November 11, 2017 - Saturday
23 degrees/cloudy/calm winds
Pentoga Road

I see another few inches of snow fell overnight, but thankfully, the temperature has risen significantly.

One of our neighbors stopped by Friday afternoon and he said he registered -8 on his two thermometers yesterday morning. Yooper Brother Mark reported -4 in town. We had a rather warm and balmy 1 above zero.

Deciding to man up, I walked three miles early Friday morning. With the brilliant sunshine, the world seemed animated. The trees were creaking  and fog was rising from the warmer water in the lake.



Frozen mist was flocking many of the trees.



I headed to the shop as soon as I got home and decided to turn a larger body for the Thanksgiving cartoon turkey I'm attempting to make.

The only piece of wood I could find was one that was half rotten in the wood shed. Why not?



I have a mini lathe, one that is built for smaller projects. The motor is only 1/3rd horse power and it holds wood just a few inches in diameter. 

The turkey body had to be large. In the end, I squeezed the large chunk onto the bed with the tool rest sitting to one side. After turning one side, I had to take the wood off, mount it end-for-end, and turn the other.

Though I'm certain I broke every lathe rule and will no doubt end up in the wood turner's naughty place when I pass on, it seemed to work and made me more anxious than ever to get a larger lathe later this year.

Next came mounting the neck and head into the body. I used the router to hollow a half-inch circle into which the neck would fit.

Part of the brim of the hat broke off and I couldn't find the piece to glue it back in place.

There was nothing to do, but cut the hat off the head then turn a new one. It didn't take long and I actually like this one much better than the original.

So the day went. After much experimenting, Bennet's portrait puzzle was sawed. I certainly learned what kind of finish works best and that spray adhesive will dissolve when exposed to certain cleaning solvents.

I really like the backing made from a scrap piece of laminate flooring. It's easy to saw, doesn't shatter, and stays crisp, making the pieces easier to put together.

In the end, unlike Humpty Dumpty, my grandson, Bennet, was put back together again.

There wasn't a lot of snow on the drive, but I wanted to remove what there was, mostly to give the four-wheeler and plow a test run for future snowfalls.

I'll get the opportunity as soon as it's daylight to remove the several inches that fell overnight.

The last chore of the day was to bring in another load of firewood. With the cold temperatures and winds, we're certainly burning through it this year. Not to worry, I have an extra year's supply under cover.

Since the majority of what we burn is soft wood from Yooper Brother Mark's plant, this is only a two-day supply. If it were hard wood, maple or oak, it would last at least twice that long, possibly more. I'm home all day anyway, so I don't mind filling the stove twice as often.

Sargie was home early last night. We had a nice, quiet, evening sitting by the wood stove and watching tv. 

Sargie closes tonight making this a long day for her. I'm going to plow the drive and clean the deck. No doubt, I'll be in the shop this afternoon letting my creative self run free and unfettered... or taking a nap while pretending to watch tv.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...