6/30-7/4/25 I went up to Camp Serendipity for 5 days: Monday through Friday.
I arrived at 12:07 in 90 degree heat. I brought my gear up in one trip, hoisted the flag, unpacked some of my gear, had my lunch and took a nap. Then I walked about a half mile before I turned around for various reasons, not least of which was the hordes of mosquitoes I was not prepared for. I thought they were gone for the season but evidently not.
On Tuesday morning, I was up at 5 and out to work before 8. I gave the piano practice short shrift because I had my mind on stonemasonry and couldn't concentrate on the piano.
I started by wheeling two sacks of mortar mix up to the back stoop in two trips. Then I used a hammer and chisel to cut a big flat stone in two. Then I harvested, hauled, cleaned, and stacked on the scaffold deck a bunch of other stones. Finally, I mixed up mortar batch #133 and laid up the stones in the wall before I quit for lunch and a nap.
When I got up, I walked to the grave. There were surprisingly few mosquitoes but the temperature was 90 degrees. When I got back, I practiced the piano and then had my shower.
On Wednesday morning I was up at 5, skipped the piano altogether, and was out to work at 8. I harvested a bunch of stones from the pile in front of the front porch and then laid them up in the wall using mortar batch #134. Then I went in and had a good piano practice with no distractions.
After lunch and a nap, I had a pleasant walk to the grave. The temperature was 70 degrees. There were hardly any mosquitoes and there was a nice stiff, cool breeze blowing most of the time. I saw one little brown lizard scamper across the road in front of me, and a little while later, I saw the remains of another lizard who didn't make it all the way across the road. When I got back, I had time for some more piano practice before my shower.
On Thursday morning I was up at 5 again and started out by fertilizing Tiger. Then, after breakfast, I was out at work by 7:30. I harvested, prepared, and laid up quite a bunch of stones that used up two batches of mortar: #135 and #136. That was the first time I did two batches in one day so far this year. After lunch and a nap, I walked to the grave and then had my shower without practicing the piano. I was beat.
On Friday morning, I was out at work again by 7:30. I laid up a batch of stones using batch #137. Then it was time for lunch and packing up to go home. There was no time for a walk or the piano. I left for home at 12:45 happy with the progress I made on the wall using five batches of mortar.
©2025 Paul R. Martin, All rights reserved.
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