It's that time of the year again:
Bra's for a Cause

October 25, 2017 - Thursday

30 degrees/cloudy skies/calm winds

Pentoga Road

Sargie was busy Wednesday evening decorating her entry for this year's cancer research fund raiser, Iron Mountain's, Bras for a Cause. Chaired by sister-in-law, Debbie, the event is one of the area's largest charitable money makers bringing in tens of thousands of dollars. 

Sargie's entry last year earned the highest bid of the event, five hundred dollars. I've told her repeatedly that she should leave her job at the Vision Center to become a decorative bra designer. I'm sure demand would be high in the north woods of the Upper Peninsula.

Wednesday dawned sunny and cold. I spent most the day in the yard and garden preparing for the upcoming winter months.

The first thing on the agenda was to try to move the two giant spikes growing by the garden pond.

Growing tired of being poked in the eye every time I bent over by one of the leaves, it didn't take too long to figure out that binding the plants might be the best way to go. Mama didn't have no complete dummy.

I dug, I pulled, I swore, I muttered, I jumped up and down on the blade of the shovel, I yanked, and in the end, I probably danced the Hootchie Coo. Each plant finally surrendered, ensuring that they will spend the winter in the basement with the possibility of living to see another summer.

The spikes are usually put in totes with just enough sand covering the roots to keep them alive. I'm wondering if they would survive if I kept them bound? It would save a tremendous amount of room.

The next item on the agenda was to disassemble the waterfalls system. 

The pump wasn't stored away yet as it will be used to drain the pond immediately after bringing the goldfish in for the winter. 

I hope those orange and white beauties of dime store quality can stay outside for another week or two, but I see the nighttime lows are forecast to dip down into the lower 20's. There's little doubt I'll be dipping and netting sooner rather than later.

I walked around to the south side of the greenhouse and noticed one window on the top had been blown out during Monday's storm.

After several years of use, the polycarbonate panels are becoming discolored, weak and flimsy, and are quickly deteriorating. I can see there's a greenhouse project of some manner on next summer's horizon.

It took a while, but the panel was fixed and fastened back into place. Hopefully, it will stay where it belongs for the winter months.

So the day went. Flower pots and fountains were emptied and put away, lawn ornaments gathered. 

We enjoyed our usual ride Wednesday afternoon, but kept our wanderings brief and were back home after a short while.

Sargie headed inside to work on the bra for the upcoming benefit. I resumed my work outside.

It made me sad to add a glug or two of fuel stabilizer and put the little blue ATV away for the winter. I spent a lot of hours on that mini workhorse this past summer. 

The next items to come out of the storage container will be the Tundra snowmobile and snow blower. With several inches of snow forecast to fall just to the west of here, that could happen sooner rather than later.

Hopefully, it will stay far to the west.

It was time to empty the burning barrel of this past summer's ashes. 

Emptying the barrel is usually the last thing done in the fall or the first the following spring once the frost has left the ground. 

We're careful to ensure that only burnables go into the barrel and by season's end, it's usually full.

The last activity of the day was to bring in wood. It's that time of year when the wheel barrow sees the most action. Once really cold weather sets in, I'll haul a load a day to burn in the stove.

We were eating popcorn last night when I felt one of my top molars break in two. Though it doesn't hurt, I'll call my buddy, Eric the Dentist, today and schedule an appointment. It doesn't take a psychic to see that there's a very expensive crown in my future. 

The podiatrist I visited last week prescribed a non opioid pain medication during my visit. Between the orthotics and meds, the pain in my feet disappeared, but I noticed that in just a few days, I'd gained almost five pounds. Doing a bit of research, I learned that one of the side effects of the medication was weight gain.

I quit taking the pills the day before yesterday and have since deflated back to my usual weight. 

Sargie closes the Vision Center tonight, works Friday, but thankfully, has this weekend off. She's still coughing and continues to feel lousy. 

I have a meeting in Iron Mountain this morning. While in town, I'll stop by the credit union to drop off Sargie's bra... boy, that sounds strange, then head to Home Depot to get what lumber is needed to finish the air conditioner cover. I hope to complete that this afternoon.

It's time to pour another cup of coffee and eat one of Hambone's tookies... I mean cookies. Yeah, don't worry, I know, Mom. I'll eat a proper breakfast later once Sargie's up. 

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

We saw this Halloween decoration during our drive in Caspian yesterday. I especially like the headphones on the skeleton.