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| Yooper Brother Mark and Sheri are in Green Bay for the weekend and sent this picture. I feel like a Packer lightweight compared to the owner of this car. |
March 1, 2020 - Sunday morning
22 degrees/partly cloudy/calm winds
Pentoga Road
Holy cow, it appears spring is coming early this year. The high today? Forty six degrees!
If we have too early of a spring, we may miss maple season while we're on our trip. Oh well, some years are like that. Jambo's heading south for a week or two as are we. Guess we'll have to see what the weather's like when we arrive home. It wouldn't break my heart to skip tapping trees and go directly to the gardening season.
Let's see... Greg wrote yesterday asking if Saturday's opening picture was really of Swan Lake or could it possibly be of Auke Lake in Juneau that borders the UAS campus.
I THINK it was taken from the balcony of Swan Lake B&B, owned by my friends, Pat and Judd Fager. The direction would be towards Verstovia Mountain, looking south. I could be wrong and have been known to make a mistake every now and then. Problem is, I have tens of thousands of pictures, not all of them labeled, but I think that's where I was standing.
Thanks for asking, Greg. Now I'm going to have to go back and do some real research. The best way to know for sure is to get Sargie on a plane and fly back to Sitka and see if I can recreate the picture once again!
Yesterday's long walk was a good one. The sun was bright, the temperature was in the mid thirties.
Sargie and I went for a beautiful ride, absolutely gorgeous.
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| Snowmobiles in Pentoga Village For a bit, we were driving on the snowmobile trail. |
Back home, we worked on the drive and managed to clear several more feet of solid ice.
I took a hard tumble when my feet slipped on the wet ice. Nothing was broken, but Sargie took matters into hand and "fed the chickens," scattering salt to prevent further falls.
I've been trying to lose a bit of weight before we head south. Knowing that I'll be stuffing my face with some mighty fine southern fare (I'm on my way, Charlie's Catfish House!) I've been trimming my calories a bit. My favorite brunch menu has been corn flakes with banana slices, raisins, chia seeds, and shelled sunflower seeds. Don't knock it until you try it.
Speaking of heading south, Mississippi Brother Garry sent this picture of his grandson, Monkey Boy, aka Evan, who was getting a bit of exercise yesterday. I hate to see Monkey Boy grow up. Several years ago while we were visiting, he was able to wedge himself between two walls and inch his way up to the ceiling, thus the name Monkey Boy.
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| Doesn't appear Monkey Boy's lost any of his athletic abilities |
What impresses me most about Garry and Jody's grandchildren are their fun attitudes and wonderful manners. Filled with "Yes pleases," and "No thank you's," we enjoy their company a great deal. They are just good kids, period.
We're coming to the end of Sadie's visit. It's been a good week and we've enjoyed the pup. She's been active, to say the least, but for as young as she is, the girl is well behaved.
Sadie doesn't like to return to the house when she's off the leash and LOVES to be outside. Rather than chase her through several feet of snow, I've been tying her to a long rope. She seems very content to run, jump, sit, lie, and sleep, while being tethered.
We'll be taking Sadie back to Iron Mountain on Tuesday as we leave for the deep south.
Here's the conclusion of yesterday's Alaska story. Though it takes place outside of Alaska, flying was as a very integral part of my Alaskan life. There are several flying stories I could relay and may in the future, but the manuscript detailing the Tweedle drama, emerging with mind and body intact, was at the top of the pile of current manuscripts that I'm wading through.
Continued from Saturday's entry
"...Ma'am, I don't care what you have to do, but one way or the other, you're going to have to give me some room or I'm going to call a flight attendant."
Mrs. Tweedle, after giving me a look that would strike the fear of death into any common mortal, reached overhead, her large arm bending my nose and brushing my face and pushed the call button.
I felt sorry for Erin the flight attendant. Nearing aisle 11, the look on her face said that she wanted to take me from that horrible place and nurture me back to health.
"Oh my," she sighed. "May I help you?"
Dum wheezed and said, "Yeah, my wife wans ya."
"Hell, I don't want her," hissed Dee, as she pointed her thumb towards me. HE wans her."
I struggled to free my right hand, held it up in a drowning motion, and attempted to plead my case.
It took few words to convince Erin I was in deep distress. A small nook in the luggage compartment down in the belly of the plane would have been an improvement.
The flight attendant walked ahead a few aisles, talked to two or three people, and suddenly, the Promised Land appeared. There was an aisle seat in row 9, just ahead.
I sat waiting for Dee and Dum to get up, but both remained sedentary and neither attempted to move.
"Ma'am," I said to Dee, "If you'll just get up and move, I'll be out of your way and you and your husband can have the entire row."
Flight Attendant, Erin, just back from row nine, pleaded my case.
Both the Tweedles looked straight ahead with neither moving.
Erin became adamant.
"Let the gentleman out... now!"
Dee finally turned her head, made eye contact with my newest BFF and shouted, "DO YOU HAVE ANY &*)%+ IDEA HOW HARD IT IS FOR US TO GET IN AND OUT OF THESE &*#)#_ ROWS?"
Initially, I thought Erin was abandoning me to save her own life. Trying to inject some humor into the situation, I passionately said, "Save yourself, Erin! Run, darn you! Run for your life! Run like you've never run before!"
The flight attendant jogged to the front of the plane and reentered the jaws of the beast with the pilot.
Baby Jesus couldn't have looked better at the time.
"Folks," the pilot began, "I'm told you refuse to move and that you swore at the flight attendant."
Mr. and Mrs. Dum remained silent.
Meanwhile, I could feel sweat running between Dee's body and my chest and belly as we became even more permanently attached.
"I'll ask one more time. Should you not do as I ask, I'll call airport security to have you taken off the plane. NOW MOVE!"
The Tweedle's must have sensed that they were about to lose their ride to Seattle. Dum grunted and swore under his breath, tried to lift his massive bulk from the seat, but didn't quite have the momentum. He fell back, shoving Dee further into me.
"I'm waiting," said the pilot.
"K, K, K," muttered Dum.
He wheezed in a big breath, grabbed the back of the seat in front, and lunged forward, this time gaining his feet, but tumbling into the pilot and flight attendant, who, in turn, fell back onto the passengers seated across the aisle.
Apologizing and regaining some sense of composure, both once again stood tall.
"Now it's your turn," quipped the pilot to Mrs. Tweedle.
Dee first grabbed air, then the back of the seat in front and gave it her all. Having been fused together by a never ending stream of sweat, it felt as though half my body was being ripped away.
Dee had a death grip on the seat back. Included was a fistful of the woman's hair who'd been trying to ignore the drama.
Dee pulled harder, ripping not only the seat back from its moorings, but also a goodly portion of hair from the occupant's head.
The lady yelled, Mrs. Tweedle swore, and I screamed like a little girl. I remember thinking how very much I wanted was my mommy.
Escorted down the aisle, the Tweedles were told to wait, stand still, keep their mouths shut, and not move.
The pilot bent over and asked, "At any time, did you feel threatened or fear for your life?"
Fear for my life? Me? I'd previously looked death in the face and came out on the other side victorious. Thinking back on the times I'd either been charged by an angry moose, had to shoot a threatening bear, plunged through thin arctic ice, been caught in angry seas or had to hole up in a never ending blizzard for two weeks, I nodded in the affirmative.
"Those are dangerous people, very dangerous people," I whispered.
I watched as the Tweedles were escorted off the plane under heavy security and unlike them, I had the whole aisle to myself.
I also received a free round trip ticket for future travel.
And the lady who had half her hair pulled from her head? I bet she may have a lifetime of free travel in her future.
_________________________________________________________________________________
It's time to get going this morning. To walk or not to walk? That is the question.
I need to get into the storage shed behind the barn to retrieve the totes containing my summer clothes. As I told Mississippi Brother Garry, I'd look pretty silly wearing lined jeans and a flannel shirt while walking down the street in southern Mississippi.
There's a few pieces of wood I need to gather to take. Garry and I will be spending a bit of time in his shop as he imparts more of his knowledge on the lathe.
No doubt Sargie and I will go for our drive today, then there's the ice to continue removing from the drive. I hoped to get to the shop, but I'm not holding my breath.
It never ends. If only you had my life, you'd understand.
After all, a man's work is never done.
So are the tales from Pentoga Road...
Mrs. Tweedle, after giving me a look that would strike the fear of death into any common mortal, reached overhead, her large arm bending my nose and brushing my face and pushed the call button.
I felt sorry for Erin the flight attendant. Nearing aisle 11, the look on her face said that she wanted to take me from that horrible place and nurture me back to health.
"Oh my," she sighed. "May I help you?"
Dum wheezed and said, "Yeah, my wife wans ya."
"Hell, I don't want her," hissed Dee, as she pointed her thumb towards me. HE wans her."
I struggled to free my right hand, held it up in a drowning motion, and attempted to plead my case.
It took few words to convince Erin I was in deep distress. A small nook in the luggage compartment down in the belly of the plane would have been an improvement.
The flight attendant walked ahead a few aisles, talked to two or three people, and suddenly, the Promised Land appeared. There was an aisle seat in row 9, just ahead.
I sat waiting for Dee and Dum to get up, but both remained sedentary and neither attempted to move.
"Ma'am," I said to Dee, "If you'll just get up and move, I'll be out of your way and you and your husband can have the entire row."
Flight Attendant, Erin, just back from row nine, pleaded my case.
Both the Tweedles looked straight ahead with neither moving.
Erin became adamant.
"Let the gentleman out... now!"
Dee finally turned her head, made eye contact with my newest BFF and shouted, "DO YOU HAVE ANY &*)%+ IDEA HOW HARD IT IS FOR US TO GET IN AND OUT OF THESE &*#)#_ ROWS?"
Initially, I thought Erin was abandoning me to save her own life. Trying to inject some humor into the situation, I passionately said, "Save yourself, Erin! Run, darn you! Run for your life! Run like you've never run before!"
The flight attendant jogged to the front of the plane and reentered the jaws of the beast with the pilot.
Baby Jesus couldn't have looked better at the time.
"Folks," the pilot began, "I'm told you refuse to move and that you swore at the flight attendant."
Mr. and Mrs. Dum remained silent.
Meanwhile, I could feel sweat running between Dee's body and my chest and belly as we became even more permanently attached.
"I'll ask one more time. Should you not do as I ask, I'll call airport security to have you taken off the plane. NOW MOVE!"
The Tweedle's must have sensed that they were about to lose their ride to Seattle. Dum grunted and swore under his breath, tried to lift his massive bulk from the seat, but didn't quite have the momentum. He fell back, shoving Dee further into me.
"I'm waiting," said the pilot.
"K, K, K," muttered Dum.
He wheezed in a big breath, grabbed the back of the seat in front, and lunged forward, this time gaining his feet, but tumbling into the pilot and flight attendant, who, in turn, fell back onto the passengers seated across the aisle.
Apologizing and regaining some sense of composure, both once again stood tall.
"Now it's your turn," quipped the pilot to Mrs. Tweedle.
Dee first grabbed air, then the back of the seat in front and gave it her all. Having been fused together by a never ending stream of sweat, it felt as though half my body was being ripped away.
Dee had a death grip on the seat back. Included was a fistful of the woman's hair who'd been trying to ignore the drama.
Dee pulled harder, ripping not only the seat back from its moorings, but also a goodly portion of hair from the occupant's head.
The lady yelled, Mrs. Tweedle swore, and I screamed like a little girl. I remember thinking how very much I wanted was my mommy.
Escorted down the aisle, the Tweedles were told to wait, stand still, keep their mouths shut, and not move.
The pilot bent over and asked, "At any time, did you feel threatened or fear for your life?"
Fear for my life? Me? I'd previously looked death in the face and came out on the other side victorious. Thinking back on the times I'd either been charged by an angry moose, had to shoot a threatening bear, plunged through thin arctic ice, been caught in angry seas or had to hole up in a never ending blizzard for two weeks, I nodded in the affirmative.
"Those are dangerous people, very dangerous people," I whispered.
I watched as the Tweedles were escorted off the plane under heavy security and unlike them, I had the whole aisle to myself.
I also received a free round trip ticket for future travel.
And the lady who had half her hair pulled from her head? I bet she may have a lifetime of free travel in her future.
_________________________________________________________________________________
It's time to get going this morning. To walk or not to walk? That is the question.
I need to get into the storage shed behind the barn to retrieve the totes containing my summer clothes. As I told Mississippi Brother Garry, I'd look pretty silly wearing lined jeans and a flannel shirt while walking down the street in southern Mississippi.
There's a few pieces of wood I need to gather to take. Garry and I will be spending a bit of time in his shop as he imparts more of his knowledge on the lathe.
No doubt Sargie and I will go for our drive today, then there's the ice to continue removing from the drive. I hoped to get to the shop, but I'm not holding my breath.
It never ends. If only you had my life, you'd understand.
After all, a man's work is never done.
So are the tales from Pentoga Road...
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| Today's random Alaska picture: Brother Elmer and I were panning for gold in Hugo Creek, just a few miles upriver from my cabin on the Noatak |
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