I totally should have but I got listening to the developer and then they sort of moved on to the next project. I could have spoken up and had my opportunity to make public comment but I remained silent. I spoke on this project the last meeting and the Pine Bush Commission technical committee pretty much said what I was thinking. And it’s just an advisory commission I told myself.
Something about the developer’s counsel pushed me off to, made me flustered to respond. He was a snake but also acted like he didn’t know or understand the Pine Bush while the Conservation Committee members seemed to be strong advocates. He had such a thick Appalachian accent, a working man like those hillbillies I was smoking with this past weekend. While I was opposing more vinyl houses in the Pine Bush, it felt different to speak after him and nobody from the public was there to bridge me in.
I wasted gas and my time driving all the way out to Guilderland to remain silent. But the room was crowded but no one else in the public wanted to talk about the Pine Bush. I was also flustered as on my way leaving the Rapp Road parking area on the Pine Bush I hit the edge of the pavement hard, felt like I loosened up something in my suspension and then felt every bump on the road and heard every noise. I was like I’m not going to make it home and there goes vacation again. Not as many wildflowers or blackberries in the Pine Bush this evening though I saw a Red Tail Hawk up close.
Truth is that I get pushed around too much, to scared of public speaking and reading my inevitable quotes in the Altamont Enterprise. I’m quotable because not only I’m a conservationist and a Democrat – I really conservative, unscripted and in many people’s minds awful views. I’ve been listening to Dr. Robert Lover’s Dating Advice for Men and the truth is that I need to not be afraid to be rejected, ask questions and listen. Be authentic. You will never get a girl friend if you don’t ask lots of girls – many who may seem less than perfect at first glance.
As long as I’m not too anxious I’ll make it home safely after shopping at Hannaford in Voorheeesville. I wish I had struck up a conversation with that guy I ran into up at the Potholers when I fell – just to learn what he was about – see if he has seen any wildlife or other interesting things while up there. I can’t live my life in fear just because a girl is pretty or a developer speaks in a deep accent and wears a hipster beard.
“Don’t expect all that much when you trade in Big Red next year for a new truck.” Somehow those words struck me as odd, as I never thought of an automobile as having any resale value whatsoever. I mean I knew at one level autos have a value, you pay money to buy them but then you use them up and they become trash just like the countless other things you buy. Automobiles are widely known as a depreciating asset, though I’ve always thought of them as something for personal transportation and enjoyment – not something for resale value.
“Owning a house means you are building equity.” Likewise, I often think those words are odd because while it’s true housing prices often rise, you are betting a lot of money on a single asset in a single location. Insurance can protect you from certain risks like fire but many financial risks of homeownership like a failed roof or furnace – or that a neighborhood slides downhill – are not protected. Houses aren’t like buying stock or bonds, you most constantly be maintaining them and spending money on them if you want them to retain their value. But alas we all have to live somewhere. Housing is not free if you rent or buy. Housing can build equity but it’s a fairly trivial side benefit, it’s mostly a consumer expense like a car, maybe you’ll come out ahead when you sell your old house or maybe not. There are no guarantees in life.
Some people are really into putting a value on things they own, quickly selling unneeded and unwanted possessions at tag sales and on Ebay. I’ve never done that as I find it hard to know where to start – what to value – and I don’t really know how to sell things. I generally think of stuff as things you buy, you use up all value and throw away. I guess I have a hard time in my mind putting a value on physical things that I own as they are paid for and the money is gone. Physical things just don’t seem like money to me even if they aren’t all garbage with a resale or scap value.
Another type of asset people often refer to is education and work experience. Yet, at one level I know they are valuable but they also don’t seem real because they’re not a number you can point to and aren’t that valuable unless you are seeking a new job. Friends and social connections are other assets I should do more to develop. It’s something I have not spent enough time on admittedly. Probably far more valuable than investable assets.
They call monetary assets like stocks and bonds or even cash investable assets. Those are the only assets that I see as having any real value. Truth is though I’ve never sold a stock or bond so while they have a paper value, it’s really hard to value them either. Markets go up and down each day and there are capital gains taxes to consider. A good accountant could probably spit out a number – or maybe my brokerage website – but I’m quite happy to just keep adding to them and let them grow.
Maybe I just find money to be rather confusing like so many things in this world today.
I was surprised about this news as the Lake Myostis watershed doesn’t seem like it would have much excess nitrogen or phosphorous in it. The 4,252 acre watershed for the lake is according to the 2024 National Land Cover Dataset, 76.5% forested with only 5.8% of it developed most of which is Developed Open space 5.1%. Pasture/Hay accounts for 10.6% land cover and there is no Cultivated Crop land shown on the NLCD. But it has been a warm summer.
Here is the acreages and percent land cover for the 4,252 acre Myosotis Lake Watershed based on the 2024 National Land Cover Dataset.
If I leave on Wednesday August 20 through Labor Day it will be my longest camping trip of my life. 13 days and 12 nights which works out to be the federal limit for camping in the National Forest. It’s free and I’ve not taken any time off since July 3rd so it makes a lot of sense. Why not? I’m not planning a trip to West Virginia and honestly the additional days at camp are not likely to add much cost to the trip. And it just more days to hang out at camp.tt
I’ll probably have to go to the laundromat mid trip and maybe get more propane but also it can be an extraordinarily lazy not having to rush through vacation to explore all that I want to do in a limited time. Lots of time for fishing and floating, riding trail and just hanging out around camp with a good book and a cold beer.
I had a bit of a boo-boo at the Potholers yesterday, slipped while walking across them falling and cracking my arm good and hard. Don’t think I broke my arm but I did pull a muscle or something, as I can feel it when I crimp down my hands or lift something. Not sure if I need to go to the doctor but it’s still painful. To boot my other hand has a sore finger, as I got a splinter next to one of my nails and it’s slowly but surely recovering but slowly.
Andy’s got a boo-boo! 🚴 Let’s be honest I’m not that crippled from the slip and fall as I rode my mountain bike, something like 20 miles from Canajaoharie out to St. Johnsville down to the historic lock and the old St. Johnsville town dump. Those duroc hogs on that beautiful homestead in St. Johnsville are getting big. 🐽 Didn’t see them at first because they were wallowing in the mud and hiding in the weeds to avoid the heat, and wind was blowing the other way. But that burn barrel along the trail was pungent. 🛢️ I can’t complain much though as there hasn’t been a piece of burnable trash that I’ve sent to the landfill since April nor have have I saved anything but flattened, burnt-out cans for recycling ♻️ from fires I’ve had. 🔥 I think though I prefer my fires much hotter, plastic makes an excellent fire starter to a bonfire, with less stink and toxins. ☠️ You know I like the country hillbilly life with all the smells but also the reality of dirt, mud, manure and fire. 🐮 It was fun hanging out with those dudes form Utica this weekend. I’m actually surprised how little trash I’ve had lately during farmers market season due to all the fresh vegatables 🍆 I’ve been eating and composting the cores, but also having a lot of fires helps keep trash from accumulating.
The Shady Acres Drive proposed development is on the Guilderland Conservation Committee agenda again tonight, 🚧 so I’m driving in. I also need groceries – going to stop at Walmart and get bananas 🍌 and a bag of beans to soak tonight, 🫘 and I’m cooking rice up this morning. I should get some onions too. On the drive home, I’ll stop at the Voorheeesville Hannaford rather then Woke Market32 in Guilderland for hopefully some reasonably affordable perishables like frozen fruit and Greek yogurt. Also plan to do a hike in the Pine Bush 🌲 after the meeting to enjoy the sunset, and eat lots of blackberries. Just because I was foolish and did not go up to White House for the wild blueberries 🫐 this weekend – I thought it was going to be ungodly hot 😰 though it didn’t turn out that way – but the blackberries along Willow Road in the Pine Bush are likely to be amazing this evening if the early crop suggests.
Next weekend I may head out to Schoharie to swim in the pool 🏊 and maybe float in the Schoharie Creek by Mine Kill. Going to be definately warm enough for both of those activities. If I take 990V and head through the hill towns, rather then the Thruway, I won’t be so tired from the horrific rush hour traffic – it was bad last Friday. Last night looked Ike the Thruway had very heavy volume too – but I took NY 162 through Rural Grove and then US 20 home. 🍦 The Sharon Dairy Bar wasn’t so crowded last night but I decided against it after a weekend of drinking and smoking, preferring to just chomp down on a banana and have a few glasses of Cider-Vingar water once I got home. A week from Wednesday is when I’m thinking of leaving for the Finger Lakes but I want to wait until mid-week to get a better read on the weather and officially take those days off. 🏖️ Let’s sing along folks, Beach, baby, beach!
It’s as far as I have to go to before heading back. Sunset is coming fast and I don’t drive home when it’s too dark. The ol pigs at the homestead along the Canalway but you couldn’t really smell them. They’re smart putting their hog yard to the east of their homestead. I do like bacon. But I could smell a redneck along the way burning some plastics. Yeap, I can smell the burn barrel. Good ol country living, how life should be. And lots of noise from the Thruway. Hot but beautiful evening on the Canalway and basically zero traffic riding it.
