A zuchinni blossom. We should be enjoying the small fruit within a few days.

July 6, 2014 - Sunday
66 degrees/clouds/rain/breezy
Pentoga Road

I was heading out the door to pick strawberries, but another rain shower decided to drop its contents on Pentoga Road. I plopped back into my recliner and decided there's no time like the present to upload a few pictures.

Saturday was a pleasantly busy day. Sargie did several loads of laundry and worked around the house. After writing, I spent a full two hours finishing up the mechanics of the summer class I'm teaching. Teaching and facilitating the content are the largest parts, but there are also some technical/mechanical chores involved. Thankfully, those are finished for this session. Hard to believe it will all be done in four weeks and then I'll begin to prepare for the fall semester. 

I worked in the garden for a couple of hours, weeding, fertilizing, and doing some late planting. The parsnips I'd sown earlier didn't sprout, so I'm making another attempt. This seed is from the same lot as the last and it simply may be bad. 

The snap peas are beginning to set on the vines

Everything in the garden seems to be blooming and growing. Sargie and I had our first sample of snap peas yesterday. They were still too small and immature, but the taste was out of this world. We should be grazing full time within the next few days. I wish the cherry tomatoes would hurry up. 



Fresh snap peas and cherry tomatoes go hand in hand, sort of like peanut butter and jelly.

Even the bunching onions are in full bloom

The animals continue to roam around Pentoga Road and there's no shortage of bears. I've got an immature one and what appears to be a three-year-old living a hundred yards down the path. 



When going to get the flash card from the camera yesterday morning, a doe and spotted Bambi jumped out in front of me and ran ahead. There's also a hen turkey that is hanging around. I assume she has a nest somewhere along the trail.



Time was spent in the side yard moving large rocks with the front end loader. Most of the biggers ones have been cleared so that I can now drive through without running up on a boulder and doing damage to any equipment. Last night was spent on the backhoe, digging a large hole, and burying any boulders that were too big for the tractor to lift. It's coming.



Sargie and I took our usual drive on Saturday afternoon and enjoyed looking at lake houses and people's yards.

Brutus let loose with a volley of barks last evening. Sargie and I went out the door and found our puppy had treed a squirrel that evidently had run from the wood shed and up a tree.

I haven't shot a squirrel in a long time. With my eyesight, I've found my trapping prowess far exceeds my ability to shoot the bushy-tailed rats. 

I knew the squirrel was close by in the tree. Somewhat frustrated, I grabbed the pellet gun and methodically aiming up the tree from branch to branch, began shooting at every dark blob I came across. After expending more than a few pellets, a squirrel came tumbling down.

If only Brutus could talk and tell me where the squirrel is... or better yet, just shoot the thing himself.

So Brutus was happy, I was happy, and Sargie probably thought both of us were crazy. Maybe we are. I maintain that Brutus is the best squirrel bulldog in existence. Hopefully, he's learned his lesson and isn't the best porcupine bulldog.



I think we're going to the movie this afternoon and see Jersey Boys. I've wanted to see the Broadway version for some time and watching it on the big screen will probably be as close as I'll ever get.

Sargie's vacation is over tomorrow and it will be back to work as usual. I'm going to set my posts and footings this coming week and get the storage building started. Then there's strawberries to pick and process, grass to mow, trim around the windows to paint, and the list goes on and on.

Yep, it's true. A man's work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road... 

Brielle is wishing Grady a happy Fourth of July.

July 5, 2014 - Saturday

54 degrees/partly cloudy/calm

Pentoga Road

Just like that, the Fourth has come and gone. I remember when teaching in northern Maine that I considered the summer about half over when Independence Day arrived. Getting out for summer break around the third week of June, and beginning the next school year the second week of August, the summer was painfully short.

Sasha, holding my newest BFF, six month old Gabriel

I hope that's not the case now. I'm simply not ready for fall to arrive. Seems as though the snow just melted a week or two ago.

Friday was a fun one. Milligan friends and family gathered for a day of swimming, talking, laughing, and of course, eating. 

Jeanne, Nancy, and Sargie

I put my usual pocket camera on the charger early in the morning so it wouldn't run out of battery power during the day. When I attempted to retrieve it later, I discovered I'd forgotten it at home. All the pictures were taken with my phone; not the best quality, but in this case, "good 'nuff."

There were games of pool volley ball going on all during the day. Marley never got out of the pool and tried to get anyone, cousins, aunts, uncles, or grandparents to play with her. For being only six years old, Marley swims as well as any young person I've ever known. I think her mommy and daddy better check, she might have webs growing between her toes.

It didn't take long after he arrived for Auntie Nancy to hold Grady. 

Derek fixing chicken on the grill.

A very proud and happy Grandma Sargie

Brielle and I were "sharing" coffee from her cup

It truly was a wonderful day with perfect weather. 

As has become tradition, sister Nancy doing her JC Penny mannequin pose. Search back through all the pictures from family gatherings and you'll see a different pose each time.

I'm not sure what today will bring. Sargie's been cleaning the cupboards, washing all the dishes, arranging and rearranging. I'm going work in the garden first thing this morning, then hopefully get some backhoe/landscaping work completed. 

On the other hand, we may simply take a drive and leave any work for another time. As Mom told me years ago, life is filled with decisions.

No matter, one thing remains a constant. The fact is that a man's work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

July 4, 2014 - Friday
38 degrees/clear/calm
Pentoga Road

Happy Fourth of July! It seems a lifetime ago that our nation was celebrating its 200th birthday.  Wait a minute, that was thirty-eight years ago... I guess a lifetime isn't too much of an exaggeration. 

At any rate, with all those, inside and out of our country, who would destroy what America stands for, we truly need to God's blessing. Hopefully, all of us will remember that as we celebrate our nation's founding.

Thursday was the day of the strawberries. I'd started picking on Wednesday evening when we arrived home and finished yesterday morning. 



Sargie stemmed and washed while I gathered and in the end, we put nine gallon freezer bags of berries in the freezer.



It took over an hour to uncover the garden and spread everything out to dry Thursday morning. The dew was quite heavy and all the blankets and tarps were soaked. Later, Sargie helped me to fold everything and put them back into totes. No doubt, we'll be using it all again at the end of the season to protect the plants from an early end-of-the-season frost. When one lives in the North Country, blankets and protective coverings are as much a part of gardening as rakes, hoes, and trowels.

The peppers are beginning to blossom. Here we have Giant Red, mini-sweet, banana, and jalapeno varieties. There are another dozen pepper plants spread around other parts of the garden.

The broccoli heads are forming and will be ready to eat in another week. After that, we'll enjoy the side shoots until late fall.

The lawn was a bit shabby before we left for Mackinaw City on Monday morning. I could barely believe how much it had grown while we were gone. I settled in on the lawn mower later on Thursday morning and sheared not only the lawn and trails, but also cut the thistles in several places that I normally don't mow.

I've fought thistles in one meadow every year since I bought this place, careful to cut them before they bloom, in an effort to curb next year's crop. They don't seem to spread, but come up in the same area each summer. I've tried cutting, spraying, hoeing, and cussing. Nothing seems to work.

Sargie and I did a bit of grocery shopping yesterday afternoon and she spent time in the kitchen making goodies to take to today's Mighty Milligan Fourth of July Celebration. I sampled some of her macaroni salad... to-die-for good. It was difficult not eating it last night each time I opened the refrigerator door, but I behaved and left the huge bowl full untouched for everyone to enjoy today. 

Daisies growing alongside the back deck

We'll be heading to Derek and Leah's later this morning to help celebrate our nations birthday with the rest of the Milligan clan. I'm looking forward to eating and swimming, but most of all, laughing and talking. The weather is to be perfect, in the upper 70's, sunny, and calm.

It's time to wake up Sargie and get this show on the road. After all, a man's work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

My best buddy, Brutus, was happy to see us Wednesday afternoon.

July 3, 2014 - Thursday

40 degrees/clear/calm

Pentoga Road

A bear was active while we were away

We made it home in good shape on Wednesday. In fact, too good. After an early start and a drive with little traffic, we pulled into the kennels shortly after 1 PM only to find that they were closed until 4:30.

I wasn't happy. Sargie, being Sargie, the girl who makes lemonade from lemons, suggested we go and see a movie rather than drive clear over home, then come back later in the day. 

It was wonderful and we had a great time laughing and relaxing; a perfect way to end a perfect vacation.

Brielle, Aubrey, and Marley, had the best time feeding the seagulls on Tuesday afternoon.

Let's see, two for me, one for the seagulls, two for me, one for the seagulls. That's mighty sandy popcorn Brielle's munching on.

Brutus was one happy pup to be freed from the kennels. He loves going, but he LOVES coming home. Sargie and I, both, were covered with licks and kisses.

After unloading the car, I started picking berries while Sargie emptied the suitcase. I picked two huge bowls and will fill at least one more before I'm finished. Sargie said she would put up the berries today so I can mow the lawn. If the grass were any taller, I'd have to bale it.

With patchy frost forecast, we spent well over an hour covering the garden with everything from tarps and frost blankets to rags and buckets. 

As it was, we didn't get the frost, but I slept well last night not having to worry. It will take an hour or better today to uncover everything and lay the coverings out to dry before folding and putting them away.

So, our wonderful family vacation came to an end, but we're already talking about next year. It's one of the few vacations I've ever taken where I arrived home feeling rested and recharged.

Marley's auditioning for the sequel to Bay Watch!

We'll head to Derek and Leah's tomorrow for the annual Mighty Milligan Fourth of July celebration. The weather is to be perfect, sunny and warm, without being too hot. 

After a good night's sleep on Tuesday, Brielle was a happy lady Wednesday morning.

Meanwhile, the grass isn't going to mow itself and the berries aren't going to hop into the bowl on their own.

I'm not surprised. A man's work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Sargie and I riding back to check the trail cam Wednesday evening