Sweet Williams

June 23, 2019 - Sunday morning

58 degrees/cloudy/calm winds

Pentoga Road

I'm tickled to see the various patches of Sweet Williams, aka Dianthus, thriving and blooming this summer. The old patch was originally started from seed inside several years ago and was growing where the middle of the pond is being dug. Not wanting to see the flowers go away, I scooped them up with the backhoe and broke them apart. After, the clumps of flowers were planted in various places around the yard and garden. All have thrived and if past history is any indication, they'll bloom all summer and spread to surrounding areas. 

I'm happy to say that ol' Hambone is with us today and ready for a day of action. After suffering from some rather painful intestinal problems this past week, a trip to the emergency room and visit with the pediatrician, the Potty Fairy visited the boy yesterday and all is well. 

Most of Saturday morning was spent carrying the rest of the last year's wood that spend the winter under a tarp to the front wood shed.

I'll be raking the wood storage area and straightening the fence before refilling it in the weeks to come. 

It takes five to six large trailer loads to fill the area to the top of the fence where it will be covered with tarps and like fine wine, left to "age".

I happened to look through the trees and saw the new portable garage. It's in a great place as it's out of the wind and accessible, yet isn't very noticeable.

The rest of the morning and part of the afternoon was spent rerouting the electric deer fence around the garden and orchard. I've been taking parts of it down every day to work, but figured since I had to dig a long ramp to get to the bottom of the pond, why go to all that trouble?

It was a bit tricky running wire through the apple tree. I ended up putting electric tape over any part of the wire that might touch something and short out.

Since the wire was running in different directions than before and the insulators somewhat ineffective, I used electric tape around the fence posts.

The voltage was checked on both sides last night and rather than having the usual 9,000 volts screaming through the wires, it's down to around 3,000. That's enough remind any deer what a shocking experience there is to be had should they try to raid the garden or orchard.

Sargie and I made our usual trip to town for her Coke and stopped at the local ShopKo store that is going out of business. What merchandise is left is marked down 90%. Though I wasn't a fan of ShopKo, it's sad to watch these stores go out of business and shocking to see the empty shelves, well, those that haven't been sold.

Sargie found a couple of summer tops for just over a dollar each. Ah, the queen of the bargain table hasn't lost her touch.

I went out to the car and dozed for a bit while she perused the clothing aisles. My kind of shopping.

The rest of the day was spent digging the ramp to the bottom of the pond.



The ramp begins out in the side yard making for a more gradual incline. The last thing I want to do is go tumbling headfirst into the hole, backhoe and all. 

I figure there's about two more hours of digging the ramp before beginning to dig an eight foot deep hole, ten feet in diameter. 

My short term goal is to have the pond excavated and put back together by this coming week's end. I'd like to have the sand bags for the gravel filter, the underlayment, the liner, and the large pump, ordered before we go to Mom's in Indiana next weekend. 



Depending on the order/shipping time and the weather, we could be filling the pond by mid August, possibly sooner. After that, comes the garden house, then the landscaping.

Will it ever end? 

Today is Hambone and Isabella Day in the North Country. Yooper Brother Mark, Sheri, possibly Sarah, Sargie and I, along with the two munchkins, are heading to Eagle River, Wisconsin, and a children's park. I hear the high point is riding the bumper boats.

If the forecast rain materializes, we'll go to the Children's Museum which is supposed to be a lot of fun and interesting for the little ones. 

Sargie's back to work tomorrow, so Hambone will be heading home late this afternoon. 

If the weather's good, I'll be working up a trailer of wood and continue digging the ramp on Monday. If it rains, I'll be in the shop, probably thinking deep thoughts while sitting in the recliner with my eyes closed.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

The easiest way to move a portable backhoe any distance is to lift it by the bucket and push it. I was taking it from one end of the pond, clear around the outside of the garden, and to the other.