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.

I got going at a reasonable time this morning and started working on repairing the driveway. It had gotten all rutted out by the rain, and was impassible. Fortunately most of the gravel didn’t get pushed too far away. So I shoveled it into the wheelbarrow and deposited it into the gully. Then I drove my car over it repeatedly for compaction. My other big accomplishment on the morning was installing the mailbox post. After lunch I went to the supply yard for railroad ties, but they were all out. I drove down to the Co-op in Manchester and they were out too. Then I decided that I would just use pressure treated 2x8s. So I returned to the supply yard and got some. While there I met a guy who said he could haul my tractor up from Columbia this weekend. That will be really nice. I unloaded them then showered and went to the Goat Market for an early dinner. It was nice to talk with Eric for a bit there. I was once again too lazy to go out photographing, so I just chilled around the cottage.