The forest floor is covered with trilliums 

May 25, 2017 - Thursday

44 degrees/clear skies/calm winds

Pentoga Road

Indeed, much like the poppy field that lay just outside of the Emerald City, the one in which Dorothy fell asleep prior to reaching Oz, our woods are blanketed with trilliums. 

I haven't seen a tin man, cowardly lion, or scarecrow, go skipping through, but I've noticed a bulldog ambling among the blooms and he's liable to lay down and fall asleep anywhere.

Wednesday dawned very wet and cold. I gave up any hope of working outside and made my way to the shop.

My goal was to make a lid for the birch bowl that was turned Tuesday afternoon.

At first I thought it should be tall and decorative, but I wanted the emphasis to be on the bowl and its base, not the lid.



The first thing was to measure the circumference of bowl, then make the inside lip of the lid as close as possible for a tight fit.

Using calipers for an exact measurement

I also wanted to make the inside of the lid concave, so it wouldn't be heavy, yet maintain the groove.



Enough wood was kept on the top to turn a new type of knob (for me) and give the squatty piece some height. 



Beeswax was applied and now begins the task of multiple layers of polyurethane with light sanding/buffing between each. 

The end goal is for the bowl and lid to be shiny and very smooth.

I noticed that two of the three bird houses are occupied in the back yard. The barn swallows decided to behave and are calling one of the bluebird houses home. 

Gone are the days of pecking and diving (and dodging my shovel as I swung at them) and Mama Swallow now seems content to sit on her nest and view the world below.

I also noticed the family of wrens is back. In disrepair, Grady and I rebuilt the old wren house earlier this spring. After seeing it sit empty, I was fearful the loud, pint-sized birds didn't like our renovations and decided to live elsewhere. Seems my fears were for naught. They're back and singing at top of their voices. In fact, that's what awakened me before daybreak this morning.  

I left later on Wednesday afternoon for Iron Mountain to meet Sargie so we could leave her car at the mechanic's to be worked on first thing this morning.

My first stop in the big city was to purchase a brilliant red bench that she'd seen advertised in the paper.

It normally sells for $127, but is on sale for $59.99. When the clerk rang it up, the total came to $19.99. I told him I thought that was wrong and he called his supervisor. The manager went through all the motions and the total still came to $19.99. His exact words were, "I guess this is your lucky day."

It was! Sargie got her new bench and we saved $109!

Last evening was spent watching the finale of Dancing With the Stars on DVR. We hated to see our favorite show end for the season, but it will be back next September with a whole new cast of dancing celebrities.

I'm going to sneak out to the garden pretty soon to plant potatoes. I'd like to get them in the ground, a shower taken, and my clothes changed, before we drive back to Iron Mountain. 

Sargie closes tonight, but thankfully, has the holiday weekend off. We have so much to do over the next several days that it's unbelievable, plus there's a high school graduation party to attend on Sunday and of course, the Mighty Milligan Memorial Day Celebration at Ron and Nancy's, high atop Milligan Mountain, on Monday.  

The sun just poked over the horizon. Guess I'd better mosey down to the garden and get some potatoes in the ground. They aren't going to plant themselves you know.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...