Day: June 11, 2025

Some thoughts on the weekend that was as I drove out to the Gas Up…

Neighbor was once again smoking cigarettes and weed in his unit and it was drifting into my apartment once again. Being a renter, you sometimes have the luck of having a neighbor who smokes regardless of the landlords policy. I like smoking too up in the wilderness but it so noxious when I was trying to work on my bike. It’s why having space from your neighbors is so important.

Truth is when I own my own land, I don’t really want to be smelling my neighbor’s burn barrel with smoldering plastic, their hogs, their roaring ATVs or their baying donkey. I tell you, donkeys are loud. Still I want the freedom to have bonfires and burn barrels for my garbage, ride quads and have hogs and other livestock. That said, I don’t necessarily even want the hogs or burn barrel up wind of my cabin either.

It was nice driving the back roads out to Gas Up. I often do a quick study of the houses and cabins along the road as I drive, trying to get as good of an idea of what rural life is really about. A lot of it is old, many rural houses are 100 or even 150 years old. There is something wonderful about the old ways of living. And then there are lot of pre-fab houses and cabins. I suspect a lot of the log-cabins you see are actually pre-fab models, because they look pretty good and are often cheaper then building from the ground up on site unless you have a good wood lot. I know I was very fascinated about those options a year ago.

Yet, it seems like still things are bit too populated even on the back roads of Berne, Knox and Gallupville. And it’s still New York State with the burn ban, the gun laws, and all the other crap. Things are nicer when you get farther away from the cities, but things still seem too populated. But I do like those drives out in the country, and I should explore more, even though lately it seems like I don’t ever get that far from home. Looking forward to that mid-west trip next year.