May 25, 2021 - Tuesday evening

74 degrees/rain/windy

Pentoga Road

I'm writing tonight as Sargie and I will be leaving bright and early in the morning for Green Bay. It's time for our monthly sojourn south.

My new (to me) camera arrived today. Unwilling to purchase something new, I opted to bid on a used model for about a third the price. I can't find a scratch or any evidence it's ever taken a picture. My guess is that is was an open box item and still has a full two year warrantee.

So, pardon a few of the random pictures that follow. I had to take the new Fuji XP for a test drive.

Tuesday was a scorcher. The thermometer registered nearly 85 degrees before a cold front came marching through. Though we received little rain, the wind howled with gusts that were forecast to blow up to 60 mph.

 I was sweating profusely by the time I arrived home from my early morning walk. The temperature was already over 70 degrees, the humidity even higher.

As mentioned previously, spring has sprung in the UP and it appears the world around us is in blossom.

I spent much of the morning in the garden. I'm afraid my season didn't start on a very good note, especially when I tangled the chicken wire on which the snap peas grow with the tines of the tiller.

In the end, the tiller was freed, the trellis remade, and this year's crop of snap peas planted.

I also hauled eight loads of dirt to fill the holes from where the two large honey berry bushes were removed earlier this spring. Now that the area is level, we'll be covering it with landscape cloth and chips in the near future.

Sargie wanted to empty the storage container of our summer patio furniture and other goodies. It's a job neither of us look forward to, but one that always feels good once we're finished.

I'm not sure how many trips we made from the container to the house, but much of the afternoon was spent going back and forth.

Empty of furniture, it was time to close the doors. 

While Sargie was arranging the patio, front porch, and yard, I made my way to the black berry patch in the garden where I removed all of last year's dead canes.

We brought the spikes, vines, and flowers outside that had overwintered in the basement. They not only survived, most grew and the geraniums are flowering.

We had a pleasant surprise this afternoon when I uncovered several bunches of very healthy vinca vines that were buried last fall under several feet of leaves. We decided rather than throw them out, we'd try burying them. Nothing ventured/nothing gained and it worked.

Pentoga Road has become busier these past few years. Ten years ago, we might have seen a half dozen vehicles drive by in an entire day. It's still the same in the winter, but during the summer months when visitors are rampant, that many or more may drive by in an hour.

 Living in a valley at the very bottom of two steep inclines, cars and trucks have been zooming past at speeds more suitable for a busy highway.

Growing frustrated, I even stepped out onto the road the other day to slow a runaway dump truck that had repeatedly sped past. Believe it or not, it worked. The driver crept by during each pass for the rest of the day. 

To help reinforce a lower speed, Sargie and I put out signs this afternoon. With grandbabies and a pup that visit frequently, it's time to slow things down.

So far, the signs have worked as we noticed what few cars that drove by were going considerably slower than usual. 

We plan to leave Wednesday morning before 8 o'clock. With a shopping list that includes household supplies, groceries, plus yard and gardening supplies, it promises to be a long day.

Time to wrap this up and think about heading upstairs.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...