Notes

He had a long chain on… πŸ•β€πŸ¦Ί

It’s pretty amazing to think that Jimmy Driftwood would pen 6,000 songs in his lifetime, including several hit records. Not bad for a High School principal from Arkansas.

Good morning! What day is it? Hump Day, of course. Clouds with rain showers around and a fairly comfortable 48 degrees at the Exit 23 – Albany (I-787). β˜” There is a south breeze at 10 mph. πŸƒ. Temperatures will drop below freezing at tomorrow around 2 am. β˜ƒοΈ Might need to close my windows this evening it would seem.

I got a flat tire yesterday on my bicycle 🚲 so I did not ride to work yesterday and ended up driving in yesterday πŸ›» as it was too late to catch the express downtown. I hate motoring to work, especially if I’m not heading out of town but it was the best option and I needed to get groceries and supplies at Wally World πŸ›’ at any rate later in the week. That said, I really don’t enjoy driving to work, and because the patch didn’t seem to hold air last night, I am taking the bus in and will walk from the Plaza down to work.

Today will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy 🌦, with a high of 61 degrees at 2pm. Two degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 19th. Maximum dew point of 47 at 12pm. South wind 8 to 18 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 28 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. A year ago, we had cloudy skies. The high last year was 56 degrees. The record high of 81 was set in 2001. 1.2 inches of snow fell back in 1967.❄

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:54 pm with sun having an altitude of 60.4° from the due south horizon (-10.4° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 3.4 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour πŸ… starts at 7:09 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (282°). πŸ“Έ The sunset is in the west-northwest (289°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:48 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 4 seconds with dusk around 8:17 pm, which is one minute and 9 seconds later than yesterday. πŸŒ‡ The best time to look at the stars is after 8:55 pm. At sunset, look for partly clear skies πŸŒ„ and temperatures around 49 degrees. Breezy, 16 mph breeze β›… from the north-northwest. Today will have 13 hours and 52 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 39 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming clear ☁, with a low of 29 degrees at 4am. 12 degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 26th. North wind 7 to 15 mph. In 2023, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 33 degrees. The record low of 23 occurred back in 1965.

Right now, a split verdict on the weekend. πŸ˜• Saturday, partly sunny, with a high near 62. Maximum dew point of 40 at 5pm. Sunday, mostly cloudy, with a high near 73. Maximum dew point of 58 at 5pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 65 degrees.

As previously noted, next Wednesday is May πŸ•Š when the sun will be setting at 7:57 pm with dusk at 8:26 pm. On that day in 2023, we had rain and temperatures between 59 and 45 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 66 degrees. We hit a record high of 86 back in 2001.

Looking Up at the Clouds

A bit of a chilly start to a nice Tuesday ahead πŸͺŸ

I concede that it doesn’t help that I left at least some of my windows open last night and all of them are open now for the fresh air.

Good morning! Happy Tuesday. Sunny and 35 degrees in Delmar, NY. 🌞 There is a south-southeast breeze at 5 mph. πŸƒ. Temperatures will drop below freezing at Thursday around 2 am. β˜ƒοΈ

Johnny cakes are with broccoli and onion πŸ§… this morning topped with Greek yogurt. A very filling breakfast for sure. Had a banana 🍌 and some coffee β˜•. Nice sunny 🌞 morning, looking forward to riding to work. 🚲

Today will be sunny 🌞, with a high of 66 degrees at 3pm. Three degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 29th. South wind 5 to 15 mph. A year ago, we had light rain in the morning, which became light drizzle by afternoon. The high last year was 54 degrees. The record high of 87 was set in 2007. 2.4 inches of snow fell back in 1956.❄

Caught another mouse last night πŸͺ€, this time not the big sucker of last time. 🐁 Since the neighbor moved out and they’ve been renovating the unit next door πŸšͺ been catching more mice. That mouse zapper trap remains awesome as it’s so easy to use time and time again. Easy to clean and rarely do mice eat the bait before getting zapped. Then you just dump them out.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:54 pm with sun having an altitude of 60.1Β° from the due south horizon (-10.7Β° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 3.4 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour πŸ… starts at 7:09 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (282Β°). πŸ“Έ The sunset is in the west-northwest (288Β°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:47 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 3 seconds with dusk around 8:16 pm, which is one minute and 9 seconds later than yesterday. πŸŒ‡ At dusk you’ll see the Full 🌝 Moon in the east-southeast (116Β°) at an altitude of 5Β° from the horizon, 248,349 miles away. πŸš€ The best time to look at the stars is after 8:54 pm. At sunset, look for partly clear skies πŸŒ„ and temperatures around 59 degrees. There will be a south breeze at 14 mph with gusts up to 24mph. Today will have 13 hours and 49 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 39 seconds over yesterday.

Got the basics at Hannaford yesterday, πŸ›’ you know onions, broccoli, πŸ₯¦ and frozen fruit. πŸ“ In the morning I got bananas 🍌 and apples 🍏 to eat at work. It’s nice being able to stop on the way home when I bike commute. I guess that’s a convience I miss by busing it to work. Made a quick stir fry 🍳 when I got home last night and then went to the Town Park 🏞 for a walk and to read πŸ“– for a while. Ebooks are great, free from the library.

Tonight will have a chance of showers, mainly after 3am. Increasing clouds 🌧, with a low of 44 degrees at 6am. Four degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around May 3rd. South wind 11 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. In 2023, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 38 degrees. The record low of 25 occurred back in 1965.

One of the great things about being able to computer program πŸ–₯ is when the programs they give you at work aren’t working properly you can code your own. That is really handy. Been so busy at work lately but maybe it’s because I’m always coding and working on improving processing at work. But I love the job 😍 and always want to be improving things. Already got to run the label πŸ”– job for the May birthday πŸŽ‚ mailer today. How fast the month comes and goes. I think that means today is a pay day too.

The weekend doesn’t look half bad. β˜€ I’ll have to figure out something fun for Saturday. Probably not camping this weekend as I did it last. Saturday, partly sunny, with a high near 61. Maximum dew point of 41 at 7pm. Sunday, mostly cloudy, with a high near 73. Maximum dew point oyvf 57 at 3pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 65 degrees.

Looking ahead, there are 2 weeks until 8 PM Sunset πŸŒ‡with dusk at 8:34 pm. On that day in 2023, we had mostly cloudy skies and temperatures between 59 and 45 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 69 degrees. We hit a record high of 92 back in 1930.

Trees

I used to think of the Heldebergs as a very special place πŸŒ„

But then things changed or did I?

A lot of it was the realization that there are many small towns nestled in the hills and hollows and that the area I once called home in the shadows of the Catskills really isn’t that unique or special.

There really are many great areas of similar lifestyle, and indeed the best of the hilltowns is when you head west into Schoharie County in the deep rural, beyond easy commuting distance where the hollows grow deep, the country and the people wild.

Places not in urban states like New York were urban thinking dominates and policies generally serve the people of the rural countryside poorly and with contempt.