Ben, Em, and Wes

October 31, 2019 - Thursday evening

26 degrees/partly cloudy/calm winds

Pentoga Road

How about pictures of the grandbabies first? I have all of them.

Abigail

Ivy

Coleman

Ellie

Grady

Cody

Wyatt

Niece Aubrey (left)

It was quite the day in Bobkittyland. The school was filled with goblins and ghouls, ghosts, super heroes and movie stars. 

Even the teachers were in on the action.

2nd grade teachers and Minions, Sara and Christina

The Bobkitty Chorus paraded from the elementary school to the senior care center to entertain the residents.

As expected, they were a hit.

My day was a good one. I enjoyed being the librarian and lending a hand in the various grades where needed. The children's excitement was infectious, making my day fun.

I stopped by the eye clinic in Crystal Falls on my way home and saw Sargie for a bit. It was the end of the day and she was doing some last minute computer work.

I'm back in a first grade room on Friday. It's been a fun and fast week, but I don't mind saying, I'm ready for the weekend. 

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Thursday's sunset

When Beavers Go Horribly Wrong

October 30, 2019 - Wednesday evening

29 degrees/cloudy/calm winds

Pentoga Road

More about the beavers in a bit.

Today was all about completing the shed around the outside wood furnace that heats the shop.

The Blazer needs new injectors and after sitting outside in temperatures registering in the low teens, it refused to start. To the rescue, we took Jambo's car and trailer to town so I could purchase several 4x8 sheets of OSB (particle) board.

Thanks Mike!

The rest of the day was spent fixing and building. 

First things first. The duct work on the furnace was stretched to the limit, so much so that there was a bit of a gap between the plenum and fitting.

A quarter of an inch separated the two connections. There was nothing to do but connect them using flashing with rivets.

Construction began next. It all went fairly smoothly, but took more time than anticipated.

With Sargie's help, the shed was finished on three and a half sides by late afternoon. 

I purposely kept the front open to allow for ventilation and to keep excess heat from building and becoming a fire hazard.

Several sandbags were left over from building the pond filters and I wasn't sure what to do with them until today.

When the snow melted last spring, water settled under the furnace, so much so, that I had to raise the heavy monster and place a brick under each corner. 

Sargie and I took a quick ride to town, stopping by one of our local lakes on the way home.

The beavers have certainly been busy.

Several trees had been gnawed through and were lying either in the lake or the parking lot.



Sargie's back at the eye clinic on Thursday and I'll be the librarian at Florence Elementary for the day. Since the munchkins will be dressed in their Halloween garb and most likely, charged from eating too much candy and sugar, I'm seriously wondering how much learning will really happen.

On Thursday, we not only learn, we make fun memories!

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

It's the Bobkitty pre K through 2nd Grade Chorus
The group is practicing for its Halloween debut at the Florence Senior Care Facility

October 30, 2019 - Wednesday morning

15 degrees/clear skies/calm winds

Pentoga Road

It's downright chilly this morning. In fact, one can say it's COLD. Thankfully, it appears all the insulating work Sargie and I did last spring is paying off in spades as the house has been cozy warm this fall with no trace of a breeze blowing through. 

I'm almost afraid to ask, but could it be that after seven years of fixing, remodeling, new windows, and copious amounts of insulation, we may have finally buttoned this hundred year old house up? 

Stay tuned, there's a lot of winter yet to come.

Sargie and I, both, are off today. I thought maybe we'd have a Friday night last night, one where we stayed up late watching tv, gabbing, laughing, and not going to bed until late.

Yeah, that didn't happen. I fell asleep around 7 PM, woke up a bit past nine, and stumbled up the steps where I slept soundly the night through. I'm not sure what time my bride joined me.

It's a wild life we lead here on Pentoga Road.

There's something about herding a class of six year olds, regardless how good they are, that can plumb tucker a grandpa out. 

I had a first yesterday and it happened in the lower-end (littlest ones) boys bathroom.

Hmm how to put this delicately...

I was doing what fully grown men do when they stand at a knee high urinal built for mini munchkins.

Suddenly, I heard a bunch of four year olds coming down the hall and into the bathroom. It became quiet and I assumed they were going to do the same as me.

It was too quiet.

I looked around and found myself surrounded by five curious little boys, mostly squatting, necks craned, one trying to peer between my legs, watching the action.

One little guy, no doubt the spokesman for the group asked, "What are you doing Mr. P?"

I went with the flow, or my bladder in this case, and replied, "Grandpa's have to go to the bathroom too."

The boys looked at each other then began giggling before erupting into hysterical laughter. 

I'm so glad I could provide such great bathroom entertainment. 

That one will go down in the memory book of life.

Yesterday's work was a dream job. Once again, the first grade class was near perfect. I rewarded them at the end of the day by taking my banjo from it's case and along with the other first grade class and those from second, we sang our hearts out. 

I'll return to Florence on Thursday as the librarian... oh, and as the accompanist for the ghouls and goblins as they sing at the nearby care facility. 

Dan the Dean asked if I'd fill in for him on November 11th for one day.  I hope I haven't forgotten how.

Being Kindergarten Cop is a responsibility I don't take lightly. 

Sargie and I took a short ride to town last night. Winter must really be coming as the docks are being pulled from the area lakes.

I was ice fishing by the second week of November in 2013. I hope it doesn't happen that soon this year. Winter is long enough in the North Country without extending it further than necessary.

I'm going to try to finish the outdoor wood furnace shed today. A couple of hours worth of work should see it ready to heat the shop for the winter months.

The ashes in the burn barrel need to be buried before the ground is frozen solid. After that, I'll cover the back hoe and tuck it away for the winter months.

No doubt, Sargie and I will take a ride around the area this afternoon. It's a comfortable routine we've settled into on our days off together.

Time to get busy. That shed ain't gonna finish itself.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

A day in the first grade

October 28, 2019 - Monday evening

33 degrees/cloudy skies/calm winds

Pentoga Road

It's a short one tonight. The day with the first grade bobkitties was a good one. I sure enjoy those little ones.

The high point was when I rose from a chair and as I walked away, a little girl came up and pushed the chair under the desk.

"Why thank you," I said.

She smiled and said, "You're welcome."

I told her it was a very nice thing to push my chair under the desk.

Once again, she smiled and said, "Thank you. My mommy and daddy told me I should do that for old people."

So, other than finding out that I'm old, today was near perfect. I'll be back with the first grade again on Tuesday. No doubt, I'll be ready for a day of R&R on Wednesday.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Look who showed up at the shop door this morning?
It's Lego Ninja... better known as Hambone.

October 27, 2019 - Sunday evening

42 degrees/cloudy skies/breezy

Pentoga Road

I'm subbing in the first grade tomorrow, so I thought I'd better write tonight.

Indeed, Lego Ninja came for a short visit this morning. Sargie and I were working outside when they pulled in the drive. Knowing Grady wanted to surprise us, we hurried into the shop.

Macrea, Mel, and the Bone were out visiting grandparents so they stayed just a short while. 

I was out the door shortly after sunrise Sunday morning working up the load of wood we cut on Saturday. I love burning ash, but Lord, what a stringy wood. 

The texture reminds me a lot of elm. It burns hot and lasts a long time, but is tough and stringy.

Thankfully, the wood splitter makes the job much easier than if I were doing it by hand. 

My wood season is over for the year. There are six rows of hard wood in the portable garage, plus all the soft wood in storage. We shouldn't go cold this winter.

Sargie and I moved the pallet boards from under the roof of the shed surrounding the outdoor wood furnace.

They are now stored in the big red shed along with any other good wood I might use in the shop or for building. 

I'd hoped to work on the outdoor furnace shed today, but simply ran out of time. I may be finishing it in the snow if the forecasts are correct.

After a quick trip to town, Sargie and I finished wrapping the garden house. We'd run out of wrap earlier, but finished it today.

Yooper Brother Mark and Sheri stopped out this evening. They brought us a goodie from their recent vacation to Las Vegas and of course, we had a great visit.

As mentioned above, I'll be teaching first grade for the next two days. They're a good bunch of munchkins and I'm looking forward to my time with them.

It's time to get this uploaded and watch the Packers/Kansas City game on Sunday Night Football.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Mom's up and walking!
Shown here with brother-in-law, John

October 27, 2019 - Sunday morning

30 degrees/clear skies/calm winds

Pentoga Road

We're filled with all sorts of good and exciting news this morning. Sargie and I were shopping yesterday afternoon when my phone chimed. My sister, Barb, had sent a picture of Mom walking on her own. 

In talking with Mom last night, she said she's working hard in physical therapy and hopes to return to her apartment in the next week or two. I'll tell you, Mom's part super hero, part Energizer Bunny, and part Terminator. Best of all, she's Mom to us all!

Sargie and I will be heading back to Indiana the week after next to visit Mom for a few days.

The other big news is that my son, Luke, received the Officer of the Year Award for the S. Portland, Maine, Fire Department.

The Captain has had multiple commendations over the years for putting his life at risk while saving others and now, as a senior officer, he continues to save lives, both as a fire fighter and administratively.  

I think Luke was destined to become a fireman from the time he was three years old when he sneaked away, was playing around a trash fire, and had a bit of burning plastic fall on his arm. 

The little guy wasn't hurt, but it taught him never to play with fire... or did it?

We both took smoke eater (fighting forest fires) classes while he was in high school and Luke later spent days fighting a serious fire in northern Maine. After, he proclaimed he wanted to be a fire fighter. Luke put himself through school, earning a degree in fire science, and to my knowledge, never looked back.

As with my other three sons, I'm proud of ol' Lukie. I've always told each that if you're going to do something, do it right or don't do it at all.

Luke's doing it right.

Saturday morning began in the shop. I finally got the Hutterite girl and boy glued together.

It's been a fun project and other than mounting the pair and putting a frame around the edges, that project will be finished.

The shadows make it look a bit different, but you get the idea

Last night was spent putting the finishing touches on the couple. It's damp in the shop and despite all the lighting, difficult to see for fine touch up after dark. I brought a few paints to the dining room and dabbed a final bit here and there.

While the pieces were drying yesterday morning, I began splitting the pile of fire wood that's been piling up in the portable garage.

Between what was cut Friday and that from yesterday, I'll be working up wood for sometime to come. 

Sargie and I attacked the last ash tree alongside Pentoga Road Saturday morning.

I was fearful it would fall into the road and took my time notching and making a near vertical cut on the backside.

It's leaning to the right, but actually fell to the left parallel to the road.

Thankfully, it fell the right way with the majority landing nearly perfect alongside the road. Sargie hurriedly cleared the upper branches that would have obstructed any traffic and we spent the next two hours cutting and hauling.

We finished with the tree around noon, ran through the shower, then made our way to Rhinelander for groceries and supplies. Seems we're still trying to get ready for the upcoming winter.

My big money purchase was for power snow shovel, a small, lightweight, snowblower, with which to remove the snow from the garage, front porch, and storage shed, roofs. I'll also use it on the back deck. Shoveling snow just isn't nearly as much fun as it used to be. 

Why is that?

I'm going to head out the door and begin emptying the trailer of yesterday's wood. Judging from the stacked rows in the portable garage, I think we'll have between three to four full cords of hardwood, plus several more of softwood to burn for this upcoming winter. 

As Mississippi Brother Garry says, "Good 'nuff."

I sub four out of the five days this coming week. Let's see, Monday and Tuesday, I'm in the first grade room, have Wednesday off, in the library on Thursday, and back in a first grade room on Friday. 

With that said, it's time to get this old body in gear and start working up wood.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Sargie snapped this picture of last night's beautiful sunset