After many years of thinking about it, I finally pulled the trigger and purchased an evaporator.

March 23, 2020 - Monday morning

27 degrees/cloudy/calm winds

Pentoga Road

One thing about it, no one will ever accuse me of being an impulse buyer. I've wanted and thought about purchasing a maple evaporator for a long long time. With the daunting task of setting up a homemade boiler yesterday afternoon, Sargie suggested that I check with the fellow with whom I've communicated the past several years about purchasing one.

He had what I wanted, the price was right, and yes, he'd deliver it from Rice Lake Wisconsin.

SOLD!

Yesterday was spent just fiddling around the place. I retrieved the maple taps from where they've been stored above the shop and washed those. The twine that is used to secure the gallon bags onto the taps was cut. I also found the specialized bit that's been used for the past thirty years to drill the holes for the spiles and made sure the batteries on the drill were charged.

I think I'm ready to tap trees.

Luke sent a picture of one wall in their basement. He and Coleman are covering it with pallet boards. I believe the boy's onto something.

Arg! I just heard that Michigan's governor is closing down the state, a "stay at home order," is to be issued and the Wisconsin border a mile away will be closed. I wonder if it's true?

For some crazy reason, the old show, Hogan's Heroes, comes to mind. Armed guards were featured and German Shepard dogs prevalent. Mostly, there was an abundance of slapstick comedy.

Hmm, will there be an armed guard posted on the Pentoga bridge going into Wisconsin, just a mile distant? Should I take him hot chocolate and cookies to keep him warm while on duty? 

Are those flat landers who live south of here, Wisconsinites, many of whom are personal friends, now considered illegals? No doubt, they'll be crashing the border to make their way into the promised land we call the Upper Peninsula to plunder our riches, steal our women, and ride off on our horses. 

Good, bad, or ugly, I never thought I'd live to this happening in the US. Driving home through Illinois the other day was weird enough. 

Now it appears the weirdness has infected our neck of the woods. As I'm often hearing, it's the times in which we live.

I guess so.

OH NO!

I just happened to think. The new evaporator is to be delivered from Rice Lake, Wisconsin, sometime this week. I guess I could meet him at the Wisconsin border where he could push his end of the evaporator across the state line. I'll be on the Michigan side, pulling it towards me. 

Whew. Problem solved.

I ordered most of the garden seed needed for this year's planting. 

The small, but tasty, Siberian tomatoes seem to grow best in our northern climes.

I ordered tomatoes, carrots, beets, pole beans, and of course, winter squash, among other goodies, assuming they can be mailed across the Wisconsin line.

With a high of 45 forecast today, I'm going to begin tapping trees as soon as I return from my morning stroll. 

The diet officially begins today. My goal is to shed twenty of these gorgeous, hunk-of-flesh, grandpa pounds that have decided to call my belly home. I feel great and think I'm in pretty good shape for my age, but I don't like sporting a pot belly. It's time it goes away. 

OK, speaking of disappearing, I'm going to strap on my new hiking shoes and walk around our seven mile block with a detour to the Pentoga bridge that connects Wisconsin to the UP. 

I want to see if there's an armed guard whose name is Seigfert, no doubt, accompanied by his attack dog, Hans. 

Or, his name might be Frank with his trusty mutt, Earl.

Darn Wisconsinites, anyway, no doubt, trying to crash the border.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Today's random Alaska picture:
Renowned Iditarod musher, Jeff King
I met Jeff over the years while traveling on snowmobile and on such occasions, shared mugs of hot tea along the trail.