John Boyd Thacher State Park, is situated along the Helderberg Escarpment, one of the richest fossil-bearing formations in the world. Even as it safeguards six miles of limestone cliff-face, rock-strewn slopes, woodland and open fields, the park provides a marvelous panorama of the Hudson-Mohawk Valleys and the Adirondack and Green Mountains. The park has volleyball courts, playgrounds, ball fields and numerous picnic areas with nine reservable shelters. Interpretive programs are offered year-round, including guided tours of the famous Indian Ladder Trail. There are over 25 additional miles of trails for summer hiking and mountain biking, and winter cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, hiking, and snowmobiling.
Absolutely beautiful day! The sun is shinning, it’s fairly mild and the wind is not yet picking up.
It will be good weather for doing the oil change on Big Red. 🔧 It’s been a while since I’ve done one — it was hard to get oil during the panademic — but should go smoothly as Red is pretty easy to do an oil change, assuming the filter and oil pan drain plug come out relatively easily. Then it will be done, and I shouldn’t have to do it one until next summer. I’ll have the shop rotate the tires the next time I’m in there for state inspection during the beginning of December. 🧑🔧 I think the new trucks are too difficult to do oil changes on — heck they don’t even have dip sticks — so this may be one of the last automobiles I do oil changes on.
Went to Walmart, got groceries 🛒 and should be stocked up with good hardy, healthy ingredients for the week to come. 🍏 Apple picking with dad this afternoon then Sunday dinner. I’m bringing out my slop bucket to dump on their compost pile, 💩and then I’ll head home. Next weekend looks like rain, so probably no camping next weekend, 🏕️ but if I wait past next weekend for Veterans Day Weekend, then I won’t have to deal with campaign-related work while at camp, and it can truly be a vacation. ☺️ And that will be nice. Work is tiring, and I just want some time to hang out and relax. Don’t get me wrong I would like get out next weekend, but not with the current high fire danger 🔥 — you know I like burning shit — and rain coming for the second half of the weekend.
Yesterday was fun but darkness approached early, 🌆 so it was a bit of a rush at the end of day, but I spent some time enjoying the cold but beautiful weather at Five Rivers then riding out to Bender Melon Farm Preserve. Saw some deer, chipmunks and turkeys along the way. It wasn’t a bad afternoon, and then I came home and made up soup with everything I had remaining at home — lentils, whole-wheat pasta, canned chicken, onions, and some random vegatables I had hanging around the chicken. And some cornmeal to thicken things up. It was good, 🍻 cracked open a few beers to enjoy with it and passed out dead tired. I still think I have a bit of that residual cold left from two weeks ago.
I am certainly not complaining, but I did not expect it as I was on my way out to Five Rivers Environmental Education Center and who knows on my bike when the sky got darker, the wind picked up and we got a brief but strong rain shower running through.
I certainly wasn’t expecting any rain, and it probably ultimately won’t amount to much 💧 however, it wasn’t really on my mind. Part of the reason I didn’t head out of town this weekend to Rensselaerville State Forest for a long weekend camping is I knew today would be so cool and windy, 🔥 plus the fire danger was a bit concerning in my mind. But mostly I knew today would be bitterly cold with the wind up on the hill, even if the mercury does make it into the low 50s. I dislike the wind more then anything else bar maybe rain when camping. Plus yesterday, was surprisingly busy. I worked much of the afternoon out at Five Rivers, and for a while I had a bit of a pounding headache, I think because I took a sleeping pill or actually two before bed to overcome the sugar-free Red Bull I had in evening at work, ☕️ and then it left my drousy the next day despite the coffee and caffine pills. 💊 Feeling better today.
I think at some point I’ll still ride out to Five Rivers 🚴 but I don’t have bigger plans than that. I got out the wrench 🔧 and tools to change the oil in Big Red 🛻 tomorrow before apple 🍎 picking with dad. Monday I’ll work in the office 🏢 in person because I need to work on the main frame and I need Windows for the VPN for that and it’s so slow on my laptop. 🖥️ Plus it’s good to be supervising my team in person at least a few days a week. Truth is I actually like the state database over the campaign committee database, as I have full control over the system and it’s easier to automate the Unix processes.
Installed more weather stripping over the door 🚪 at my apartment. I’ll probably keep the heat up a bit warmer than this year but it all depends on how cold it is and how bad the moisture problems are. 🐖 Neighbors believe it or not in suburban Delmar are roasting a whole hog and it smells delicious with the wood smoke 🪵and do I wish I had a house with a woodstove and a forest with winter coming. That said, I keep my heat very low so my heating bills are very reasonable in winter. Hopefully I can get well into November without needing anything but the heated blanket on the coldest of nights. Scraping the bottom of the pantry for food 🥫 but tomorrow I’ll stock up at Walmart.
For many years I would never go to John Boyd Thacher State Park. I never really liked the place — I thought it was too developed — too surbanized — too packed the gills with obnoxious people. Not a place to go for relaxation or scenic views but to be run over by joggers and bicyclists while taking in the view or doing nature study.
My hatred of John Boyd Thacher Park wore off over the years. First in 2003, I started go occasionally to the back part of the park off of Beaver Dam Road after my college class let out for the day — usually once a week. It was nice going back there, especially around the ski hill in the evening, as you would never see to many people back there. Mostly undeveloped, wandering around the cleared paths in the brushy woods that were full of wildlife.
Then I “rediscovered” the OSI parcel, which is some “wild” lands to the north of the park. Especially on weekdays, and to certain extend on the weekends this area is quite nice, quite and wild. Most of the surburbanites in their SUVs avoid this area for the developed parcels with the picinic tables and rails to discouage them from heading to close to the edge. But the OSI parcel is a totally different experience.
While I like the OSI parcel with its views, if I have other choices I’ll go to other wild lands with even fewer restrictions. I don’t like how Thacher Park closes at dusk, you can’t go for moonlit walks or camp there like on state forests. There just seems to be so many restrictions compared to other wild lands around to explore.
I think a lot about lead, chromium and arsenic in food. Mainly because I use a lot of spices like cinnamon and turmeric, which are infamous for using lead to enhance color to increase the appearance of quality in food. But on the other hand, the health benefits of eating good quality food, and using spices like cinnamon and turmeric both for taste and health benefits outweight any disadvantages. Processed foods will kill you certainly with all the fats and sugars, small amounts of lead, chromium, arsenic and other metals are far less harmful.
