London fog? A mere pittance compared to what settled into the UP on Wednesday.

March 11, 2021 - Wednesday morning

33 degrees/cloudy/ WINDY

Pentoga Road

The wind woke me from a sound sleep around 3 this morning. I could hear our decorative wind mill being torn apart, but there was nothing I could do about it. My worries lay with the large spruce trees that surround our house. I've been told by three different loggers/foresters that though they are ancient, all are healthy.

Problem is, like their owner, they are getting up in age and becoming more brittle as the years pass by.

After having one tree fall onto the garage several years ago, it can be worrisome, but after last night's hurricane, I ain't skairt.

You can imagine that with yesterday's heavy rain and fog, neither Sargie or I worked on our tan lines. We did make a quick trip to town, but with visibility at a minimum, we drove the back roads and made a bee line there and back.

Once home, I headed to the shop to cut out more letters for Cheeks' sign. The standard block letters for her middle name were much easier than the script sawed the day before.

I walked over to the belt/disk sander to do some touch up work, flicked the switch, and stood in horror as nothing happened. 

Oh no, my twelve year old, very-used, inexpensive, Harbor Freight sander had finally given up the ghost? 

It's been a good one. Considered "low end" by serious woodworkers, the dual sanding machine has served me well. I've often wished for a larger, more powerful, sanding combination, but overall, I've been happy.

I tested various connections and pretended like I knew what I was doing, but in reality, the multimeter didn't tell me a thing other than my sander was dead.

As a last ditch effort, an insulated wire was dug from the electric junk drawer and used to cross the two wires leading to the switch. 

I said a quick prayer to Baby Jesus that I wouldn't:

A) throw a breaker

B) electrocute myself

C) burn the shop down

D) some of the above

E) all the above

The sander was plugged into the outlet. It worked! All that was wrong was the switch. After doing a dance of joy, I made mental plans to purchase some type of two way switch while at the hardware store today. 

The old sander lives to see another day.

It was late afternoon and pouring rain. I hadn't gone for my daily walk and wanted to test drive one of two raincoats in the running to be used on the AT next year. One is heavier and somewhat insulated, nice to have early in the hike when snow and cold can prevail, but weighs a pound more than its counterpart. Both would keep me equally dry. I'm still unsure which will make the final cut.

With the heavy fog, I concentrated on listening for any traffic as I knew they'd not be able to see me. All that passed by was Neighbor James and the FedEx man.

The walk finished, time was spent weighing and cataloguing various components of my pack. Always trying to eliminate a few ounces, I trimmed the carrying weight by almost half a pound.

 

I'm trying hard not to obsess over the pack weight, but at my age, the lighter the pack, the better chance I have of finishing. I refuse to sacrifice comfort for ounces/pounds, yet, I need to keep the pack under twenty pounds. It's going to be a challenge.

Evening was upon us as we listened to the rain beat down on the metal roof overhead.

Fog, rain, and wind? A game of Rummy? You really want to go there, Sargie? Sure, why not?

As usual, Sargie Pants cleaned my clock. Lounging in the warm and dry surroundings while sitting by the wood stove, the beating she gave me was all worth while.

Mike and Cos sent a picture of their pond yesterday. The guys live in Norway, just on the other side of Iron Mountain and well within the "banana belt" of the UP. It's evident that melting on their pond is further ahead of ours.

As with our garden pond, they have a circulating pump that runs nonstop, 24/7, year round.

In her passive way, Sargie has finally worn me down and we're heading to Home Depot this morning to purchase paint and other supplies for the dining room. Mississippi Brother Garry has been painting the interior of their home, Yooper Brother Mark has been doing the same. I guess it's time we hop on the bandwagon. 

Thanks a lot guys. You know what they say about paybacks.

We want to get the room painted and put back together before Saturday when maple season will officially begin on Pentoga Road. With the snow pack in the woods diminished and warmer temperatures promised, I want to put out a hundred taps with a goal of boiling enough sap to make ten gallons of pure maple syrup. Since I'll be on the Appalachian Trail next year during maple season, we'll need plenty in store to keep the nieces, friends, and family well supplied.

OK, time to strap on the hikers and get the day started.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...