Co worker, Michelle, and Sargie on Thursday afternoon

January 31, 2020 - Friday morning

17 degrees/partly cloudy/calm winds

Pentoga Road

It's official. Sargie has now joined the ranks of the retired. She raised her head early this morning, mumbled something about never having to go to work again, smiled, said she loved me, then fell sound asleep with a smile on her face.

I've told Sargie that retirement is the best job she'll ever have. Now she'll get to experience it for real.

Look what came in yesterday's mail.

They must have the wrong person. Fifty years couldn't have passed since a pimply faced, seventeen year old, stumbled up onto a stage to receive his high school diploma. 

High school. I hated high school with a passion and if it weren't for band and orchestra, I'd probably have been a casualty of the Vietnam conflict. Our's was a huge consolidated school with hundreds in each class. 

At dear old Pekin High School, Home of the Chinks, (yes, your read it correctly) I often felt like a number, seldom a name.

We were divided into two distinct groups, those who were college bound and the other's who were given, for the most part, social promotions. It was expected that most of the males would be drafted anyway. Why waste tax payer dollars trying to educate us?

It was tough following a sister who excelled in academics. She graduated near the top of her class, #3 if I remember correctly. I came along three years later near the very bottom of mine. 

The harder I tried, the more I failed. Finally, I just gave up.

Our school, like most, had a social structure that made life difficult for a kid like me. The Haves, those who were college bound, learned from the very best educators in the system. The Have Not's were cared for by either rookie educators or teachers who were merely putting in their time until retirement. 

Rarely did the Haves and the Have Nots mix. It was an unwritten rule that those who comprised the cheerleaders, athletes, student council, National Honor Society, and other extra curricular activities not mix too heavily with the lower class. 

It just didn't happen. Consequently, high school was a very lonely and extremely frustrating time for me.

Thankfully, I had a band director, Mr. Fogelberg, who helped to show me the academic light my junior year. D's and F's turned to A's and B's. By my senior year, I'd reversed course and asked my counselor for her assistance and help to be admitted to college.

Miss Strauch attempted to put the final nail in the coffin when she said, "I don't know why you'd bother to apply to any college. No one will take you, so don't waste my, your's, and their time."

Thank God for Mr. Fogelberg. He called universities and colleges, and arranged for several auditions. I was offered two scholarships for my musical abilities alone, one from Northeast Missouri State and the other from Illinois Wesleyan. 

I chose Wesleyan where I went on to graduate with honors.

I later honored Mr. Fogelberg for saving my life by becoming a band director myself, one of the many hats I eventually wore in the field of education. 

When I brought one of my high school bands on tour years later, though retired, he sat in the front row and was my biggest supporter.

I was dragged to my thirty-fifth reunion fifteen years ago and I'll admit, I enjoyed being introduced as a Professor of Education. This PCHS graduate had crashed through the boundaries of the Haves and Have Nots and, as Mom used to say, made something of myself. 

I'll not be attending my fiftieth reunion. My high school days are long gone. Self admittedly, the hard feelings I've carried all these years are juvenile, but they served to help me be a better educator, to believe all children are equal and to never give up on even one. 

Fifty years have passed and I'm a big boy. It's time to let go of those hard feelings. I hope my fellow classmates enjoy their reunion.

Page Two:

After churning out a quick three miles Thursday morning, my intention was to repair the flue on the wood furnace, but found the snow had completely demolished the stove pipe and fittings. Replacements were purchased Thursday afternoon.

The propane heater was started in the shop and I spent the rest of the morning and much of the afternoon fashioning a bowl and name for one of Sargie's coworkers. 

Michelle has been a near and dear friend to Sargie while at the eye clinic and we've promised to keep in touch. She's a sweetheart.

I went to town and found our large grocery was suddenly closed due to possible structural failure caused by the heavy snow. It's to reopen Saturday morning.

I made my way to the eye clinic where we had an informal end of the day gathering.

Yeah, I had to photo bomb this selfie. Don't ask me why.

Even at the last hour, I put Sargie through her optician paces and am proud to say I was her very last patient.

With hugs and kisses, we bade all goodbye as Sargie made her final exit from the working world into that of retirement.

Now the real fun begins.

I'm going for my walk this morning then hope to repair the flue on the wood stove. After that, we'll see what the day brings. Macrea, Mel, and Hambone, are to meet us at this evening for a celebratory supper to honor Sargie's working years, one she certainly deserves.

Time to strap on the boots and get to walking.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Happy Retirement Sargie!
(taken at the Vision Center last year)

January 30, 2020 - Thursday morning

19 degrees/cloudy/calm winds

Pentoga Road

Today is, indeed, a special day in Sargie's life. After many years working as an optician, beginning tomorrow, Sargie will be able to call her life her own.

My bride has been much more than an optician through the years, she's also served as an unofficial therapist. The girl has listened to countless stories of family, sickness, health, failures, and victories. Over the past decade, I've watched as people waited for Sargie to assist them when other opticians were available.

The optical world will miss Sargie as will her patients and professional friends. Just as importantly, she will miss them.

With that being said, my girl has mentioned countless times how nice it will be to retire, to call her life her own, to be a full time wife, grandma, and traveling companion. We're looking forward to many years of seeing our friends and family, experiencing the world, and most of all, sharing our lives together.

That's what best friends do.

Today's the day you've been waiting for Sargie. Congratulations, sweetheart. I love you. 

Wednesday was a day of hard, physical, work on Pentoga Road. I started with my usual walk then climbed to the roof over the living room that had suddenly sprung a leak.

What I found wasn't pretty. There was as much as six to eight inches of solid ice that stretched several feet towards the house and was acting as a dam.

The melt water was backing up once it hit the ice, then had found a weak place on a ridge of the metal roofing through which to leak. In this case, I suspect it was a faulty rubber washer that wasn't tightly sealed.

I spent the entire morning on the roof pounding, shoveling, slipping and sliding. What a mess.

I'd hate to guess how many tons of snow and ice were cleared. All I really know is that as of now, the leak has stopped and with a forecast of warmer temperatures this coming weekend, I'll be getting back on the roof with caulking gun in hand.

Sargie worked just as hard below clearing the snow from the deck and carrying in the day's supply of wood.

At one point, Jambo came to borrow the snow rake. Seems his side porch was piled high with heavy snow and beginning to settle.

Jambo at the other end of that 20 foot snow rake

It was past noon before the living room roof was cleared. 

After a mad dash to town, the afternoon was spent giving Jambo a hand.

Wednesday's icicle contest winner is located in Gaastra

We worked until almost dark straightening his porch. 

This winter's weather is without mercy on the area's buildings. I read yesterday that a large public storage building collapsed north of here.  

Mississippi Brother Garry asked the other day if this all we do in the North Country, clear snow? Sargie and I were talking after and reflected that up until last year, there hadn't been a need to. 

It's just one of those winters.

We had our own icicles going. With the ice dam cleared and roof clean, the suspended daggers should be a thing of the past, at least for this week.

I'm driving my girl to work today then will return home to go for a walk. After, I want to replace the damaged flue on the outside wood furnace. With any luck, I'll be able to build a fire, warm the shop, and return to my scroll saw and lathe for some good, old fashioned, retirement fun.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Captain Luke was a bit busy yesterday

January 29, 2020 - Wednesday morning

19 degrees/cloudy skies/calm winds

Pentoga Road

From what I gather, the firefighters in Luke's station house didn't have time to catch their breaths on Tuesday. As Luke said, "We're kicking hineys and taking names." 

... hineys might not have been the exact word he used.

It does bring the dangers of what firefighters endure close to home. Majoring in Fire Science, Luke lived at a fire station during his post high school years. As the low man on the fire pole, he cooked, cleaned, and manned the phones. In other words, he worked his way up the ladder, no pun intended.

Luke has over twenty years of service now and has worked his way up the ranks to that of Captain. He's received numerous commendations over the years for putting lives of others above his own and this past year, received the award of Fire Fighter of the Year. 

Luke was always a daddy's boy and in his young days, he stuck to me like a cheap wet t shirt. As a toddler, he loved crawling out of his crib, wet diapers and all, then getting into our bed, flopping up on my belly and sleeping face down, nose to nose, seething with bad milk breath, drool dripping from his mouth onto my face, and wet diaper stuff leaking from him down my belly and legs. 

Just as I am with all of my sons, I'm proud of Luke. He may be a big, rough, tough, no nonsense, bare knuckle, John Wayne-type of firefighter, but to me, he'll always be my little drooling Lukie, bad milk breath, wet diapers, and all.

Dang, I'd like to write about something that's not snow related, but when in Rome. I see that I've got a leak on the outside of the overhang on the living room roof. It's the same overhang from which I pounded, literally, tons of ice last week.

I've almost come to the conclusion that the heat from the flue of the wood stove is causing the snow to melt, but somewhere, it's finding a place to leak into the overhang rather than continue its flow to the edge of the roof.

Guess what I'll be doing today?

Tuesday saw me finishing my five mile walk then climbing onto the roof of the wood sheds.

Since the shed is much smaller than the other buildings on which I've been playing a balancing act, the snow removal wasn't too strenuous.

I feel badly for our local Restore in Iron River. Here's the new blurb from Monday night:

https://www.uppermichiganssource.com/content/news/Roof-collapse-at-Iron-Rivers-Habitat--567343451.html

Thankfully, no frozen precipitation is in the immediate forecast which will give everyone a chance to catch up before the big snows of February and March arrive.

The rest of the day was spent either socializing or with my hands in one freezer or the other. 

We'd picked up some fruit for Neighbor Sue while in Green Bay on Sunday. An elderly widow, Sue had a knee transplant last fall and is doing great. She's eagerly looking forward to a second knee replacement in February and is really anticipating being able to walk around her yard and flower beds this coming summer. 

There's little doubt God used Sue as a pattern when he made sweethearts.

The ice maker in our refrigerator/freezer has quit working. I used Sargie's hairdryer in hopes that it might be a simple fix, but that was to no avail. Water pressure is good and the actual ice making unit seems okay. I think the small water regulator is the culprit.

For what a service call costs, I think I'll order everything new and install a new unit myself. Until it arrives, we're purchasing bags of crushed ice and dumping those in the hopper to be dispensed through the door as usual.

I visited for a bit with Jambo. He invited me up to the camp for a cup of hot chocolate and some catching up. I think if the wind stays down, we may venture out onto the lake and drill a hole or two in the ice this afternoon in search of the wary bluegill.

Sargie and I had a quiet Tuesday evening. She's on the short list now for retirement. One more day! Thursday, at 4:30 PM, she'll exit the working world and enter that of the retired.

It's about time to call Jambo and see if he wants to walk with me this morning. After, I'll be back on the roof.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

You never know what you'll see while walking through the countryside, including a kitty cat on a snowy barn roof.

January 28 2020 - Tuesday morning

19 degrees/cloudy/calm winds

Pentoga Road

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, Monday was once again, all about snow.

Mark texted last night saying that our local Habitat for Humanity - Restore caved in yesterday afternoon. Yup, too much snow on the roof. That's the second local structure in the past two days that has collapsed.

As someone said the other day, "We've got March snow (accumulation) and it's not even February."

I had an uneventful seven mile walk Monday morning. Seems I always see something that strikes me as beautiful or unusual. Yesterday was the cat on the roof. It had walked up the snow and was lying on the metal roof soaking up what little sun was shining.

Tennessee Williams was from Mississippi, but obviously, he was vacationing in the UP when he wrote his epic, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

Back home, I got busy clearing snow from the roofs of the garage and storage shed. 

I had just started when Sargie joined me. She worked alongside of me for the rest of the day, right up until dark.

Jambo's lane had become so narrow that it would have been difficult for a vehicle to have gotten through. Knowing they were coming down at some point yesterday, I took the snowblower and widened it by almost five feet.

I sure love my new machine and it runs like a top. The Ariens was made in the good old USA, right next door in Wisconsin!

 Sargie and I took a break and enjoyed a short drive. One of our favorite activities is to look at homes sporting the longest and most icicles. Yesterday's winner was in Crystal Falls.

I started working on the back storage shed immediately after returning home. The accumulation on the wood furnace shed was also dangerously high.

The snow on part of the garage and all of the wood shed was entirely too hard and deep for the Minnesnowta. There was only one solution. Climb the ladder.



While I was shoveling, Sargie was in the house putting a huge spiral ham in the oven. It wasn't long before I heard her below. The girl was back outside, working on the snow from ground level.

Sargie found a long piece of wood and discovered that she could make large amounts of snow slide off the metal roof by striking it from below.

It was almost dark before the storage shed was free of any snow. 

If we get our usual February and March snowfall, it will be past the windows and solar heater. At least I won't need a ladder to clean any from the roof.

I heard noise coming from the opposite side of the barn. Sargie was busy removing snow and ice from the furnace shed.

The several feet of snow and ice caused some damage to the flue of the wood furnace. I'll put that on my list of things to do. It never ends.

It was pitch black before we came in the house. Sargie made mashed potatoes and ham gravy while I was in the shower.

 Her ham and gravy was some of the best I've ever tasted. Ah, a Sunday meal on a Monday night. After a day spent shoveling snow, it was the perfect table fare.

Sargie's back to work today, the last Tuesday of her working career. I'm going for my walk then begin cleaning the snow from the wood shed along the drive. The ice maker has quit working and even after thawing the thing completely out, refuses to churn out cubes. I want to take one last look at the four wheeler before loading and taking it to the mechanic's. Both Andy and my friend, Big Jim, have sent in new causes to look for. Then there's that flue to replace on the outside wood furnace.

In other words, it's going to be a busy day.

Are we surprised?

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

August, 2017
Hey, it's late January. I wanted to see a little color for a change.

January 27 2020 - Monday morning

26 degrees/cloudy/calm winds

Pentoga Road

Obviously, I love taking pictures, especially those that involve nature, but I'm tiring of everything looking black and white. Unfortunately, during the winter months in the North Country, we're limited on choices of exterior colors. I think that's the reason I enjoy thumbing through one seed catalogue after another.

They're colorful and bring hope of warmer days to come. 

Amen.

I just opened my smartphone and see that Sargie and I are now enrolled in an unlimited data plan. For years, we've kept our data usage throttled down to the bare minimum, mostly because we couldn't receive a good signal at the house and of course, the cost. 

When Mom fell ill this past fall and we were desperate to talk to either her, my sister, or the hospital, there were times we had no phone service. The satellite telephone (VOIP) is lousy at best and a cell signal was non existent. We found ourselves plowing through the snow and parking in Jambo's yard at the top of the hill to send and/or receive a phone call.

With the cell booster came a near perfect signal. We found we could talk like normal people on our cell phones from the comfort of our living room, but the satellite service, both for internet and phone, has remained horrible.

I called our cellular provider and asked what could be done. I assumed unlimited data would be prohibitive as they charged $15 for every gigabyte of data beyond our normal 5 gig limit. In talking to the representative, I found that for another $30 a month, we could talk and video beyond our wildest expectations. 

Sargie gave me an Alexa Echo (Amazon) for the car this past Christmas. At the time, I hesitated to install the thing as it required data through a smart phone, something we had little of.

Not any more.

Yeah, I know, I'm a tech geek. For an old guy, I do pretty well, but then at the age of 92, Mom had an iPad, was on her second laptop computer, had a smart phone, banked and shopped online, constructed spread sheets, and of course, emailed me daily.

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

We're looking forward to our upcoming drive to the southland in a few weeks, bebopping to the sounds of the 70's and 80s on Sirius radio, and being kept informed by Alexa. In other words, we're all decked out. 

Watch out Mississippi Brother Garry and Miss Jody, here we come!

Sargie and I made it to Green Bay and back yesterday in good shape. At one point along the way, I received a text from Yooper Brother Mark. The poor guy had been on his roof, enjoying the UP's most favorite wintertime activity, shoveling snow from the roof of his garage and shed.

Doesn't he look as though he's having fun?

The boy sounded absolutely exhausted and I suggested he borrow my Minnesnowta, the snow removal tool that works so well for me.

He said he thought he would.

Sometime later, I got another text and picture  saying he had no trouble at all fitting my new blower into the back of his truck. 

Wait a cotton pickin' minute. It was the Minnesnowta he was supposed to take, not my new snowblower.

Ah, we have fun teasing each other, that Yooper Brother Mark and I. He did borrow the Minnesnowta, but said the snow on his roof was too heavy, deep, and hard packed for it to really be effective. 

Lest you think I'm exaggerating about the amount of snow we've received this winter, our local Home Depot in Iron Mountain was taking some preventative measures on Sunday.

We pulled into the parking lot just to observe.

Green Bay was a busy place and Costco was no exception. 

I talked to one of the clerks who remarked that the time to shop is Monday through Thursday when the crowd tends to be much smaller. Friday through Sunday sees a huge influx of shoppers.

Lesson learned.

Sargie and I chomped on burgers and fries and sang and talked our way back to Pentoga Road, arriving home shortly after dark.

Today's going to be an active one. I'll go for my walk at first light then after, try to enjoy the UP's most favorite wintertime activity on the garage roof and that of the storage shed in back of the barn. 

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Sargie's in her element, an all day shopping trip 

Grandson, Wes
With all his beauty, grace, poise, and charm, there's no denying, he's a Pennington boy.

January 26, 2020 - Sunday morning

28 degrees/snow/clouds/calm winds

Pentoga Road

I THINK we're going to Green Bay this morning. If the weatherman is correct, and as you know, he's been known to lie, the snow is to stop. In fact, this coming week looks fairly snow free. 

I took my usual walk Saturday morning. With the several inches of snow that had fallen the night before, shuffling through the heavy white stuff was tiresome. 

Taken from the road
The garden house and pond are on the left.

Trying to get myself in shape for another season of hiking, first the Picture Rocks Trail in June, and later, the Rim to Rim Trail in the Grand Canyon, I keep reminding myself that the effort is all worthwhile. 

We'd purchased a new snowblower while in Iron Mountain Friday afternoon with a promise to pick it up in the next day or so. 

Only one problem. The trailer was buried under and behind some pretty hefty piles of snow.

Sargie soon joined me as we shoveled and pried away tons and tons of this winter's precipitation.

While we were shoveling away, I happened to notice the amount of snow on the portable garage. We've kept it clean all winter, but tucked away behind the barn, I hadn't knocked the most current snow from the roof.

Sargie volunteered to hit the roof from the inside causing the snow to slide off. 

It did, but now there's another problem. So much is piled against the glorified tent that I'm fearful it could rip and/or cave the sides in. I'll be removing that in the next day or two.

It took hours and some effort, but the Blazer was eventually backed up to the trailer. After throwing copious amounts of ashes under the tires, both finally emerged from between the piles of snow.

The final insult? The trailer was filled to to the brim with very heavy hard packed snow and ice. Just when we thought we might finally go to Iron Mountain and get our new snowblower, we had to resume shoveling once again. 



Both Sargie and I were screaming for mercy by the time the trailer was emptied.

That bucket held ashes from the wood stove. Even in four wheel drive - low, the Blazer's tires insisted on spinning on the ice.

 Other than the Blazer occasionally coughing and sputtering, our journey to Iron Mountain was uneventful. The new snowblower was loaded and we were soon heading back home.

Snowmobilers crossing US 2 using the stop light. They'd detoured into town from the trail, no doubt for fuel, before continuing on their way.

I couldn't wait. Freeing the snowblower from the trailer, it started on the first pull and away we went.

I was so anxious to try out our new machine that I hadn't even pulled the sticker from the gas tank.

I was unsure how it would handle the wet, slushy, snow. There was no need to worry. It threw the wet stuff forty feet out into the yard. The 306 cc engine is equivalent to 18 horsepower, more than enough power.



It took less than an hour to clean the drive of the previous night's snowfall and those areas that have been plowed this winter. Sargie carried in the day's supply of wood while I steered the snowblower up and down the drive.

I'm surprised at all the advances that have been made in snow removal technology over the past forty years. The difference is like graduating from driving a 1950's Volkswagen Beetle to a new Mercedes overnight. 

If they published a snowblower calendar, I think Sargie could be on the cover.

After all the shoveling, driving, and carrying wood, Sargie and I were happy to flop in our chairs last night. Neither of us had any problems falling off to sleep come bedtime.

Matt's still traveling across Europe.

He's currently in Munich, Germany, on business.
After seeing the pictures, I'm not too worried about the boy starving.

It's time to wake my girl, get her day started, and think about driving south to Green Bay. The list of everyday household items is lengthy and as we all know, shopping waits for no one.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

No, it's NOT a toy. It's a tool!