Ivy's learning to ride

May 18, 2021 - Tuesday morning
48 degrees/clear skies/calm winds
Pentoga Road

I have a lot of respect for Andy. A single dad, he's actively involved with Ivy each and every day.

For instance, he spent no small amount of time teaching her to read a map and developing a treasure hunt for her.

The following pictures best tell how the treasure hunt ended.

Moving to the middle of the continent, look what's happening to Hambone.

The Bone's entering that ugly, little kid, stage of life where baby teeth are being replaced by those which are more permanent. 

Despite the Federal Reserve claiming that there's no inflation, I'm not convinced. Seems the tooth fairy brings Hambone $3 for every tooth placed under his pillow. The most he ever left me was a nickel.

Monday was a mixed bag of tricks. Arriving home from my early morning walk, I did my daily garden check and found piggy backed mating toads in the pond doing their thing.

I have nothing against mating toads, but their long, gooey, strands of eggs make such a mess in the water. Last year, we dipped egg strands for two weeks. The plus side is that there were plenty of tadpoles for Hambone and any other munchkin to catch. 

At any rate, I began removing the amorous toads yesterday. They come in two's and since all are in the state of obvious connubial bliss, each pair is easy to net. I placed at least eight couples in a five gallon bucket and hauled them to Jambo's field.

Sargie was out front and spied a pair coming back down the hill and across the road to the pond. That urge to lay toad eggs is a strong one. The rest of the toads were put in a large bucket to be released down by the river. 

 

Sargie's been looking for Boston ferns and learned that Walmart in Iron Mountain finally had a new batch. We hopped in the car and made a quick dash over and returned home with a trunk full.

Sargie spent the afternoon mowing. I loaded the garden sprayer with ammonia and began spraying around the foundation of the house, perimeter of the garden and pond, and all the out buildings.

We had an infestation of snakes last year, many wanting to call our garage and the crawl space under the living room home. Most are garter snakes of some sort with an occasional pine snake thrown in for good measure.

Me? I don't mind snakes a bit. In fact, I had one while in high school, a rather robust four foot bull snake. 

Sargie, on the other hand, goes into cardiac arrest at the mere thought of a snake, let alone actually seeing one.

We tried several things last year to keep the snakes away, granules, keeping any weeds pulled and grass extra short, etc, but nothing seemed to work. I finally came across an article that said snakes wouldn't cross an area where ammonia's been applied. 

It worked. After an initial spraying, we never saw another snake again.

I caught a healthy three foot snake by the pond yesterday and carried him across the road and turned him loose. He was back late in the afternoon.

The second time turned out to be a charm. He's now in his permanent home.

Sargie spent the afternoon riding the mower. Donning sun glasses with a cap perched atop her head and of course, the mandatory mug of iced tea close at hand, my girl tamed the mighty jungle we call our lawn. 

I wasn't idle myself. First thing was to go around picking up the boulders we'd pried from the ground this past week. The frost had pushed each far enough to the surface this past spring for the mower blade to hit it.

After, I hooked up the high pressure washer and sprayed the deck, one of my least favorite annual tasks.

As has become the norm, Sargie and I dragged ourselves in the house and through the shower last night before sitting down for supper. It had been a long, but good, day.

Today looks to be about the same. I'm heading out the door at first light for my walk. The Conservation District forester is due here at 8:30 to check on an invasive vine that we've discovered at the edge of the woods. Supposedly, they have grants to remove the thing. If they don't, I will.

I want to spray sealer on the deck today and spread six more barrels of chips in the garden before several days of forecast rain begins to fall.

We're to have the Kia in Iron Mountain this afternoon for new tires and a front end alignment. Like I said, it's going to be a busy day.

Creeping phlox in bloom

Planted last year, they are beginning to take over the bare areas alongside the barn.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...