The Blazer is being prepared for the drive to Green Bay and Sunday's home opener.

September 25, 2016 - Sunday
56 degrees/clouds/calm winds
Pentoga Road

Let's see, Clay Mathews jersey. Check.
Rain gear. Check.
Packers clear plastic tote. Check
Portable radio. Check
Floppy Packers hat. Whoops, got to get that from the closet.
Tickets. Already in the car.

So with the exception of the floppy hat, I'm ready and willing to spend my Sunday coaching and cheering on the Green Bay Packers as they battle the Detroit Lions. Bring 'em on. If you are in the US and can watch the game on television, I'll be the guy wearing green and gold.

I have a difficult time seeing the field, so I watch the closest huge screen and listen to the game on the radio. It works.

After my morning walk, I spent the rest of Saturday cleaning the Blazer and doing some preventative maintenance. 

It's been a long time since I crawled inside with the vacuum and cleaned every nook and cranny. The windows and seats were wiped clean, the oil and air pressure checked. The Blazer, transformed into the Packermobile for one day, is ready for the trip to Green Bay.

It's a short blog this morning. Yooper Brother Mark and Sheri will be here in less than an hour. Sargie's doing her thing in the bathroom and before we know it, we'll be bound for Promised Land.

The weather forecast calls for 100% chance of rain and thunderstorms. Most football fans would complain and whine. Packer fans? We look rain straight in the eye and laugh a hearty laugh. The only thing that would be better is if the rain would change to snow. We're northerners. We're mean and we're tough. We also get wet and cold like everyone else, but pretend as though we enjoy it. It's the way we roll.

S'cuse me, I need to finish getting ready for my day of coaching and cheering and find that darn floppy hat.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Granddaughter, Emerson, sporting her Meme Pelletier's majorette hat (from her high school days) marching and playing the drum.

September 24, 2016 - Saturday morning

51 degrees/cloudy/calm winds

Pentoga Road

I had today's blatherings almost finished when the page suddenly disappeared along with all the pictures. Where'd they go? What happens to all those little digits, those ones and zeros, when the magically go away? I'll try it again.

Friday was spent working on the garden arbor. 

Sargie had earlier suggested that since I intended to give the entire thing another coat of paint, that I do so before hanging the gate. Good idea. 

Over an hour was spent making the structure look brand new and spiffy clean.

I was in a great mood, the sun was shining, the temperatures cool. It was a good day to hang a red gate.

I could go into details, describe blow by blow detail, but let me just say this; I had that *(&^#  blankety-blank gate every way but up before it was hung. At one point, the hinges were going on backwards, then on the wrong side, inside out, and once, I even set it up against the arbor upside down. 

I don't get mad, I get even, but taking a chain saw to the entire arbor and gate didn't seem to be an option, so I simply took a break, came inside and rested my eyes, then started again. By the time a half hour had passed, it was properly hung with the latch installed.

I dusted my hands of that chore and decided to tighten a couple of bolts on the boat trailer that had come loose. Why, I ask you, WHY didn't I simply stop there?

Of course, the boat had to be moved first. In the end, it fell off the trailer onto the drive.

I really intended to spend a few minutes on the trailer, but since the boat was already on the ground and I could freely work, why not do a few other maintenance-type chores?

What started as a five-minute job took over three hours as I ended up rebuilding the bed and doing some major welding. 

At least the next time Sargie and I are going down the road on the way to our favorite fishing hole, we won't have to worry about the trailer falling apart.



It was almost evening and I was all done in. Time to head to my happy place, the garden.

I found another Asian cucumber that had gotten away from me. This one measured well over three feet in length.

Though it's not fit to eat, I almost wish I could take it to a taxidermist, have it mounted, and hang on a wall somewhere. Hey, hunters have their deer heads, why can't gardeners do the same with their vegetables?

I picked a shirt load (that SHIRT) of chocolate cherry tomatoes, our favorite variety.

Sargie loves taking them in her lunch bag and of all the tomatoes we grow, these are by far, our favorite.

They'll sit on our counter and I guarantee that all will be eaten within the next two or three days.

The real gem of the garden was discovered under a pile of foliage from the cosmos flowers. A simple and beautiful aster.

I sowed the seed directly into the ground this spring and none seemed to germinate so I forgot about them and allowed the cosmos to grow wild. Next spring, I'll sow the seeds in the greenhouse then plant the asters into the flower beds.

A check on the giant pumpkin found that it is still growing. I've not measured to calculate the weight, but it weighs well into the hundreds of pounds. It was long and thin, but has since gained substantially in girth. Once it's removed from the garden, I'll be able to calculate it's weight within a few pounds.

Standing on end, it would be well over four feet tall.

We spent a quiet evening last night in front of the television. Sargie was tired after a full day and I wasn't far behind.

She closes tonight, another long day for her. I'm going for my walk this morning then we'll see what develops. I need to save my strength because Yooper Brother Mark and I will be in attendance at:

SUNDAY'S HOME OPENER OF THE GREEN BAY PACKERS IN LAMBEAU FIELD!

Yes, there we'll be, along with 79,998 other fans, coaching and cheering our favorite team to victory over the Detroit Lions. Sargie and Sheri are going with and will do some shopping while Mark and I are at the game. The girls will swing by after to pick us up and we'll come back home.

Meanwhile, it's time to get Sargie's lunch packed and breakfast ready.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

It's a big Good Morning from Ivy!

September 23, 2016 - Friday

50 degrees/partly cloudy/calm winds

Pentoga Road

I'm excited. My oldest son, Josh, and I were texting back and forth yesterday about the possibility of attempting a climb on Mt. Washington in New Hampshire late next winter. He says he's game. I certainly am.

Josh and I last made the trek fifteen years ago, give or take a year or two. We hiked to just below the summit the first day, camped out overnight, then rose early the next morning for a very strenuous trek to the top. 

Taking a rest during the final push on day two

With steep angles and often knee-deep snow, it's not a sprint by any means. Winter temperatures are usually well below zero, often in the ten to twenty below range, sometimes much lower, and winds on Mt. Washington often exceed a hundred miles per hour. In fact, until recently, it held the record for the windiest place in North America having clocked gusts at well over two-hundred miles per hour.

With crampons, heavier boots, ice axes, and winter clothes in the mix, it's a mental and physical challenge.

Whether we are able to actually make the attempt, no one knows. Health, my physical conditioning, and weather will be the big determination. What is certain is that at my age, it feels good, no it feels great, to think about climbing back into the saddle and doing something more exciting than growing giant pumpkins and sunflowers. It's said that half the fun of going is getting there and mentally, Joshie and I are already climbing Mt. Washington. Stay tuned.

I started work on the garden gate immediately after arriving home from Iron Mountain on Thursday morning. It had been raining and with more in the forecast, I figured I'd build between showers.

Rather than make a million trips back and forth to the shop, I brought the shop out to the arbor.

I'd seen a technique on the internet where a gate was built directly onto the frame of an arbor, then removed for the final steps. It made sense online, so why not try it in real life?

Making the curvature for the top part of the gate was a bit tricky. I fastened a screw in each top corner of the gate, found the middle, then marked the lowest part of the curve. After, I utilized the top section of flexible nine-foot fly rod by bending and tracing it once I reached the lowest middle mark.

It took the entire day, until 5:30 last night, but the gate is made and painted. I'll be hanging it later this morning.

Sargie was home early last night. We spent the evening catching up on programs that had been recorded on DVR. It's amazing how many one can watch in a single evening when he fast forwards through the commercials. 

Sargie opens the Vision Center today. I'll walk my five miles then return home to hang the gate. I need to put a final coat of white paint on the arbor, so assuming the sun is going to shine, I may get that chore out of the way. 

If there's any doubt that winter is on its way, all one has to do is look to the sky. Yesterday saw several large flocks of geese flying south.

The coffee cup is empty and since I'm the only one awake, I guess I better hoist my backside out of the chair, walk out to the kitchen, and pour a refill.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

I was returning from outside last night, after dark, and thought I'd pound on the window and scare Sargie. Knowing my motive, I found her prepared, standing and smiling. A guy can't have any fun anymore.

It's beginning to look like fall.

September 22, 2016 - Thursday

55 degrees/clouds/calm winds

Pentoga Road

With it being so dark and another .4 of an inch of rain having fallen, it would have been so easy to remain in bed this morning; nice and warm, snuggled in the blankets, spooning with Sargie and listening to her soft breathing. Well, that didn't happen. Sargie opens the Vision Center this morning which means it will soon be time to wake my favorite optician and get her headed in the right direction.

I just looked at the ten day forecast. There are exactly two out of the ten days when rain is NOT forecast, tomorrow and a week from today. That's it. 

Though the garden is still mostly green, I'm beginning to smell decay, the odor of rotting vegetation. I wonder if I should go ahead and pick the squash and pumpkins? The giants are on boards or pallets with many of the others resting on wood chips. I'll let them be and see what happens. I'd rather they ripen in the garden if possible. 

After my five mile jaunt on Wednesday morning, I returned home to empty the dehydrator of tomato slices. I'm finished preserving tomatoes for the season. There are a few left in the garden, enough to eat fresh for a while, but most of what are remaining have bad places here and there, the result of too much moisture.

I transferred the contents of the small chest freezer into the new larger one. It was completely thawed last night and I'll scrub and move it to the neighbor's in the next couple of days.

A couple of bucketfuls of irises were dug from the front perennial bed a few days ago and needed a new place to call home. Jeanne had also thinned some of theirs and sent a box of bulbs and plants home with Sargie. 

The rest of Wednesday morning and part of the afternoon was spent digging and prying rocks from ground north of the drive in an attempt to make some sort of flower bed. What a chore.

In the end, enough room was made and dirt worked up to get everything planted. At least the timing was good as all the plants received a good soaking with last night's rain.

I did my annual fall fertilizing and spreading of aluminum nitrate on the blueberries. The aluminum nitrate lowers the PH of the soil, something that is vital for blueberries. I began fertilizing in the fall rather than the spring a couple of years ago and noticed a real difference in the next year's growth. Springtime fertilization is recommended, but hey, why question success?

I decided to go with the odds that it will get cold sooner or later and removed and carried both air conditioners to the basement. I can see the day when I'll hire a big, strong, kid, to do that task for me. I don't hoist around seventy-five to a hundred pounds nearly as easy as I used to and Grady's still too pint-sized to be of much help.

The rest of the day was spent trimming and mowing the immediate yard. I didn't bother with the meadows or trails. It's too late in the year to spend the time or money making sure they are golf course pretty. They'll be mowed one last time before snow flies and that should suffice. The yard, on the other hand, might get sheared two or three more times, depending on the weather. This seems to be the summer that never ends. (Remind me I said that next February when it's forty below zero with ten feet of snow on the ground.)

Since I need to purchase some lumber for the garden arbor gate, I showered and drove to Iron Mountain to meet Sargie. We rode home together last night and I'll be riding back with her this morning then going on to Home Depot to purchase what is needed. I hope to get the gate built tomorrow during one of our rare forecasted rain-free days.

Other than the trip to Iron Mountain, I'm not certain what's on today's agenda. I'll definitely walk at some point, probably down to Pentoga Village and the Brule River bridge. There's always the work in the shop I'm currently involved with and the garden gate to lay out. I don't believe I'll be bored.

The last of the Teddy Bear sunflowers. With the end of the growing season, most are turning brown. I gathered seeds to plant for next year from one of the better flowers. The rest will be donated to the birds.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Looking towards the Brule River from downtown Pentoga Village

September 21, 2016 - Wednesday

57 degrees/clear skies/calm winds

Pentoga Road

After oversleeping this morning, I'm running a day late and a dollar short. I wish I could sleep as peacefully and soundly as I did last night all the time.

Since Sargie didn't have to work until late yesterday morning and I was short of time to walk before picking up the freezer at 11 AM, I decided to make a quick hike to Pentoga Village. It is almost three miles round trip, but there are some hefty hills between here and there.

Heading down into Pentoga Village, a ghost town of few structures and no residents. Though it's a mile and a half away, our's is the last full time residence between here and there.

I arrived home with minutes to spare and quickly hooked the trailer onto the Blazer and drove to our neighbor's to load the freezer. Owning a two-wheeled cart has been a Godsend and I managed to load the large upright and get it home without a problem.

The contents from the little chest freezer will be moved to the larger one, then it will be unplugged, thawed, scrubbed, and moved to the neighbor's to complete the trade.

It was a beautiful day, far too nice to stay inside, even in the shop.

One pumpkin vine is sprawling over the top of the greenhouse.

I worked in the garden for a while, picking more tomatoes. 

A closer check of the dehydrator found those tomatoes that had been drying overnight were ready to be removed and replaced by new ones.

The dehydrated slices are placed in a freezer bag to be used later this winter in sauces, soups, and stews, or our favorite, like potato chips.

I hadn't planned on putting up tomatoes yesterday, but sometimes a person has to make hay while the sun shines. It was bright on Tuesday.

In checking the patch on the boat, it appeared like it should work. There's only one way to know for sure, test it!

Fishing was poor, but the boat is once again seaworthy. 

There were still a couple of hours of daylight left and I wasn't in any hurry to come inside. Sargie was closing and wouldn't be home until well past 9 and I didn't care to sit in front of the television all evening. What to do?

I strapped on the boots and decided to walk back down to the Brule River.  

The sumac is changing into brilliant shades of red

I made it to the river and back in good time, one hour even. The killer hills are certainly steep enough to raise my heart rate, but I was able to climb them without slowing down.

I have an app that tells me speed and distance. Our home is the red/green dot towards the top. The circle down below is in Pentoga Village and of course the bottom is the Brule River.



Once Sargie was home, she ate supper while we fast forwarded through the results show of Dancing With the Stars. Bedtime came later than usual.

Sargie opens this morning. I'm going for the usual five mile stroll and after that, who knows? This is to be our last nice day for a while, so I'll try to spend it outdoors, probably mowing the grass. It's still growing as though it were the middle of June. The tomatoes in the dehydrator will be dried and a new batch will be prepared to replace them.

Time to move along and get this show on the road.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

The Big Moose pumpkins have turned a brilliant orange and will be ready to take to the good little girls and boy, nieces and Grady, when it gets closer to Halloween.

A mysterious hole was discovered in the bottom of the boat on Monday afternoon.

September 20, 2016 - Tuesday
46 degrees/clear skies/calm winds
Pentoga Road

So here's the deal. I went to charge the battery for the trolling motor on Monday afternoon when I looked down and saw a hole in the bottom of the boat.

It wasn't a small hole, but a fairly good one. The way the shards were bent, it appeared as if it was made from the top down.

From the bottom looking up

I had noticed on Sunday when we arrived home from fishing that the battery was over on it's side, something that going over a big bump can cause. The battery is heavy and difficult to move, let alone fall over.

Neither Sargie or I can remember hitting a pothole or running over a curb on our way home, so what caused the hole? I haven't a clue and imagine that it will be one of those life-long mysteries, never to be solved.

I bent the aluminum into place, ground the areas around the hole, both top and bottom, and applied a liberal application of good epoxy.

There's a clear coat of very hard epoxy over the hole.

Since we don't use anything other than an electric trolling motor to power the boat, I'm not really concerned about any stress to the repair. If it doesn't work, I'll find someone who welds aluminum and have it done right.

I walked my five miles yesterday and worked the rest of the day in the shop. This current project is to where I can stop in another day or two and then I'll begin working on a garden gate. I think I've found a picture of a design I like. Once that's complete, I'll give the entire arbor, lattice, and gate a final coat of paint and we'll call it good to go.

I've been using a Dremel brand scroll saw that was manufactured in the early 70's. Neighbor Mike found it buried in the basement of his camp that was originally an old farmhouse. He was going to throw it away but offered it to me first. I cleaned and lubricated it, replaced a couple of corroded wires, plugged the thing in, and it works like a charm. In fact, I prefer it over my two newer ones.

Another four trays of tomatoes were sliced and put into the dehydrator. I hate to see them go to waste and it appears everyone must have all they need as they are about impossible to give away. Thankfully, the tomatoes are about gone in the garden and I can put this year's crop in the rearview mirror. Though plentiful, they were some of the lousiest I've grown in a long time.

Sargie was home early last night and she made a wonderful cuke/tomato/cheese salad. That, along with brats on the grill, made a great summertime meal. You'd be proud of me, I only had two brats, no buns, lots of salad, and opted for a small dish of yogurt for dessert rather than my usual tub of ice cream drowning in caramel sauce and blueberries.

The diet? Coupled with more exercise, I'm counting calories and trying to eat less carbs. 

Sargie closes tonight which makes a long day for her. I'm going to walk this morning then trade freezers with a neighbor. Marion had mentioned sometime ago that she wanted to get rid of her large upright chest freezer and wished she could find a small chest model. A widow of two years, she's downsizing. I told her we had a fairly new, small, chest freezer and were looking for large upright. An instant trade was agreed on.

The larger freezer will be brought home and plugged in today. Once cold, I'll transfer the food from our small one, let the chest freezer thaw out so I can scrub and clean it, then take it to Marion's by week's end. 

It's time to move on here and get breakfast ready. Yesterday's tomato slices should be fully dehydrated which means another batch will need to be picked, washed, sliced, and placed inside the machine. So much to do, so little of me. If only you had my life.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

The yacht in the shop for repairs

Ivy's nine month picture

September 19, 2016 - Monday

62 degrees/clear skies/breezy 

Pentoga Road

It's hard to believe that my youngest granddaughter, Ivy, is nine months old. She sure is growing by leaps and bounds and what a cutie pie.

There's nothing like a baby's laugh to make us smile.

Sunday was a lazy one on Pentoga Road. Sargie did a couple of loads of laundry and hung clothes out on the line. 

Sargie's flowers displaying an end-of-the-year burst of color

I worked in the shop much of the morning and accomplished a few things. Seemed I did more piddling around than actual work.

I was doing a lot of drilling yesterday, so I simply took the hose from the shop vac and mounted it so it would suck the saw dust. I intend to mount a central dust collection system later this fall on most the machinery.

Someone expressed interest in purchasing a pyramid planter and I spent some time trying to figure out how much to charge. Barebones cost for wood is around $40 and I'm so slow that if I charged by the hour, the planter would cost more than a new house... and a new car. I think I'll just round it up a bit and call it good enough.

Sargie and I made a quick trip to town then returned home and headed to the lake.  All we really caught was a lot of sunshine and fresh air. I'm not certain where the bluegills were, but they weren't in our basket.

My trusty guide, poised and ready for action

Last night was spending rolling in agony as I watched the Packers flounder their way to this season's first loss to Minnesota. Though the game was close, there's not much to celebrate in Packer Nation this morning. Oh well, the year is young and no doubt, Aaron and the boys will find a way to get back on track. They'd better or it's going to be a long season.

Her five-day vacation over, Sargie opens today. I'll be hiking my five miles this morning and have pledged to hike each and every day, regardless of the weather. I'm not sure when I evolved into such a flower to become a fair-weather hiker. It's time to get serious. I still dream of the Appalachian Trail and that's not for pansies.

I really need to lose some weight. For whatever reason, my belly keeps expanding. Yeah, I know, retired, age, gravity, lower metabolism, blah, blah, blah. 

Just save it. 

The cold hard facts are that if I go into the winter months overweight, I'll emerge next spring looking like an overinflated beach ball.

Other than go for my walk this morning, I'll probably work in the shop, begin cleaning the dead plants out of the garden, collect some more seeds, and fine tune my efforts to perfect perpetual motion.

Like Sargie's flowers, these nasturtiums in the pyramid planters are in full display. I'll be collecting the seed pods from these to plant next year. They've done well this summer.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Since the fish weren't biting, I figured I might as well stretch out and enjoy the day.