Jambo and I finally had the opportunity to catch up on each other's lives while walking Friday morning.

He's borrowing the turkey fryer to boil hops to make beer.

September 5, 2020 - Saturday morning

42 degrees/clear skies/calm winds

Pentoga Road

I can't believe that I actually slept in until 7 this morning. Half of me is tickled to death. What's left feels as though I've already wasted most of the day. 

Regardless, this will be a short one. Jambo's waiting to go walking and there are things to do before the day gets too far along.

I walked twice yesterday. Jambo and I took a quick three mile stroll to Pentoga Village and back. We'd just returned when Tim sent a text asking if I wanted to walk. I told Jambo goodbye and added another four miles to my hiking morning with Tim.

The trees are rapidly turning from their summer colors of dark green to brilliant reds, yellows, and oranges.

We continue to wage our yearly battle with skunks on Pentoga Road. 

It never fails. The stinky critters wait until a few days before Labor Day weekend, just when we want the yard to look its seasonal best, before they begin to dig and root around for grubs.

I could (and will) trap them, but even being careful, there's always a chance one will spray the area while either being moved or just before the live trap closes.

With a house and yard filled with expected Milligans, we don't want to take the chance. 

Actually, the digging doesn't hurt the lawn. In fact, it is somewhat beneficial as it aerates the otherwise packed soil and the grass quickly fills back in. Problem is, it doesn't look nice for a few days.

I mowed the meadows and trails yesterday while Sargie continued working inside. I think I'm pretty safe in saying we're ready for tomorrow's celebration. 

We ceased our labors yesterday afternoon for our daily ride. Fall is evident everywhere as we saw several trees that are beginning to change. We were entertained by this fawn who was just a few feet away from Sargie on one side of the road.

On the other side was an anxious mama.

The wind has been howling the last two days making it seem colder than it really is. I was perfectly content to wear jeans and a flannel shirt on Friday.

I enjoyed receiving a lesson in art of beer making late yesterday afternoon. Dr. Paul, Jambo's son, was brewing up a batch using the fresh hops plucked from Jambo's vines.

I had no idea it was such a process, but we talked of hops, grain, yeast, IPA, and various types of sugars. There's a reason he's called Dr. Paul... that boy's knowledgeable about a lot of things. Heck, I don't even know what an IPA is, but sounds suspiciously like a grocery chain.

No? Never mind.

Not having an exact count of how many people will be coming tomorrow and how many pre made patties to thaw, we tried a new technique for grilling frozen hamburgers last night. I turned the grill on high until it heated to 450 degrees, then turned it down to low and set the patties inside.

It worked well, but took a bit of time. I think we'll just thaw out a bunch and hope we guess correctly.

Jambo and I are taking off here in a few minutes for Pentoga Village. I'm going to smoke a huge loin later today for tomorrow's gathering, but other than a few honey-do jobs, I think we're ready.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...