Sargie's cutting a support brace

September 30, 2021 - Thursday morning

46 degrees/clear skies/calm winds

Pentoga Road

I don't believe the weather could be any more perfect than what we're presently experiencing. Highs are reaching into the mid 70's with low humidity, plenty of sunshine, and little wind. Coupled with the beautiful leaves, this fall is shaping up to be one of the nicest we've had in years.

Wednesday was mostly about leaves and barn siding. Strange combination, eh? Home from my usual hike, I began using the "denailer" and removing the million (or more) finishing nails from the trim that had been around the old back door. I'd place the nose of the denailer onto the sharp end of the nail that was sticking from the other side, pull the trigger, and let it shoot into the garbage can below.

A piece of cardboard was used to prevent the nails from bouncing out onto the drive.

Sargie and I took a drive later in the morning and enjoyed looking at the vivid colors. 

It was well into the afternoon before we started installing the Milligan Mountain barn siding in the garden house. Much of the time was initially spent in preparation, carrying the tools from the shop to the garden, measuring pieces, and taking stock of the inventory. 

I'm not sure "rustic" best describes the wood. Much of it has suffered from dry rot and is quite fragile. Fearing we won't have enough to complete the inside of the garden house, Sargie and I spent quite a bit of time piecing and measuring, ensuring we were getting the best possible use out of any given piece.

The biggest installation problem lies in that no two pieces are the same width or thickness. Where one board might be 8 inches wide by 3/4 inch thick, another could be 7 1/2 inches wide and 11/4 inch thick. Throw in a goodly measure of dry rot, along with a sound case of warping, and installing the siding is proving to be a, well, I'll be nice and use the word challenge.

I don't know what I'd do without Sargie's assistance. In fact, as she often takes the lead, there are times I feel as though I'm assisting her. She's adept at using the power tools and has an eye for piecing everything together. My girl also has a great deal of patience, not only for the difficult installation, but also to tolerate my grumbling. 

I don't know what I'd do without her. The row and a half we've installed so far looks beautiful. 

I was especially happy late yesterday afternoon as we measured and cut the holes in one long board for the four electrical outlets along the back wall. As Ben of the Hometown fame would say, we measured twice and barely cussed once as the outlets and holes matched in near perfect unison. 

It appears that what we thought might take a day or two will stretch into three or more before we're finished. Now that the tools are in place and the prep work complete, installation should go a little faster.

 Cutting rot from a warped end

We've decided to postpone today's leaf peeping drive until later this afternoon so we can get an early start working in the garden house. I intend to begin as soon as I arrive home from my morning walk, right around first light.

With the leaves beginning to fall from the vines, I'm finding multiple bunches of delicious, ripe, deep purple grapes.

Time to strap on the headlamp and go for a stroll.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...