After a frosty start, Friday was a near perfect a day. Here the mist is rising in the early morning sunlight.

September 9, 2017 - Saturday

30 degrees/clear skies/calm winds

Pentoga Road

It's suddenly like we have a wildlife sanctuary in our backyard. A fairly large black bear just came wandering through and deer and turkeys have become a common sight. It's called life in the North Woods.

Most of Friday was spent in the shop hanging a couple of new lights and making a shelf to mount above the folding table.

I really like the new LED high density lights that have become so popular during the past couple of years. One was suspended from the ceiling directly over the lathe (on the right.)

That makes four lights shining on the lathe. A small one is fastened on the wall, two LED lights are on the stand to the right, and there's the new large one overhead.

Since I'll be using the new table for painting and close-up work, a high-powered LED light was fastened on the wall shining directly onto the surface.

 The day was absolutely gorgeous. I took several opportunities to simply walk around outside. 

The large spruce trees in front of the house. They have become so root bound that it's almost impossible to mow around their bases.

I played in the garden for a bit and later, walked to the rear of the property. I even took ten or fifteen minutes to check the mail. It was a great day to be alive.

My favorite activity was sitting in front of the barn, directly in the afternoon sun, and closing my eyes. 

It occurred to me yesterday that I'm not entirely unlike the old men who used to sit in front of the feed mill when I was young. Seems all wore either bib overalls or very tired Dickie uniforms left over from their working days. Most had dusty caps balanced on the back of their heads. I also remember the home rolled cigarettes, each dangling with a long ash that was ready to fall with the slightest movement. 

The mills were located on the banks of the Illinois River, the center of shipping activity during the fall corn harvest. My friend, Brian, and I, would ride our bikes down to the river and watch the barges being loaded. When we weren't being chased away, we were told most the grain was headed for New Orleans and after, Europe or some other exotic place far far away. 

That was pretty heady stuff for a youngster who dreamed of someday going to that last great frontier, Alaska.

Back on Pentoga Road, a shelf was needed over the new table. I visited the scrap wood box to see what might be available to cobble together. 

In the end, a shelf big enough to hold the craft paints was constructed and painted. 

Yooper Brother Mark called late in the morning and asked if we wanted to meet them for a Friday night fish fry.

Sargie eagerly agreed that eating dinner out sounded great. We met the folks at the Snipe Lake Pub and had a wonderful meal.

Sargie's off today and tomorrow. The weather is supposed to be perfect for both days so I'll let her set the agenda. As long as I'm in front of the tv Sunday afternoon at 3 PM for the Packers season opener, I don't care what we do the rest of the time.

The coffee's done. It's time to get this day started. 

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...