A large pink banana winter squash

September 25, 2018 - Tuesday morning

60 degrees/cloudy/calm winds

Pentoga Road

Ah, if only pink banana squash were made of gold, Sargie and I would be millionaires several times over. Seems the delicious winter squash found our climate much to its liking and flourished. We should have plenty to eat and share this coming winter.

Monday began with a walk to Pentoga Village. I met one of our seasonal neighbors for the first time along the way. They live in southern Wisconsin and though I've talked with her husband previously, I'd never met Sue. Living over a mile down the road, almost next door in Pentoga Road terms, they both seem like nice people.

There's a wild apple tree between here and Pentoga Village that bears smallish fruit, but is absolutely delicious. 

What makes this apple so unique is that much of the red coloring carries through to the inside. Its core is tiny making it for a perfect snack while putting the miles under my feet.

One of the many reasons why I love our area is the abundance of wild fruit trees. It's difficult to drive down any road or street and not see a tree that's loaded with bushels of apples. Many are of commercial quality and blemish (and worm) free. This year's garden, along with the berries and fruits, both wild and tame, give Pentoga Road a summertime Garden of Eden feel. 

Meanwhile, back to reality, remind me I said that in February when the mercury is dipping way below zero and there are several feet of snow on the ground.

I moved out to the shop where I made a wooden name for a newborn daughter of one of our friends.



Sargie and I took our usual early afternoon drive looking at the leaves and area lakeside camps and cottages. More and more boats are now on trailers than moored to docks. It won't be long before many of the cottages will be vacated in favor of winter destinations far to the south. It happens around this time every year.

Back on Pentoga Road, Sargie took advantage of the near-perfect afternoon to vacuum out both the Kia and Blazer.



Not wanting to interrupt her, I headed to the area around the old burn pile and continued to haul dirt to nearby low lying areas.



I have to utilize the backhoe to fill the trip bucket on the old Ford tractor as it doesn't scoop, only hauls. It takes more time, but in the end, it works.

I place a piece of plywood across the tines of the bucket allowing me to haul a fairly good load. 

Seems to me that Mississippi Brother Garry could offer to loan me his highfalutin Kabota tractor with all the bells and whistles so this job would go much quicker. A thousand miles isn't that far. 

After watering the ferns and taking a tour of the garden, Sargie and I called it a day. She opens the Vision Center this morning. I'm going to ride partway with her and increase my walking distance to four and a half miles. The foot, though sometimes tender, remains pain free. 

The last two blueberries of the year. In an almost ceremonial fashion, Sargie ate one, I had the other. It will be ten months before we do it again.

Assuming the rain holds off, I'm going to try to get the rest of the dirt moved. Otherwise, it's back to the shop to work on upcoming holiday goodies.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

With rain in the forecast, we placed the hanging ferns on the front stoop. A bit later, Sargie watered them "just in case."