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Before it gets too hot in the kitchen 🫠

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It’s actually going to be hotter the second half of the week, but more chances of thunderstorms with the building in heat and humidity. And then a cold bubble builds in for Juneteenth Weekend.

Still waiting to see if there is any news about the truck cap. 🚛 I am still hoping for this week as Ruth’s promised though it’s not the first time that’s happened. I just want to get it paid for, things wired up and move forward regardless of whether or not I end up heading north for Juneteenth Weekend. There always is the next week, and I have so much extra time saved up, I can do a three or four day weekend when I want. Or if I’m camping somewhere I have cell service, 🏕️ I can remote work but that kind of sucks. It’s still working, even if it’s with a cold beer in one hand. ⏳ Soon enough if it will be longest day of the year, though certainly I will camp all winter, and plan to get a diesel heater for comfortable winter camping.

Pinto beans are cooking down on the stove, 🧑‍🍳 as are rice and lentils. Figured it best to do it before it’s gets really hot out. Kidney beans, rice and lentils are good either warm or cold. And a good source of affordable protein. I don’t really eat meat a home except for occasional canned chicken that I put in soup in the winter, or bacon from For the Love of Bacon 🥓, raised on Mariaville Farm. I saw Chandler was selling feeder pigs for those who wanted to roll their own bacon at home this spring. 🐷 Maybe someday when I have land.

Went down to the Pine Hollow Arboretum 🌸 for a while last night. The best of the tree blooms and flowers are pretty much done for the spring. They faded fast, much earlier then last year. I like going over there every week and watching as the season changes. It’s a quick bike ride. Was running a bit later as I had to do a quick swap out of a broken spoke on my bike, but this one didn’t require me to unmount the tire or pull the derailuer as it broke on the brake side, and on the head in the hub, not in the knuckle. I noticed it on the way in, but it rode home fine, but I didn’t want to stop at Hannaford and load my bike down heavy and ride home with a broken spoke. 🚲 It’s fixed, the flowers were kind of a bust at the Arboretum and it became an excuse to shop at Woke Market 32. 🛒 I kind of hate that place, it’s super pricey though often the sticker shock is more then what the final bill comes out to be after discounts. Plus all I was getting was apples, bananas, rice, lentils and kidney beans.

Got to bed fairly early. 🛏️ I’ve been staying up too late the past few weeks with the late sunsets and early sunrises leaving me exhausted. But also I wanted to be up early for cooking those kidney beans down. I was up at 5 AM to start the beans up but then I retired back into bed until after 6 AM when I started shredding carrots 🥕 and apples 🍏 for the pancakes. 🥞 The rice is done and now the kidney beans should be ready to ready to drain. Then a quick shower and it’s up to Menands on the mountain bike. 🚲

Map: Severence Hill Trail
Map: Gilman Lake

Really getting to like hammock camping

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You know, it’s a lot of fun to ride back to camp with a bunch of gear in the rear basket and sleep in the hammock. While not ideal in case of rain, sleeping on a hammock back in the woods, somewhere undeveloped gives you the feel of the land, let’s you experience nature up close.

Early Summer Monday 🩴

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Well, at least in my mind, session is over and I can wear a t-shirt and shorts any day I want to work, though today is starting out cool enough I’ll probably wear jeans today. Hoping this is the week for the truck cap.

Slept fairly well last night, 🛏️ except for waking up briefly and listening to a podcast or maybe the radio, 📻 and the usual ads for “See What You Need is Better Help!” I don’t know, but I don’t think I’m the one suffering from extreme mental illness, especially when you look at the direction of our country. Hell, I voted for Trump but for this crap. But I don’t like this woke shit either. I like my guns and freedom to burn my trash and have livestock, but we also need adults running our cities and our country too. Things do matter beyond the barnyard 🐐.

Going to ride in today like usual, 🛒 and stop at Hannaford on the way home to get some rice and lentils as a meal and protein source for the second half of the week. I’ll cook it up in the morning. Maybe pinto beans too. 🫘 Want to get apples too for a lunch time snack and apple pancakes. 🥞 The raspberry pancakes this morning were fine, but honestly I like apple pancakes better. Should have added more stevia to the mix, truth be told. I’m hoping to hear about he truck cap soon, 🚛 obviously if they’re doing it tomorrow, I’ll drive to car wash tonight, skip Hannaford and stock up at Wally World. Otherwise, I want to bring the groceries home, and go to Pine Hollow Arboretum tonight, 🪻 as tonight isn’t expected to be super hot. 🫠 Later in week looks hotter and more humid, with a constant threat of thunderstorms. ⛈️

I was out in the old truck looking at the various components, cables and switches, 🔌 figuring out how I’m going to mount them in the new rig. Doing it all in the bed, except for a signal wire from the upfitter switch box and a power wire from the main battery back to the bed. I should have most of the cables already ready, though some may need to be shortened or adjusted. 🛠️ I’ll get the metal bar later in the week, once I have a date for installing the truck cap. Thinking on Saturday, I’ll go to the Gas Up 🚜 and then might hammock camp up in woods, and maybe then go with Dad to Gas Up on Sunday if he’s willing, and then move over the solar panel, batteries and other equipment to the new truck, assuming I have the cap. 🚛 All depends on the timing of when I hear from Ruth’s. Who knows, maybe I won’t get out Juneteenth Weekend to camp but if not I’ll probably do the subsequent weekend either to the Potholers or Schoharie.

Building vs Buying your own house

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It’s funny how real estate offices rarely call themselves used home dealers, even though that’s their primary line of business. Most agents don’t focus on land, unless they are primarily in business of selling farms and hunting camps, land is usually a second thought to the house itself.

Yet, I do get the advantage of buying a used house. It is already permitted, the materials have been used and can be usually purchased at a lower cost. Used houses have older materials which sometimes can be of higher quality then modern materials. Indeed, many of the properties I look at are pre-built cabins on land, because especially off-grid without many amenities, they can be very affordable in rural areas, especially in more relaxed states when it comes to gun ownership, livestock and open burning.

It was wet walking on Wolf Hill 🌧️

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I spent about 45 minutes just wasting time on the overlook, hoping the rain would let up and stop, but if anything it just picked up. 😶‍🌫️ The rain stopped and cleared about 8:15 PM when I was finally driving home, but I was hoping to hang out there until the rain cleared and enjoyed deep blue skies. Instead, all I saw was fog and rain falling. Still it was a nice walk to end out the weekend. Walking in the rain is good for mental health. ☺️ Also enjoyed my walk at Hollyhock Preserve, and sitting down by the Onesquthaw Creek, reading yet another Edward Abbey book. 📚

Mom and Dad seem to be doing better this week. 👴🏻 👴🏻 Dad was busy with the garden, mom seemed better too. If some day I end up buying their house from the estate, I could see some possibility there, though I still want that off-grid cabin in a free state when I retire. 🐐 Maybe I have more time with them then I was thinking in weeks past, but you just never know about such things. All seems good until it isn’t. I remember nearly a decade ago when I came out to visit Mom and Dad on Labor Day, and Mom had dropped and hauled off to the hospital for nearly two months after her heart had failed. 🫀  They fixed her up but it was so uncertain.

Neighbor was offering his trash bin to me again. I’m sure he thinks I’m some kind of hoarder. 🗑️ I shrugged him off, I just emptied out my compost bin. Well of unburnable crap, though I also use mom and dad’s bin for cans and glass, though I don’t have many of them these days and I’ve been using roadside bins for milk jugs and a few other things. Soon enough I’ll have a fire for secure destruction of paper and other burnables – it’s not really well sorted for recycling, confidential information and non-recycle at this point. 🔥 I despise landfills and even urban recycling. ♻️

Really hoping to get the cap this week. Maybe Ruth’s secretary got my hopes up, but I am willing to take off and get there as soon as they have it and can install it. One I get my installation date, the bank opens at 8:30 AM to get the check to pay the balance on the cap, and I can wash the truck off the evening before. 🚛 I really do need to get to Wally World for a few supplies, so that can be combined with  the truck washing trip. Neighbor is also trying to get me out kayaking or fishing with him. Maybe once I get the cap. Got one of the racks off the old truck cap, the other one is sticking a bit but I suspect some more WD-40 I should have that one off too. I really hope to get everything squared away next weekend.

Tomorrow going to ride into work, 🚴 and I’ll stop on the ride home at Hannaford and get more rice, lentils and maybe beans. 🫘 Need some protein for the diet. Then maybe come home, have a quick dinner then I’m thinking of going out to the Pine Hollow Arboretum 🌸 until around dusk to see what is blooming this week, as I didn’t get out this weekend. Hoping the truck cap comes in this week, so one of the hot days I can spend the evening at Pine Bush with my mountain bike, one evening driving to car wash, and maybe one day driving to work, getting the metal bar I need to mount the solar panel ☀️ and then spending the evening down on the river in hammock until dusk, doing some reading. Want to get through yet another Edward Abbey book this week, and maybe also get through more of that book at got on muskrat and beaver trapping. 🦫

Map: Wilcox Lake - Willis Lake Trail
Map: Auger Falls Via Griffin (East Side)