My newest BFF, Autumn, Rose and Tim's granddaughter

August 2, 2020 - Sunday morning

58 degrees/cloudy/calm winds

Pentoga Road

Darn straight, I made not only one, but eight new friends on Saturday.

The first four came in the form of Tim and Rose's daughter, son-in-law, and two grandbabies. Great kids, both big and little, and we had a wonderful visit around the pond. In fact, the munchkins and I even dipped our tootsies in the cool water.

We were out by the road talking when a group of visitors walked by. Other than Stephanie, I can't remember their names for the life of me, but we had a pleasant chat. 



From the Chicagoland area, all are attending a family outing for the weekend and are staying at the lake.

For a while, it seemed like rush hour in the Loop of the Windy City. Tim, Rose, and family were here, plus the Chicago walkers. The usually quiet and remote Pentoga Road was the site of a real, honest to goodness, social happening!



Tim and I enjoyed an early Saturday morning walk. Returning home, I immediately began work on the new lawn.

First order of business was to rake any errant rocks that were lying on, or just below, the surface.



It took over three hours to make the area ready for sowing grass seed. Not only were there rocks, but there was no shortage of disturbed tree roots sticking above the surface. I used the reciprocating saw to cut those several inches under ground.

It was early afternoon before I could begin spreading grass seed.



In almost fifty years of having a lawn, I've never owned a real walk-behind seed/fertilizer spreader. Mostly, it's been done by hand in a "feeding the chickens" manner and it was just a couple of years ago before I bought a small hand held machine.

The sporty model I purchased on Friday evening was a dream. It threw the fifty pounds of seed evenly and quickly, so much so that I thought I might have to buckle a seat belt and wear a helmet for my own protection. 



Okay, that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but it worked well.

An FYI here: I combined twenty-five pounds of contractor's mix, the annual rye that makes you wonder how any grass can sprout overnight, with twenty five pounds of Kentucky blue grass and fescue. 

Next came spreading straw.




I initially considered feeding the bales into the wood chipper and having that blow the straw into a pile, but I'd still have to spread it by hand. Nothing to be gained there.

I thought the two bales we'd brought home from Florence would be enough, but in the end, I went back and purchased a third.

It was late afternoon before I could call the job finished. The only ingredient missing was water.

I was hot and sweaty and covered with bits of straw. What better place to cool off than in the pond? Over half an hour was spent with the battery operated water vacuum cleaning the sides.

Sargie arrived home from the wedding shower accompanied by stories filled with laughter and good times. I'll post some of the pictures she took when I get the Apple Macbook computer back in working order, hopefully, this next week. This Chromebook isn't powerful enough, nor does it have the software, to handle any amount of photos.

It rained early this morning. In fact, that's what woke me up. I see there's .6 of an inch in the rain gauge, a perfect amount to begin germinating the new grass seed. For once, my timing was good.

We're to go to Tim and Rose's later this morning for a late breakfast and to meet all four of their children and grandbabies. With a forecast high of only 62 degrees with overcast skies, it's a perfect day to work up that trailer load of firewood... or not. It could also be ideal for snuggling up with Sargie under a blanket and watching a good movie.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...