Today was gate post day. Gary and Steven—the “Dirt Guys” who built our long driveway—came by to dig and plant the posts for the farm gates I purchased back in August. These gates will let us close off the driveway, keeping out curious visitors and ATV traffic that could damage the new road.
They asked us to meet them between 8:30 and 9:00, but when I arrived at 8:10 they were already there, backhoe ready. With their equipment, we dug four holes and set the posts in just about two and a half hours. A big relief—it feels good knowing the road can now be secured. The gates themselves will go on another day.
The rest of the morning I kept at the marsh path. I’ve finally worked out a good technique, and the chainsaw isn’t clogging nearly as much. The path is now fairly smooth, though still spongy in places. Meanwhile, Trudy worked on gathering the asphalt roofing I stripped off the cabin earlier in the summer, hauling it closer to the pond so it can be loaded onto the barge, then taken over to Neighbor Joe’s and onto the truck for a dump run. That job is lined up for tomorrow.
In the afternoon we made a laundromat run—three loads and over $20 in quarters later, the clothes were done. We stopped at the grocery store for a few essentials before heading back to camp.
That evening, we enjoyed a bottle of wine by the pond, taking in the beauty of the place as the light faded. Trudy then put together a wonderful dinner of pork chops with mushrooms and mashed potatoes, a salad and blueberries, all on a single-burner butane camp stove. It’s amazing what she can create with so little. Afterward we settled in, watched the Phillies game, and called it a day.
