A large flock of Canada geese lifting off a nearby lake

September 27, 2017 - Wednesday

51 degrees/cloudy skies/windy

Pentoga Road

Just like that... summer's over, the record setting temperatures are gone and I'm sitting here thinking that a fire in the wood stove would feel good this morning.

It looks like fall. Seems many of the leaves failed to turn red in favor of a rusty brown color and are falling by the millions.

Arriving home from my walk Tuesday morning, I got busy in the kitchen. 

Boiling a large batch of frozen cranberries was first on the agenda. Hoping to stretch this year's fresh frozen fruit further into the winter, the first of several bags were opened.

We like cranberries eaten fresh as a sauce or even dribbled over the top of vanilla ice cream.

I especially like when one pops in my mouth releasing a very tart, but oh so delicious flavor. 

Next on the agenda was to reload the dehydrator with apple slices that had been sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon.

We're beginning to accumulate a few bags of slices and like the frozen garden fruit, will be eaten throughout the winter months.

I'm the first to admit that there's a bit of prepper in me, a person who has a Plan B should the grid (electricity) go out for any length of time. Dehydrated apple slices aren't going to save the world, but they could supply some essential nutrients along with other goods that have been preserved. 

Call me silly, but I don't think there's anything wrong with taking a few precautionary measures. Everyone has an insurance policy of some kind. This is just one of mine.

It was early afternoon before I made it to the shop. I'm trying to make pumpkins for all the good little girls and boys of the world, or at least friend and family members. 

Thank goodness for the internet. When it comes to pumpkin faces, I have no imagination. All one has to do is surf the net to find infinite possibilities.

This guy still needs a stem, or a hat, or something on the top of his noggin. I was going to paint a mouth, but I'm not sure he needs one. The expression in his eyes says it all.

Speaking of hat, I was going to turn another from a birch limb, but couldn't force myself to cover such beautiful wood with acrylic paint.

I opted for Plan B, making a small bowl. It still needs polyurethane and buffing, but I just love the grain and texture of the wood. 

 

I'm eager for the day when I have a larger lathe so I can turn some significantly larger items using spalted birch. I think it's a beautiful wood.

Sargie was home early last night and surprised me, saying she has today through Sunday off! I knew about this weekend, but not today. We spent Tuesday evening power watching four hours (two episodes) of Dancing With the Stars on DVR. 

I'm not certain what's on today's agenda. Since we'll be leaving tomorrow for Sasha and Alex's wedding in Green Bay on Friday, I doubt we'll wander too far away. 

It's time to put the last batch of apple slices in the dehydrator then I think I'll make my way to the shop and see if I can't make some sort of covering for that Jack-O-Lantern's noggin.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

I wonder how far they made it yesterday?