Since I got home early this afternoon I was able to spend a bit of time with Luke. He was pretty relaxed and in a great mood. Until he wasn’t.
Losing altitude.
Literally, as we descended from the Mountain back to Nashville today. Keeping my streak of lazy mornings alive I did not get up for sunrise again this morning. We did manage one last walk on the Mountain Goat Trail, and really enjoyed it. The morning was so lovely and peaceful. Our walks are really one of my favorite things about going to the cottage. Liz and Luke headed out soon after nursing and I hung around to clean up a bit. My reward was lunch at the Mountain Goat Market. They were super busy, but I got to say hello to Eric and enjoy my food on the terrace.
The drive home was pretty uneventful. I took the highway as much as possible and stopped at the tractor dealer in Murfreesboro for the part I ordered. Back at the condo we gave Luke a bath. He is pretty relaxed about them these days. The PTO shaft for my finish mower came today, so I should be able to mow tomorrow. Provided it isn’t storming, which is a real possibility.
Happy birthday America!
My alarm buzzed at 4:30 this morning and I immediately turned it off and went back to sleep until eight. Liz nursed Luke in the meantime, and then they went back to sleep until ten. So not a productive morning. No walk or goats. Our friends Michael and Sally came up just before noon, and we had a great time together. We just relaxed for a while at the cottage and then took them on a little mountain tour. We saw the natural bridge and several overlooks, went to the crafts fair, and of course went to see the goats. Luke was incredibly well behaved the whole time. After Sally and Michael left we went to dinner at the Blue Chair tavern. We sat outside and enjoyed the fresh air. I played with Luke for a little while back at the cottage, then drove over to campus for the fireworks show. Roads were closed and so I had to walk all the way from the main chapel. Tons of people were there. I set up my camera next to the lake. The show started fifteen minutes late and lasted all of twelve minutes. It was pretty cool though. I’m not sure how my pictures turned out; probably not great. It’s a little bit of a downer that we’ll be leaving the Mountain tomorrow. I don’t really want to go back to “real life”.
More walking, more goating, first Samming.
Despite my best intentions I again slept past sunrise this morning. I realize that much of the blame rests with me for not setting an alarm. I was also up pretty late last night writing a letter to Luke. We went on our standard walk this morning and checked in on the goats. A little tummy time added to the fun.
Late morning we were paid a visit by Liz’s friend and former coworker Sam. She lives in nearby Tracy City and is currently turning her candle making business into a full time endeavour. After a tasty lunch at the Mexican restaurant she was kind enough to give us a couple of her products. They are really top quality.
We all took afternoon naps and then went on another walk. The fading light was very lovely and the atmosphere felt great despite the humidity.
I dropped Liz and Luke back off at the cottage and returned to the Goat Trail to photograph the fireflies. I set up three cameras to the side of the trail. It wasn’t ideal because I would have liked to have been composing from the center of the trail. My caution was justified though when a couple of bikers passed by. They stopped to ask what I was doing and we chatted briefly. A little later a runner came through. I felt like the volume of fireflies was a little lighter than usual, but we will see how the pictures turn out.
Back at the cottage I cooked dinner while Liz nursed. Luke had a busy day but he handled it well. Hopefully he will continue to sleep well at night.
Three months!
Unfortunately I slept in again this morning and missed sunrise. Three days left up here on the Mountain, and hopefully I will make sunrise all three days. Little Man slept in too, but that’s okay, since he turns three months old today. After breakfast we went on a nice walk along the Mountain Goat Trail. It felt great outside with the fresh air. I really hope that he enjoys these times. Afterwards we drove over to campus and saw the goats, who were in a new field.
Like most days up here the afternoon was pretty relaxed and everybody napped. Luke has been eating well and getting rid of that food efficiently too. We went on another walk this afternoon on the same stretch of the greenway. It was overcast and felt very nice out, despite being rather humid. Of course we had to go see the goats again after. Back at the cottage Liz nursed Luke while I went to Piggly Wiggly. They had amazing sweet cherries for $2.49 a pound, so I bought a bag. I also got a box of Kix.
Liz and I talked for a while before I went out to take some pictures. It was too cloudy for sunset so I just went to the back side of campus to photograph the fireflies. I wish I would have arrived just a few minutes earlier, because it would have been easier to focus with a little more light. But I was able to get three cameras set up and running. It was so calm and relaxing out in the forest all alone. The lightning bugs were really active, although I struggled to get compelling compositions. Phone picture below shows the dark scene.
Back at the cottage we bathed Luke. We didn’t have his flower pad but he was a good sport about it. I made Liz a sandwich and had a little dinner myself. Luke had more of his usual.
