Tennescenic

After another workout video and breakfast I headed to the house with visions of repairing the tractor. That didn’t go exactly as planned. First I needed to go to the supply store for another wrench. I took the hose off and discovered that my replacement didn’t fit. So I drove down to the Kubota dealer in Hillsboro and they made me one. Installing it was pretty simple and I also added two gallons of hydraulic oil to replace what leaked out. Then I got to work. First I moved the logs I had already cut to the back of the property. Then I cut up more of the big black oak and some of the trees that it had fallen on. The forks on the tractor came in handy for hauling the branches, but a grapple sure would be nice. I mostly piled up the wood, but did set some logs aside to cut up for firewood later. I was able to uproot and completely remove a couple of stumps from trees that had been knocked over. All in all it was a lot of fun. Around 2:45 it started to rain, so I left. It turned into a torrential downpour that lasted a couple of hours. So I just relaxed for a while and didn’t really do much for the rest of the day.

This morning after another video workout and a leisurely breakfast I went to the house. Actually I just got the tractor there, then started working on the new lot. I cut the big, downed tree into sections and started hauling them to the other side of the property. It was pretty fun work and I didn’t mind the heat. But as they say, all good things must come to an end. In this instance I was rolling over a log with the loader in order to finish cutting it, when suddenly I was taking a hydraulic oil shower. One of the loader hoses had burst. Needless to say I was pretty upset. I parked the tractor at the house then drove to the cottage and showered. I didn’t do much else for the rest of the day other than a little reading and a lot of looking at my phone.

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.

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 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.