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| Hambone at Wisconsin Dells celebrating his upcoming fifth birthday |
26 degrees/clear skies/calm winds
Pentoga Road
Ol' Grady's a lucky kid. His mama and daddy took him to Wisconsin Dells last weekend to enjoy the water park as only a youngster can.
Meanwhile, back on Pentoga Road, Sargie and I picked 'em up and put 'em down on Monday.
Back from my morning stroll, I started the process of leveling the deck.
I removed several boards and found the ground underneath to have the consistency of oatmeal. Two holes were dug halfway to China before I could find ground solid enough in which to place fifty pound cement blocks. What a mess.
The process took more than a bit of muttering and standing on my head.
But in the end, the deck was back to being fairly square and level, the flower boxes returned to their place, and the steps made solid and level.
Seems it was an extraordinarily hard winter on everyone's structures this year. Compared to some people I've talked with, we were fortunate that only the deck and hand rails had to be repaired.
Dan called and said maintenance on the mower was finished and it was ready to go home. Sargie and I headed to town to run a few errands and bring her trusty four-wheeled steed home.
Sargie loves to mow, well, as long as she can ride and cut grass. I told someone earlier that it won't be long before she's perched high upon her motorized throne, iced tea at hand, donning sunglasses and viewing her green queendom as she zooms round and round the yard.
Speaking of Sargie, what a worker. Back home from town, I brought the high pressure washer up from it's winter home in the basement and dragged the hose from the storage container. With the deck back together, it was time for its yearly wash.
I'd just started spraying when Sargie volunteered to take over. Wearing my Sitka fishing bibs and Sitka sneakers (water boots) she grabbed the wand and began.
My bride may be a girly girl and look like a beautiful flower, but when it comes to work, there's nothing delicate about her.
While the deck was being washed, I turned my attentions to removing the bucket from the tractor. Mechanic Dave has asked me to bring it to town and he'll fix, straighten, patch, repair, and weld, the old relic back together.
Since the bucket's so heavy, I pulled the tractor up to the trailer.
I don't believe the bucket has been off the tractor since it was manufactured in June of 1952. It took some grinding, lots of pounding, and even more muttering, before the old Ford relinquished the bucket, dropping it into the trailer.
Sargie was still washing the deck, so I began transplanting some perennial Auntie Hollyhocks (as Grady is so fond of calling them in honor of Sargie's oldest sister, Holly.)
Since the solar panels will be relocated to the south side of the new garden house, the flowers were planted to fill in that area.
It was late afternoon before Sargie was finished and everything was put away.
We'll be going over to Iron Mountain later this morning as Sargie has an appointment with our friend, Melinda, her beautician. I'm going to Home Depot for one last piece of lattice and purchasing some needed hose parts. Once home, I want apply Thompson's Water Seal on the deck. Other than fixing and painting the hand railing, we can check the deck off our springtime list of things to do. I also need to leave the bucket in town for Dave to weld.
I sub Wednesday and Thursday this week in the second grade room. I HOPE these are my last two days this year, but we've heard that story before. Right now, weather permitting, I'm planning on tearing up the garden next week, moving the greenhouse, relocating four raised beds, and begin digging the new pond.
Enough writing. It's time to get this day started.
After all, a man's work is never done.
So are the tales from Pentoga Road...
I removed several boards and found the ground underneath to have the consistency of oatmeal. Two holes were dug halfway to China before I could find ground solid enough in which to place fifty pound cement blocks. What a mess.
The process took more than a bit of muttering and standing on my head.
But in the end, the deck was back to being fairly square and level, the flower boxes returned to their place, and the steps made solid and level.
Seems it was an extraordinarily hard winter on everyone's structures this year. Compared to some people I've talked with, we were fortunate that only the deck and hand rails had to be repaired.
Dan called and said maintenance on the mower was finished and it was ready to go home. Sargie and I headed to town to run a few errands and bring her trusty four-wheeled steed home.
Sargie loves to mow, well, as long as she can ride and cut grass. I told someone earlier that it won't be long before she's perched high upon her motorized throne, iced tea at hand, donning sunglasses and viewing her green queendom as she zooms round and round the yard.
Speaking of Sargie, what a worker. Back home from town, I brought the high pressure washer up from it's winter home in the basement and dragged the hose from the storage container. With the deck back together, it was time for its yearly wash.
I'd just started spraying when Sargie volunteered to take over. Wearing my Sitka fishing bibs and Sitka sneakers (water boots) she grabbed the wand and began.
My bride may be a girly girl and look like a beautiful flower, but when it comes to work, there's nothing delicate about her.
While the deck was being washed, I turned my attentions to removing the bucket from the tractor. Mechanic Dave has asked me to bring it to town and he'll fix, straighten, patch, repair, and weld, the old relic back together.
Since the bucket's so heavy, I pulled the tractor up to the trailer.
I don't believe the bucket has been off the tractor since it was manufactured in June of 1952. It took some grinding, lots of pounding, and even more muttering, before the old Ford relinquished the bucket, dropping it into the trailer.
Sargie was still washing the deck, so I began transplanting some perennial Auntie Hollyhocks (as Grady is so fond of calling them in honor of Sargie's oldest sister, Holly.)
Since the solar panels will be relocated to the south side of the new garden house, the flowers were planted to fill in that area.
It was late afternoon before Sargie was finished and everything was put away.
We'll be going over to Iron Mountain later this morning as Sargie has an appointment with our friend, Melinda, her beautician. I'm going to Home Depot for one last piece of lattice and purchasing some needed hose parts. Once home, I want apply Thompson's Water Seal on the deck. Other than fixing and painting the hand railing, we can check the deck off our springtime list of things to do. I also need to leave the bucket in town for Dave to weld.
I sub Wednesday and Thursday this week in the second grade room. I HOPE these are my last two days this year, but we've heard that story before. Right now, weather permitting, I'm planning on tearing up the garden next week, moving the greenhouse, relocating four raised beds, and begin digging the new pond.
Enough writing. It's time to get this day started.
After all, a man's work is never done.
So are the tales from Pentoga Road...
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