Short "a" as in after.

We went to Family Fare to restock certain parts of the larder. We were passing by the refrigerated food section when I noticed chicken pasties for sale. I remarked to GFR that I have never seen pasties for sale outside the Iron Range. A Michigan consumer standing nearby expressed interest in the subject and asked for directions to where in the food case these pasties were located. She took one look and said, "Those aren't pasties."

And, of course, she was right. We had just demonstrated some expertise in the matter by producing the correct pronunciation on the first attempt so we launched into a discussion of pasties. The Michigan lady is descended from UPers, specifically the iron mining region of the UP. I informed her that we were raised in the Minnesota iron mining region. I said, of pasties, "Miner's lunch." She said her father was a miner. So we had quite a bit in common and she told us where in Michigan you can get authentic pasties, other than in her kitchen, as she makes them herself.

Here is BB sitting in her afternoon position, the shady side of the deck.Lake Michigan for scale.