Neighbor Sue, out for her morning stroll

May 1, 2021 - Saturday morning

44 degrees/cloudy/calm winds

Pentoga Road

Yooper Brother Mark and I were happy to see our part time neighbor, Sue, during our Friday morning walk. Sue and her husband, Dave, bought the old "Johnson place" on the edge of Pentoga Village hill several years ago and enjoy spending time in the UP when they're not at home in downstate Wisconsin. 

I've considered myself a fair hunter in years past, but pale in comparison to Sue's turkey hunting skills. The girl is the real thing and I enjoy hearing of her successes in the field. After giving us a homemade tort a couple of weeks ago, I can also attest that she's no slouch in the kitchen either.

It's no wonder Dave smiles so much.

Friday was a good day, but following Thursday, there was no where to go but straight up. The large salad bowl I've been working on failed when the screws that held it to the center plate pulled out from the wood. After that, all kinds of bad things happened.

I've grown used to such failures when it comes to using the lathe, but I also realize I often use unconventional wood that may not be suitable for turning. In this case, Aunt Joanne wanted a light colored bowl so popple was a no brainer. Unfortunately, it's also extremely soft.

Back to the drawing board.

I'm happy to report that the bulldog project is going much better. Yesterday's puppy challenge was cutting out the backer board from a large piece of flooring underlayment.

Sawing didn't take any particular amount of skill, but working with half a 4x8 sheet of luan (extremely thin plywood) required that I almost stand on my head at times.

Sargie was busy during the day performing spring cleaning on the Hyundai. The girl's a stickler for a clean interior. 

Me? If it runs and gets me from point A to B, it's good 'nuff. 

Sargie and I took a break from our labors and traveled to the ice cream shop in Florence. Danna, the owner, showed us the wood quilts she's painted this past winter. The girl is an artist. She recently gave Cheeks a baby blanket she made. 

We'll continue to get our summer delights from Danna. Other than having the world's best ice cream, she's also one of the world's nicest people.

Back home, Sargie and I planted a couple of honey berry bushes at the edge of the woods. These were starts that propagated from the two large shrubs that were removed earlier this spring from the garden.

We also roamed the yard for rocks that had sprouted during this year's thaw. It's a yearly ritual, removing those that were heaved to the surface with the frost.

 

Yooper Brother Mark will be along fairly soon for our Saturday morning walk. I'm noticing a bit of pain in my right heel. It's time to change the insoles of my hiking shoes and hopefully, that will solve the problem. I've got a few thousand miles on the old ones.

Depending on the weather, I hope to make another raised bed in the garden today, plus construct a new bed over the culverts by the road in which to plant three dwarf burning bushes. 

Our local lake is the highest it's been in decades

If it rains, I'll work on the bulldog, try to salvage something from the former salad bowl, and maybe even sneak in an afternoon nap.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Planting honey berry bushes at the edge of the woods