Let's see, E = MC squared, multiplied by 6.9, less a degree here or there before adding a little bit more, close my eyes, say a silent prayer to Baby Jesus, and make a random mark.
At least I look like I know what I'm doing.

July 13, 2020 - Monday morning

48 degrees/clear skies/calm winds

Pentoga Road

I'm getting an early start again so I can put in a full day of work on the garden house. Lord, it's slow, but then Rome wasn't built in a day. 

Ah, the Colosseum or garden house. There's not that big a difference.

We had some visitors on Sunday. Isabella brought her grandpa out in the side by side to give Uncle Tom a present.

A crawdaddy had found its way from the local stream into their yard and Isabella thought it would be nice if she gave it to us to turn loose in the pond.

Heck yeah!

The last I saw of Spud the Mud Bug, he was happily propelling himself backwards into the dark, deep, depths of the garden pond.

We had a good visit with Yooper Brother Mark and Isabella and even managed to harvest a few beets to send home. Sargie says they are delicious this year and I'll be making a second planting in another week or so for a fall harvest.

Rose and daugher, Casey, stopped by for a visit. Once again, we had a great conversation and sent them home with a fistful of fresh beets. 

The pond is slow to clear up after the last rain. With the plants and darkened water, it's looking more and more like a natural pond rather than a swimming pool with a rubber liner. For sure, the goldfish are growing by leaps and bounds.

There are two small fish, red minnows of some kind, that I purchased from the pet store and stocked several months ago. I initially bought a bag full and only a few survived. All I really remember is that they cost a wallet busting seventeen cents each.

Two were engaged in what I think might have been a wild mating ritual yesterday. 

Locking lips, both would roll over several times before letting go with one chasing the other. After a quick trip through the lilies and grass, the fish reversed roles and the dance would begin again. 

You know, come to think of it, the red minnow mating ritual isn't that much different from that of humans. 

We took a break long enough yesterday morning to enjoy a wonderful summertime Sunday brunch.

We made vegetarian omelets stuffed with bratwursts. That's about as close to being "vegan" as Sargie and I will ever be, but it sure sounds trendy, eh? 

Throw in a gluten allergy along with a Prius, be offended at everything we don't agree with, bash President Trump, and people will think we've crossed over to the other side.

Stuffed with green peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, the kitchen sink, and a partridge in a pear tree and... oh yeah, thick slices of bratwurst, we ate like royalty.

Worry not, our feet are still solidly planted on the ground. (Shhh, we're vegans in name only, our dirty little secret.)

Work on the trim continued intermittently throughout the day. A few angles gave us problems, but together, we managed to stick a few boards onto the soffit. As I said, it's slow, but we're doing it right. Thankfully, someone invented trim and caulk with which to hide all the mistakes. 

With the nail gun in hand, Annie Oakley of Pentoga Road hasn't missed her mark yet.

It's time to take my usual quarterly break from writing. The days are much the same and I need to concentrate on getting a few things finished without the thought of pictures or words. 

So, hopefully, when I return, the blog will be filled with images of a completed garden house. Until then, as my good buddy, rest his soul, Kermit, used to say when we were departing the Big Woods of northern Maine, "I'll see you down the log." (Never did figure out what he meant by that, but the boy was sincere.)

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Sargie wanted to shoot a nail over her shoulder while looking in a mirror, but after seeing me cower in fear while standing high on an extension ladder holding the board in place, she changed her mind.