From winter to spring, everything seems to suddenly be in bloom. 

May 29, 2019 - Wednesday

45 degrees/partly cloudy/calm winds

Pentoga Road

It's a goofy time of year. I just started the fire in the stove, yet today's high is to be 76 degrees. We're chilly in the morning then have the windows open and fans running just a few hours later. Ah, springtime in the North Country.

Yesterday was filled with accomplishing a lot of little tasks, nothing huge. The rain had finally stopped, but everything was, as Mom says, soppin' wet. Indeed, the entire world outside our home was soppin'.

Truth be known, we're about all sopped out.

I headed to shop where I did a lot of little stuff, mostly playing catch up on small jobs that I've been putting off. The carved name was pretty well finished, an extension cord repaired, tools were put away and the surface of the larger power tools vacuumed. 

Sargie and I took an afternoon drive, pretty much for naught. We found the flowers she wanted, but when I started to pay for them, discovered from an employee that the owner had left earlier and didn't leave a key for the debit card machine.

I'm getting crusty in my old age. In my younger days, I might have been more understanding, but after driving twenty miles in search of red impatiens and failing to have enough hard currency in my wallet to pay for them, we simply walked away. I muttered all the way home.

A walk through the yard later in the afternoon found me covered by hoards of mosquitoes. With remnants of Lake Pentoga remaining in the front meadow, I decided to spray the surrounding area.

Our friend, Melinda, had previously told us about a commercial concoction they use to rid their yard of mosquitoes. We tried it two years ago and it worked. No one glowed in the dark after and we were actually able to enjoy the outdoors.

Last year's mosquito crop was minimal, so I didn't spray, but like bad breath, they're back this year.

It took five tankfuls to cover the yard. Hopefully the mosquitoes will take the hint and stay away.

I received a series of pictures from my friend, Eileen, that made me laugh. I decided to share them as they are in sequential order.

Uncle Bert was mowing their lawn just outside of Bangor, Maine, when he hit a soft area and the riding mower became stuck.

Nice legs, Uncle Bert!

 The easiest solution was to hook onto the mower with the pickup and pull the machine to harder ground. Just one problem, the truck sank to its axles.

I'm told a charitable neighbor came to the rescue with his four-wheel drive Kabota and pulled both machines to dryer ground.

The story reminds me of my own experience well over forty years ago when I managed to get our car stuck in a field while going fishing. I walked to the neighbor's, who lent me his four wheel drive truck. That became stuck too. We both rode his tractor to the field and yep, that also sank to its axles.

Unlike Uncle Bert's experience, we decided leaving all three vehicles mired in the deep mud would be the wisest solution. It was almost a week before they were rescued. 

Sargie's going to a visitation this morning and then closes the Vision Center this evening. It will be late tonight before I see her. The librarian made a special request that I might sub for her tomorrow at the elementary school, so I guess I'll head in for one last time this year on Thursday. Hambone has a spring concert Thursday evening that is a must see event. 

My former student, Uncle Bert and Eileen's son, Dr. Andrew Cyr (I say that with a great deal of pride) is giving a lecture/workshop down by Wausau, Wisconsin, so I hope to leave in the wee hours of Friday morning to meet him for breakfast before he flies back to Fairbanks, Alaska. It's going to be a busy next few days. Then there's grass to mow and a hole to dig.

If only you had my life, you'd understand.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

I believe this name is headed to North Dakota