Good evening!  I guess the weekend is coming to an end and another work week is getting underway again tomorrow. Took a sleeping pill and turned on the red lamp in hopes of getting a reasonable amount of sleep tonight. Drawing the shades helps too as it blocks out the bright blue LED light from the gas station – which started about the time last year I had trouble sleeping. I’ve been having a hard time to sleep in the winter for the past two years and lately it’s been really bad – I find myself drowsy often by midday. Fortunately I don’t drive to work. I hate winter. Once the time changes, I’m usually better. I usually sleep better in the summer. I think the fresh air with the windows open and getting out camping and traveling helps. 

Partly cloudy and 27 degrees in Delmar, NY. There is a northwest breeze at 5 mph. It’s January but the month is rapidly coming to a close. Another month and it will be March. If it’s mild, hopefully I can get pickup truck camping again under the shell or at least hot tenting. 

Tonight will be mostly cloudy, with a low of 21 degrees at 6am. Six degrees above normal. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. In 2016, it got down to 25 degrees under mostly cloudy skies. The record low of -12 occurred back in 1965.

Waxing Crescent Moon tonight with 16% illuminated. The moon will . The First Quarter Moon is on Saturday night with partly cloudy expected. The Full “Snow” Moon is on Saturday, February 11th. The sun will rise at 7:11 am with the first light at 6:41 am, which is 59 seconds earlier then yesterday. Tonight will have 14 hours and 4 minutes of darkness, a decrease of 2 minutes and 19 seconds over last night.

I’m thinking about going to see Punxsutawney Phil in 2018 or maybe 2019 for Ground Hog Day. It’s always been one of my favorite holidays.  I can’t imagine what sleepy Punxsutawney must be like with 40,000 people crowded on an ice covered hillside. Some of the events sounds fun. Next year Groundhog Day is a Friday and in 2019, it’s Saturday. I do worry about lake effect snow, as it’s snow country there and the roads are steep and likely poorly deiced. I’ll have to think about it some more. 

The paint still stinks in my apartment, although it is dry on the refrigerator. Looks so much better without the rust. Hopefully next weekend I’ll get the final coat on. I want it to look factory. 

Tomorrow will be partly sunny, with a high of 28 degrees at 1pm. Two degrees below normal. Light west wind becoming northwest 8 to 13 mph in the morning. A year ago, we had mostly cloudy skies and a high of 40 degrees. The record high of 56 was set in 2013. 11 inches of snow fell back in 1966.
In four weeks on February 26 the sun will be setting at 5:42 pm, which is 36 minutes later then tonight. In 2016 on that day, we had snow and temperatures between 33 and 21 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 38 and 20 degrees. The record high of 63 degrees was set back in 1976.

Looking ahead, Daylight Savings Time is in 6 weeks, Palm Sunday is in 10 weeks, Easter is in 11 weeks, Mother’s Day is in 15 weeks, Memorial Day is in 4 months and Father’s Day is in 20 weeks.