The driveway to Wisconsin Mike's camp
One of the most beautiful in the UP

July 10, 2019 - Wednesday morning

64 degrees/partly cloudy/calm winds

Pentoga Road

Carl the Weatherman just mentioned the "r" word... rain, rain, rain, rain, rain. Rain? Rain! RAIN!

Yeah, we'll see how that works out. So far, everyone else in the UP has received their fair share. 

Us? It hasn't happened yet.

The phone rang fairly early Tuesday morning. It was Wisconsin Mike asking if I might go to their camp to look for a lost cell phone. Seems Mike arrived home with an empty pocket.

Boy, I know that feeling of having lost a phone all too well.

Let's see, I lost one over the side of a boat, two have gone down holes while ice fishing, etc. etc. 

The camp, a house really, is beautiful and Mike and his daughter and family keep it looking beautiful. Located a couple of hundred yards into the woods, it sits perched on the edge of a large hill, surrounded by trees and of course, lots of wildlife.

I felt badly that I never found Mike's phone, but was happy to take the beautiful walk into their camp. Hopefully, it will turn up either here or in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Mike is one of the good guys. 

I headed to the pond at first light Tuesday morning to finish the terrace.

After, I shot a laser light across the entire pond to check the level on the opposite side.

Just as I suspected, the south side was a foot too high, but then I saw that the laser wasn't level. It was pointing slightly down.

 In the end, there's just one area that needs dirt removed to match the others.

Look in the lower middle left and you'll see a faint red dot where the top of the pond is supposed to be.

It was getting hot and I'd already worked on the pond for over two hours. It was time to tackle putting the new fan belt on the Ford tractor.

I'm no mechanic, don't pretend to be. With that in mind, it's no wonder it took me all morning to install the belt.

Of course, it wasn't as simple as I originally hoped. I had to take half the front end of the tractor apart just to get the belt threaded onto three pulleys. 

I was grateful when the last bolt was tightened and the tractor roared to life. Problem solved.

I used about every tool in my possession. Rather than run back and forth to the shop, I simply loaded what was needed into the wagon and brought the shop outside.

I heard a tractor and thought it was pulling into the drive. It turned out to be a county worker mowing the ditches. 

I was tempted to run out and ask to borrow his side mower. I could do some major trimming with that sucker!

We'd purchased a new bathroom stool earlier this year and it's been sitting in the upstairs hallway since. Why I chose one of the warmest days of the year to remove the old one and install the new commode is beyond me. None the less, Tuesday afternoon found me wedged into a corner in the upstairs bathroom, back aching, sweat pouring into my eyes.

I'd taken out the old stool and thoroughly cleaned the area. Since the new one was larger, I began to worry that it wouldn't fit. 

There was nothing wrong with the previous stool other than the seat was about six inches off the floor. I'm fairly certain the previous owner must have been part munchkin as when I used the thing, my knees were up around my ears.

It didn't take long to install the new one, but carrying the old stool down the steps by myself was a bit of a challenge. In the end, the new one was installed and ready for action.

The new throne is several inches taller and makes seeing the print much easier.

With the tractor back in action, I headed to the pond and began moving a large pile of dirt that had accumulated over the past few days since the belt broke.

It felt wonderful to actually be working above ground rather than down in a hole.




I was almost gleeful to actually be landscaping, even though I knew the area will probably be dug up in some manner before the pond is finished.

Kind of looks like the surface of the moon, doesn't it?

Sargie pulled in the drive last night just as I was finishing. I'd had enough for one day, being a landscaper, a mechanic, and a plumber. It was time to quit.

Meanwhile, way down south...

A true southern country boy, Mississippi Brother Garry likes to walk barefoot. In fact, I heard that Miss Jody has to slap him alongside the head just to get him to put on shoes before going to church.

At any rate, Garry walked into a nest of fire ants a few days ago.

Ouch. While going to school in southern Mississippi years ago, I got bit on the leg by ONE ant that made a wasp sting feel like a purring kitty cat with a full belly of warm milk. I can only imagine the pain that Garry felt.

The boy likes to tease me about living up here in the land of snow and ice, but at least our ants don't breath fire and cause pain. 

Garry also sent a picture of all the watermelons in his garden. 

I wish he'd send a few up this way. It's been years, literally decades, since I've had a REAL homegrown watermelon. The type we buy in the store are okay, but nothing beats a southern melon left to ripen on the vine.

Garry and Miss Jody are on their way to Hawaii to watch their oldest son, Eric, be promoted to full Colonel. Having served multiple times in both Iraq and Afghanistan, Eric's a true American hero. He's received multiple commendations for his heroic actions in combat and was even featured in a National Geographic television special several years ago.

Not only that, but Eric's just a nice guy. I'm proud to know him and call his daddy my best friend and brother. 

Today. Well, we'll see if it really rains. I noticed a spit fell during the night, just enough to wet the surface of the ground. 

Sargie closes the Vision Center this evening so it will be a late one for her. I'm going to head to the pond and work until the sun becomes too hot then move inside and shop for pond liners. It's time to order.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Why I do raised bed gardening.
This is as good as our soil gets, clay, rocks, and gravel.