It's also springtime in Delaware.

Thanks to Norriene and Jim for sending this picture. The flowers are growing behind their coastal beach house.

May 25, 2019 - Saturday morning

56 degrees/fog/calm winds

Pentoga Road

You may have noticed that we, in the UP, love our springtime flowers. After enduring an exceptionally cold and snowy winter, anything with color other than gray and white are especially appreciated. Thanks for the picture, Norriene.

Friday's walk was no exception. Green is everywhere.

It was only a month ago that I was "post holing" through three feet of snow during my morning walk.

Today, the road is bursting in color.

The fiddlehead ferns, those delectable, tender, shoots northerners love to feast on, are sprouting all over the place.

I thought maybe I'd gather a bagful today for tonight's supper. Mmm, fried bluegill filets and fiddleheads. It doesn't get any better than that.

And of course, the trilliums are everywhere.

Friday gave a clinic in frustration. Having received the bushings for the backhoe a couple of days ago, I couldn't find the right size/length of bolt with which to install them.

It took two trips to town, fighting construction both ways, and half a day, but I finally found what was needed. I can't blame anyone other than myself. Someday, I'll learn to measure and take my time before purchasing the wrong item.



The backhoe is now fixed and ready to dig.

The mess left by the downed maple tree was cleaned up, the tree cut into burnable lengths and put away.

We'll be burning that wood at some point next winter. The tree gave us about two week's worth of heat.

The rot is evident in the middle of the bigger pieces

Sargie arrived home last night with Hambone in tow. Macrea showed up later and the boys will be staying for the weekend. Most importantly, tonight is our big guys campout in the back yard. We're putting up a tent or two, building a fire, and best of all, as Hambone says, we're going to "melt marshmallows."

Sargie opens the Vision Center this morning. I'm heading out to the garden after and begin working on the pond. Grady woke up with a bellyache, so he and Daddy are lying down. I suspect it's more a case of excitement and not enough sleep than a mystery bug.

It's time to get Sargie's breakfast ready and lunch packed.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Brother in law, Ross, sent this picture of a loon swimming just a few feet from their back deck. 

The first harvest of this year's garden, fresh asparagus!

May 24, 2019 - Friday morning

49 degrees/cloudy/calm winds

Pentoga Road

While we are enjoying the first cutting of asparagus of the year, poor Yooper Brother Mark and Sheri are having to relive winter all over again in the form of ice and snow.

Visiting Sarah and family in Wyoming, Mark said they received between four and six inches of the white stuff on Thursday. Meanwhile, our forecast calls for rain today, but sunny and warm temperatures this weekend with highs near 80.

I went for my early morning walk on Thursday and continue to enjoy the wildflowers. The trilliums are just beginning to bloom and are beautiful.

Back from my stroll, it was my turn to perform kitchen magic. Famished, I decided to make a brunch of eggs and apple/walnut pancakes, all smothered in fresh maple syrup.

It must have been more than just a brunch as Sargie or I were still full at suppertime.

The UPS lady, Jay, (yep, that's her name) delivered a couple of backpacking goodies yesterday as well as the bushings for the backhoe. Of course, I had to try on the sleeping bag.

It's an ultra lightweight bag, tested to +35 and should be perfect for Macrea's and my upcoming 42 mile hike on the Pictured Rocks Trail the second week of June.

Jerad came out after work and dropped one maple tree that's been dying in the back yard. I've been fearful that it would topple onto the storage shed with the first strong wind. Jerad worked lumberjack magic with skillful cutting and a long length of rope.

It wasn't long before the tree was lying on it's side leaving the storage shed and barn intact.

I thought Sargie didn't have to work for several more days, but I had a rude awakening last night when she told me she had to open the Vision Center today and tomorrow. I guess the honeymoon from work is over, darn it.

Assuming today's rain holds off, I'm going for my walk first thing. I'd like to get the tree cut up and wood hauled this morning and the bushings on the backhoe installed.

Speaking of things to do, it's time to pack Sargie's lunch and get breakfast ready.



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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Today's wildlife quiz question. What kind of animal should one expect to enter this trap. Hint, it's not meant for skunks or rabbits. Answer (if I remember) will be coming tomorrow.

Josh, attending his last US Coast Guard Academy graduation as an active duty senior officer.

May 23, 2019 - Thursday morning

49 degrees/partly cloudy/calm winds

Pentoga Road

My oldest son, Josh, sent this picture yesterday saying that it would probably be the last time he wears his formal uniform. A graduate of the academy himself, Josh is retiring as a full Commander in June.

Boy, it's doesn't seem like it's been that long since he came into his mother's and my bedroom late at night and, unable to sleep, said he didn't know what he wanted to do in life and rather than waste his (and our) money on meaningless college classes, decided to spend several years in the military, earn the GI bill, and figure out what life had in store for him. That was twenty-five years ago.

Josh has always been wise beyond his years. The boy entered the Coast Guard as a lowly enlisted Seaman and received a very rare appointment to the Academy after some heroic and outstanding service. He's living proof that hard work, determination, and tenacity, can pay off.

Josh served up and down the East Coast at various Coast Guard stations and in Washington DC, taking on more responsibilities and advancing in rank with each billet. The last assignment saw the Commander following in his old dad's shoes, as a professor at the Academy.

Having an advanced degree in engineering, offers of jobs and vocations, post Academy, have been pouring in, including remaining at the Academy as a civilian instructor. 

Regardless if what he decides, you better believe that we'll be there in New London, Connecticut, in the front row, in early August for his retirement ceremony. Along with his three younger brothers, he's my hero. 

Wednesday had to be one of the lousiest days in the weather department we've had in a long time. It wasn't cold, but the wind howled and a chilly mist fell throughout the day.

I spent much of Wednesday in the shop, playing with one idea or the other, but in reality, not accomplishing much. I did manage to cut out a fairy.

 The wings and flower that she's holding were a bit of a challenge, but otherwise, the fairy was simply time consuming. She's part of a much bigger project that I hope to complete later today.

I took a wonderful nap later in the afternoon and watched videos of the Appalachian Trail among others. The wind was whipping around outside and with the inclement conditions, what was a guy supposed to do? I later took a walk to Pentoga and back to get the blood flowing.

Yooper Brother Mark and Sheri are in Wyoming visiting Isabella, Sheri, and Curtis. I was excited when I noticed he'd sent a picture and assumed it would be of Isabella and Sarah. 




Seems his rental car was upgraded to a brand new Expedition. It's going to be many years before I let that boy live this one down.

Sargie didn't get home until late last night after closing the Vision Center. She's off for the next couple of days. I'm heading out the door shortly for my morning stroll then plan to be in the shop for the morning hours. The new bushings for the backhoe are to arrive this afternoon, so no doubt, I'll be in the garden, wrench in hand, installing those.

Jerad, Yooper Brother Mark's son, is coming out after work to drop a couple of maple trees for me. Two have been dying for sometime and both are close to buildings. Jerad used to work for a company that cut trees from high power lines and can fell a tree on a dime. In my advancing years, my aim's not nearly as good as it used to be.

It's time to strap on those hikers and put a mile or four under my feet.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Look who graduated from preschool!
Thankfully, Sarah sent a picture of Isabella and not of her father's rental car. Isabella will be flying home with Grandma and Grandpa to spend a few weeks with them until Sarah flies out in June.

Tuesday brought the first mowing for 2019

May 22, 2019 - Wednesday

46 degrees/cloudy/very windy

Pentoga Road

The first mowing of the year is always a sweet/bitter event. The sweet signals spring is here and the world has been born anew. The bitter means we'll be mowing almost weekly until next October. 

Sargie was on the mower all Monday afternoon. The mowing diva was seen wearing shorts, an old flannel shirt, and a pink ball cap with the words MAINE printed across. To top off this year's trend setting fashions, the queen of the lawn sported a set of bright red sound deadeners.

Just because the girl's a mowing diva doesn't mean she's can't multi task. Sargie began planting geraniums in the pots late Tuesday afternoon. Assuming all her flowers thrive, color will be in no short supply this summer.

Still too wet to work on the pond, I did a lot of odd jobs that have been put off. The first task was to sand and paint the broken railing on the east side of the deck.

The snow and ice certainly took their toll this winter and the handrail has been dangling for two months.

I purchased regular exterior deck handrail brackets and hopefully, these will work better than the interior set previously used.



Next came working on the trim and finishing the lattice around the underside of the living room. 

The air nailer works well for attaching almost anything, but my poor, old, body didn't feel like hauling it from the shop to the back of the house. 



Mama didn't have no dummy. I spotted the dump wagon and pulled the nailer, tank and all, to where it was needed. Oh, the battery? It's part of the bank that is used with the solar panels. Why not pull, rather than carry, it too?

I reattached the chicken wire to the bottom of the deck to keep the skunks at bay and by afternoon's end, called the back of the house finished.



My good friend, Eileen, a former band parent and educator, sent me a couple of pictures from her fiftieth year college graduation reunion. I taught with Eileen and her husband, Bert, in northern Maine for many years.



I can't see that Eileen's changed at all and I now know why Uncle Bert smiles so much.

Sargie's working this afternoon and evening. I'm going for my usual walk then plan to be in the shop for the rest of the day. I've got bails to lift, barges to tote, and projects to finish.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Sargie has the yard looking like a golf course.

Ivy
Looks as though she's off to daycare.

May 21, 2019 - Tuesday

26 degrees/clear skies/calm winds

Pentoga Road

With the monsoons temporarily halted, Sargie and I spent most of Monday working in the yard. The temperature was in the fifties with a nice breeze and plenty of sunshine.

The honeyberries are in blossom. If this year is like the past, we should be eating handful's of the sweet/tart berries in another two to three weeks.

After my usual walk and a big breakfast, Sargie and headed to town and the DMV. All three vehicle registrations were due as well as my driver's licence renewal. Wanting a secure license, one that will allow me to fly domestically, I dug into our safe deposit box and found my birth certificate, the one with my cute little feet imprinted on the back.

The DMV was more than happy to take $300 for the vehicle registrations, but refused my driver's licence as the birth certificate was issued by the hospital, not the county. I told the clerk that she could compare the teeny feet printed on the certificate to those currently attached to the bottom of my ankles as proof that I'm me.

She didn't even crack a smile. Some people have no sense of humor.

Once home, a quick call to the Hancock County Courthouse in Carthage, Illinois, ensured that copies of the original certificate will soon be in the mail, sans footprints. 

Jambo had given us a bucket of day lily bulbs, Sargie's favorite flower. My bride donned her yard garb and set to work planting the bulbs alongside the wood shed.

That gal sure has the yard looking good and if all her flowers mature, it will be colorful.

The sand cherry bushes that Sargie and I transplanted a few weeks ago are beginning to blossom, giving the side yard the look of spring.

While my bride was raking, digging, and planting, I got busy disassembling a pyramid that was rotting from the bottom.

There's already the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I wonder if there's any money to made by owning the Leaning Pyramid of Pentoga?

The joker who built these must have used a hundred billion million and fourteen screws.

I should have just burned the thing and picked up the screws after, but opted to spend half the afternoon salvaging each. 

I worked my way down from the top, taking off several boards then shoveling dirt into the dump wagon. 

Next to go was the old flower planter, the trug. 

The several feet of snow that fell from the roof of the barn about did it in. I could repair and straighten the thing, but just like the garden, I'm tired of the look and set the planter behind the barn. No doubt, I'll give it a new look in the future, but for this year, the trug as been put out to pasture.

Sargie was still planting her flowers. I grabbed a gallon jug of filler and after cleaning out several of the caverns caused by this year's frost heaves, began working on the drive.

The hard winter did some serious damage to the pavement, but nothing that can't be repaired. I'll continue to fill the cracks this summer and at some point, seal the entire drive before cold weather arrives next fall.

The water is beginning to recede in the garden and if/when we go a few days without rain, I should be able to continue digging. I snapped this picture Monday morning and already, the current level is about half of what it was.

Today's highs are forecast to be near 70 accompanied by bright sunshine. The yard is beginning to look a bit shabby so it's time to turn Sargie loose on the riding mower. I have a couple of things going in the shop, plus I'd like to get the openings made for the windows in the rear wall of the garden house. Regardless, the day won't be wasted. 

Time to get this uploaded and go for my walk.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Rain rain rain rain rain and.... more rain

May 20, 2019 - Monday morning

42 degrees/partly cloudy/breezy

Pentoga Road

I well remember telling anyone who visited ten years ago to take short showers and to please, not let the faucet run unnecessarily. I'd just purchased the house and property on Pentoga Road and the area was in the middle of a three year drought. 

As I remember, our precipitation was something like seventeen inches below normal for the year. Global warming, drought, famine, and certain death were all forecast to take over the entire country.

The homeowners of our local lake drank the Kool-aid and decided to drill a well to keep the water level up to normal. The pump has run very little, if at all, since, but they'll be paying for the well and maintenance in the form of taxes forever.

I had no idea how much water lie in the bottom of our shallow well. Just back from Alaska for a few short weeks on summer break, I was fearful that I might hear that sucking noise that signals an empty well.

Yeah, well, no pun intended, we know how that story turned out ten years later, at least in the UP of Michigan.

The well never did run dry and the water table often insists on occasionally poking its wet head above ground.

Sunday was a yawner on Pentoga Road. I spent a couple hours in the shop and roughed out a name that had been ordered earlier, adding what has become my signature, a bird turned on the lathe sitting on top. 

I still have to paint the bird and put the finishing touches and several coats of poly on the name and that job will be finished.

Sargie and I did get out for a short drive. With rain pounding down, there wasn't much to look at, but we gabbed our way around the area.

A drive through one of the local cemeteries saw Grandpa Dobson's grave marker in good shape.

I made it for Sheri's family several years ago and am happy to see that the cedar wood with a cement base is holding up.

The rest of the day was pretty ho hum. I did take a wonderful grandpa afternoon nap and later, we enjoyed munching popcorn while watching tv.

As the APM (Assistant Popcorn Maker) it's Sargie's job to keep me company while I stand at the stove in the kitchen 

It must be spring in northern Maine. Andy sent this picture of a large pot of fiddleheads.

They're further into spring than we are. Our fiddleheads have yet to sprout above ground.

Carl says our rain is done for a few days. I'm going to use this down time to finish the name in the shop, dismantle a pyramid planter alongside the barn, and make the window openings on the rear wall of the future garden house.

But first, I think I'll take a morning stroll to Pentoga Village and back.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

After a long winter, the dock was just installed last week and already, it's nearly under water.