I wish somebody would erect a sign that says, “No ICE on the Bike Path” but right now that would be a lie. The Cherry Avenue Connector is town maintained and cleared, but not the Albany County Rail Trail. I had thought the ice was pretty much gone when I went down to Hannaford yesterday then it rained, but alas it’s still around. I guess it will be Corning’s Hill tomorrow on the bike.
I was going to ride out to the Bender Mellon Farm Preserve 🍈🍉 but with the ice making for rough riding and not wanting to break a spoke I ended up getting off and heading over Surrey Mall to New Scotland Road to the Pine Hollow Arboretum 🪷 for a bit of a short walk 🚶. Truth is that I didn’t have a lot of free time as I had to shower and meet dad at 11:30. I realized I don’t think I’ve been to Pine Hollow Arboretum since the late autumn, but actually that’s not true as I took the bike path over there a few weeks ago. That had to be December though who knows, the past few weeks and months have been a blur. I feel like I was just camping on the Boreas River a few weeks back.
It was nice to see the folks 👨👨👦 and look at Big Red just sitting up on the hill. 🐕 Drives the dog nuts as he is associates the truck wit hme. They’re doing good but each time I see them it’s obvious they are aging, but then so am I. 🚘 I don’t think they are necessarily happy I don’t have a vehicle in case of emergencies as only dad still drives. 👴🏻 It’s even tougher out in country without a vehicle unlike living tin the city.
After visiting, I rode out to Five Rivers. 🌨️ It was a nice evening, a good snow squall came through while I was out there and got kind of cold and snowy but it was a good ride out there and I walked around for about an hour. Smoked some grass before heading out there, so I was pretty stoned by the time I got there, probably not great for riding on rural roads, stoned out of my brain, 🐮 but the scenery and the cows were amazing as I rode past 🚲 in which seemed almost like a dream. But then again, mild, clear winter days often have that look, I was taking in the view of the Heldebergs as Dad drove me out earlier in the day. In many ways not having a truck 🚚 is kind of tough, but I need time to think before I repair or replace Big Red. 🛻 I keep talking and researching Ford SuperDuty trucks, and I know ultimately that’s what I will likely get, but I am still unsure and undecided. It would be good though to have a good solid rig to travel a bit more before I settle into the homestead life. Kind of want to see Michigan and Northern Wisconsin not just for the farms, 🐮 burn barrels, 🛢️ or the scenery, 🏞️ but to know if that’s the right place to settle to once my job is done in Albany, be it retirement or other situation. There is no guarantees in life,
Honestly, I’m kind of enjoying not having to think about driving or cleaning my truck off in snow, 🌨️ and it’s fun to find things to do on the bike, get my groceries 🛒 on the bike. Been just dropping my trash and recycles off at random bins along the street, I could ask the neighbor, or just smash it down and save it for spring for burning or the transfer station when I get a truck. Did put my food scraps into their compost. Still I loathe any kind of plastic nowadays when I can’t just toss it in the big white bin and turn it into fire. 🔥 I just hate buying and throwing away plastic when I know it’s going to a bin and a landfill and not getting burnt. I did my wash when I was at my parents house, 👖 it came out fine, a bit wet. Going forward when they can’t come and get me, I’ll just have to do it before work, probably 6 AM on Monday morning is best with the 30 buses every thirty minutes, then I will have a week’s worth of clean clothes by the time I get home, and at that hour the laundromat is certain to be pretty quiet. 😦
I saw one of those Cellphone Boosters on a DOT truck 🚚 and reminded myself that is something I should get for my new rig. 📱 They’re not cheap but besides being a good safety measure in the wilderness, they’d make it a lot more possible to work remotely from more wilderness areas up at camp 🏕️. I could put off getting the diesel heater until next winter. I do think though a lot about the money 💰 and the cost of this all but also I’m at a point in my life where I don’t have to save every penny 🪙 but I still try to be frugal where I can be. Shit adds up though. That said, maybe a good portion of the summer into the autumn I’ll work remote Friday to Monday in Green Mountains, especially if I have more solar and stoage. Really want to spend a lot of nights in my new rig – not just Michigan but also much of the fall working remote from the Adirondacks, Green Mountains, or Rensselearville anytime I don’t have to be physically in Albany for in-person meetings.