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”.

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.

I was super excited to get to the farm and use my new finish mower today, but that didn’t stop me from sleeping in until seven. I helped Liz around the house until eight, then hit the road. The mower lacked a couple of pins and a big bolt, so I went to TSC for them. I came back and had some difficulty getting the three point hitch arms lowered, but thanks to the magic of the internet was able to get that resolved. I got the mower all connected and then ran into the next issue – the PTO shaft was too short. Another trip to TSC and three other places were fruitless. Back at the farm I messed around a little but couldn’t get too motivated on account of the heat. I had one more idea and so made a third trip to TSC but once again came up empty handed. I chatted with my neighbor James for a few minutes before deciding to head up towards the cooler temperatures of the mountain.

I just drove the interstate the whole way so it only took about an hour and a half. It was a bit warmer than expected – the internet said 88 degrees, but it is supposed to top out at only 82 for the rest of our days here. I stopped at Piggly Wiggly for a few things Liz requested then took a little nap once I arrived at the cottage. Afterwards I spent some time organizing my car which was a real message. I sorted all of my camera equipment because there will hopefully be lots of photo opportunities this trip. I did a Google search for the PTO shaft and saw one at a good price at Northern Tool, but it was online only and would take over a week to arrive. Then I remembered Amazon. There was a nice looking one at a decent price, but with free two day shipping, so I ordered it. I am really itching to cut some grass!

Liz and Luke arrived around six and I prepared sandwiches while Luke nursed. He was pretty relaxed. I set up a couple of cameras in the front yard to photograph the lightning bugs. There were a ton this evening and I am loading the pictures on to my computer now. Tomorrow evening I will try to go somewhere else to capture them. The big problem here is that my neighbor’s floodlights cast a sickly green glow onto the scene. Other than that it’s a great spot.

Luke seems to be enjoying life these days. This evening he was mesmerized by some little toy that I was waving in front of him. He continues to eat and sleep well. Tomorrow we’ll try to take him on several walks. That will be good for everybody.