Sargie and I drove by this fearless doe Monday evening. There's little doubt if I'd have had something in my hand to feed her, she'd have walked right up to the car window.

July 31, 2018 - Tuesday

61 degrees/clear skies/calm winds

Pentoga Road

I'm having a difficult time with my get-up-and-go this morning. The alarm rang at 6 this morning for no apparent reason as Sargie doesn't have to work today. Normally, I'd have gotten up. Instead, I snuggled in a bit closer with my bride and entered that doze/awake/doze state for the next hour and a half. It was almost 8 AM before my feet hit the floor for good.

I didn't have a lot of get-up-and-go on Monday either. Rather than take my usual hike, I opted to go fishing at one of my favorite ponds. I should have stayed with Plan A and gone for my walk. Fishing was poor, but then I didn't have the Crappie Queen to help guide me as I flogged the water. I did catch a few, but mostly what I enjoyed was the beautiful scenery and fresh air.

I was home before noon and headed to the garden where I found a nice head of cauliflower and a large kohlrabi to harvest. For those who may not know, the bulb of the kohlrabi tastes like a turnip, but grows above the ground. We enjoy our's peeled, sliced, and eaten raw. It's crunchy and has the texture of a radish. Good stuff!

While digging away in one of our freezers the other day, I found a large turkey breast that we'd purchased a year ago and had forgotten about. Thankfully, I'd double wrapped the thing before putting it in the freezer.

For whatever reason, turkey sounded good; sort of a very early precursor to the Thanksgiving season. It was removed the day before yesterday and set out to thaw. 

First thing was to get the charcoal smoker lit. I absolutely love the device that does away with starting fluid. All that is required is one wadded piece of newspaper in the chamber under the charcoal.

It was going in no time.

It was time to prepare the breast. First thing: injecting melted BUTTER. No one likes a dry piece of white meat.

Next came the most important ingredient to smoking a lean, heart-healthy, tasty, nutritious, turkey breast: BACON. A full pound of oinker was wrapped around the meat.

With two of the most important food groups in the universe used, it was time to smoke some turkey.

Four hours later, the breast was done. Juicy and tender, we enjoyed a few slices for supper last night. The rest will be used to make sandwiches over the next few days.

I worked on the mouse and cheese yesterday, but I think it's going to end up being kindling for the wood stove. It looks like a junior high student's shop project who has two left hands. I discovered last Easter I couldn't make a bunny. It appears as though a mouse will be added to that list.

Sargie was home early and with storms threatening, we towed the boat to the lake only to turn around and come back home. Yooper Brother Mark had sent a text saying it was pouring rain at his house. It never did reach us.

Sargie's off today. Other than an afternoon trip to Escanaba to look at a wood furnace, I'm unsure what's on our agenda. I imagine we'll leave early so we can do a bit of shopping along the way. 

It's time to feed the goldfish in the garden pond. They get grumpy when I'm late with their breakfast. 

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

A cauliflower and kohlrabi