7/12-16/21 I went up to Camp Serendipity for five days: Monday through Friday.

I arrived at noon and the temperature was 88 degrees. It was already 75 inside the cabin. After lunch and a nap, I practiced the piano and spent the rest of the afternoon reading. It was too hot to do any work. The inside of the cabin got up to 82 degrees.

On Tuesday it was cool in the morning because I had the windows open all night and fans blowing in. I got up early and whacked the weeds in the driveway and parking area until I drained both batteries on the string trimmer. Then I picked 10 ounces of blackberries. The rhubarb plant was smashed as if some animal had slept on it, so I harvested the few stalks that were firm and left the rest.

I practiced the piano, listened to the radio, and then had my lunch and nap.

When I got up, I put away all the tools I had used for the woodworking. They were still out on the porch. I put away some boards that were leftover, and the tarp that had collected the sawdust. Then I swept the porch. The temperature got up to 93 degrees outside. It got to 88 degrees inside, so I spent the rest of the afternoon reading.

On Wednesday I cooled the cabin off in the morning again and whacked weeds again first thing before I had breakfast. Then I practiced the piano, listened to the radio, and then got a call from Bill. He had heard about a free piano and called to find out if I was interested. I thanked him for the offer but told him I was not interested.

After lunch and a nap, I went out and checked the trees. I brought 5 gallons of water to Andrew and then wheeled a load of firewood from up by Runty and brought it down to the cabin. I spent the rest of the afternoon writing.

On Thursday I did the same cooling and weed whacking routine starting outside at 6:00 AM. I picked some more berries but could only find 15 ripe ones. Dave called and we had a nice chat before he had to answer his door. Then I had my breakfast and practiced the piano. After listening to the radio for a while I had my lunch and a nap.

I tried calling Earl, but Al answered and I talked to him for a while. He gave me the sad news that Dana was in Hospice. After we hung up, I made a gauge that I can use to measure and record the growth of the snake plant. Then I got the coat hooks out that Paula had given us as a gift and started thinking about how to install them in the entry room. I selected the boards I wanted to use and cut one of them to length. It will be a little tricky fitting the coat rack and a shelf in the entry room without interfering with the door or the traffic.

On Friday morning I practiced the piano, listened to the radio, and then strung a rope high in a tree that I plan to use in my surveying efforts that I will resume when the weather permits. Then I picked some more blackberries bringing the total for the week to nearly 24 ounces. I left for home at 1:00 o'clock after another hot but fun week.