September 25, 2015 - Friday

53 degrees/foggy to clear skies/calm winds

Pentoga Road

Supposedly, Sheri and Mark came out and picked tomatoes Tuesday evening while I was in Iron Mountain. I can't see where they put a dent in the number of ripe tomatoes still hanging on the plants. It appears I'll be picking, washing, slicing, and dehydrating tomatoes today.

I began working on the trim for the ceiling in the shop Thursday morning upon arriving home from Iron Mountain. As usual, it took three or four times longer than I'd anticipated, but in the end, it looks okay and serves the purpose. Plus, who walks into a shop and immediately looks up at the ceiling? It's a man-room and men don't do such things... at least the ones I hang out with.

I ran into some problems while trying to connect the electrical outlets. Thinking the job was complete, I clicked the circuit breaker on only to have it trip off. 

Colors are no longer my thing and it's amazing how similar red and black wires resemble each other. In the end, I took all the outlets offline and began adding just one at a time. So far, so good, and I should have full power by day's end. 

A bit of the afternoon was spent in the garden. It's amazing how some of the plants are growing in a last-minute rush to reproduce before their life cycle ends. Others have already played out and are dead or dying. 

I picked a mixing bowl full of black cherry tomatoes, Sargie's and my personal favorites. They are the juiciest, sweetest, tomato I've ever grown, but are late to ripen. It's too bad they all come on at once. What a treat it would be to enjoy them in the middle of next winter. 

Sargie was home early last night and together, we fried fish and sweet potato fries. Both of us had a difficult time keeping our eyes open after. Tummies full and tired after a long day, bedtime came sooner rather than later. 

We had fresh crappie filets last night for supper. I wonder what the poor people ate?

Today appears as though it will be another active one. Sargie opens and should be home fairly early. She has to close on Saturday and with new hours in effect, can't shut off the lights in the Vision Center until 7 PM. 

I'm going to walk my usual three miles this morning then go to town and purchase a couple of needed things to complete the electrical reconstruction. I think I'll pick tomatoes after and get those dehydrating, then continue working in the shop. It's my hope to move in this weekend.

Yooper Brother Mark said he might drop out this afternoon. I hope so. We haven't had a good sit-down-and-gab session in quite a while. It will be good to get caught up on life.

Speaking of catching up, it's time to pour another cup of coffee, perhaps think a deep thought, and continue my never-ending quest to solve every single problem of the world.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

I walked outside before sunup and almost stepped on this pair of doves alongside the drive. They had absolutely no fear and had I wanted, I could have picked both up.

Though the weather remains mild, Mother Nature is reminding us what's in store for the future.
Canada Geese flying south.

September 24, 2015 - Thursday

52 degrees/partly cloudy/calm winds

Pentoga Road

I'm trying to get everything done early this morning so I'll be ready to ride over to Iron Mountain with Sargie. Since she had to close last night, I drove over late yesterday afternoon to keep her company on the ride home.

I skipped walking Wednesday morning so I might get a head start working on the shop. I thought hanging the last of the large OSB board would be finished after an hour, possibly two, but it was noon before I dusted my hands together and called the job done. Like anything else, in the old days, it would have taken a fraction the time that it now does. Oh well, I'm retired and time is seldom a factor.

Framed, insulated, and covered. The next step will be building and installing the solar forced air heating system.

Sargie had ordered a key rack to put on the wall behind the kitchen door. Naturally, there were no convenient studs, so I had to make use of wall anchors. In the end, it all came out fine and more importantly, Sargie's happy with the installation.

I decided to go fishing. The crappies had cooperated on Tuesday, why not on Wednesday? Well, it didn't work that way. I immediately caught one, then another and that was it. It was like God flipped a switch and every fish in the lake decided to go on an instant diet. There was nothing to do but come back home.

Sargie's working such long days this week that I decided to surprise her and drive over to Iron Mountain to keep her company on the trip home. We grabbed a burger along the way and enjoyed our ride. 

I received many comments on Grady's and my duet. Though I have a couple of degrees in the performing arts, both are in instrumental music. When God was passing out vocal talent, he made me a tuba player. Need I say anymore? As Mississippi Brother Garry said, "Don't give up your day job." 

Speaking of day job, Sargie opens this morning. I'm going to make a quick stop at Home Depot for a couple of things before coming back home. I hope to reconnect some exterior outlets today and finish the trim so I can begin moving my power equipment and tools into their new home. 

I need to begin work on replacing the rotted popple posts in the deer fence with new, treated, landscape poles. The yard needs mowing again and there are tomatoes to go in the dehydrator. Oh if only you had my life.

But then it's no secret. A man's work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

While Grady was visiting last weekend, he and Grandpa sang more than a few duets. (Turn up your volume. You might want to plug your ears.)

September 23, 2015 - Wednesday

56 degrees/cloudy/calm

Pentoga Road

I've been sitting here watching a deer approaching the pumpkin patch that lies on the other side of the electric fence. Those pumpkins, the large fruits already promised to the little ones for Halloween, sit only a foot or two away from the deer. They are tempting morsels, but the 9,000 volts that separates them and doe are the best deterrent in the world. She can only dream. 

Most of Wednesday was spent in the shop and to be more specific, on one board that simply wouldn't fit. The floor has a gentle slope and that initially threw me off. Add an opening for an outlet, a screw that I didn't realize wasn't completely in, and an eventual lack of patience and excess of frustration, and you can begin to understand why I was flustered after spending two hours working on a two-foot area. Thankfully, someone invented trim long ago. Most of my mistakes are now invisible.

It was early afternoon and I was hungry. I had a cold pork sandwich, a bowl of cherry tomatoes, and a handful of chips, followed by a short nap for dessert. 

I noticed there was no wind or sun. The temperature was in the mid-sixties... perfect fishing conditions!

It took a couple of hours, but by afternoon's end, I had several nice crappies in the fish basket, certainly more than enough for a Thursday night fish fry for Sargie and me. 

We enjoyed a quiet evening watching Dancing With the Stars and reading. 

Sargie closes tonight so it will be a long day for her. I should finish hanging the wall coverings in the shop this morning signaling the end of heavy construction phase. There's trim to add, some electrical to put back together, but basically, the room will be done and ready to move into. It will be nice to not trip over all my tools that have been temporarily laying on the barn floor. I may try to go fishing later today. Yesterday's success infected me with the crappie fever, the urge to put meat into the freezer for this coming winter.

Time to wake Sargie so she can begin her day. I need to upload some pictures and pour another cup of coffee. After all, a man's work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Two apples, this year's total harvest from a Wolf River apple tree planted five years ago.

September 22, 2015 - Tuesday

50 degrees/clear/calm

Pentoga Road

I awakened shortly before 4 this morning and looked out the window. The stars! They were as bright as any I witnessed in the Arctic Circle. The constellations and planets were brilliant and the Milky Way looked like a solid white band stretching across the sky. Beautiful.

I made it to my doctor's appointment in good shape on Monday morning. Other than being reprimanded for forgetting to take my blood pressure medication, I was pronounced fit and healthy. It's time for my yearly blood work and a colonoscopy appears to be in my near future. Actually, I kind of enjoy the anesthetic administered for the procedure, but could do without the preparations. 

A quick stop was made at an outlet to pick up Yooper Brother Mark's new windows. There was a very nice young man who helped me load them and I was soon on my way home.

Other than spending an hour-and-a-half adding another line onto my cellular plan and procuring a new iPhone for Sargie, the rest of the day was spent working on the shop.

I am down to one last outlet to measure and cut out, then it should be a simple matter of putting the sheeting on the walls.

I was off yesterday by an inch on one piece, but can cut off the leading edge of the 4x8 board and make it work without wasting the entire sheet.

I thought I'd not have any apples on the Wolf River tree this year due to a late hard freeze early this summer, but Neighbor Mike spotted two this past weekend. This is the first year the tree has produced any.

Both apples are quite large and I hope there'll be many pies, apple sauce, and cider, made from future crops.

I was saddened to hear of the death of one of my former coworkers, Danny Madore, a junior high teacher from northern Maine, whom I taught with for many years. Danny and his wife had just celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary this past summer and though his death was unexpected, I'm told he went very quickly. The education world lost a good teacher yesterday.

Seems as if the old guard is beginning to fade away. My former principal and good friend, Kermit, went a couple of years ago. Now Danny has joined him. I recently heard of another teacher and friend with whom I taught for years, isn't doing all that well in his fight with cancer. In these dark, early-morning hours, I miss them. We were a professional family, most of us quite young with families, full of life and energy, hard working, in debt, and hanging on for dear life. 

I've come to realize that as one gets older, the passing of friends and loved ones makes life and mortality become more real. When we're young, we're going to live forever. As we grow older, we're too busy to worry about it and death only happens to someone else. As we enter our twilight years, it becomes obvious that someday, we all will pass on. It's called life.

Speaking of life, it's about time to wake Sargie for the day as she opens the Vision Center this morning. I'm going to take my usual stroll then hope to spend the rest of the day working in the shop. I can see the beginning of the end and am anxious to get my tools moved into their permanent places.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road... 

Still growing and getting uglier by the day

I am dressed and ready to take on Seattle Sunday night.

September 20, 2015 - Sunday night

57 degrees/clear/calm winds

Pentoga Road

I have to be in Iron Mountain to a doctor's appointment Monday morning at 8:15, so I'm writing tonight. 

Sunday was a good day. I began by getting the smoker going, the charcoal glowing and adding wood chips.

While the meat was being smoked, I worked in the shop most the morning and finished the west interior wall. 

Sargie and I took our usual drive into town, got a few groceries, and enjoyed the beautiful afternoon. 

I later sliced the roast into sandwich meat using my deli slicer. 

Other than cheering for the Packers, we're having a quiet evening.

I'll be up early in the morning and on the road by 7. Mark and Sheri ordered ten windows sometime ago, so I'll be pulling the trailer and will pick those up while in town.

It's back to work for Sargie on Monday. Our mini-vacation, time together, is drawing to a close.

Seattle's catching up to Green Bay. It's time to get back to cheering.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

I'm glad my computer is good for something

Sargie and Brutus enjoying a fire late Saturday afternoon

September 20, 2015

45 degrees/clear/calm winds

Pentoga Road

It looks to be the start of another near-perfect day on Pentoga Road. Temperatures are forecast to be in the upper sixties to low seventies accompanied by plenty of sun. 

Saturday turned into a lazy affair. Neighbor Mike called early in the morning asking for some assistance in unloading two heavy beams that were tied to the top of his SUV. He'd brought those down from Marquette to use in building a back porch onto his camp. 

We talked for a bit. Nothing new there.

I cleaned a bit in the barn and rearranged some things so that I might begin the last phase of building the shop, installing the large 4x8 sheets of particle board onto the interior walls. 

We wanted to get to the lumber yard before it closed at noon. Sargie and I hooked up the trailer and bought what was needed then came back home.

Whoa! No stop and go lights needed for a horse crossing in our small town of Alpha.

I spent the next couple of hours putting up the first two sheets. Like everything else, it seems to take forever. There are outlets and the window to cut out and it seems I measure, make my marks, measure again, ensure the marks are correct, him and haw, spit and whittle, dance the hootchie coo, turn around twice, measure one more time, and finally, I use Dad's old saber saw to cut the holes. So far so good, but there's a lot of measuring and cutting left and twelve more sheets to hang.

Sargie busied herself on Saturday cleaning and doing laundry. The house looks beautiful.

We took a drive in the afternoon and enjoyed some gorgeous scenery. 

The leaves have barely begun to turn, yet there's a crispness in the air along with the smell of fall. 

An old log cabin hidden in overgrown brush and trees.

It appears Mississippi Brother Garry and Jody will be with us in early October and their timing just might be perfect for prime leaf peeping. We're keeping our fingers crossed.

An old apple tree whose branches stretched over the dirt road we were traveling. I merely had to look overhead to snap this picture. Sargie and I each had an apple. Delicious!

I built a fire and we sat outside until after dark talking and staring into the flames. The stars were bright and the air chilly, a perfect evening for snuggling up to the outside fireplace. A pack of coyotes were howling nearby and Brutus, being the brave pup that he is, sat as close as possible, ready to hop up onto one of our laps should a coyote come too close. Though they weren't far away, we didn't see any.

Neither of us had any problem sleeping last night.

I'm going to build a fire in the smoker in a bit as smoking the two large pork roasts will take several hours. Sargie seasoned one last night then wrapped it in plastic wrap. I'll cover both roasts with strips of bacon before starting.

This is Sargie's last of four days off from work. She won't have a day to call her own again until next Sunday.

I have a doctor's appointment early tomorrow morning in Iron Mountain then will pick up several windows for Yooper Brother Mark and Sheri while in town. 

Time to pour a cup of coffee and try to remember where I put the wood chips for smoking. It's not always easy, but as we all know, a man's work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

The Michigamme River

September 19, 2015 - Saturday morning

54 degrees/cloudy/breezy

Pentoga Road

I'm trying to get today's entry finished before Neighbor Mike arrives at our front door. He's down from Marquette for the weekend and I know he needs help unloading something heavy from his SUV. Once I do that and we get to talking and sipping coffee, it's hard telling when I would get this done.

I finished hanging all the insulation on Saturday in the shop.

As I thought, it went up quickly with only about six feet left over. That's cutting it close!

I have been trying to clean up the garden, typical end of the season stuff. Most of the peppers have been picked, washed, and put in the freezer. I still have to gather some from a few more plants, but the pepper season is quickly drawing to a close.

Sargie and I took our usual drive after making several stops in town. Yesterday saw us going east towards the Michigamme Reservoir. Though the leaves haven't begun to change, the scenery was beautiful.

Last night was spent with Yooper Brother Mark and Sheri enjoying an all-you-can-eat fish fry. We ate. Oh yes, believe me, we ate plenty.

I'm going to begin putting up the interior 4x8 sheets of OSB board in the shop today. I dare not say I'd like to finish before sundown, but I'm going to try. If it's not done, there's always tomorrow, or Monday, or Tuesday, or....

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Sargie's last words before entering that little building were, "You'd better not put that picture on the web page!!"