A bit more work and I'll be ready for the shipping container.

August 15, 2017 - Tuesday

47 degrees/cloudy/calm winds

Pentoga Road

I'm suffering today. First off, I have an extreme case of Clutch Leg.

The clutch that allows me to shift gears on the old Ford 8N is very stiff and takes a fair amount of effort to engage. Several hours of nonstop use over the past two days has caused my left leg to be jittery and weak. It feels as though I've been doing one-legged squats in the gym.

I'm laughing. In my younger days I'd have never admitted to having a shaky leg caused by repeatedly depressing the clutch on an old tractor. 

Sargie can't believe that after all the walking I do, the muscles are sore.

Yep.

But clutch leg isn't my worst boo boo. I was using a large bar to pry on the bucket of the tractor yesterday when it let go, sending me flying backwards and tripping over a small pile of rocks. I ended up on my back with skinned knuckles, a gash on the back of my leg, and a spine that was crying for mercy.

Those were boo boos that didn't hurt so much at the time, but each is screaming this morning. I wonder if there is a list to which I can add my name to be considered for a back transplant?

Despite suffering from clutch leg and my outdoor gymnastics debacle, I did manage to get the sand/gravel spread alongside the barn. Rain began falling early in the afternoon and that ended my heavy earth moving activities.

I used a simple line level to determine the depth of the fill.

The rest of the afternoon was spent either messing around in the garden or watching an Australian gold mining show on Netflix. I've made up my mind that if I want to strike it rich as a miner, I'll head back to Alaska and skip Australia. There're too many snakes, too much heat, and not nearly enough water. 

Mississippi Brother Garry sent this picture of a pencil holder he turned on his lathe.
Beautiful.
About the time I think I know what I'm doing, Garry sends me a picture of one of his pieces that reminds me how much I have to learn.

Sargie was home early last night and we had a quiet evening. She's off today and after doing the prep work on Sunday, plans to paint the downstairs bathroom today.

I'm going to change buckets on the backhoe, switch to one without teeth, and finish packing and smoothing yesterday's work. Who knows, I might even pull the trigger and submit the final order for the forty foot shipping container.

No doubt, we'll take our drive at some point. It's just what we do.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

All that's missing is the container.