It may be a couple of days late, but we celebrated Mom's 92nd birthday Saturday evening.

June 29, 2019 - Saturday evening

86 degrees/clear/calm winds

Terre Haute, Indiana

Whew, the past two days have been busy, but good, ones. As you may surmise, we arrived at Mom's late this afternoon, but more about that in a bit.

Friday was spent getting ready to leave for a few days. Sargie's car was first on the agenda. It was scrubbed from the inside out, the mats removed and scrubbed with a brush and soapy water, and even the seats were cleaned in the same way.

The four doors and hatch back were left open and sitting in the hot sun, the interior didn't take long to dry. I drove the car to town after for a wash and wax. The Kia was ready to head south.

The immediate yard around the house needed mowing. 

Between Sargie and me, the entire place has been groomed over the past two days. Unless we get some rain fairly soon, we can put away the mower for awhile. It's dry.

Hard to believe that between this picture and the one before, there's a huge hole in the ground.

The peonies are out in full bloom. It's too bad the flowers don't last longer. They are truly beautiful.

Yooper Brother Mark's son, Jerad, gave me several plants when I first retired. They remind me of the heirloom single petal variety that Grandma Reinhardt grew over sixty five years ago when I was a little boy.

The strawberries are just beginning to ripen. These are the first of the season and were picked Friday evening. If we'd happen to get a good shower in the next week, there should be a bumper crop. Until then, I'm irrigating two to three times a week.

Sargie arrived home early last night and began doing her pre-visit-Mom chores. The first was to thoroughly water all her flowers and plants.

 We left Pentoga Road at 6 Saturday morning and immediately entered into some pretty impressive fog banks.

The ride went well until I made a wrong turn while pulling out of a toll plaza west of Chicago. There was construction everywhere, cones blocking traffic, crazy drivers, and before I knew it, we were heading towards downtown Chicago.



I don't care to drive all that much anymore, even in the UP. Driving in six lanes of stop and go traffic thrills me even less.



It took almost an hour and a half before Sargie and I were finally spit out on the south side. Honestly, I don't care if I ever see the Windy City again in this lifetime, especially if I'm the one behind the wheel.

 I'll admit that I felt much more at ease driving through the rural corn and hay fields of Indiana than between towering sky scrapers and dodging psychotic drivers.

Mom was a sight for sore eyes tonight. We've had a wonderful evening, a great meal, and a fun birthday celebration. Somehow or the other, a birthday cake appeared in our car between home and here.

We're heading to bed fairly quickly. Mom, Sargie, and I, will be driving two hundred and fifty miles to Galesburg, Illinois, fairly early in the morning to visit Dad, Grandma, and Grandpa's graves. I hope to be back to Terre Haute later in the afternoon when we'll meet my niece, Christy and family for dinner.

Monday will be spend shopping, running a few errands, fixing Mom's recliner, and doing whatever else Mom wants to do.

We'll be heading back to the far north on Tuesday.

Time for bed. The old professor's tired tonight and tomorrow's going to be another long day.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Off to Mom's!

 "There is only one pretty child in the world, and every mother has it."

 Chinese Proverb

There's been a good hatch of dragon flies this summer. We love them. More dragon flies = less mosquitoes.

June 27, 2019 - Thursday evening

67 degrees/cloudy/calm winds

Pentoga Road

It's been a warm one today, too warm. With the thermometer registering in the upper 80's and rain in the forecast, the humidity had to be around a hundred, billion, million, percent. 

By the time I returned home from my morning walk, I was drenched. 

There was a doe waiting on one of my favorite roads that refused to move, even when I got close. There's little doubt she had a fawn hiding nearby. 

I wanted to work in the garden before the temperature pushed the mercury too far up the thermometer. 

My goal was to install a trellis for Sargie and Hambone's snap peas. Both love to stand in the garden and eat the raw peas handful's at a time.

I've held onto a roll of flimsy deer fence/mesh for years thinking that it could come in handy in the future. Today was the day. 

I worked off and on carving terraces in the bottom of the pond all day. The sun was bright, there wasn't a hint of a breeze and to add insult to injury, I found nothing but rocks and rock solid clay.

Using a spade was out of the question. In desperation, I resorted to using a heavy steel rod, an old axle from an antique car, much like one would chip away at ice.

It can only be described as a slow death, very slow. Sweat kept dripping in my eyes and I was soon soaked. When I began having difficulty breathing, I knew it was time to climb out of the hole and get cooled off.

I'd been drinking plenty of water and munching handfuls of honeyberries. That was well and fine but I needed to cool off and quick. There's no better way to do that than riding a four wheeler to the local lake and jumping in.

Instant relief.

Thursday afternoon was once again spent at the bottom of the pond. I found an old pick/hammer that helped. I'd pound a bit, then scoop the rocks and clay away with the spade. It was slow going. 

One positive thing about having the pond close to the orchard is that I could run over to the honeyberry bushes every now for a handful of delicious fruit.

 If I ate one, I ate a hundred. Sweet, yet tart, they are a real treat on a hot and humid summer day.

I quit picking and shoveling late in the afternoon with the deepest terrace finished one swing at a time.



The excavation is almost to the point where I should be able to finish the terraces using the backhoe. 

Sargie and I talked about the next steps and we think it's time to fill in the ramp so I can dig around the entire pond. 

My bride arrived home from the Vision Center early and after changing clothes, hopped on the mower and took off for the front meadow.



She hadn't gone two feet before the skies opened and it began to rain. Waiting a few minutes, she proceeded to the meadow and... mowed in the rain.

That girl of mine sure loves her rider. I think she was afraid I'd mow tomorrow and she'd miss out. I'd hate to deprive her of such fun.

Sargie opens the Vision Center Friday morning, the last day before her official vacation begins. I'm going to take a break from the pond and work on washing the Kia and getting it ready for the trip south. I promised Sargie I'd clean it from the inside out. 

If it's dry enough, I may try to do some yard work. If it's not, I've got a small project going in the shop.

One of Sargie's Japanese Irises

I'm not worried about being bored.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

It was a bit warm down in that hole today.

June 26, 2019 - Wednesday evening

68 degrees/clear skies/calm winds

Pentoga Road

Since tomorrow morning will be an early one, I thought I'd begin writing tonight and if my eyelids grow too heavy, I'll finish tomorrow.

Wednesday morning began with getting back into my walking routine.

I've hiked the same five miles daily for several years and am still amazed at the beauty that surrounds us. I'm so grateful for my sight that enables me to enjoy and appreciate it all.

The wild flowers are in abundance with yellows mixing in with an abundance of daisies. They seem to be everywhere.

Back home, work resumed on the pond. Just about the time I thought the end was in sight, I ran into an abundance of packed gravel and boulders. 

Unfortunately, the large landscaping bucket wouldn't make a dent in either. I had no choice but to change to a much smaller one with teeth.

As usual, more time was spent hauling dirt away from the hole than actually digging.

With the bottom finished, the lowest terrace is beginning to take shape.

Progress was slow but steady. 

Macrea was working in Iron River today and stopped out for lunch. We had a good time and made plans for a fall hike, a quick, ultra light trip of thirty five miles over two days.

I took a break from digging and mowed the rougher parts of the back trails and meadows, those that Sargie would rather not do.

I was able to get into the back meadow for the first time this summer. As of three weeks ago, it was still under water.

It was back to the pond. A swipe here, a shovelful there. I got off the backhoe and descended into the hole. Two hours later, it was pronounced...

DONE.

 Now the hand work begins, making and shaping the terraces. I'll leave the bucket dangling in the hole so what is dug by hand can be lifted to the surface overhead.

My view from the bottom of the pond.
Ten feet is the deepest, six to eight feet otherwise.
Next comes rebuilding the terraces on the side walls.

Where is the dirt being stored? There's a place on the other side of the yard, into the woods, where it's being stockpiled. 

There are plans for that dirt, but that's a story for another time.

The strawberries are beginning to set on with a few early ones ripening.

It's not overly dry, but we could use a nice all-day rain. Failing that, I set up a sprinkler and gave them a good soaking for an hour.

Sargie opens the Vision Center in the morning. I'll go for my walk then resume work on the pond. It's going to be pick and shovel time, digging, shaping, and sweating. Lots and lots of sweating.

The peonies are beginning to bloom

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road..

The skies were ugly Tuesday evening

June 25, 2019 - Tuesday evening

69 degrees/cloudy/rain showers

Pentoga Road

Before I begin, Sargie and I want to wish Mom a happy 92nd birthday tomorrow. I wish we could be with you on Wednesday, Mom, but rest assured, we'll be there Saturday afternoon to let the celebrations begin!!

Happy birthday, Mama. We love you.

I thought sure the world was about to cave in an hour ago. The skies went from bright and sunny to almost pitch black in a matter of minutes. The wind howled and somewhat nervously, I looked off to the southwest, wondering if a funnel cloud might be in the mix.

As it turned out, the storm was all blow and no show. We must have received at least twenty raindrops from the entire system.

Today was another busy one. I was out the door early and had the remainder of the wood that was still in the trailer worked up by mid morning.



I'll take the trailer back to Yooper Brother Mark's plant next week to be filled again. Six more loads and I'll be good for next winter.

Sargie and I made a quick trip to town to run an errand before she had to leave for work.

The new iPhone arrived via Fed Ex today and I spent a couple of hours setting it up. For whatever reason, Verizon couldn't get their network to recognize the phone. We worked together for over an hour until I discovered that I'd put the SIM card in backwards. 

Whoops.

I hopped on the rider early in the afternoon, mowing some of the rougher areas. Sargie said she'd finish Wednesday evening after work. 

The rest of the afternoon and early evening was spent digging and moving dirt.



I may have been a bit optimistic to think I'd finish digging out the bottom today. The digging is the easy part. Getting rid of and making room for loose dirt is what takes the time.

I got into a bit of a jam at one point. The hole in front of me was deep enough that I couldn't use the boom to take the backhoe up the ramp. The more I tried, the closer the legs got to the edge.

I finally got a tow strap from the barn and tied one end onto the tractor, the other to the backhoe.



As it turned out, I managed to gain some traction and get the backhoe out on its own. The tractor wasn't needed, but it still felt good knowing that I couldn't/wouldn't go head first into the hole.

The ramp was dug a bit wider and shallower after to ensure that doesn't happen again.

Sargie will be home in a while, so I guess I ought to get supper ready. She opens tomorrow and I'll be riding with her partway and walking back home. Otherwise, it's back to the garden. I have yards and yards of dirt to move before I can finish digging the bottom of the pond... and miles to go before I sleep. (Where'd that come from? I bet Robert Frost wasn't referring to digging a pond in his side yard.)

The very bottom is somewhat shaped. Now I need to dig about three feet deeper and that will be done. 

The part in the shadow, is ten feet deep. The area to the right is around seven feet. Three more to go.

After the bottom is finished, I'll put that side of the pond back together, reconstruct the terraces, and begin the shovel/hand work.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

The ramp to the bottom of the pond was finished on Monday and digging begun on the bottom.

June 25, 2019 - Tuesday morning

68 degrees/clear skies/windy

Pentoga Road

I'm sitting here fat and sassy this morning as I THINK I'll be finished with digging the hole at the bottom of the pond today. 

No guarantees, but the ramp was completed yesterday, tons and tons of dirt and rocks were moved, and digging began before day's end.

It's a long ramp that goes down into that thar' hole!

More about digging later.

I began doing some minor auto body repair on the Kia after Sargie left Monday morning. A bit of sanding here, a little primer and paint.

Whoops, a bit of surface rust seemed to have eaten right through the back quarter panel. Ouch.

There was nothing to do but start grinding, much like a dentist does when drilling out a cavity.

One thing for sure, if it's not clean, the rust will just keep chomping away from the inside out.

While in college and even after, many many years ago, I had a little side line business of repairing rust damage on older vehicles. It was something I enjoyed and considered more of an art type thing than automotive.

The hole in the Kia was filled with mesh, then filled with some super duper auto putty.

It was onto sanding, filling, sanding, filling, sanding, and filling, until the hardened epoxy blended in with the original surface.

After that, came primer and a bit of paint and boom, that repair job was good 'nuff to be done.

We've managed to mow down a herd of deer with the little Kia over the years and now refer to the little black bullet as a four-wheeled deer magnet. I no longer buy a hunting license and haven't had my rifle out in years. If we were desperate for meat, we'd only have to drive down the road.

With each deer comes a new dent, bumper cover, grill, quarter panel, door, etc. etc. The major ones have been professionally repaired, but the smaller dents, bumps, and bruises, remained as no insurance company wants to spend several thousand dollars on an old car with a quarter of a million miles showing on the odometer. They'd simply give us a few hundred dollars and total the car.

Problem is, the Kia still runs like new. It gets anywhere between 34 and 42 miles to the gallon, uses no oil, and is fun to drive. More importantly, it's paid for. 

Sargie and I love her little car. We were told when we first purchased it that if the oil were changed regularly and we kept up with basic maintenance, it would last well over 300,000 miles. It appears the mechanic knew what he was talking about.

We're taking the Kia to Mom's this weekend. The Equinox is more comfortable, but it also sucks up twice as much gas. 

As long as I was in the autobody mood yesterday, I decided to fix a few snarls, dents, and dings.

I used to own a set of tools that aided in repairing such things, but they disappeared many many years ago. What I do have is some very hard hickory in the shop. Why not make my own custom tools just for the Kia?

A simple thingamajig. I made two others to fit inside the wheel wells, up into the front quarter panels.

The rest of the morning was spent manufacturing, pounding, grinding, and straightening.

I love this right angle attachment used to remove screws in tight places. It was a present from Sargie in years past.

Taking the snarl out of the front grill and hood

 By morning's end, Sargie's Kia once again looked like something a person should drive rather than an addition to the local junk yard. 

We'll give it a wash and wax later this week, a quick vacuuming of the inside, the windows washed, and mats scrubbed, and the little car should be good for the five-hundred mile drive to Indiana.

It looked like it was going to storm and I really wanted to finish digging the ramp. I began my usual maintenance procedure, checking the oil, fueling the backhoe, shooting grease into the zerks, etc.

Oh oh, a couple of the fittings didn't want to take grease. 

Dang

When it comes to machinery, I'm probably OCD... a bit of a mental case for preventative maintenance. There was nothing to do but change the fittings.

Mississippi Brother Garry enjoys teasing how I wear latex gloves when working with grease. I'd go without, but I just don't have time to get a manicure this week.

In the end, I decided to change all the zerks (fittings). I was back in business.

The rest of the day was spent alternating between working up wood and digging. If it appeared it was going to rain, I'd hop off the backhoe and split wood under the trees.

Once the threat of lightening or rain diminished, I'd head back to the site and begin moving dirt again.

After a few hours, the trailer was 2/3rd's empty. A few pieces required splitting the old fashioned way, by hand, using a twelve pound maul.

Meanwhile:

 Hey, Jambo, the honeyberries will be prime for picking next week. Get your bucket ready. 

I enjoyed stuffing my face with the earliest honeyberries between digging and wood sessions. The berries are absolutely delicious and are good for eating fresh or making jams or pies.

 Sargie closes the Vision Center tonight and doesn't go into work until one. I'm going to head out the door fairly soon and finish working up the wood in the trailer. It shouldn't take more than a couple of hours.

 After, it will be back to the pond. I may be dreaming, but I hope to finish widening the hole today to a ten foot diameter, ten feet deep.

To ensure I don't go tumbling into the hole, I'll park the tractor at the top of the ramp and connect the backhoe to the tractor with a heavy logging chain. 

The backhoe is sitting at a depth of six feet with four more to dig.

If there's time this afternoon, I should mow the front meadow and trails. If it's not done fairly soon, we'll be bailing rather than mowing it.

Its time to get this uploaded, Sargie's lunch packed, then head out the door. Looks to be a good day here in Maple Valley.

Much to my surprise, a potato is sprouting in the middle of a dirt pile in the garden. We grow hardy taters here!

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Our local wren keeping watch over the back yard