Two deer greet me Friday morning during my walk on Pentoga Road

October 19, 2019 - Saturday morning

40 degrees/partly cloudy/calm winds

Pentoga Road

Seems everywhere I turn there are deer. One, in particular, seems to be impervious to the electric fence surrounding the garden and has walked between the strands more than once. I've checked the voltage with the meter multiple times and found the charger is putting out 9,000 volts in all five strands.

Hmm, a new strain of super deer? I hardly think so. A dumb determined one? That's more like it.

Friday's walk to Pentoga Village was a pretty one. Initially, it was foggy, but as the sun rose, the woods, fields, everything, looked... well, looked beautiful. 

Working for a large electric firm before retiring, brother in law, Ross, helped to install these lines that run along the old railroad grade.

Back home, I went to the shop and had one resounding failure after another. I tried a new design, one that combined hickory with scroll sawing, and failed miserably. Two days of work down the tubes. 

It's back to the drawing board.

Sargie and I worked up the last of the wood that had been in the trailer. We're beginning to get a pretty good stack of hardwood for the upcoming winter.

Our plan is to burn the softer popple from Yooper Brother Mark's plant during the days and use the hardwood to hold the fire overnight. 

After a quick trip to town, we moved our logging operation to the back where I began sawing a dead ash tree.

Almost all the ash trees in this area have either died or are dying due the Emerald Ash Borer, an invasive species that hooked a ride from northeastern Asia and has decimated the ash population.



The death of all the ash trees is being compared to the infamous Dutch Elm Disease that spread through North America back in the late 50's and 60's. Just like the elm trees, the various ash varieties will make an eventual comeback, but it won't be in my lifetime.

I sized up the tree, notched it, and began cutting. My mark had to be perfect for it to fall in the narrow space between two trees.

The power saw roared to life. The dead tree started to fall, then stopped. I needed to cut just a bit more. 

Yeah, I sure did. The tree rolled and pinched the bar of the power saw, holding it hostage.

To make matters worse, I missed my mark by just a few feet causing the tree to hang up in another growing nearby.

For the umpteenth time this year, it was the old Ford tractor to the rescue. I was able to lift the tree just enough to free the saw. As an added plus, the tree rolled the right way and fell to the ground.

With Sargie operating the tractor, the trunk and larger branches were cut into stove size lengths.

Back 'er up and take it away, Sargie!

The wood was taken to the portable garage where the smaller pieces were stacked. I'll split the larger ones this morning and we can call that tree finished.



There are three ash trees (dead) alongside  the road that I'd like to harvest yet this fall. They're large and tall and will provide enough hardwood to see us through the winter. The only trick will be to ensure that they fall into the field and not onto the road. I hope to take them down this coming week.

Sargie and I ended the day by wrapping the garden house. As luck would have it, we ran just a few feet short. The wrapping will be completed as soon as we make a trip to Rhinelander for more.



I'm not certain what's on the agenda for today. I'm going to strap on my hikers and trek to Pentoga Village and back as soon as it's light enough. The three miles of steep hills should get my blood warmed and flowing for the day. 

Downtown Pentoga

There's wood to work up and more trees to cut. With rain in the forecast for much of this coming week, I'd like to get as much done as possible.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...