two-wheeled dolly, Sargie pulled while I lifted from below.

I hated to see so many squash go to waste, but we'd frozen all we could eat in a year and gave away as many as were spoken for. No doubt, there are a lot of happy deer running around this morning.

Sargie and I enjoyed our afternoon ride around the area.

Seems we weren't the only creatures enjoying the beautiful day.

When we stopped to look at the cattle and horses, this mare strolled over to the fence, no doubt, looking for a free hand out.

We drove by Summertime Sam, the wooden mannequin that someone adorns several times yearly. I've seen Sam dressed in shorts and a tank top, hunting gear, and even sporting a winter coat, hat, and ice fishing gear.

Yesterday, Sam had a beer bottle necklace, Mardi Gras beads, and was sporting a Detroit Tigers/St. Pat's day t shirt. 

We drove aimlessly, sipping Cokes, talking, and enjoying the scenery. It was nice driving with another set of eyes.

We saw an innovative way of attaching a mailbox. 

There's little doubt it was dismembered by a snowplow. It'll be interesting to see if this is a temporary or permanent repair. My thoughts, if it's permanent, I hope the owner has enough class to wrap it in duct tape, make it real pretty.

The best stop of the day was at our local alpaca farm where we talked with the owner, Cindy.

We've talked about getting a couple of alpacas along with a miniature horse or two to keep the weeds at bay in the old popple woods. 

I don't know. The wolf/coyote proof fence would cost some big bucks as would the barn I'd need to build. On the other hand, we (I?) would get great joy from them. Cindy's alpacas follow her everywhere, humming, (as alpacas do) and love children. 

Go ahead and call me silly. I've been called worse. If nothing comes of it, that's okay. A guy can dream.

It must be spring. Sargie and I brought up two pots of spikes and vinca vines. They were turning quite pale after I stole their grow light to use in the indoor greenhouse.

The plants will be moved in and out of the garage daily until the nighttime temperatures remain above freezing.

Luke sent me a picture of Coleman who is wrestling in the New England finals today.

At a whoppin' 84.6 lbs, this huge meet could propel Coleman onto some really important venue like the WWF.  My pint sized grandson could match strength, power, and cunning with the likes of the old time wrestlers, Hulk Hogan, Dusty Rhodes, or Gorgeous George. Good luck little buddy! Grandpa and Grandma Sargie will be pulling for you!!

I performed some springtime maintenance yesterday afternoon on the little four-wheeler, my summertime "pick up truck" and was successful in getting it started. 

After the last of the snow is melted and the yard dries, it will once again become my go-to work vehicle.

Brutus wasn't letting the nice weather escape his attention. We played fetch with the tennis ball several times throughout the day. 

In the Mom News Department: Mom was discharged last night from the hospital and was to be housed in the rehab unit of her community. My sister said there was some sort of mix up so both Mom and Barb ended up staying the night in Mom's apartment. My sister said that Mom is doing great and other than feeling somewhat weak, is rapidly gaining ground.

All I'll say about the mix up is that I would hate to be the administrator of the Health Center (rehab), the Director of Admissions, the Director of Nursing, and the Director of the entire complex on Monday morning. Barb, who has been the Director of Nursing and an administrator of multiple nursing homes for almost fifty years, will probably have something to say to each in one big meeting. In fact, I know she will. I sure would like to be a fly on the wall when that happens during Monday's convocation. It promises to be a good one.

It appears as though Mom will be receiving therapy and home healthcare while staying in her apartment if she continues to heal. She'll be with my sister and brother in law this weekend in their home. 

Yooper Brother Mark and Sheri are in Wyoming helping Sarah and family move to a near by community. It looks as though Grandpa is keeping his camera handy.

Isabella

After I return from this morning's walk, I'm going to begin work on the solar heater on the side of the barn. Where's Mississippi Brother Garry, the principal builder of this contraption, when I need him?

The internal temperature gets so hot that it's begun to melt and warp the heavy foam insulation causing it to block the air intake.

I'll have to remove the screws and caulking, then pry the top of the glass away from the frame so I can trim away the insulation. I'm not looking forward to the job.

The hollyhocks that were started from seed three weeks ago need to be transplanted into individual containers and placed in the outdoor greenhouse. I'll cover them at night to keep the seedlings from freezing.  It's also time to sow the early tomato seed and other more common flowers.

It's going to be a busy day. I guess I'd better get it started.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

I'll give you one guess who won this battle playing tug of war.