Gym this morning, back home by 930. I left here around 10:40 to drive down to Elkin to meet my friend Marcy for lunch at Southern On Main. Elkin is more or less halfway between Sparta and Winston. The downtown historic district is a little bigger than Sparta by a block or two but, like nearby Galax, VA, is suffering from small town economy. Several of the store fronts were empty but there was several antique and consignment shops to go into as well as a nice general store a block off from the downtown area I’ve been too several times before.
We spent over an hour walking, shopping, and talking before going our separate ways. On the way out of town I go right by the Lowe’s Home store. I stopped in there to pick up a bag of potting mix and some Japanese beetle traps. This is the first time I’ve had problems with the beetles. They are all over my quince bush and I saw some this morning on my (just about to bloom) Rose of Sharon. I let Colin out to play and set up the traps.
It was mostly cloudy when I arrived in Elkin but the sun came out and it turned hot by the time we finished lunch. About a mile up the road when I left Elkin I hit heavy rain off and on all the way up the mountain but it had not rained here at the house.