The needle was a bit lower earlier... down to -32 

January 31, 2019 - Thursday

-31 degrees/clear skies/breezy

Pentoga Road

There's not a whole lot to talk about this morning other than the cold. Unlike the arctic, where we go about our daily routines seemingly unaffected by sub zero temperatures, in the Upper Peninsula, once the thermometer strikes thirty below, life begins to change. Schools are closed, government agencies, both state and federal, are shuttered, and even a few private businesses tell their employees to stay home. 

The flags are standing straight out at the Veteran's Memorial in Yooper Brother Mark's town of Caspian. It's a good thing the Army tank was frozen to the ground or it might have blown away.

Without getting into the whole global warming discussion, I read a good article this morning concerning this cold that's not only affecting most of North America, but much of the world as a whole.

https://pjmedia.com/trending/record-cold-forces-rethink-on-global-warming

I don't want to debate the whole thing, so please don't try, at least with me. You've already made up your mind as have I. All I know for certain is that it's cold, darn cold. I simply am tired of reading about global warming while throwing logs in my wood stove and watching the level of my heating oil shrink on an hourly basis.

There may be global warming elsewhere, but in the UP, good, old-fashioned, no nonsense, winter is still alive and well.

Arriving home yesterday from taking Sargie to Iron Mountain, I fired up the heater in the shop. After an hour spent in the house, I thought I'd work on turning a bowl until I found the temperature in the shop had only warmed to 22 degrees. Manning the broom, I was sweeping some sawdust into a pile when sanity hit home. What the heck was I doing? I turned off the heat and came back inside.

I heard a truck and wondered if someone was having mechanical problems.

Seems the plow truck had removed our mailbox and the poor driver was trying to fix it. I told him not to worry about it, that demolished mailboxes are a way of life for anyone who lives on a rural road in the north country. I'd like to have a nickel for every mailbox that's jumped out in front of a plow truck and I've replaced over the past fifty years.

Still, the driver said he'd drop a new one off the next time he's in the neighborhood. I told him it wasn't necessary, but he insisted. 

Nice guy.

I returned to Iron Mountain and picked up Sargie last night. She got off an hour early and since she doesn't have to work today, we were almost giddy driving home together. Last night saw a supper of leftover seafood casserole and catching up on programs previously recorded on the DVR. 

So today, what's today going to bring? I could go out and light a fire in the wood furnace and try to accomplish something meaningful in the shop. The wind has diminished somewhat and it may have a fighting chance of warming somewhere north of 22 degrees.

No doubt Sargie will be ready to go to town at some point. 

Decisions, decisions. 

Maybe I'll simply pour another cup of coffee and sit by the wood stove and think deep thoughts, but you can be certain global warming won't be one of them.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Who needs arctic Alaska when we have the Upper Peninsula?
(Tuesday morning - minus 21 degrees F w/30 mph winds)

January 30, 2019 - Tuesday morning (again)

-14 degrees/partly cloudy/strong winds

Pentoga Road

Matter of fact, it's PLUS 14 degrees in my old hometown of Kotzebue, Alaska, which puts us about 28 degrees colder. 

So much for retiring to the warm and sunny Southlands of the UP.

I found this on Craigslist and thought it was rather appropriate.

Monday was a good day serving as a roaming substitute at Florence Elementary. 

Teachers had conferences scheduled at different times during the day, so I filled in an hour here, a few minutes there from Pre K through the 6th grade.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the Bob Kitties and other than one or two knuckle headed older boys, the munchkins were great.

And the older boys? Ah, we came to terms in a matter of seconds and finished their classes in great shape.

Coming home was a bit dicey. The wind was howling, blowing the little Kia all over the road.

If that wasn't bad enough, a herd of deer waited until I got alongside, then decided to run across the road in front of me. 

I swear, that Kia is a deer magnet. Aunt Sue and Uncle Terry wrote the other day suggesting we use deer whistles mounted on the car to frighten them away. We tried that several years ago and all they seemed to do was act much like a dinner bell, notifying the deer that we were available to run in front of.

I was greeted by the terrific aroma of barbecued spare ribs when I walked in the door last night. Sargie had been working kitchen magic in my absence and as a special treat, had braved the bitter temperatures and wind and had already carried in the nighttime supply of wood.

I have to be honest, I could go for this Sargie being a housewife thing.  

As mentioned in this morning's previous upload, I took Sargie to work earlier. The roads were good, the wind brutal.



I'll return to Iron Mountain this afternoon to bring her home. Thankfully, she doesn't have to work tomorrow. The temperature and wind is to be even worse then, so we lucked out.

I started the heat in the shop an hour ago and am going to venture out and see if it's warmed enough to do some meaningful work. If not, I'll come back inside and sit by the wood stove, possibly dream of the warmer days to come.

Why we are replacing the old windows in the living room.

It's time to get busy before I change my mind and forget about going outside.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Sent by my friends, Norriene and Jim
Just one question: If Up North is so nice, then why are both of you in Florida for the winter?
I'm just throwing it out there...

January 30, 2019 - Tuesday morning
-21 degrees/partly cloudy/very windy
Pentoga Road

I just decided I'll be taking Sargie to work this morning so there's no time to write. Possibly when I arrive back home? Imagine I will. It would be hard to get the shop warm enough in which to work, so it appears to be an inside day.

The Governor has proclaimed a State of Emergency and all the schools, the government agencies, even the US Post Office, have closed due to the dangerous weather conditions. Naturally, Walmart and their affiliated departments would do no such thing. Rather than sit here and fret and stew all day about Sargie's safety, I'll just take her to Iron Mountain this morning, then return later this afternoon to pick her up. The car can stay *warm* in the garage, a relative term, and we'll be all set.

So at least for this early morning, I'll just say that:

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Monday's Bitterly Cold and Snowy Sundown

January 28, 2019 - Monday evening

-4 degrees/cloudy/breezy

Pentoga Road

I'm waiting for Sargie to pull in the drive. We'll have a quick catch-up conversation then it'll be bedtime for this guy. I'll be up bright and early in the morning and out the door to teach at Florence Elementary, Home of the Bobkitties. Sargie's off tomorrow, so she'll probably stay up for a while and enjoy a late evening.

Today can summarized in one word:

PALLETS

It took most the day, but the trailer is now devoid of any and all pallets. Each has been disassembled and the lumber sorted and stacked.

It was almost mid afternoon before I finished. Honestly, I was about too pooped to pop from hauling them inside, sawing and cutting, then hauling the lumber back out. That cycle was repeated throughout the day.

Usually I clean when I'm finished. That didn't happen this afternoon. I put the tools down, turned off the lights, and walked away.

The mess will be waiting for me on Wednesday when I return to the shop.

I did take an hour to plow the drive, then cleaned the back patio. We haven't received any real accumulation of snow at one time, but the half-an-inch to inch that seems to fall every day had begun to accumulate. 

This evening has been spent watching a program on Amazon Video. It's about eight people who retrace the route from Winnipeg to Hudson Bay in the same manner as the fur traders of a hundred and fifty years ago. I give it two thumbs up.

As mentioned earlier, Sargie's off Tuesday. I'm officially listed as a roaming sub, so only Neal the Principal knows for sure where I'll be. I don't really care. I enjoy all the elementary grades.

Time to close and get supper ready for Sargie. She's been working all day and no doubt, my girl will be hungry.

After all, a man's work, and that of his wife's, is never done.

So are the tales of Pentoga Road...

Makes perfect sense to me.

Congratulations to grandson, Coleman, for yet another wrestling tournament victory in the 117 lb weight class this past weekend.

January 27, 2019 - Sunday evening

-10 degrees/clear skies/calm winds

Pentoga Road

To quote my son, Luke, Coleman's daddy, "The kid was a beast. 10 hours of sitting in a gym and exactly 1 minute 13 seconds of wrestling to win three matches."

Grandpa's mighty proud of ol' Coleman.

Cold? Dang, we're in the deep freeze. We awakened to a very cool 30 below zero this morning.

Where's Al Gore? You'd think he'd want to celebrate this reprieve from global warming.

I was out the door early this morning to start a fire in the outside wood furnace and the propane heater in the shop. With the frigid air, the exhaust from the furnace and wood stove in the house hung heavily on the air.

Several hours were spent in the shop tearing apart pallets. Only eight more to go and this batch will be finished.

While in town yesterday, I saw a pile of pallets in the rear of a local business by their dumpster. I'll stop in the next day or two and ask if they'd like for me to take them away. Doing some rough estimating, I think I have about a third of the lumber that will be needed for the garden fairy house.

I found a bit of scrap birch in the shop still attached to a tenon from an earlier project and turned a shallow bowl.

I'll put a finish on it tomorrow before separating the tenon from the bowl.

Sargie and I took a short drive this afternoon to get the Equinox from Mechanic Dave's. He said the key should no longer stick in the ignition.

Sargie closes the Vision Center tomorrow. I'll be out early warming up the shop and hope to finish the pallets and begin turning a new bowl. Since I have to teach Tuesday, I'd like to get as much done as possible. Despite the current temperatures, spring is coming... isn't it?

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

It was a very proud grandpa who sent this picture.
Mississippi Brother Garry's grandson, James (real name Nolan... don't ask) is plowing and tilling his grandpa's garden. Little James is growing up!

January 26, 2019 - Saturday evening

-7 degrees/partly cloudy/calm winds

Pentoga Road

True to my word, I did little today. Since the sun was out, Sargie and I decided to take a ride around the area early this afternoon. The conditions were perfect for taking pictures.

We were surprised to see so few people at the local ski hill.

Though the parking lots were full, few skiers were swooshing down the slopes. I guess the below zero temperatures, coupled with the gusty winds, kept most inside the lodge.

In fact, we had to wait several minutes for a solitary person to come screaming down the hill.

There was an open stream flowing into one of the lakes a few miles away. With temperatures reaching to almost thirty below zero last night, it must be spring fed.

We saw a herd of deer feeding in the middle of a lake. Sargie and I both came to the conclusion that someone must be dumping corn to lure them onto the ice. There's not a lot of natural browse that grows over thirty feet of water.

What? Two deer in someone's front yard? We had to look twice to see which was real.

We sat for several minutes watching the small fawn demolish the bare, decorative, bush. The camp owners are in for a horticultural surprise when they return next spring.

Sargie was quite surprised at how heavy the winter coats were on a herd of horses that were feeding. As she said, they looked as though they were covered with velvet.

We returned home later in the afternoon and resumed our lazy ways. I perused seed catalogues, turning videos, and oh yes, I carried in enough wood to last the rest of today and tomorrow.

Before officially retiring for the day, I took a snowmobile ride up to Jambo's to check on his camp. He's had some furnace problems lately so we wanted to be sure it was working.

While there, I took a quick ride around his field, enjoying the powder snow. Despite the cold temperatures, it was a picture perfect day.

Sargie is off again tomorrow. I plan to rise at my normal time and get the shop warmed up. There's simply too much I want to accomplish to have yet another lazy, do nothing, day.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Sunrise going to Florence on Friday morning

January 26, 2019 - Saturday morning
-12 degrees/partly cloudy/breezy
Pentoga Road

OK, so I'm bad. I slept in this morning. Hey, it was between twenty-five and thirty below zero, the wind was blowing, Sargie didn't have to work, and what, tell me, what was the incentive for getting out of bed? 

Oh yeah, I could have risen before daybreak and worked on world peace, hunger, solving fission or fusion, or perhaps, perpetual motion. After years of toiling on all the above, I decided to throw an arm over Sargie, snuggle deeper under the blankets, and get into that wonderful state of dozing and consciousness where lucid dreams occur. 

The fire is blazing in the wood stove and though I have a million and one things I'd like to do outside or in the shop, I've decided to sip coffee and soak up the heat inside the house. Matter of fact, if I had enough hair, it would probably be in rollers and if cucumbers weren't so scarce this time of the year, I'd probably have slices of those on my eyes while eating bon bons. 

I can tell you right now, it's going to be one of those days. I'm feeling downright fat, sassy, and lazy.

Friday was a good one at Florence High School, home of the Bobcats. I thought I was teaching English, but discovered I was the math instructor. Just what I hoped for, a subject that I failed four times during my high school tenure.

Yesterday brought back more than one memory, or nightmare, of my high school days.

Being in the non college-bound group of students destined for Vietnam, I had the lousiest math teachers imaginable. Our high school employed several. The best taught the college bound students who were destined to become productive and useful citizens. The rest, those who were simply putting in their time until retirement or should have never entered the field to begin with, were assigned to us who were thrown aside and forgotten.

As luck would have it, I FINALLY passed sophomore geometry the final semester of my senior year, squeaked into college, and the Vietnam conflict ended the year I graduated. I was never drafted.

While accepting a teaching award later in life, I was asked if there were any educators who inspired me. I named off my high school band director, Mr. Fogelberg, who was made famous in his son, Dan's, song, The Leader of the Band. I also emphasized gratitude to my lousy math and science teachers. As I told the reporter, all I had to do was remember their teaching methods and do the exact opposite. 

I've told underachieving students throughout the years to NEVER quit trying. I graduated close to the bottom of my high school class and even suffered through a high school counselor who, up until days before I was accepted to the university, told me that applying to college was a waste of time, that NO ONE would ever want me. 

I told her that she was wrong. She just smiled and asked me to close her door on the way out. 

Sure is nice to sit here fifty years later and think, "I TOLD YOU SO." She would never have made it through the teacher education program at the university where I worked so many years. Those with poor attitudes were quickly disqualified.

So Friday's math classes progressed at Florence High. The students were well behaved and thankfully, the teacher had left great lesson plans. 

I arrived home yesterday afternoon and soon after, Sargie and I took the Equinox to Mechanic Dave's. Seems the key loves to go in the ignition, but has difficulty coming out. It's a flaw that all 2007 Equinox's have and after battling with it for over a year and half, he'll simply remove the lock that holds it in place.

We'll be ordering the parts for the Kia this weekend. Sargie has scoured the internet and found the best bargains. Hopefully, they'll be arriving this next week so Dave can begin to put the Kia back together again.

I can't believe it. Since beginning to write earlier this morning, Sargie and I had breakfast, talked a while, and watched a program on the Smithsonian Channel about Alaska. Too bad they completely ignored the arctic, but I saw other places where I've either lived or visited. 

Guess I ought to end and get this uploaded now that the day is half over. So far, I've accomplished exactly... ZERO. Now if I can talk Sargie into carrying in today's supply of firewood, I can keep my lazy record intact.

This is getting to be a pattern during these days with far below zero temperatures. Oh well, the temperature will eventually warm and life will be back to normal.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Plowed and sanded, the area in front of our house is ready for the next snow storm.

Sargie at the entrance to the mall in Green Bay

January 24, 2019 - Thursday evening

3 degrees/clear skies/windy

Pentoga Road

It's a tired boy who's writing tonight. We left Pentoga Road this morning and soon ran into several heavy snow squalls on our way to Green Bay.

By and large, the highways weren't horrible, but there were slippery spots every now and then.

We shopped at one place, then another, purchasing household supplies and other needed items. A pleasant surprise was the price of gas.

The price is almost forty cents a gallon less than in Iron River. Needless to say, we filled up while in town!

The Kia was pointed north late in the afternoon. All was going well until a deer ran out in front of us between Spread Eagle and Florence, Wisconsin. 

For the second time this year, the Kia helped to thin the deer herd in the north country. Thankfully, we were able to drive the car home and after a cursory look, it appears I'll be ordering a new front driver's side light assembly, a grill, and a bumper cover. The frame appears to be untouched.

I've already talked to my friend, Mechanic Dave, who's agreed to do the repairs once the parts arrive. Good grief, when it comes to auto repairs, it seems we take three steps forward and four in reverse. Thankfully, neither of us were hurt and the Kia should survive for another hundred thousand miles... assuming the deer keep out of the way.

Sargie's off Friday. I'll be heading to Florence High School bright and early for a day of teaching High School English, a subject I actually know something about. The temperature isn't to reach over zero tomorrow and the wind is to howl. Sounds like a good day to sub if you ask me.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Master Angler, Jambo, ready to throw back a small crappie on Tuesday afternoon

January 23, 2019 - Tuesday evening

16 degrees/cloudy/calm winds

Pentoga Road

I'm waiting for Sargie to pull in and having difficulty keeping my eyes open. After spending all afternoon on the ice, I could easily take an evening nap.

Today's been a full one. I began the morning in the shop, continuing to disassemble pallets.

Everything was going well until the saw began making a squealing noise. I'd barely finished the fifth pallet when it quit cutting altogether. 

My worst fears came to fruition. The bearings were gone.

 

Ordinarily I'd be really upset, but I purchased this Sawzall at Harbor Freight several years ago for $17.00, so it didn't exactly break the bank. I just priced a new one and they are still well under $20.00. I'll get one tomorrow while we're in Green Bay.

I moved from the demolition side of the shop to the lathe where I started turning a small cup from a piece of maple that was destined for the wood stove.

Sargie asked sometime ago if I would make a few presents to be given away at a shower later this spring. No doubt, my shop time will become shorter as the weather grows warmer and there's no time like the present.

I applied the first coat of food safe lacquer. Several more will be added over the next few days before finishing the base, separating the cup from the tenon, and adding a handle.

As Joanna Gaines would say, "It's just a fun little thing."

Jambo and I took off for the lake mid afternoon.

We had a great time sitting side by side in his ice fishing tent and though it was slow at times, the conversation was always fast and furious.

We didn't catch many, but what we caught were, for the most part, nice. Jambo hooked a couple of crappies that, had we been hard up for fish, would have been keepers, but he opted to throw them back. I caught a few good sized bluegills.

Darkness ran us in off the lake. I arrived home, changed clothes, carried in wood, and ran through the shower. 

I think we're heading to Green Bay in the morning. There are several things, mostly household items, that we need and of course, there's the Sawzall. I'm the math teacher at Florence High School all day Friday. The rest of the week looks busy.

After all, a man's work is never done

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...