February 16, 2019 - Saturday evening

7 degrees/clear skies/calm winds

Pentoga Road

I'm uncertain how Sargie and I could have fit any more into one day than we did on Saturday. In fact, I was so tired this evening that after devouring two bowls of Sargie's homemade chicken noodle soup, my eyes closed for over two hours.

After starting a fire in the wood furnace early this morning, I spent over an hour cleaning the drive and deck.

Friday's strong winds blew snow into the drive resulting in drifts across the drive and along the house.

 My morning ended in the shop where I began staining pieces for the head of Chief the Dog. I'm using an ebony wash which hopefully, will let the grain show through. 

I'm in somewhat of a quandary now to find the right color for the lighter parts of his face. No doubt, two or more colors will be mixed together to find just the right combination.

The rest of the morning was spent finishing the maple chalice that was started on Friday.

 Sargie and I went for our usual early afternoon trip to town. Though our ride was short, we saw some beautiful sights along the way.

We joined the parade of snowmobiles riding single file along the road not far from the house. 

The local Catholic church is displaying quite the array of icicles.

 With the last ice storm, followed by heavy snow, there are too many beautiful opportunities to take pictures of them all.

The picnic tables in our local park bear witness to the snow that has fallen over the past few weeks.

Seems everyone has been cleaning the snow from the roofs of their homes and outbuildings. We've been needing to do the same, especially over the garage and living room. 





Back from our drive, Sargie and I attacked the garage roof with a vengeance. She grabbed the roof rake while I leaned the ladder against the roof and made my way up to the heavens.

After using a snow shovel for a while, I took the snowmobile to retrieve the Yooper Scooper from the back of the man truck. Only one problem. Where was the rusty relic?

I thought I'd parked it by the storage container last fall, but upon first glance, all that could be seen was a wall of white. An outside rearview mirror told me there was a truck in there somewhere.



Next came digging the Yooper Scooper out from under several feet of snow and ice. 

I was finally able to pull it out, hook the handle to the rear of the snowmobile, and tow it up to the house.

It took the rest of the afternoon to rid the garage of snow. We worked out a system where I'd move it towards the edge and Sargie would finish pulling it over with the rake.

Cleaning the roof was only half the battle. The other was to rid the drive and walk in back of snow. 

Both piles were removed using either a shovel, the snowblower, or the plow. The night's firewood was later carried in and we called the day good enough. 

Sargie and I haven't been too active this evening. After taking a shower, every muscle in my body was aching. A liberal dose of ibuprofen from Nurse Sargie definitely helped.

Sunday appears as though it could be a repeat of today. I'd like to work in the shop for most the morning. No doubt, we'll go for a short ride in the early afternoon and there's still the roof over the living room that's piled high with snow. 

The charger is just inches away from being buried. I've disconnected the electric deer fence as only one wire is above the snow in several places.

 I think my old body can take one more afternoon of shoveling.

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