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Newburgh and back
Tuesday, November 12 2024
First thing this morning, I strapped on the firewood gathering backpack and went on a foray to that microquarry about a quarter mile down the Stick Trail, mostly to get yet more small pieces and triangles. Those quarries typically occur where the bluestone happens to be best (not too bent, not too fractured perpendicular to the plane, not stratified into sheets that are too thin, and that sort of thing), so that's usually where the best pieces can be found, although I also like the way pieces are sorted in creeks, which also quickly destroy all the weakest pieces and the weak parts of good pieces.
Later I drove out to the Downs Street mansion to take more photos of the sagging soffits beneath the built-in gutters, as Gretchen is eager to do something about that problem. Neville came along, as at the time Gretchen was in the forest walking Charlotte. (He likes to ride shotgun like an R2D2 unit would.)
Later this afternoon, I drove to Bolt to Newburgh (about 40 minutes to the south) to finally do something about the subtly bent rim on one of the back wheels (a problem that became untennable when that wheel was briefly rotated to the front). The rim place looked to be part of (or perhaps surrounded by) a business that sold granite counter tops. It was all very informal. I parked in front, right next to a Tesla Cybertruck absurdly swaddled in an American-flag-cum-lightning-bolts wrap (it had a Montana plate on the back). Then a guy immediately came out, removed the problem wheel in about a minute, and gave it to one of his crew (there were four or five skinny young men working in a forest of exotic grease-covered devices) and proceeded to do whatever it is they do. The main thing that happened while I was there was a soccer mom with a bad wheel getting that wheel professionally (if temporarily) replaced by her spare "donut" wheel while she fretted about (and occasionally yelled at) her bored kids in the vehicle. I'd been told fixing the wheel would take an hour, but it took less than 20 minutes. Despite the chaos, everyone working there seemed super nice and honest, suggesting it was new business that was doing well providing an essential service.
And then I was right back on the Thruway, hurring north-bound in hopes of getting home before Gretchen left for pilates so she could take the Bolt instead of the Forester (which we refer to as "the vroom vroom" or "the gas guzzler"). I was making good time, and as I headed homeward from the Thruway, I kept looking to see if Gretchen was coming my way in the other lanes. I never saw her, so maybe I would make it. But then I got stuck behind a slow car climbing Dug Hill Road. (I suppose nearly all cars are slow compared to how Gretchen and I like to climb that hill.) But as I pulled into the driveway, I caught Gretchen just as she was about to climb into the Forester. I'd made it! The whole chore had only taken two hours.
The Bolt beside the absurdly-wrapped Cybertruck while its warped rim is fixed in Newburgh.
Click to enlarge.
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