Trilliums, anybody?

May 24, 2020 - Sunday morning

55 degrees/high clouds/calm winds

Pentoga Road

My eyes popped open well before sunup this morning. I lay thinking of today's upcoming Mighty Milligan Annual Memorial Day Celebration, held annually on Milligan Mountain and is one of my favorite family gatherings of the year. My job is to pop a big ol' bag of popcorn to share.

Saturday began with my usual walk. The trilliums blooming alongside Pentoga Road and in the woods remind me of the poppy field in the Wizard of Oz. They are everywhere and absolutely beautiful.

The new Fugi pocket camera I purchased in late December has gone on the fritz. At Sargie's suggestion, I called Amazon, from where I ordered it, and the customer representative was so helpful. She even put me on hold and connected me with Fuji's customer care and remained on the line to make sure I was satisfied. 

Say what you want about Amazon and ordering online, but I don't know of any local businesses that give such service and ensure customer satisfaction. 

Long and short of it is, the camera is under factory warrantee and will be mailed to Fuji on Tuesday to either be fixed or replaced. 

I worked for quite some time attempting to renew my Wisconsin teacher's certificate Saturday morning. They have the most unfriendly user website I've ever tried to navigate. As of now, I'm waiting for two documents from Florence School District and after that, I should be good to go for the next several years.

I'm not even certain I want to sub or teach this coming year, but I love the kiddies and teachers in Florence and like having that option. 

I worked in the garden all day Saturday and except for the rutabagas (forgot to order the seed) and some squash and pumpkins, everything is planted. Given our warm temperatures, if we could get a bit of rain, it wouldn't take long for everything to pop out of the ground.

This coming week will see me back in the garden beginning the huge job of cleaning up after digging the pond last summer. There are piles of rocks, dirt, weeds, and old landscape cloth that need to be dealt with. After everything is either moved, landscaped, or thrown away, I'll spread a fresh layer of wood chips in all the aisles. 

I also hope to purchase siding for the garden house this coming week. It's time to get that finished and move on.

Sargie was rather adamant that I remove my shoes and socks before entering the house after working in the dirt all day. I drew the line yesterday when she made mention of removing my feet. 



I should have learned from Mississippi Brother Garry and gone barefoot. Problem is, we have something they don't, rocks, and lots of them.

Last evening was a quiet one. Sargie made her to-die-for delicious macaroni salad and I cooked brats out on the grill. 

The Gate Keeper is making sure I don't enter the house with dirty feet.
Okay, that's a lie, but it did feel good to relax after a busy day.

Other than dipping a few egg skeins from the pond, there wasn't a sign of a toad or a snake in the garden or yard yesterday. It appears the pond may escape this year's mating season fairly well unscathed with toad goo. The snakes? They've gone back to the woods.

We'll be leaving later this morning for Milligan Mountain, but first, I'm going for my morning stroll. It's almost daylight and time to pick 'em up and throw 'em down. This finely chiseled body doesn't come easy, you know.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Today's random Alaska picture: Inupiaq Eskimo munchkins enjoying lunch in Kotzebue grade school. Kotzebue, population 4,000 and located 33 miles north of the arctic circle, is the largest true native village in Alaska. It serves as the economic and cultural hub for small villages located all over northwest Alaska.
My cabin was 17 miles north of "Kotz" on the Noatak River.