I'm pretty certain Heaven is here in the UP.

December 11, 2020 - Friday morning

32 degrees/cloudy skies/calm winds

Pentoga Road

Way back when, a week or two ago, there was snow in the forecast for today. Oh oh, someone lied.

Carl?

Though temperatures are to drop to more seasonal norms, there's barely a mention of the white stuff for the next ten days. 

In my younger days, I'd have been devastated. I mean, everyone knows that real men battle snowfall that is measured in feet rather than inches along with winds and cold temperatures that cause the mere mortal to quake in fear.

Yeah, that John Wayne Syndrome left this boy several years ago.

Thankfully, I've become mature enough to appreciate the current brief respite from the ravages of winter and have enjoyed our woods this year as I have no other. 

I'll leave that John Wayne Syndrome to the younger guys, those overflowing with testosterone and he man hormones who have something to prove.

I've lived too many years to think this dry, warm, spell is going to last. Weather is about averages and the snow will come. If you don't believe me, just ask Hambone. 

December - 2019

Thursday was a busy one. The day was so nice that I walked a couple of extra miles. Why? Because I could. Some days it feels extra good to be alive and walking.

The name of the game for the rest of the day was WOOD. I returned to cut up the rest of the ash tree that had been dropped the day before.

Mama didn't have no complete dummy. Rather than chance getting the tractor stuck again on the rough, stump strewn, ground, I opted to carry each piece to the edge of the woods to be loaded later.

Ash is a dense, hard, wood, and heavy as maple or oak. Well, at least it feels that way. It's a good thing I'm super hero Pawpaw the Claw, or I'd have never been able to cart the heavy bottom pieces out.

Don't tell Hambone, but Pawpaw the Claw was gulping ibuprofen by the fistfuls last night. I'm pretty sure that I'm not supposed to feel my heart beat in my lower back. 

It took a while, but eventually, the first of four huge loads was taken to the shed.

Ash rivals elm for being the stringiest wood I've ever worked up. Rather than split cleanly, it acts more like string cheese, wanting to peel off one strand at a time.

It was well into the afternoon before the wood was split, stacked, and the wood splitter stored away. Sargie and I have put up over a full cord of hard wood in the past few days. 

I was driving the last load to the shed when the tractor suddenly sounded, as the kids say, bad ass. 

Just so Mom doesn't reach down from Heaven and wash my mouth out with soap, I'm going to assume that means naughty donkey. Both are real work horses, 'er, work donkeys.

I stood on the clutch, slammed on both brakes, and shoved the shift into neutral before jumping to the ground. Seems the fix I made to the muffler pipe four years ago decided to give way.

I make my exhaust repairs to last more than four years. Geesh.

As I was telling my friend, Big Jim, yesterday, a guy just can't find good cans anymore with which to repair a rusted exhaust pipe. In the old days, cans were made of real metal and it took a good pair of snips along with a couple of muffler clamps to make a decent patch.

I'll stop at the auto parts store today and purchase something or the other that will do the job.

Modern day progress? Yeah, well, you'd think someone would reinvent a decent can for those of us who need to do an on-the-spot repair to an exhaust pipe.

I'd earlier noticed the wood stove wasn't drawing as good as it should be. As tired as I was Thursday afternoon, I carried the ladder to the roof and climbed overhead to find the screen around the top of the flue, that that keeps the bats and birds out, clogged. It was quickly cleaned and an inspection of the pipe found it free of creosote. We should be good to go for a few more weeks.

I don't know what Sargie has on the agenda for today. I'm heading out for my morning walk pretty quickly then hope to finish the dog piece sitting on the work table in the shop. After that, all bets are off.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Makenna just had her six month check up and weighing just ten pounds, was found to be fit as a fiddle. She's sure a happy little girl in a teeny tiny package.