What? You mean you've never seen a guy sit in a pond in his underwear installing a new pump while being nibbled to death by baby goldfish? Give me a break.

August 20, 2021 - Friday morning

60 degrees/clear skies/calm winds

Pentoga Road

I rolled over and watched as the numbers on the end table clock changed to 3:45 AM. Close enough to four. Might as well get up.

Yooper Brother Mark and I agreed last night that we'd walk before the heat of the day set in this morning. He's to be here by sunrise. Sounds good to me.

Thursday was a mixed bag of tricks. I set out for my walk and had just crested the first big hill when I saw the county was oiling the road from there on to Pentoga Village. They'd done the section in front of our house last month.

Not wanting to get my expensive trail runners (shoes) covered with hot oil and tar, I turned around and descended the steep hill, then went back up, then down, then up. 

You get the idea. 

I put in my usual four miles ascending and descending the steep hill eight times before coming back home. 

Happy? You bet I am. Though I was breathing hard and sweating like a pig, the hill could have been climbed eight or ten more times. I've increased my regimen in preparation for next year's AT attempt and the body is responding. 

I headed to the woods upon my arrival home and hauled in two more loads of wood. Two hours later, both were split and stacked undercover. I'll spare you yet another firewood picture, although I have to say the woods were beautiful.

 

Speaking of woods, the leaves are beginning to don their fall colors. Patches of red and orange are popping up everywhere and a few leaves are even drifting to the ground.

It seems awfully early for the leaves to be turning, but not unusual. I hope this isn't a sign of an early and difficult winter ahead. Only time will tell.

Sargie had purchased new boards to be used as trim in the downstairs bathroom. After she primed and painted each, it came my turn to cut and install them.

Setting up for the job was simple and thankfully, the small battery operated DeWalt miter saw Sargie had given me a while back works like a charm. It cuts cleanly with accurate angles.

The problem lay in the size of the downstairs bathroom. I often found myself on my knees, bending over, trying to snake my way around to the back of the stool or behind the door.

In the end, the trim was installed, but most importantly, it passed the Sargie final inspection.

The day was hot and humid. Without air conditioning, we lay low in the relative coolness of the living room. With the heavily insulated windows closed and the overhead fan turning, the temperature remains five to ten degrees cooler than that on the other side of the walls.

It was Sargie who pointed out a hornet that was raiding the hummingbird feeder. The flying bullet would sip nectar then spend his time chasing all the hummers away from what he considered his private table fare. Not on my watch.

Armed with a can of insect spray, I lowered the feeder and lay in wait of the marauding nectar stealer.

Careful not to get any spray on the feeder, I blasted the hornet as he angrily buzzed around my head. Hopefully, he learned that nothing messes with my hummingbirds. They may be piggies, but they're MY piggies.

The day ended with me stripping down and wading into the pond. The shadows were growing long and it was a good time to install the new pump.

Other than wrestling with one fitting, all went well. I'll order a new impeller for the old pump this fall and after installing that, will have a spare.

Wait a minute, I'm having a deep thought. 

There must have been five hundred baby goldfish nibbling at my legs as I installed the pump. Sargie told me there are upscale spas that charge a pretty penny for people to sit in a pool of water and have fish nibble the dead skin from their bodies.

Hmm, work with me here. 

Maple Valley Spa? Are we onto something? Only one problem. Who's going to chip the hole in the ice for our winter customers?

Guess it wouldn't work. Never mind.

Time was spent yesterday corresponding with my hiking partner, Pokealong. It's recently dawned on both of us that we're on the six month countdown for starting the trail. He writes. I write. He responds. I respond. We talk of backpacks, equipment, food, clothing, and even when we'll meet to begin our journey. Hiking fever is increasing almost daily.

Speaking of which, my new backpack is due to arrive today. The fever just went up another degree.

Before ending, I want to congratulate my good friends, Bob "The Love Doctor" and his beautiful bride, Jan, on the birth of their newest and only grandson. I don't know the baby's name, but as his father, Evan, a commercial fisherman plying his trade in the waters around Sitka, Alaska, would say, "He's a keeper!"

New mom, Lauren, is, for lack of a better word, a  "whaleologist," and conducts extensive research concerning humpback whales.

Funny, I sat next to Lauren many years ago on an Alaska Airlines flight when, as a young student, she first came to Sitka. She didn't seem to know a lot about the area and was full of questions. If memory serves me correctly, what I most remember is that 1) she was a beautiful, bright, and extremely intelligent young woman with a personality to match, and 2) she played the violin. Why would I remember that?

At any rate, Lauren is now a well-known and respected scientist. Evan, Bob and Jan's youngest son, owns his own boat and is a successful commercial fisherman.

Congratulations kids! The Love legacy continues!

Okay, time to wrap this up. Yooper Brother Mark will be here shortly and there are barges to tote and bales to lift. 

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Successfully installed, the new pump is circulating 5,000 gallons of water per hour through the underwater gravel filters