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| One of Sargie's many photos she took on Sunday |
May 31, 2020 - Sunday evening
65 degrees/cloudy skies/calm winds
Pentoga Road
Once again, I find myself with time on my hands this evening, so rather than stare at the television, I thought I'd write Monday morning's blog.
Wait a minute, if I write it on Sunday, wouldn't it be Sunday's blog?
But I already wrote one today.
I'm so confused.
I was awake around 3:45 Sunday morning and knowing it was futile trying to fall back to sleep, I kissed Sargie on the forehead and got up for the day.
It was a wonderful walk to Pentoga Village. The sun was just rising and the woods were alive with the sounds of the many song birds welcoming the day.
It was cold Saturday night, well below freezing. I was grateful we'd covered all the delicate plants and it appears everything made it through in good shape.
Once home, three tanks of herbicide were applied before the wind began to blow. I usually make two applications each summer, one in the spring, the other in late July.
It was off to the shop to part off the bowl that's been in the lathe. After eighteen coats of finish, it was time. I was unsure that it could be separated from the stock of wood without going through the bottom.
I used the lathe to turn as far in as I dared, then cut the rest using the band saw.
Since the bowl was fastened to the chuck in an inverted manner, parting it meant I was taking away the support held in place by the jaws of the chuck. It needed more support while I was turning away the bottom.
What to do...
A ball used to play fetch with Sadie worked like a charm.
I didn't want to put a dent on the inside of the bowl, so I used the tennis ball to pad the center of the tailstock which in turn, held the bowl tightly against the chuck.
In the end, the bowl was separated, the bottom sanded, and given to Sargie. She wanted one that was natural with all the imperfections of a raw piece of wood.
Sargie entered the shop and pointing to a piece of popple, asked if I could turn a bowl from that. It originally was a piece that was going to be a belly of a three piece snowman.
Popple (aspen) is a soft wood, somewhat harder than pine, but not what one would call ideal for turning. In fact, I've told Mississippi Brother Garry that it's like turning a wet roll of toilet paper.
First was to turn off the bark, make the wood round, then turn a tenon to be used to fasten into the chuck.
Let the turning begin.
The majority of the pictures from here on were taken by Sargie. Using our Nikon D5100, she spent much of the day taking random pictures. As you will see, she has quite the talent for capturing life through a lens.
When it's time, I'll apply a food safe finish as Sargie said she wants to use it as a serving bowl.
It was time for our Sunday brunch. Sargie fried a big pan of potatoes and those, along with eggs, bacon, and toast, made our big Sunday meal of the day.
We dipped toad tadpoles off and on during the day. We have nothing against tadpoles or toads, but if they survive to maturity, all will return to the pond to breed. Like salmon, toads return to the place where they were hatched.
As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, toad eggs are long, stringy, and make the gooiest mess you've ever seen.
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| Those black dots are all tadpoles, thousands of them, around the sides of the pond. |
We took a long ride Sunday afternoon, occasionally pausing so Sargie could snap one picture or the other. Everything seems to be in bloom, including our own apple trees. Sargie has a knack for capturing all the beauty we enjoyed.
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| A flowering crab apple tree |
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| A bumble bee pollinating the blossoms on our Macintosh apple tree |
We ended up at a lake twenty miles away in search of plants that might be transplanted into the garden pond.
I'll add water lilies in another week or two. Their roots are especially deep and I'll need some special equipment to dig what I need.
We found some water grass that could be reached from shore and easy to pull out by the roots.
Thankfully, we had stopped at McDonald's earlier in the afternoon for Sargie's Coke and a cup of ice. The cup holders in Grady's carseat allowed us to bring the grass home in water without slopping all over the backseat of the car.
Most noticeable today was the lack of campers at the lake. Thank God we have our governor to protect us from ourselves. A big city girl who is auditioning to be Joe Biden's running mate, she obviously understands that the virus is most virulent in these remote woods of the Upper Peninsula. So far, our county has had zero cases reported with no one testing positive.
We continued our drive through the countryside and into Crystal Falls. Sargie continued snapping pictures.
We made a detour through Pentoga Village where I surprised Sargie by stopping the car and walked down one of the main streets.
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| It WAS one of the main streets in the early 1900's |
I started planting the water grass in the pond immediately after we arrived home. All were planted in the gravel filters where their roots can absorb the waste that's been drawn in by the circulating pump.
I figured as long as I was already wet to the waist, I might as well swim across the pond.
We're hoping the grass will take root and spread throughout the gravel filters. Live plants will help to filter the water and provide cover for the fish.
With Sargie's help, I began making a small cabinet to house the electric fence charger, the exterior speaker, and other electronics in the garden.
It was made entirely from left over scrap plywood that wasn't used when building the garden house. The door is made and will be mounted as soon as I purchase a set of hinges.
So that was our Sunday in a nutshell. We were on the go continually, but Sargie and I, both, agreed that we had a lot of fun.
We'll be going to the Ready Mix plant Monday morning for a load of gravel. Depending on the weather, I hope to finish spreading gravel around the pond tomorrow and begin hauling and spreading wood chips in the garden rows.
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: My son, Matt, stopped in Sitka on his way back from China. He enjoyed being the captain as we motored around Sitka Sound. |
