Photo of Andy Arthur

Andy Arthur

It cooled down and I came back home. 🏚️ I guess you can't escape to the woods forever, at least prior to retirement. 🌲 Despite the deer flies, πŸͺ° it was a nice weekend with lots of time floating down the East Canada Creek. ⭕️ And I'm feeling less sunburnt all of the time now.

Commerical 🏣

That’s how they are pushing the property I was looking at the other day but passing on it. I guess the road noise and small, dilapidated house and homestead lot puts people off and that they want it as a cash deal as is with no info on the septic or electric. But who is going to build a business way out in the country, where folks don’t have much money? Greenville yes, but they’re mostly chain businesses.

So yes, I’m still ruminating over that property next to my parents house 🏚 that I wish would get sold so I could put it out of it’s misery in my mind. I’m not going to move out to country, I don’t really want to settle down and homestead, be feeding and dealing with sick goats and hogs. 🐷 🐐 I still want to travel and spend my weekends in the wilderness, πŸ”¨ not mowing lawns or hammering boards. But at one level it does seem so perfect, not having to pay rent and have fresh veggies and healthy meats without all that plastic crap. But how much longer will New York be my home? It depends on how work goes, how the elections go, and if I’m truly certain on retiring in 13 1/2 years when I’m 55. I don’t know.

I was up and going fairly early this morning, πŸŒ… though around 6 AM it started to pour out but stopped in time for me to ride in. 🌧 I can’t say how truly enjoyabe I find it to bike to work, 🚲 it’s a really nice commute through the Normans Kill Gorge and then along the river. Riding through the Projects and under Interstate 787 isn’t quite so nice, but it’s part of the trip and beats driving or taking the bus. 🚌 Truth is probably if I didn’t get the damn bicycle and was more used to automobile commuting, I’d find myself in a totally different place with that homestead. Cool but cleared out today, weather got better as things went by. πŸ‘ƒ 🚽 The sewage treatment plant next to the office today though is a bit stinky. That strong north wind should hel with the evening commute.

Really my thing now is to get out and spend as much time traveling and exploring πŸ• if I’m not going to be building that homestead right away. I want to be able to get out and see things while I’m still young. Maybe not Paris or Rome like in Europe, but maybe hick towns with similiar names. 🀠 I’ve been thinking about this fall going down to the Warren National Forest and maybe next summer heading out west for a week, especially if I get a new truck. πŸ›» I figure this year though gas prices β›½ are relatively low and I should maximize my use out of Big Red as much as possible, especially as he’s running good, despite the rust meaning things are falling off in big hunks now.

Wednesday I think I’m heading up to the Piseco-Powley again, β­• for three nights and the Independence holiday, and the forth night I’ll either camp somewhere else at a different site, maybe Stewart Landing, Rockwood State Forest or Spectulator. I’m undecided. I have options. I can only stay three nights in one campsite, πŸ• plus my e-Books on libby expire if I don’t have any cellphone πŸ“± service for more then two nights, plus data requests could come in for work. πŸ’½