November’s Day Walk

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Out walking today at Five Rivers, that November sun, while plentiful is quite harsh and weak. It’s by no means a summer sun, which is nine weeks in the rear view mirror, replaced with the cold and chill of the winter months. The squirrels were out and about at Five Rivers Environmental Education Center but no deer were to be seen. A lot of ice on calm parts of the Vlomans Kill.

November reminds me there is definitely still a lot of harsh, bleak winter weather ahead. I am still telling myself I will leave New York eventually for a warmer, more pleasant climate, but I am still here, living on table scrapes of the metropolitan region. It isn’t that bad, but it’s still New York with it’s awful winters. I guess it doesn’t really matter. I can wash the salt off my truck, take the bus to work on those snowy days.

I can’t be too down on the weather. Winter is just part of the four seasons. It will warm up once again, and autumn is great for hunting season and those long winters evening in the woods. Hopefully the snow will hold off for a while. If I plan right, and get set up plenty before dark, winter camping can be a whole lot of fun.

Fancy Sububranites Should Pay More in Taxes

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Few things annoy me more than the tacky poly vinyl chloride covered plywood McMansions located on Orchard Avenue as you drive out to Five Rivers Environmental Education Center on the outskirts of Delmar and Albany which are eating away at the farm land and woodlands on the outskirts of town.

Some of those houses are for the rich but many are just upper middle class. Many have 1kW of solar panels on their roof (even if they use 20 times their output in a day), pantries stocked with organic food and frying pans made out of certified recycled steel. Many of those people would be horrified to shop at Walmart, although their bit trash can is always full despite ever so carefully washing out their milk bottles and tin cans.

I am quite fine with these people paying more in taxes. They complain about the high cost of tuition at private schools, maintaining their SUVs, the cost of groceries and utilities. But they have a lot more than a lot of us, I think they should pay their fair share. I’m fine with them taking away their fancy house’s mortgage deductions and SALT deduction. If you can afford to live so high on the hog then you should pay more.