Mt Katahdin, Maine, the terminus of the Appalachian Trail
I hope to be standing at the summit in August of 2022 

July 7, 2020 - Tuesday morning

61 degrees/cloudy skies/calm winds

Pentoga Road

Josh sent me the picture of Mt. Katahdin last weekend as they were making their way north to the Big Woods of Maine. Having previously summited the mountain, I'm hoping the next time will be as I complete the six month journey up the AT. 

Matt sent the following picture yesterday morning as he and Jess were attempting to summit Mount Washington, the highest peak on the Appalachian Trail. They ran into snow and ice at Lion's Head, a well known landmark, and had to reroute their journey to the top.

They finally continued on and summited later in the day.

I've climbed Washington several times, once in the winter months with Josh as we camped out in sub zero temperatures before summiting the next morning. The last time was with my four sons to celebrate my sixtieth birthday. 

I hope they meet me the next time to celebrate my seventieth as I make my way up the AT.

My sister, Barb, who obviously appreciates pretty legs on older gents, sent the following. After displaying pictures of my brother-in-law, John, and my own Big Bird legs, I think it's quite appropriate.

Monday was a very warm and muggy mixed bag of tricks on and off Pentoga Road.

After returning home from my morning stroll, I busied myself in the garden, plucking weeds while talking (muttering as the sweat ran into my eyes)  to the plants. 

I met Sargie going out the door as I entered. She wanted to get the lawn mowed before the day grew any warmer. 

My bride spent the rest of the morning on the rider as I pushed the trim mower. Sargie once again has the yard looking like a park.

I needed to purchase more lumber for the trim on the garden house. Sargie has a much better eye for spotting a good board than I and with her help, we purchased enough to see the job finished. 

Rumbling was heard in the distance as we loaded the lumber and took off for home. At one point, both Sargie and I were rather anxious as we drove into an oncoming storm accompanied with heavy rain.

In the end, we did drive through heavy rain, but not so bad that we couldn't stop for ice cream in Florence for a mid afternoon treat.

Back home, I made my way to the shop and continued shaping and sanding the bowl. It's a different design with a different base than I've ever made before.



To be fitted with a domed lid, we'll see how it turns out. 



My wrist is much better and the strength in my fingers and hand is almost back to normal. 

The rain had stopped so I made my way to the garden house to continue working on the trim around the door. Yesterday's challenge was using a hammer and chisel so to accommodate the shelf mid way down the Dutch doors.

I didn't want to use two separate pieces of trim and certainly wasn't going to cut into the shelf on Jambo's door, so I had to get creative. In the end, it worked perfectly.

Next comes making an identical piece for the left hand side to accommodate the shelf.

I went to get a tool from the shop yesterday only to find it missing. Returning back to the garden house, I dug among those already there and found what was needed.

Sargie and I had a quiet evening last night. The temperatures had cooled with the passing storms and we were able to turn off the fans in the living room. 

Six tenths of a inch of rain fell yesterday and last night. We could use much more, but as dry as it's been, we'll take what we can.

Okay, it's time to lace up the hikers and make that long and lonely trek to Pentoga Village and back. Working on the trim and sanding the bowl are both on today's agenda. No doubt, Sargie will add to that list. 

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Granddaughter, Ellie, showing a few of her basketball skills. Not bad, eh?