September 6, 2021 - Monday (Labor Day)
44 degrees/clear/calm winds
Pentoga Road

It feels much like the aftermath of Hurricane Ida this morning only there's no clean up, only peace and quiet. The Mighty Milligan Labor Day Celebration has come and gone for another year.

Let me back up just a bit. Cale and I began talking yesterday morning and not only did I forsake writing the daily blog, I skipped my usual walk. 

Friday morning began as a rainy one on Pentoga Road and I took advantage of the opportunity to try out the new hiking umbrella.

Yeah, I don't know. I don't have the proper straps to fix it onto my pack, but even when it was adjusted somewhat, I'm not certain I like a portable roof over my head. It felt cumbersome and weird. I'm not at all certain the umbrella will be a part of the upcoming AT hike.

In the end, I returned to the house and leaving the umbrella behind, put on my rain jacket before once again setting off for Pentoga Village.

Sargie and I were working outside Friday afternoon when a car pulled in the drive. It was Sargie's son, Cale, who surprised us by coming a day early. The boy asked what he could do to help and we weren't slow in answering. It was crunch time and an extra hand was appreciated.

The ashes from the old burning barrel needed to be buried. Would Cale dig a hole using the backhoe? Heck yeah.

Having never operated a backhoe before, he was like a kid with a new toy on Christmas morning. 

That chore finished, he asked how else might he help. How about mowing the lawn and front meadow?

As with the backhoe, it was his first time operating a riding mower and the boy was all smiles as he navigated the green, grassy, acres.

Sunday morning dawned chilly and windy. The big day had arrived. Cale and I spent a couple early morning hours talking and sipping coffee. Sargie was doing her morning routine and after a hectic week, it felt good to be lazy.

I finally started the charcoal smoker and prepared the large pork loin. After multiple injections of melted butter, the pig was covered with a full pound of bacon, smothered in barbecue sauce, and placed in the smoker.

The tender, juicy, loin was removed several hours later. It must have been okay as there was nary a piece left over at day's end.

Family and friends began arriving early in the afternoon and the rest is history. There was more than one picture taken of little ones standing or sitting on the giant pumpkin, games were played, and of course, talking, laughing, and eating, was the main order of the day.

Grill master Jeanne, with the help of her capable assistant, Ross, assumed the very important role of grilling the brats and burgers. 

Those, the pork loin, spaghetti, several salads, fruits and vegetables, and a couple of desserts, ensured no one went hungry.

As for the rest of the day, the pictures best tell the story.

The gathering began to break up late in the afternoon. After mock battles over who would get Holly's leftover (and now famous) apple bars or Macrea's freezer corn, it was with tons of hugs, kisses, and I love you's, that we bade all goodbye.

On today's agenda? 

NUTHIN'!

I may wander out to the shop and continue working on a bowl that's mounted in the lathe, or possibly, begin a new scroll saw piece. No doubt, Sargie and I will take a ride and who knows, I might even sneak in an afternoon nap.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Peace out...

Two four-legged reasons why there are nine hundred volts of electricity surrounding the garden and pond

September 4, 2021 - Saturday morning

57 degrees/light rain/calm winds

Pentoga Road

Due to our harsh winters, of which we haven't had one in several years, no antlerless permits have been given during firearms hunting season for quite a while. The result has been an explosion in the deer population.

For the first time in years, many of the flowers and bushes in our yard have been decimated and if it weren't for the inclined electric fence around the garden, it too would be nonexistent. 

I heard not long ago that anterless permits were going to be issued this year, meaning the harvest of does will be legal. I hope so. I'm tired of donating our flowers and bushes to the hoards of grazing deer.

Friday's walk was uneventful. I've been asked about the shoes I'm wearing, the Altra Lone Peak 5 trail runners. As I said in the video a couple of days ago, they feature a drop heel with no support, which puts more pressure on the arch. For me, a person with a very high arch, they seem to be perfect. The shoes also feature a very wide toe box, something I need to house my herd of fat little piggies as I hike.

If there were such a thing, I could become a leg model for the Big Bird line of clothing. I'm just waiting for the phone to ring from my nonexistent agent with a big offer.

Friday morning ushered in a new recipe for brunch. In keeping with our northern heritage, it featured fresh broccoli harvested from the garden, fresh brats, the UP's unofficial meat of choice, picked from the freezer, and half dozen eggs, plucked from the chickens at Aldi Foods. 

The word to best describe yesterday morning's delicious meal has yet to be invented.

The remainder of much of Friday was a wash. Sargie and I loaded the Blazer with goodies to go to the dump. After traveling ten miles, we found it was closed due to a lightening strike. What? We haven't had any lightening for sometime and besides, what would a bolt of energized electricity harm, someone's discarded, mouse ridden, couch? 

We were successful in obtaining a new burning barrel from our local recycling plant. Continuing on to town, I purchased a VERY expensive battery for the red four wheeler only to find that it won't fit in the metal case in the machine. The battery will go back to the auto parts store this morning and hopefully, we can find one that will fit.

Arriving home mid afternoon, a frustrated Tommy P unloaded the pavers and carted them into the garden. With Sargie's help, we began to make a pad for the patio table and chairs.

Someday, we'd like to have pavers throughout the entire pond area. The gravel works and is certainly much better than the original sand and dirt, but pavers would be much nicer. Until then, we'll keep adding a few at a time.

I was about to begin mowing when the rain began. It was a fitting end to a very frustrating day. The dump was closed, meaning we had to unload the Blazer of trash, and then the battery didn't fit in the four wheeler. Why shouldn't it rain and ruin my plans to mow?

Poor poor me. If only you had my life, you'd understand.

I harvested a couple of Delicata squash, fed the fish, and slopped the giant pumpkin before turning on the electric fence and calling it a day.

Delicata squash are often called "Sweet Potato Squash." These were probably picked a bit prematurely, but they were tasty and let's face it, anything fresh from the garden tastes good.

In keeping with our tradition of eating like it's going to be our last meal, Sargie and I enjoyed, as Mom used to call it, a "Sunday meal," last night. 

Squash, along with grilled brats (again, the UP's unofficial meat of choice) and Flat Iron steaks, were the table fare. Our minds may have been frustrated, but our tummies were very happy.

We both have a ton of piddly things to do today in final preparation for tomorrow's Mighty Milligan Labor Day Celebration. I just took the large pork loin out of the freezer to thaw, the one that will be wrapped in bacon and injected with pounds of butter before being placed in the smoker tomorrow morning. That, along with brats, burgers, and "fixin's" brought by others, will comprise the family feast.

I hope Carl is right with his weather forecast. He says the rain's to end this morning with a nice day predicted for tomorrow. 

C'mon Carl, for once, please be right.

Time to get the day started.

After all, a man's work is enver done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Just removed from the freezer, the pork loin set out to thaw.

The Pirañas at Feeding Time

September 2, 2021 - Friday morning

54 degrees/cloudy skies/calm winds

Pentoga Road

It seems right to be back, sitting here in the dark during these pre dawn hours with with my old Apple Macbook Pro computer on my lap. Assuming my heart's still beating in thirty years, I wonder if I'll continue to pull a camera from my pocket on a whim, snap a picture or two, then write about it the next morning. 

Maybe I'll write for an old folks community, reporting who won the game of Bingo the night before, reminding residents to not leave their walkers where others could trip over them, which shuttle is going to what doctor's office, and complaining about the quality of stewed prunes and/or flavor of pudding being served daily. 

As long as Sargie and I are together, I guess I won't care. There's little doubt that when I'm not chasing her around the complex, I'll be busy getting ready to thru hike the AT to celebrate my hundredth birthday.

It works for me.

Speaking of hiking, I had a good walk yesterday morning. With the temperature registering a solid 39 degrees, the air was crisp and cool, just perfect for a strenuous stroll.

The back pack is getting dialed in and yesterday's weight registered an even twenty pounds. It's hard to believe that everything I'll need for five to six months (other than food and water) will be carried on my back.

I like that. It reminds me of my arctic years when I was content to live a very minimalistic life.

I'm still not sure what the cherry picker was doing on the snowmobile trail in Pentoga Village, but I got to watch it being loaded Thursday morning.

I didn't get a chance to talk to the driver, but it's the most action I've seen in a long time. Let's face the fact that it doesn't take much to entertain me.

The rest of the day was filled with small projects. Sargie's been wanting to paint the very old, very antique, garden bench that she inherited from a great great (possibly another great) aunt long ago. We calculated that the bench has to be close to 150 years old if not older.

The monster weighs hundreds of pounds as it has cement sides and was in a state of poor disrepair when Sargie brought it with years ago. I used resin and epoxy at the time to repair one side and along with new treated lumber, the bench has been sitting in the garden since.

We painted in the bright sun yesterday and watched as the bench inhaled almost half a gallon of Glidden's Red Delicious paint, the same color as the garden house.

The bench complete, I moved my attentions to the top tier of the front steps. The pavers are cute and decorative, but are they ever a pain to level. During a hard rain, the water pours off the front porch and washes out the sand under the pavers. Guttering would solve the problem, but our heavy snows would destroy it before winter's end.

Someday, I'm going to pour conventional steps and be done with the constant leveling. Until then, I'll keep my shovel and sand handy and be prepared to jump into action after each rain.

Sargie had so much fun painting the garden bench that she spray painted some of our patio furniture. The girl was on a roll.

We've been wanting to get a few more flat pavers to put under the patio table and chairs sitting near the pond. We either had to go shopping last night or take time out of today. We opted to drive to Iron Mountain late yesterday afternoon.

We had a quick visit with Jeanne and Boyd and of course, their little granddaughter, Aria. From there we went back to the Vision Center for another repair on my very worn out glasses.

Along with the repair came the opportunity for Sargie to catch up on the news. 

As always, our good friend, Michelle, worked her optician's magic and repaired my glasses as well as they could be fixed.

I have an appointment this coming Wednesday for a basic check up and to order a couple pair of new glasses. One will sport extra heavy duty, big ol' ugly industrial, near indestructible, frames, that will be my trail glasses. I don't see so good with my glasses as it is. Without them, I'm blind as a bat.

Okay, so here comes the Grandpa segment, the "first day of school" pictures of the grandbabies. 

Abigail (senior) and Coleman (freshman)

Ellie (freshman)

Cody Bear (5th Grade) - Wyatt (8th Grade)

Emerson (2nd grade)

Bennet (Kindergarten)

Wes (preschool)

Ivy (kindergarten)

Logan (senior)

Kylee (sophomore)

Hambone/Grady (first grade)

There. I think that pretty well covers this year's crop of first dayer's. Between Sargie and me, we have a herd heading to school, that's for sure.

Oh wait, there's little three year old Finn on his first day of preschool. The grandson of our friends, Claire and John, you'll notice how he's quietly sitting at a table while the girl next to him is noticeably upset at the thought of her mommy leaving.

Classic.

 

I tried uploading this two hours ago, but found our internet had disappeared into the Netherlands of Digitalia. (No such place. I just made it up.) I've taken my walk, had a bite to eat, and it's time to head out the door and get the day started.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

My newest BFF. In a truck next to where we parked, I wanted to reach through the window and scratch him behind his ears. What a great pup, but then, I'm partial to bulldogs.

September 2, 2021 - Thursday morning
41 degrees/clear skies/calm winds
Pentoga Road

What can I say? I'm like bad breath, I just keep coming back. 

I made a long video yesterday morning while walking. Purposefully lengthy, I wanted to see what a "down and dirty" edit job, one to simulate what it will be like to edit a video after a long day of hiking, will look like. Assuming I can upload a video, it's doable. 

As long as you are willing to tolerate the mistakes, I'm happy to make them.

Oh, first, before the video, check this out. It records and maps my daily hikes. This is yesterday's:

https://www.relive.cc/view/vdORwENrGK6

Now for the video:

As you heard in the video, these past few days have been busy. We've been harvesting goodies from the garden and enjoying fresh vegetables daily. I especially relish Sargie's stuffed zucchini. Filled with a homemade spaghetti-type sauce, browned ground sausage and hamburger, and topped with melted cheese, it's one of my summertime favorites.

We worked hard sealing our large drive and thankfully, that job is finished for yet another year.

The pond pump problem has been remedied. Actually, the pump wasn't at fault and the supposed culprit turned out to be an 80 pound sandbag. Holding gravel in an underwater filter, it had slid down a steep side and landed against a piece of four inch perforated flexible pipe, reducing the flow by more than half. After moving the sandbag, the pipe returned to its normal diameter and water once again moved freely.

With a full 5,000 gallons of water (per hour)  circulating through the pond, we've seen a great improvement in water quality.

I've been trying to clean a few of the garden beds, those that are finished producing. The biggest noticeable improvement was cutting the asparagus fronds. They filled the small trailer.

With the cutting, we should be able to enjoy a small fall harvest of asparagus before winter sets in.

Sargie has had her eye on a large, flat, rock to set beside our ancient garden bench. Weighing HUNDREDS of pounds, it was moved to the gate of the garden using the tractor before the two wheeled cart was utitilized.

In the end, Sargie and I placed it beside the bench and we now have a completely natural, end table.

No daily blog would be complete without a giant pumpkin report.

Still gaining pounds per day, and weighing somewhere between two and three hundred pounds, I laid boards alongside yesterday to keep the bottom off the ground. Flat on top, which is really a side, it's beginning to collapse in on itself which is typical for a giant pumpkin. 

Okay, that's enough. Tomorrow will feature, among other things, "first day of school" pictures of the grandbabies. I've got a bunch.

Sargie and I have a busy day ahead, one which will see us travel to the... DUMP. It's time to rid ourselves of those cans and other useless items that we have collected over the summer months.

I need to continue work on the front steps, straighten up the barn a bit, and I hear we're going to paint that ancient garden bench that I talked about earlier, you know, the one with the new rock end table.

Time to go for my walk and get the day started.

 

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...