Today was a bit more administrative in nature. I talked with a soil scientist who will come to the new property once he returns from vacation. I bought a bunch of books at the library book sale, although not the one pictured below. I also worked on putting together my documentation for the new building permit.
After another T25 workout we went to the house. My dad planted the boxwoods while I prepared the landscape fabric and then installed plastic under the house. I was really dreading the latter task, but it turned out to be not too bad. Just lots of crawling around in the dark. A neighbor came by midway through and wanted to talk with us for about an hour. That was kind of frustrating.
I returned to the cottage and got another trailer, which was full of trash, so I took it to the dump. Then I went to the supply yard to get some straw. It wasn’t as hot today as it has been, but was still a little uncomfortable. I went to get pea gravel at the sand plant, but they are out and won’t have any until next month. On the way back I picked up some grass seed I had in the storage unit. At the house my dad finished up the boxwoods and I began seeding. Then he helped me spread straw. Just about the time we wrapped that up it started raining, so we called it a day.
Back at the cottage we showered, washed clothes, and headed to the Goat Market for an early dinner. Fortunately it wasn’t too busy. After eating we drove back by the house to admire our handiwork, then drove over to campus to look at paint colors on some of the houses there. My dad went to bed at about 7:15 and after talking with Liz I have just been messing about on the computer.
I did another T25 workout this morning, this time with more enthusiasm. After breakfast I went to the house and finished moving the large landscaping rocks into place. I then cleared everything out of the way in the front of the house in preparation for planting bushes. My dad arrived after playing golf and we drove down to a nursery in Manchester. The guy there gave us a good deal on some boxwoods and dogwoods, and so we filled the truck. There was a slight hiccup when he said that he didn’t accept credit cards, but he offered to let me bring a check later. Back at the house we unloaded the plants and started filling the raised beds with dirt.
During the heat of the afternoon it started thundering, so that seemed like a good time for my dad to go nap and me to go pay for the plants. I left the check in the mailbox as he was closed for the day, then called a left a message saying I had done so. I took the scenic route back to the cottage, kind of, at least from the Pelham exit through Alto and up Roark’s Cove Road onto campus. Then I drove by the goats. I rested for a few minutes at the cottage before returning to the house and getting on the tractor. I started by putting more dirt in the raised beds. My dad returned and we finished up the raised beds then planted four of the five dogwoods. I scraped through some undergrowth in preparation for the driveway loop and we called it a day.
Upon returning to the cottage I saw Randy next door and went to talk with him for a while. Then I called Liz. Dinner was cheesy rice (delicious). I just wish I had some ice cream, but now the store is closed. Hopefully tomorrow we will finish up the shrub planting, except for the few next to the water and power trenches which we can’t do yet.
I got out of bed around seven this morning, and halfheartedly did another workout. After breakfast I picked up some lumber at the supply yard then went to the house. I continued working on the raised beds until the guy my dad brought the property from next door showed up and we chatted a while. My dad came and chatted with him too. After he left we kept working. My dad made a suggestion to lower the bed height, which was probably a good idea overall, it was just frustrating to undo previous work. But we did it and the beds look pretty good. They are almost complete. I got the tractor and started moving stumps onto my trailer. It was challenging and took all of my skills, but it eventually got done. I drove the stumps over to the new property then used the tractor to push them off the trailer. Next I moved large rocks up by the house for landscaping purposes. They look pretty good, but I will need to bring more up tomorrow. It was super hot today but I am getting pretty used to it. This evening it rained a little and I drove to Piggly Wiggly and talked to Liz on the phone while sitting in my car in the parking lot. Then I went inside for a few things. Since then I’ve just been messing around on the computer.
I wasn’t very motivated to get going this morning, but eventually I got out of bed and did a Focus: T25 workout for the second day in a row. They are kind of boring but then again I am not pushing myself too hard. It is wiser to ease into it. I was preparing to go to the house when my new acquaintance Dakota texted and said he was ready to go get the tractor. I thought he meant right then, but that was just the start of the process and we actually met up about an hour and a half later. We took the back roads and sopped in Lynchburg for gas and some food. It was blazing hot by the time we got to Columbia, so we loaded up as quickly as possible. I grabbed a few things from the house and we headed back. We stopped at the same gas station for more gas then went a different route the rest of the way. Fortunately the drive was uneventful. It must have rained a bit on the Mountain because it sure was muddy at the house. We unloaded the tractor and then I parked it out of the way. As much as I wanted to have some fun, it was just muddy enough that I would make a real mess. It should dry up quickly once it hits 90 degrees tomorrow, and then I will get to play. So I’ve spent the remainder of the afternoon and evening relaxing at the cottage.
