A couple of Jakes, young male turkeys, strutting into the woods

August 24, 2020 - Monday morning

63 degrees/foggy/calm winds

Pentoga Road

I'm not going to begin this morning talking about the additional inch of rain that fell last evening. I will say that this summer's precipitation can officially be measured in feet and not necessarily in inches. It's crazy, just crazy.

I talked with my friend, Eileen, who, with Uncle Bert, lives in the Bangor, Maine, area. They are in a state of drought out east with the rivers and lakes nearing record lows. 

If we could ship them a foot of water, they'd be in much better shape and we'd be much drier.

It was finally dry enough on Sunday morning that I could take down my ultra light backpacking tent.

I'm happy with the way the 21 ounce shelter withstood almost five inches of rain and some heavy winds over the past few days. The only place it leaked was through a vent opening that I'd forgotten to close and even then, little water made it inside.

Sargie and I began cleaning the garage. Really, it's not too bad, but like most garages, various things have been laid against the walls or on the bench and not put away.

When Sargie cleans, she cleans! The shelves were vacuumed and wiped, the trash cans emptied and scrubbed... you get the idea.



I was kept busy putting the larger items away. The garage seems to be a catch all and with each spring and fall cleaning, my job entails making multiple trips to the barn and storage container putting each item back where it belongs.

Sister-in-law, Debbie, pulled into the drive on her way home from Redridge. Seems Sargie had forgotten a couple of rocks that she wanted to save. We had a good visit before seeing Debbie off to Foster City.



The phone rang later in the afternoon. Hambone needed someone to look after him until school begins on Wednesday. Would Grandma Sargie and Pawpaw be willing?

Does a bear go poo poo in the woods?

Grandma Sargie wanted to have grilled mixed vegetables along with ribeye pork steaks for supper. It was Hambone to the rescue to pull a few carrots.



There's nothing more satisfying in the world than seeing the look on a young child's face when he harvests something that originated from a tiny seed. 



Hambone didn't disappoint me.



I'm proud of the boy. A convenient picky eater elsewhere, he sat right up and devoured his pork chop and ate all his grilled zucchini and carrots. 

Of course, rules are rules on Pentoga Road and whatever's on the plate has to go down the hatch, bread crusts and vegetables included. Grandma Sargie and Pawpaw work too hard to put food on the table to let any go to waste.

No longer needing to remind Hambone, the food sometimes disappears as fast as it's put on his plate.

Grady made mention he'd like to go fishing during his last official summer stay. If the weather is decent, we'll go to the lake this afternoon and see if he can't land a bluegill or three. Then there's the garage to finish cleaning and no doubt, we'll make our way to town for an ice cream cone somewhere along the way.

Hambone was convinced he could see "into outer space" with his telescope last night even though it was pouring down rain.
The boy had his shower and was decked out in one of Grandma Sargie's old work shirts and knee high socks.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

If two more weeks can pass without a killing frost, we should have a harvest of winter squash.