December 31, 2017 - Sunday
-20 degrees/clear skies/calm winds
Pentoga Road

Once again, there's a chill in the air. I'm trying to look on the positive side when it's so cold.

* No mosquitoes or ticks
* Don't have to fill the hummingbird feeders
* No cutting the grass
* No weeds to pull in the garden
* No bears in the backyard

There, I feel better now.

I'm not sure what happened to the old Alaska mountain man, the fellow whose philosophy regarding cold weather was, "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead."

I well remember being grateful when the temperature warmed to -20.

Now, my philosophy has become, "Dang, it's cold. Throw another log on the fire!"



I'm not the only one who is suffering from frigid temperatures. My son, Josh, sent this article from NewMaineNews.com.  Those poor ice fishermen in Maine, having to suffer as they do. I encourage you to read the entire article and maybe you can understand why I was so prepared to deal with the harsh realities of the Alaskan wilderness years ago:

https://newmainenews.com/2017/12/31/wardens-warn-frigid-temps-could-lead-to-burst-beers-for-ice-fishermen/#more-1330

Saturday was pretty much a nonevent of Pentoga Road. Sargie busied herself doing laundry and cleaning. 

Tom? Hmmm, well, I did manage to clean the inch of snow from the drive by hand, no snowblower or plow involved. I needed to work off a bit of energy, so I left the machinery parked in the barn.

I was going to vacuum the living room rugs, but suddenly, I had an idea. Santa's about ready to be put away for the year and honestly, he's done nothing other than sing and dance for the past four weeks. There was no reason why the old man couldn't contribute to the housekeeping at least once.

Honestly, Santa didn't do a very good job on the floors. I think it's about time for him to go back to the North Pole for the year.

Yesterdays biggest excitement came in the mail. I received a new battery for my camera. After two years of nonstop action, the camera still works well, but the power source was about all worn out. In fact, in most instances, it wasn't able to last an entire day.



Sargie and I went to town and said our goodbye's to Isabella and her mommy and daddy. 

Sargie's behind the wheel. Quick! Run and save yourself!

We talked and played for a bit before leaving. Sargie and I hate to see them go. I can only imagine how Yooper Brother Mark and Sheri feel. The kids leave from Iron Mountain later today.

Sargie works from noon to five this afternoon. Other than throw logs at the wood stove, I don't have too many plans. I may begin to gather my ice fishing gear in preparation for the season ahead, put new line on the reels, get the sonar charged and ready, the ice shack pulled from alongside the barn, etc. etc. 

On the other hand, I might just lay back in my recliner and think deep thoughts.

That deer, on the right hand side, led us home at the end of Saturday's drive.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

It must be cold. These were the only ice fishermen we saw on the area lakes yesterday.