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.