I certainly did not expect that propane line to explode out due to the leak in the hose. Not a big deal, I got the propane tank off, and let the burner burn off, and it wasn’t a fire like when the base of lantern caught on fire last night due to a leaky connection.

The heat is certainly testing all my connections on my propane equipment. 😅 It’s not as warm up here as down in the city, but it’s still pretty hot and that propane tank is mostly full and was sitting in the truck all day. The next few days I am up in the Speculator-area, with plans to head down to the Potholers either tomorrow or Friday depending on the work load. Hopefully tomorrow, that is after I get ice 🧊 and take care of any work needs. 👨‍💻

Yesterday, got up to camp a little after 7 PM off the Old Route 8B, 🚲 and road along the river for a while past the Robbs Mill Creek and the Lower Bridge and sat down at the infamous Robert Garrow murder campsite until a while after dusk. 🚓 Came back to camp around 9:30 PM and there was still was some light. Had a big old fire, 🔥 though some of that shit burned a heck of lot blacker and stinker then I would have thought. I’ve been bad about seperating out the compost at home, and who knows what got tossed in the fire. If I do move to that homestead I’m looking at, going to have to be more careful what gets burnt, as I’m not up in the wilderness. 👨‍🚒 Also thinking of becoming a volunteer firefighter, because it’s good to make connections there. Stayed up until 11 PM or so listening to podcasts, but was annoyed I could not download any new issues because I lacked cell service. 📻 Morning was carrot pancakes, 🥞 the new small food processor worked fine off the inverter. Coffee was good, it got hot quickly, and I took down camp slowly as I’m thinking I’d prefer to camp somewhere tonight with service.

That homestead I was looking at ran into kind of a hitch when talking to my insurance agent. 📞 I can’t get homeowners insurance until I move in because the building is currently unoccupied and it would be a cash as is deal. Insurance companies want to see a mortage or at least that building is immediately occuped after tranfer. In theory I could move in right away after purchasing, though who knows what the home inspection would find. I am more then a little worried about jumping in too quickly, as I don’t want to get scammed. But on the other hand, I don’t exactly have a real estate lawyer on speed dial, much less a home inspector, a title searcher, and a survey crew. 👷‍♀️ I don’t think it needs all that much work from my initial inspection, though I’m concerned about the foundation which looks to be little more then loose field stone and rot in the building that I noticed under the vinyl siding, and the sagging floor in one spot. The buyer’s agent I toured it with kept downplaying my concerns, which I get she wants the sale, but I don’t want to get screwed. 😡  I need to talk to my friend who bought a fixer upper and how he dealt with it. I’d hate to spend all this money and then have it burn to ground without insurance five days before I move in.

On paper it seems like the perfect homestead for me, 🐐 assuming that’s ultimately what I want to do. The barns, the pasture, outdoor sink and overhang for processing meat are great. Price is great. I don’t mind getting my hands dirty, working on shit. And I don’t give a rats ass if things aren’t pretty. Even unpainted walls don’t bother me, or the floors that could use from sealing and stain don’t phase me or the musty old smell and all the other weridness of an abandoned old structure. 🏘 The sagging floor in one spot doesn’t bother me either, if I fall through it, I’d rip it up, take crap to backyard and burn it, 🔥 and fill it in with gravel, then insulation and concrete, as it’s a slab foundation — well actually I think it’s post and beam on field stone. You know old building shit. Not like your going to fall far. But if the walls are not well secured or their rotting out, that’s a bigger problem. Didn’t see much asbestos, I used to work in that industry. And I’m not a home inspector. But the challenge of the insurance gap is a red flag 🚩 though maybe I could get construction insurance to cover that period if renovations are being done before moving in. I guess I don’t feel that guilty sort of setting aside the process now — I wouldn’t have been signing no contract at this point regardless if I was in time.

Heading out paddling in a bit on the Sacandaga River and Kunjamunk. 🛶 Maybe I’ll also get some ice cream. 🍦 Not as sunny of a day as I would have like but hot. 😅 I’ll be happy the second half of the weekend when I’m at the Potholers and floating in the tube.