As the Andrew Sisters crooned,
"I'll be with you, in apple blossom time."

May 28, 2020 - Thursday morning

65 degrees/cloudy/light rain

Pentoga Road

As a young boy, I loved the Andrew Sisters. Mom and Dad had an Andrew Sisters record album featuring the trio and I knew every word to every song. Apple Blossom Time was and still remain's one of my favorite classics.

 In high school, I played every weekend in a professional dance band, a nine piece studio-type orchestra, and enjoyed playing the song as much as listening to it. 

A side note: I loved the Chordette's, Mr. Sandman, almost as much. In fact, Jambo and I were singing the song together while fishing this past week.

Yeah, I know, two old sops, put together in a small fishing boat, each of us reliving days of long ago in song. 

Just call us Pentoga Road's grumpy old men.

Page Two:

So, the apple trees are in blossom, spring/summer has arrived, and Sargie, Hambone, and Pawpaw, were a busy crew on Wednesday.

I went to the shop after my early morning walk to finish the handle for the froe.

I think the limb from the dead apple tree will work just fine. 

The rest of the day was spent in the yard, either in the pond and/or garden or in Sargie's case, mowing.

Page Three:

For whatever reason, I've kept a grassy strip on the far end of the garden and honestly, it's been a pain. It's difficult to get the push mower through the rows and once the pumpkins and/or squash begin to vine, mowing became impossible.

Hambone and I fixed that problem yesterday. I mowed the grass short, then we covered it with landscape cloth, and finally, spread new wood chips on top of that.



Having enough chips to refresh the rows in the garden is not a problem. We have several mountainous piles left from the spring clean up just three weeks ago. Grady and I hauled, dumped, raked, and spread.

It was hot and humid with temperatures in the low 80's. 

I had to laugh. 

About every half an hour, Hambone would say, "Pawpaw, I'm getting really really hot. Don't you think we should go in the pond?"

He used that line a dozen times yesterday and it worked each and every time. We'd talk as we worked then strip off our clothes and dive in the cool water. After a few minutes, we'd climb out, get dressed, and go back to work.

It's not all work and no play in the garden. When Hambone grew tired of spreading wood chips, he'd grab a net and walk around the pond looking for "netable" (<- I know Miss Jody, no such word) items. Errant algae, an occasional goldfish, a rock, a butterfly winging overhead... almost anything is fair game to a six year old boy holding a long handled net.

Grandma Sargie climbed from her riding mower to look over our work and gave us her seal of approval. 

Sargie had mown nonstop for several hours. I told the girl I'd finish the rough part of the lawn, the newer areas that involves navigating around trees, uneven ground, and an occasional rock.

The more difficult areas were cut alone, but once I reached the shoulders, my shadow, who'd been patiently waiting alongside the road, eagerly joined me.

Thanks to Grandma Sargie, the Superintendent of Pentoga Lawns and Everything Pretty, the yard and surrounding areas look beautiful. 

The bare areas are from work done earlier this spring, removing the old apple tree, digging a boulder from the ground, or filling in low places. Sown heavily with grass seed, coupled with ample rain, it shouldn't be long before they blend in with the rest of the lawn.

Hambone had his last Zoom class last night of the school year. 

For whatever reason, the teacher could hear and see Grady, but we only got the audio. Still, Hambone remained attentive and actively participated.

We occasionally remind Hambone that in our house, everything on his plate must be eaten, including the crusts on his sandwiches. If he's too full to eat all his meal, then he's certainly unable to have desert or any between meal snacks.

The boy has progressed from being a picky eater to proudly showing off his clean plate after every meal. Last night's newest culinary delight was Grandma Sargie's slow cooker chicken breast and rice with fresh asparagus on the side. Hambone sat up and ate every bit. As a reward, we enjoyed ice cream for desert and true to his new eating habits, not a bit remained when he was finished.

Ah, Hambone. Though we pretended not to notice, the boy was oblivious to Sargie's and my chuckles as he worked hard to get every last drop.

We're going to head over to Iron Mountain today and deliver Hambone back to Mommy and Daddy. While in town, we'll stop by the True Value Hardware to take advantage of their annual "Buy one/get one free" paint sale. 

Our home is exactly one hundred years old this year and I think the least we could do to celebrate is give the old house a new coat of paint.

Oh darn. Oh gosh. It's raining. I guess I'll have to spend my early morning hours playing in the shop. 

Sometimes life can be difficult, but I'll suffer through.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Today's random Alaska picture: That's me after a day of ice fishing in the arctic. Sit out in -30 degree temperatures with a twenty mph wind and see how pretty you look.