Good evening. 65 degrees this evening and clear. Partly sunny tommorow and 82 as this nice strech of weather continues.

Still achy and sore from the sprained ankle. Not much has changed. Been really tired too. Maybe it’s because of the difficulty walking around and the constant lifting of my body by my arms and one leg. Maybe it’s Lyme Disease, I don’t know. Mom is always telling me I should get tested for Lyme. Spent most of the day in bed, first working on maps, then resting, then reading. I still dread the shower because I have to take the sprain boot off and regardless of what I do to not load the bad ankle, it still hurts like a mother at times.

Ended up going to Walmart to buy fishing hooks and ended up grocery shopping a because I was up and it’s getting in my jacked up truck that still hurts more than anything – especially if I’m not real careful to lift myself with my arms and the cruch both in and out. The grocery cart helped with walking in the store. By the time I got back to the truck, I felt I had walked 10 miles. Got the groceries I need for the week and gased up, so I can go out to Partridge Run tommorow to go fishing. Also went to Henry Hudson Park, for a drive but did not get out of my truck, as it was getting late, and it just is hard for me to get back in. Still pretty looking out at the river. Maybe go river fishing next week.

Sprained ankles sound stupid and common place, but they are a real nasty injury and don’t heal overnight. 23 more days in the sprain boot to heal then whatever time it takes to fully rebuild strength in the ankle before I can do a lot of hiking again. Probably start by walking down to the library, then the evening walk, which will get me up to 4.1 miles per day. Add in a mile walk a lunch and I’m over 5 miles per day. In some ways this is a wakeup call – I’m thinking of a diet and a more aggressive exercise plan beyond just walking 4-5 miles a day after my ankle recovers. Not sure what it will involve – probably drinking fewer of the Bud Heavies.

As September 16th I get to take the boot off, probably will take off September 17, 18, and the weekend off to travel. Right now I’m leaning towards going up to the Tug Hill and Otter Creek area but I’m not totally sure. I know I will still be limited somewhat for hiking but there is lots of fun stuff to do in the woods during the fall.

65 degrees and high clouds kind of shading out the stars. Getting down to 56 tonight. Spring peepers and and crickets are singing but no fireflies to report on tonight. A pleasant evening.

Went down to the Park and started to read a new book I got out of the library called Gun Guys. Kind of a book written by an urban liberal who falls love with guns. It gets dark early, so I brought my laptop down there and played on it until 9:15 pm after too dark to read. It’s nice having WiFi at the park. Will come in handy on Saturday when the library closes a 5 pm.

This weekend staying in town. Probably Hudson River fishing on Friday night. Doing an oil change on Saturday and plan to figure out which of the electrical connections ain’t working in the fuse holder. Something ain’t right because the second battery ain’t charging. Also need to fix the truck cap support. Hopefully next weekend will head out of town if the weather is nice.

Took off August 20-23rd to head up to the Otter Creek area of the Western Adirondacks. Want to spend more time exploring some of the trails up there, the Whetstone Gulf and the Whetstone Reservoir. Should be a nice weekend. Next weekend maybe is Schoharie and swimming at Mine Kill State Park swimming pool.

Started researching jobs, apartments, land, and recreation in Scranton PA. I have been thinking on and off about moving to Pennsylvania where they have better gun laws, lower taxes, and a less anti-rural culture. PA allows open carry and concealed carry licenses is reasonable to obtain. No special permits for handguns besides the normal background check. They seem to leave homesteaders and farmers alone unlike NY were Humane Society is crawling up folks asses. Lots of backcountry land up that way if you don’t mind abandoned clum piles. Open burning within reason is allowed in most rural areas as long as it’s not too much a nuisance.

I have been evaluating Pennsylvania cities for some time, and while Harrisburg was at one time top of my list, Erie and Scranton have risen on my list as I would rather live in a smaller more rural area that is less political than Albany. In some ways Erie has better recreation opportunities as closer to Allegheny National Forest but Scranton is closer to where I live now for further evaluation and ease of move and jobs. Potter County and Coudersport would be cool but I think good jobs in small towns are even harder to find.

Land prices around Scranton are much cheaper, which makes owning land more practical. My goal is eventually live off grid or at least have enough land to shoot guns out back, have fires and burn things, and hobby farm. Scranton keeps the wild Western Catskills and Tioga County PA region fairly close plus the Delaware Water Gap. I don’t have a job yet and have only started my research. But looking at job postings. And I haven’t been to the city to see what it’s really like but I have been studying maps carefully. Probably not making the jump this year but might take a day trip or two and interview for a few jobs.