An early frosty morning on Pentoga Road

September 11, 2020 - Friday morning

30 degrees/clear skies/calm winds

Pentoga Road

It's looks to be another beautiful day ahead. I love this time of year and refer to it as flannel shirt weather.

Yesterday was a busy one. After my morning walk, I changed my schedule a bit and worked in the shop sawing the rest of the Halloween segmented project.

Currently in a hundred, billion, million, pieces, my next challenge is to piece it back together, much like reassembling a puzzle. Thankfully, each piece is numbered to match the original guide.

I also worked on the Lord's Prayer. Some of the letters are so small that it was difficult to tell exactly where to drill the entry holes for the scroll saw.

Auxiliary light was needed.

These early fall mornings are absolutely beautiful. The frozen dew on the asparagus fronds provides a spectacular display in the early morning hours.

It seems if a person should brush their hand over the foliage, it would break with a tinkling sound as it tumbles to the ground.

Sargie and I had a great brunch of eggs, zucchini squash, cottage cheese, and fruit. We're going to mourn the day when this year's zucchini crop is finished as we've greatly enjoyed them this past summer.



My belly full, I was standing in front of the garage when this little guy came hopping up to me.

I love wildlife and all, but he didn't seem to realize that we're not buddies. In fact, this year, for some reason, I've had to work especially hard to keep mice out of the house and shop. Scooping him up with my hands, I thought about giving the munchkin rodent a name and making him part of the Pentoga Road family, but there was little doubt in my mind that Sargie Pants might have different ideas.

The little guy went away.

I see where the animal shelter in Rhinelander is giving away "working cats" for free. I'm seriously tempted to get a couple to keep in the barn. The shelter describes them as... and I quote:

"Working cat - What is a working cat? Working cats are under-socialized, truly want nothing to do with people, and they get extremely stressed when confined. These cats cannot be house-cats, but thrive in a "working" environment where they can patrol a barn, stable, outbuilding, shed, or even a warehouse. Adopt a working cat-They can come in pairs of two so they have a buddy to bond with. They are spayed/neutered and ear-tipped. There is no adoption fee for barn/working cats. All they need is shelter, food, water, and some patience as they adjust to their new life. If you're interested in hiring a couple of these working cats on your farm or property please call for an appointment or to talk with staff. *During this time staff is also able to drop off cats at their new homes within Oneida county or 30 miles of Rhinelander."

A small cat house (don't even go there, Scotty) in the barn and/or shop with a heat lamp should give them a warm, dry, shelter. Add a bit of cat food and fresh water daily and all the mice and rodents they can catch... what more could two anti social kitties want? Stay tuned. There could be some new residents on Pentoga Road in the future.

Much of the day was spent repairing one roof or the other on a couple of outbuildings. First came the red wood shed. After fixing one side of the gambrel roof, the result of taking a direct hit from a broken heavy limb, I found another area that was weak and leaking.

All I really want to do at this stage is get through this coming winter without having to replace the entire roof. First came shoring up the weak place from the inside.

Then fastening tar paper using roofing nails and tar over the old shingles.

There's little doubt that next summer will see a new roof, something I hadn't planned on doing, but what's a summer without a major project or ten?

As mentioned yesterday, a limb had poked a hole in the roof of the portable garage. With Sargie's help, I sneaked up under the tarp and placed a flex patch over the hole.

Another was also placed over the hole in the exterior tarp. 



I sprayed flex liquid on the unwelcome opening from underneath making the area as good as, or even stronger, than it was before.

We put the large, exterior, tarp over the entire garage a year ago to help protect it from the UV rays of the sun. I'd read the inexpensive garage would last for years with additional protection. So far, it's seemed to work.

I've been using Gorilla tape around the edges. It's not perfect, but does a pretty good job of keeping the tarp in place during some very windy days.

We purchased the portable garage, on sale, from Harbor Freight over a year ago for around $120, money well spent. 

The rest of the day was spent working in the garden house, cutting and installing foam board insulation between the studs. Two walls are done with two to go. I've about decided to go ahead and install the ceiling and use fiberglass batting insulation overhead. Doing so will save time and  frustration by not having to cut pieces of foam board to fit exactly between the rafters.

Sargie and I are heading to Iron Mountain this morning to run an errand or two. Otherwise, I'm going to try to get another wall insulated in the garden house. With the onslaught of colder weather, it's time to start picking Macintosh apples and bringing some of the winter squash in from the garden.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Our first harvest of grapes picked Friday afternoon