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All good things must come to an end ๐ŸŒž

I mean you can’t have that many days in early to mid February that are in the 60s. Tomorrow after work, I’ll have to turn the heat back on and probably start using the electric blanket again. I’m not sad, I’m just glad we had a break of spring weather. And it’s not like today or tomorrow is going to be real cold. Tuesday snow, but at this point it’s five weeks until calendar spring, and depending on how mild spring is, we could be as close as two months away from the green-up at least in the city. Maybe earlier if you are talking about the invasive, that is you, multi-flora rose that I’m talking about.

Good morning! Mostly cloudy and 40 degrees in the Delmar. โ˜ There is a west-northwest breeze at 9 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. It was nice walking to the store to get moo juice this morning for the coffee. โ˜• ๐Ÿฎ Spring must be coming, I could smell that tangy smell of them spreading the shit ๐Ÿ’ฉ while I was riding in on Friday as I was heading into the Normans Kill Gorge. Soon enough to become silage and hay, fed and become that juice that makes that coffee so awesome. Temperatures will drop below freezing at around 11 pm. โ˜ƒ๏ธ

Today will be mostly cloudy ๐ŸŒฅ, with a high of 44 degrees at 2pm. Nine degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 12th. Northwest wind 9 to 11 mph. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 38 degrees. The record high of 59 was set in 1981. 9.6 inches of snow fell back in 1933.โ„

The big thing for Sunday is to get to the grocery store ๐Ÿ›’ and get stocked up for the week that is to be. One thing to consider is if I’ll be getting out of town for the upcoming President’s Day Weekend. ๐Ÿ• I have crazy thoughts ๐Ÿคช about taking a half day on Friday and heading out to Madison County for a three-day weekend. ๐ŸŒจ It all depends on the weather and if we get a lot of snow, or at least if the fine folk of Mad Co. New Yak have too much snow for me to access the horse camp. ๐Ÿด It’s not like I didn’t spend last year’s Presidents Day at the horse camp. It was fun. I know more money bleeding out of my budget ๐Ÿ”ด after shopping. But having apples and vegetables are so important to living the good life, ๐ŸŽ ๐Ÿฅฆ so I better get to the store before it’s picked over and packed like is the case most Sunday’s after a while.

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 12:11 pm with sun having an altitude of 33.2° from the due south horizon (-37.6° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 9.2 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ๐Ÿ… starts at 4:42 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (245°). ๐Ÿ“ธ The sunset is in the west-southwest (252°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 5:22 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 4 seconds with dusk around 5:50 pm, which is one minute and 18 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Crescent ๐ŸŒ’ Moon in the west-southwest (243°) at an altitude of 17° from the horizon, 226,323 miles away. ๐Ÿš€ The best time to look at the stars is after 6:24 pm. At sunset, look for partly cloudy skies ๐ŸŒƒ and temperatures around 41 degrees. There will be a northwest breeze at 9 mph. Today will have 10 hours and 26 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 35 seconds over yesterday.

I am thinking about doing an afternoon hike up Bennett Hill ๐Ÿƒ while the weather is still nice, and going out to see the family. ๐Ÿž I baked bread, and we’re going to have soup ๐Ÿฒ. Should be a nice afternoon. Then it’s back to work tomorrow. I plan to ride to work tomorrow ๐Ÿšฒ, getting one more day of riding before snow makes the bike trail impassible, ๐ŸŒจ though I could always take South Pearl Street and Corning’s Hill, though I hate how rough South Pearl is by the Port of Albany with all that traffic. ๐Ÿšš๐Ÿšš๐Ÿšš๐Ÿšš

Tonight will be mostly cloudy ๐ŸŒฅ, with a low of 28 degrees at 3am. 11 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 21st. Northwest wind 5 to 8 mph. In 2023, we had clear skies in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 23 degrees. The record low of -16 occurred back in 1979.

Looking ahead, next Sunday is 6 PM Dusk ๐ŸŒ† when the sun will be setting at 5:31 pm. Yeah! That means after that day, if the rail trail is free of snow I can ride home from work. ๐Ÿšฒ Of course, with the common late February and big March snow storms, that’s hardly a guarantee. But spring will come, or so I tell myself. ๐ŸŒบ At least the multi-flora rose will pretend it’s spring, to crowd out all of the native species. ๐Ÿคฃ On that day in 2023, we had mostly sunny, snow showers and temperatures between 40 and 19 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 37 degrees. We hit a record high of 63 back in 1981.

Empire Plaza

Cue the music, the DIRE EMERGENCY SNOW STORM is upon us ๐ŸŒจ

Aldis in Colonie was so packed with people yesterday, picked over grocery wise with people stocking up for the winter storm that is supposedly approaching today, I just turned around and left. I look across the street at the Market32 with the packed parking lot, and tossed my hands up knowing chances were slim I’d get any whole-wheat flour or other needed groceries. Best to wait until today, when the stockers have been able to restore the shopping experience by morning. I’ll just do Walmart after I shower this morning.

Good morning! Happy Soon to be Wet and Sloppy Sunday. ๐ŸŒง It seems like it rains every Sunday lately. Without fail. Rain loves the weekend. Clouds and 35 degrees in Delmar, NY. โ˜๏ธ Calm wind. Temperatures will drop below freezing at tomorrow around 6 pm. โ˜ƒ๏ธ

Decided I wanted pancakes today, ๐ŸŠ ๐Ÿฅž and I have a lot of oranges, so I decided to try out full-orange pancakes, milling both the orange and peal to make some rather zesty fully flavored pancakes with some lemon juice topped with some greek yogurt and honey. ๐Ÿฏ Wow did they come out good — that orange flavor really shined, especially some ginger, vanilla in the mixture. Finished up the remaining oatmeal I had in the mixture, along with the whole wheat flour and had to fall back onto using some rye flour, but it worked out well.

Today will rain and snow. ๐ŸŒง High of 35 degrees at 7am. Two degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around February 9th. Calm wind becoming north 5 to 8 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 90%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than one inch possible. Not going to stick more A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 45 degrees. The record high of 56 was set in 1916. 9.6 inches of snow fell back in 1897.โ„

Riding trail in the Albany Pine Bush was great yesterday ๐Ÿšต‍โ™€๏ธ ๐ŸŒฒ though by mid-day I was starting to feel a bit worn out from all the trail riding. The section off of Kings Road was closed due to them logging and using a tub grinder to chop up the black locus, blackberries and invasive trees as part of the restoration effort. ๐Ÿฆ‹ Ended up riding my bike around Morris and Curry Road to see what I could spot from the road both ecologically and development wise, to further educate myself for Save the Pine Bush. ๐Ÿ’ญ In the afternoon, after shopping at Salvation Army I decided to head up Balltown Road to Aquaduct, as I wanted to check out the old Aquaduct that once carried the second Erie Canal across the Mohawk River and then NY 146 until the 1964 bridge was completed, and the aquaduct demolished to improve the river’s flow and prevent ice jamming. Seems odd these days when Mohawk River ice jams are rare, because the river rarely jams up with so much ice. โ„๏ธ Climate change has changed a lot in our world. There was some ice on Mohawk River but not a lot. Then I rode my bike down the Erie Canalway to the ALCO Trail through that swanky new Mohawk Harbor development, then through the Stockade and Riverfront Park, then the Erie Canalway Trail to Lock 8 and ultimately out to I-890 – NY 5 Connector near Rotterdam Junction. ๐Ÿ›ฃ

While Aldis was insane yesterday, ๐Ÿ‘” I did luck out at the Salvation Army in Karner – Niskayuna – Lisha Kill or whatever the area off of Central Avenue and got two nice dressier shirts. The stuff you get there is nicer then anything you might find at Walmart and cheaper then going to a place like Macy’s or JC Pennies. Plus often much higher quality. Two really nice shirts for $9.60. Can’t beat prices like that. Not only are there wonderful deals at Salvation Army, you’re supporting their disaster and community development efforts. That place is a complete dump on the outside, with people leaving discarded furniture and trash all around it, but inside it really is the best thrift store to get really nice clothing, often for prices far below other thrift stores around. Not going to find anything that nice so cheap at Goodwill or one of the “high end” thrift store boutiques like in Delmar or Slingerlands. Also looked at lamps for my new office, ๐Ÿ›‹ but I’m going to wait until I move into my permanent office before committing to buying a desk lap, assuming I can’t find one in a storage closet somewhere. Thrift shop’s the way to go for that — I am thinking I can put a 150 watt equivalent bulb ๐Ÿ’ก in it as a bright desk lamp. I just hate the overhead florescent lighting.

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 12:09 pm with sun having an altitude of 29.1° from the due south horizon (-41.7° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 10.8 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ๐Ÿ… starts at 4:21 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (238°). ๐Ÿ“ธ The sunset is in the west-southwest (246°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 5:03 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 11 seconds with dusk around 5:33 pm, which is one minute and 18 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ The best time to look at the stars is after 6:07 pm. At sunset, look for rain ๐ŸŒง and snow ๐ŸŒจ and temperatures around 34 degrees. There will be a north breeze at 8 mph. Tomorrow will have 9 hours and 54 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 14 seconds over today.

Tonight will snow, mainly before 4am. ๐ŸŒจ Low of 33 degrees at 5am. 18 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 5th. North wind 9 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible. Ain’t going to be much snow on the roads with that temperature, especially if they’re treated with the tons of deicing chemicals as they most certainly are. Maybe this week will be a good one to wash my truck. In 2023, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 22 degrees. The record low of -10 occurred back in 1925.

Looking ahead, there are 2 weeks until Don’t Cry over Spilled Milk Day ๐Ÿฅ› when the sun will be setting at 5:22 pm with dusk at 5:50 pm. I was totally getting teased the other day in my old office for being such a complainer. I know, I’m such a perfectionist. ๐Ÿ’Ž Cheap bastard too, but I’m saving all my money so I can blow it someday on land, ๐Ÿ‘ฉ‍๐ŸŒพ goats ๐Ÿ, hogs, ๐Ÿท and cattle. ๐Ÿ„ I’ve been told cattle are the fastest way to be broke forever, maybe except for horses. ๐Ÿด Probably someday I’ll meet a girl who is as much a hillbilly as I’m and I’ll have to agree on horses in exchange for having a burn barrel and land. ๐Ÿ”ฅ๐Ÿ›ข Actually, I think I complain about things, but it’s different from what others complain about. I don’t like working in suburbs, when so many others love the acres of parking for easy motoring and the convenience of avoiding crowded elevators, lol. ๐Ÿคฃ On that day in 2023, we had mostly sunny skies snow showers and temperatures between 38 and 23 degrees. I wouldn’t say that’s spilled milk, but a rather nice day. Maybe just a few drips of milk after the teats are stripped. ๐Ÿฎ Typically, the high temperature is 35 degrees. Going to be in the forties during this up coming week. We hit a record high of 59 back in 1981.

Recharge

The weekend finally seems like a go ๐Ÿšฆ

Finally a decent weekend to get out of town it would seem this weekend for a long weekend and then the start of vacation also looks pretty good too.

Good morning! What day is it? Hump Day, of course. Mostly cloudy โ›… and 64 degrees in Delmar, NY. Calm wind. The dew point is 63 degrees. The air quality has improved as the smoke has drifted east, we are at a moderate 79. The air tastes of barnyard. I might ride to work today to save the bus fare. ๐Ÿšฒ

Out walking ๐Ÿšถ right at 6 o’clock this morning ๐Ÿ•’ as I rose fairly early this morning and it’s a pretty nice morning with the sun shing to the east through the air pollution a bright red color and fog around to the west. Walked 7.9 miles yesterday, did the stairs twice at work, Blackie stayed parked all day due to thunderstorms and rain in the evening. Shrimp and brown rice with edamame for dinner last night followed by carrots and fresh cherries ๐Ÿ’ for dessert. I still have that sugary taste on my mouth this morning, so I’m thinking scrambled eggs with spinach, olives and anything else I decide to include. โ˜• After a quick cup of coffee it seems like I will need a fresh pot to get the morning started when I get back home.

Today will be mostly sunny ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 83 degrees at 3pm. One degree below normal, which is similar to a typical day around August 3rd. Maximum dew point of 64 at 8am. Northwest wind 3 to 7 mph. Typical July day, maybe slightly cooler though really normal before the warming shown in the recent climate normals. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. It was humid. The high last year was 92 degrees. The record high of 97 was set in 1904.

Farmer’s Market today ๐ŸŒฝ and I am thinking about getting some more sweet corn as I’m pretty much otherwise good on food through the weekend when I can get more from Shauls.

I was thinking about going down Norman’s Kill Ravine Preserve ๐Ÿž yesterday after work but it stormed a lot and turn poured. ๐Ÿ’ฆ Read more of the Boggleheads investing book ๐Ÿ“™ and then the rain stopped and I went for my evening walk ๐Ÿšถ. Maybe I’ll have to think about hiking the Norman’s Kill Ravines Preserve tonight. Might be a good night for it. That said, also on the agenda is figuring how to bolt the MIK adapter to the crate so I can quick remove it for shopping ๐Ÿ›’ and when I’m putting the bike on the bus or in my truck.

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 1:02 pm with sun having an altitude of 68.3ยฐ from the due south horizon (-2.6ยฐ vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.4 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ๐Ÿ… starts at 7:48 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (293ยฐ). ๐Ÿ“ธ The sunset is in the west-northwest (300ยฐ) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:30 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 20 seconds with dusk around 9:02 pm, which is 45 seconds earlier than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Crescent ๐ŸŒ’ Moon in the west-northwest (286ยฐ) at an altitude of 10ยฐ from the horizon, 252,270 miles away. ๐Ÿš€ The best time to look at the stars is after 9:45 pm. At sunset, look for partly clear skies ๐ŸŒ„ and temperatures around 75 degrees. The dew point will be 60 degrees. There will be a west-northwest breeze at 5 mph. Today will have 14 hours and 57 minutes of daytime, a decrease of one minute and 38 seconds over yesterday.

Got paid yesterday ๐Ÿ’ธ and my finances look a lot better than before, though just wait until my automatic deposits and withdrawals go through with my rent check at the end of the month. But then again I’ll get paid on August 1st again and next month is a three paycheck month.

After a few tries with the payroll office I finally got my increased federal and state deductions enacted properly to cover my interest and dividend payments so I shouldn’t have to worry about quarterly state and federal tax payments unless I end up selling stocks or bonds. ๐Ÿ’ฒIt was annoying because increasing my state withholding automatically decreased my federal withholding however with the unearned income I was ending up not paying enough state and federal. Regardless, whole lot more pleasant to give the government an extra $50 a pay period then cut big checks each quarter or on April 15th. Because I’m automatically reinvesting the dividends and not touching the interest income, essentially it’s a backdoor way of saving for my future.

Tonight will be partly clear ๐ŸŒƒ with a low of 60 degrees at 4am. Three degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around August 20th. Maximum dew point of 60 at 6pm. Not so humid. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies. It was sticky. It got down to 72 degrees. The record low of 49 occurred back in 1974.

On this day, there was the Great New York City Fire of 1845: The last great fire to affect Manhattan began early in the morning and was subdued that afternoon. ๐Ÿง‘โ€๐Ÿš’The fire killed 4 firefighters, 26 civilians, and destroyed 345 buildings. Always be careful with matches, in densely packed urban areas with lots of wooden buildings.

Weekend forecast continues to look great. ๐ŸŠโ€โ™‚๏ธโ›บ ๐Ÿšฒ ๐ŸŒฒSaturday, a chance of showers after 2pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 81. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Maximum dew point of 64 at 9am. Sunday, sunny, with a high near 84. Maximum dew point of 62 at 10am. Typical average high for the weekend is 84 degrees.

Should be a good weekend out of town. ๐Ÿ– Got to take advantage of it before summer is done. It won’t last long at this point, soon we will be losing a lot of time in the evening. I took off Monday so I can camp an additional night this weekend and have time to pack and prepare for vacation a week from Friday. Been doing a lot of thought and planning on what I want to eat on summer vacation. Bike and swim Saturday and Monday, Sunday I might stay around camp, bike fish and read, maybe cool down in the creek.

That makes next week a three day work week ๐Ÿข which should go by quickly as the evenings will be packing and planning and getting ready for my trip. ๐Ÿ›ถ I am thinking I should get new rope and bungees for carrying my kayak and retire the old worn out rope to camp duty – hanging the flags ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ and tarps that are not critical should they fail.

Looking ahead, there are 6 weeks until Average High Falls To 79 ๏ธDegrees โ›ฑ๏ธ๏ธ๏ธ when the sun will be setting at 7:35 pm with dusk at 8:03 pm. On that day in 2022, we had rain and temperatures between 90 and 66 degrees. We hit a record high of 98 back in 1953.

South Across the River

November 21, 2020 11 PM Update

Good evening! Partly clear and 39 degrees in Delmar, NY. There is a north-northwest breeze at 7 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. Temperatures will drop below freezing at tomorrow around 1 am. โ˜ƒ๏ธ

It turned out to be a nice starry night. After my evening ๐Ÿšถ๐Ÿป I sat out back for a while. Its only about forty degrees out but with a coat it’s not too bad. I kind of wish I had gone up to the Adirondacks for the weekend.

Lots of friends and colleagues are posting pictures of the deer ๐ŸฆŒ they harvested on the first day of rifle season. Basically that one day accounts for 2/3rds of the state’s deer harvest. I’ve always just done small game although this year I didn’t get a license as I was busy with work and then it was so hot that one weekend I was up in the woods. Eventually when I own my own land. I’ll also hire a guide and really learn what I’m doing first and then invest serious time in a tree stand. Folks who have harvest a nice buck on opening day often spend weeks if not months studying and observing the land from their stand, zeroing in their rifles, looking at aerial photos and maps. That said, having your own land to hunt is a big benefit – public lands hunting sucks when your looking off a ridge and can spot two other hunters from your vantage point.

Hiking the Pine Bush was nice but it was so busy. ๐Ÿฆ‹ I probably should have hiked after the press conference after dark but I wanted to do some hiking. Almost every parking ๐Ÿ…ฟ spot at the Discovery Center was packed. So many people on the trails. ๐Ÿšถ๐Ÿป The only place more packed then the Discovery Center Trails was the mall. Yucky. A crowded Crossgates Maul during the pandemic. ๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐Ÿ‘งโ€๐Ÿ‘ง๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐Ÿ‘งโ€๐Ÿ‘ฆ๐Ÿคง๐Ÿ‘พ Saw two bow hunters there. ๐Ÿน I was kind of surprised as I thought most bow hunters would put their bow away for the first day of rifle in other parts of the county but maybe they figured the orange army ๐Ÿ”ซ would drive the deer into the Pine Bush.

Save the Pine Bush got a big victory by that judge โš–๏ธ ruling over the neighbors case over the SEQRA process over the Costco and apartment complex in the Pine Bush. ๐Ÿฆ‹ While I’m sure the ruling will be appealed and Save the Pine Bush must continue on its fight it buys the area time from being developed. ๐ŸŒฒ

Tonight will be partly clear ๐ŸŒƒ , with a low of 27 degrees at 6am. Three degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around November 30th. North wind 5 to 7 mph. In 2019, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 33 degrees. The record low of 8 occurred back in 2018.

This weekend turned out nicer than I expected and I kind of wish I could have rounded out this calendar ๐Ÿ—“ year of camping with 60 nights but I’ll make it there God willing before 2021. Still five more weekends left in the year. With the pandemic and remote work ๐Ÿ’ป I’ve spent more time camping ๐Ÿ• and nights in the woods then ever before. Some places got overused and there was some abuse of some places but there is still a lot of great wild country out there.

Tonight will have a First Quarter ๐ŸŒ“ Moon with 49% illuminated. At 10 PM, the moon was in the west-southwest (237ยฐ) at an altitude of 9ยฐ from the horizon, some 243,515 miles away from where you are looking up from the earth. ๐Ÿš€ Quite a nice moon under star lit skies. At the state speed limit of 55 mph, you’ll make it there by May 25th. Buckle up for safety! ๐Ÿ’บ The moon will set in the west-southwest (248ยฐ) at 10:59 pm. The Full ๐ŸŒ• Moon is on Monday, November 30. The darkest hour is at 11:42 pm, followed by dawn at 6:25 am, and sun starting to rise at 6:56 am in the east-southeast (117ยฐ) and last for 3 minutes and 16 seconds. Sunrise is one minute and 12 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ„ The golden hour ends at 7:39 am with sun in the southeast (125ยฐ). Tonight will have 14 hours and 28 minutes of darkness, an increase of one minute and 54 seconds over last night.

No sleeping pills ๐Ÿ’Š left for tonight but with the red light in my bedroom ๐Ÿ’ก and sitting out back earlier I hope I’ll sleep okay. ๐Ÿ‘Œ๐Ÿป I’m going to buy more pills the next time I’m at Walmart – get the big jar that will last a long time.

Tomorrow will have a chance of rain, mainly after 4pm. Increasing clouds ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 39 degrees at 1pm. Six degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around December 6th. North wind 5 to 8 mph becoming south in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning, which became mostly clear by afternoon. The high last year was 48 degrees. The record high of 70 was set in 1931. 9.1 inches of snow fell back in 1943.โ„

In four weeks on December 19 the sun will be setting in the west-southwest (238ยฐ) at 4:24 pm,๐ŸŒ„ which is 3 minutes and 33 seconds earlier then tonight. In 2019 on that day, we had cold weather with mostly sunny skies and temperatures between 18 and 6 degrees. I remember going out for a walk on that cold winter day. Typically, you have temperatures between 35 and 20 degrees. The record high of 54 degrees was set back in 1895.

Tree Line

October 18, 2020 Night

Good evening! Mostly cloudy and 52 degrees in Delmar, NY. โ˜ There is a south-southeast breeze at 9 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. The dew point is 42 degrees. The skies will clear Wednesday around 1 pm.

I am back home ๐Ÿก as it’s going to rain tomorrow in Central NY and quite honestly I don’t want to drive home at 5 or 6 pm tomorrow in the dark especially in rain. Plus working all day under a tarp or in the truck doesn’t seem like much fun.

To be sure, it was a beautiful weekend ๐Ÿ‚ even if clouds pushed in early on Sunday. No rain โ˜” but it was cold on Cherry Ridge ๐Ÿ’ Camping Area ๐Ÿ• and I didn’t have the whole area so I couldn’t listen to Jason Aldean as loud as I wanted ๐ŸŽถ while getting drunk ๐Ÿป next to roaring fire ๐Ÿ”ฅ. But the fire was big enough for a while that I was plenty to warm next to it.

I am cleaning out the cooler now โ‡๏ธ and I’ll get things ready to put back in the crawl space by morning. Then things will be packed up. With the late sunrise ๐ŸŒ… and my busy schedule I’m not planning any further trips โ›บ until November. This year I doubt I’ll have enough time to take a full week off of work though in November as I often do.

Tonight will be mostly cloudy ๐ŸŒฅ, with a low of 41 degrees at 5am. Three degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around October 12th. Southeast wind 7 to 9 mph. In 2019, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 36 degrees. The record low of 20 occurred back in 1974.

Tonight will have a Waxing Crescent ๐ŸŒ’ Moon with 7% illuminated. The Blue ๐ŸŒ Moon is on Halloween ๐Ÿฆ‡ Saturday, October 31. After trick or treating and spread COVID-19 don’t forget to set your clocks back one hour ๐Ÿ•’ so you can sleep in one hour ๐ŸŽƒ. The darkest hour is at 12:41 am, followed by dawn at 6:45 am, and sun starting to rise at 7:13 am in the east-southeast (103ยฐ) and last for 2 minutes and 59 seconds. Sunrise is one minute and 11 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ„ The golden hour ends at 7:52 am with sun in the east-southeast (109ยฐ). Tonight will have 13 hours and 6 minutes of darkness, an increase of 2 minutes and 46 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will have a chance of showers, mainly after 3pm. Mostly cloudy ๐ŸŒฆ, with a high of 60 degrees at 3pm. One degree above normal, which is similar to a typical day around October 16th. Maximum dew point of 52 at 4pm. South wind 5 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. A year ago, we had cloudy skies. The high last year was 59 degrees. The record high of 79 was set in 1963. There was a dusting of snow in 1992.โ„

It looks like the weather will be better back home ๐Ÿก and I can work down at the library most of the day. Another busy day ahead, I’m glad I won’t be trying to drive back ๐Ÿš˜ in the dark.

In four weeks on November 15 the sun will be setting in the west-southwest (245ยฐ) at 4:32 pm (Standard Time),๐ŸŒ„ which is one hour, 35 minutes and 25 seconds earlier then tonight. In 2019 on that day, we had partly cloudy and temperatures between 50 and 32 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 48 and 32 degrees. The record high of 74 degrees was set back in 1993.

Looking ahead, November ๐Ÿฅง is in 2 weeks, Daylight Savings Time Ends ๐Ÿ›ฅ๏ธ is in 2 weeks, First Sunday of Advent โœ๏ธ is in 7 weeks, Saint Nicholas Day ๐ŸŽ… is in 7 weeks, Bake Cookies Day ๐Ÿช is in 2 months, Latest Sunrise of the Winter ๐ŸŒ„๏ธ is in 11 weeks, Winnie the Pooh Day ๐Ÿฏ is in 3 months, Martin Luther King Day ๐Ÿ–ค is in 3 months, Valentines Day โค๏ธ is in 17 weeks and National Drink Wine Day ๐Ÿท is in 4 months.

 Schoharie Creek

August 14, 2020 8 PM Update

Good evening! Mostly clear and 76 degrees at the Finger Lakes National Forest. ๐ŸŒŒThere is a north breeze at 6 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. The dew point is 60 degrees.

It was a nice day hiking the Catherine Valley Rail Trail ๐Ÿš‚. Not the most exciting trail ever but a nice walk through some well managed and scenic woods. A lot of it was timber country that is leased to a local hunting club. ๐ŸฆŒ๐Ÿฆƒ๐Ÿฆ† Some road noise from NY 14 but it ran pretty high above the valley on dirt viaducts cut into the mountainside.

In the afternoon I went for a swim at Watkins Glen State Park. ๐ŸŠ๐Ÿปโ€โ™‚๏ธ I thought the pool was too crowded for social distancing at four o’clock so I hopped out and by five it had thinned out so then I hopped in the pool. One thing nice about the Finger Lakes is the swimming areas are all open until 7 pm. โ˜บ

I thought about swimming at Enfield Gorge or at the Cayuga Lake beach ๐Ÿ– at Taughannock State Park but I feel like those bathrooms ๐Ÿšฟ are more cramped and less clean, and the natural water is not chlorinated so I’m hesitant. Plus the beach areas are smaller and cramped making social distancing more difficult.

I got ice cream one more time at Glen Dairy Bar ๐Ÿงthis time an apple sundae. ๐ŸI think this will be the last one for this trip, I’m kind of tired ๐Ÿ˜ด of eating so much ice cream. It’s been fun while it lasted during this trip. I told myself ice cream ๐Ÿฆnearly there would be my special little treat.

Watched the sunset ๐ŸŒ‡ from off Ball Diamond Road in the National Forest pasture again tonight. Another nice sunset, always pretty watching the sun set over the hills of the Finger Lakes and Seneca Lake.

Walked down to Foster Pond and watched the stars โœจ for a while. Saw four shooting stars ๐ŸŒ including one that was really bright and lit up the sky. Ended up falling asleep and was awoken by a bunch of drunk kids rafting in plastic blow up rafts on Foster Pond. ๐Ÿ›ฅ๏ธ One of them offered me a partially drink can of white claw, during the pandemic. ๐Ÿป I declined and walked back to camp.

Running low on drinking water ๐Ÿ’ฆ and wanting something sweet I packed apple ๐Ÿ juice for hiking today. That was fine until I cross threaded the canteen and it leaked over my backpack. Fortunately I decided to leave the binoculars and camera ๐Ÿ“ธ in the truck. A bee was attracted to the backpack got stung in the arm. ๐Ÿ That hurt. The backpack was washed in the shower ๐Ÿšฟ and is drying now. Drank too much apple juice today and now I have the runs a bit. ๐Ÿ’ฉ Hello bucket shitter! Getting full, going to emptied and buried โšฐ tomorrow when I break camp.

Tonight will be mostly clear ๐ŸŒƒ, with a low of 63 degrees at 5am. Three degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 62 at 9pm. North wind around 6 mph becoming calm after midnight. In 2019, we had mostly clear skies. It got down to 62 degrees. The record low of 48 occurred back in 1964.

Tonight will have a Waining Crescent ๐ŸŒ˜ Moon with 19% illuminated. The darkest hour is at 1:13 am, followed by dawn at 5:44 am, and sun starting to rise at 6:14 am in the east-northeast (70ยฐ) and last for 3 minutes and 4 seconds. Sunrise is one minute and 4 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ„ The golden hour ends at 6:53 am with sun in the east-northeast (76ยฐ). Tonight will have 10 hours and 5 minutes of darkness, an increase of 2 minutes and 31 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will be partly sunny ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 81 degrees at 2pm. Typical for Tomorrow. Maximum dew point of 63 at 7am. South wind 3 to 7 mph. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies. The high last year was 83 degrees. The record high of 96 was set in 1959. One thing to watch is clouds may push in fairly early tomorrow afternoon. โ˜๏ธ

I am going to take a wait and see approach tomorrow. โ›… I am afraid it might be quite choppy on Seneca Lake by afternoon to paddle. ๐Ÿ›ถ If it’s kind of gray and dark out I might stay at camp. Although there are some additional marsh trails in Watkins Glen that I was reading ๐Ÿ“– about I’m thinking ๐Ÿ’ญ about exploring.

In four weeks on September 11 the sun will be setting in the west (276ยฐ) at 7:23 pm,๐ŸŒ„ which is 46 minutes and 6 seconds earlier then tonight. In 2019 on that day, we had hot and humid weather that was partly sunny and temperatures between 87 and 66 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 74 and 54 degrees. The record high of 98 degrees was set back in 1931.

Looking ahead, Labor Day Weekend Begins ๐Ÿ‘จโ€๐Ÿญ in 3 weeks, September 11th ๐Ÿ‡ธ is in 4 weeks, 7 PM Sunset ๐ŸŒ† is in 5 weeks, Average High is 65 ๐Ÿ‚ is in 7 weeks, Average Night Below Freezing ๐ŸŒŒ is in 13 weeks, Buy Nothing Day ๐Ÿ›๏ธ is in 15 weeks, Average High is 40 ๐ŸŒจ is in 16 weeks, Bake Cookies Day ๐Ÿช is in 18 weeks, Christmas ๐ŸŽ… is in 19 weeks, New Years Day 2020 ๐ŸŽ‰ is in 20 weeks, Bubble Bath Day ๐Ÿงผ is in 21 weeks, Coldest Week of the Year ๐ŸŒฌ is in 5 months, my 38th Birthday ๐ŸŽ‰ is in 24 weeks and Valentines Day โค๏ธ is in 6 months.

Clouds Hanging Low

May 3, 2020 10 PM Update

Good evening! Partly clear and 64 degrees in Delmar, NY. There is a west breeze at 6 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. The dew point is 46 degrees. Nice evening, sat out back for a while. Not feeling terrible but still a little achy from the Lyme. I still need to take the doxycline I got from the doctor Friday. ๐Ÿ’Š

Sleeping with the windows open tonight โฌ› which is nice until I heard the sirens from the meat wagon ๐Ÿš‘go roaring by. I wonder if it’s somebody dying of Coronavirus? Hopefully nobody I know. It’s a question one always asks these days.

I thought about staying up north one more night and driving home early tomorrow ๐Ÿš˜ but I decided against that as I broke camp midday to go hiking. ๐Ÿšถ While hiking the remote section of the abandoned Dunning Pond Snowmobile Trail was quiet I eventually lost the trail as it got into dense woods with lots of trees down and few of the old markers. ๐Ÿ”ด Some nice views of the gorge and then a lot of it was an eroded mountain road until the trail left the road and disappeared into the woods. This wouldn’t have been a big problem if I had the GPS tracks from my Google County Maps part of the blog but of course I managed to somehow delete them off my phone. I got to make sure I have them on the phone along with USGS Topo maps saved. I would have also had a better chance of following the herd path up to Eagle Pond that I had lost on Saturday if I had that data saved. ๐ŸŒWell there always is future trips up north.

It was a pretty good weekend up north ๐Ÿ˜Ž with lots of sun and actually quite mild and warm most of the weekend except for brief rain shower around 10 pm Saturday night ๐Ÿ’ฆwhen I ended up retiring to my truck cap earlier than I had planned. Had a nice big fire ๐Ÿ”ฅ at the same campsite I’ve been at the past few times I’ve been up north on the East Branch Sacandaga River. โ›บ Some traffic ๐Ÿšฅ noise but pretty nice. Spent a lot of time laying back in the hammock, soaking up the sun. โ˜€ The sun felt good especially when I felt achy from the Lyme. Warm enough a good portion of the weekend I could just lay out with a t shirt ๐Ÿ‘š on.

Left my Bluetooth speaker ๐Ÿ”Š home which was annoying when I wanted to listen to podcasts and music ๐ŸŽถ. I’m going to start leaving that in the truck. Better to charge it there too – I don’t pay for the unused solar power the truck produces while parked with the solar controller in float mode. ๐Ÿ”‹ Also forgot ketchup for my hotdogs – ended up topping them with baked beans and cheese. ๐Ÿฃ

Explored more of the Fox Lair remains, I want to do one of those historical aerial photo comparisons, especially if I can find the 1942 aerial photo ๐Ÿ“ท. Not a lot left of the ruins, but I wonder if I can find more old pictures on the internet. ๐ŸฐDid some walking ๐Ÿšถ along NY 8 just for exercise too and to take in the scenery.

Came back relatively early, I was unpacked by about six. ๐Ÿก Laid back on my bed for a while before showering ๐Ÿšฟ and shaving. Got a nice tan. Those side burns I’ve grown are coming in nicely but I do need a hair cut ๐Ÿ’‡. I’m going to do some trimming myself in the morning as who knows when the barber ๐Ÿ’ˆ is going to be allowed to reopen. My barber is so elderly, I wonder if he will just hang up his hat ๐ŸŽฉ after the pandemic. I decided to avoid the expressway and cities home so I took NY 30 to Duanesburg Churches Road past the Mariaville Farm to US 20. Pretty drive with things greening up outside Amsterdam but I tell you there are some sharp curves on NY 30 south of Amsterdam. ๐Ÿ”ถ

Tonight will be partly cloudy ๐ŸŒค, with a low of 49 degrees at 6am. Five degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around May 21st. West wind 6 to 8 mph. In 2019, we had cloudy skies. It got down to 52 degrees. The record low of 28 occurred back in 1985.

Tonight will have a Waxing Gibbous ๐ŸŒ” Moon with 85% illuminated. At 10 PM, the moon was in the south (175ยฐ) at an altitude of 52ยฐ from the horizon, some 226,511 miles away from where you are looking up from the earth. ๐Ÿš€ At the state speed limit of 55 mph, you’ll make it there by October 22nd. Buckle up for safety! ๐Ÿ’บ The Flower ๐ŸŒท Moon is on Thursday, May 7. The darkest hour is at 12:53 am, followed by dawn at 5:16 am, and sun starting to rise at 5:48 am in the east-northeast (68ยฐ) and last for 3 minutes and 8 seconds. Sunrise is one minute and 19 seconds earlier than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ„ The golden hour ends at 6:27 am with sun in the east-northeast (74ยฐ). Tonight will have 9 hours and 46 minutes of darkness, a decrease of 2 minutes and 24 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will have a slight chance of showers between 11am and 1pm. Partly sunny ๐ŸŒฆ, with a high of 57 degrees at 11am. Nine degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 13th. Northwest wind 9 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 31 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. A year ago, we had light rain in the morning, which became light rain by afternoon. The high last year was 67 degrees. The record high of 91 was set in 1944. There was a dusting of snow in 1986.โ„

Tomorrow I probably should go to the laundromat ๐Ÿ‘–๐Ÿ‘• ๐Ÿ‘š and wash some clothes and probably my sheets too. I can probably bring my laptop there and work from there, uploading pictures from the weekend that was. I’m good on food but the two gallons of milk I bought last week is almost all drunk. I do like my cow ๐Ÿฎ beverages. Other than that I should be good on food until mid week.

As I noted previously, last weekend I got another tick bite. ๐ŸœI was sore found it on Tuesday. Its been weird – sometimes I feel fine other times terribly stiff and sore. No bulls eye though. Went to the doctor on Friday, she kind of thought I didn’t have Lyme but gave me doxycline. ๐Ÿ’Š I held off taking it as I went to the Adirondacks for the weekend and knew doxycline and sun don’t mix due to the risk of severe sunburn. I’m also a little mixed on my concern – it stings from time to time around where I was bit, I’ve been super sleepy at times. ๐Ÿ˜ด I don’t want to take an antibiotic I don’t need. But I guess the doctor while questioning ๐Ÿ™‹ me said I should take it. I don’t know what to think.

It was such a werid experience going to the doctors office during the pandemic. ๐Ÿ˜ซThe doors had big signs warning people that if they had cold or flu symptoms they aren’t welcome and that they did not offer Coronavirus testing there. The whole experience was kind of odd and frightening. ๐Ÿ‘พ

While I’m always cautious about social distancing and wearing a mask out in public places but between the limited vision under the banada, the empty doctors office, the hand sanitizer everywhere and all these things like a special Coronavirus questionnaire that I had to do on my phone before the doctor would see me. ๐Ÿ“ฑ I was so creeped out by the experience.

In four weeks on May 31 the sun will be setting in the west-northwest (301ยฐ) at 8:26 pm,๐ŸŒ„ which is 27 minutes and 53 seconds later then tonight. In 2019 on that day, we had partly cloudy, mist and temperatures between 76 and 55 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 74 and 52 degrees. The record high of 92 degrees was set back in 2013.

It looks like for Mothers Day it’s going to be cold and they might get snow in the Adirondacks. โ„ It does not look like a good weekend to get out of town. I’m still thinking about a mid May trip out to Schoharie County – maybe three nights with me working from my truck on a Monday. โ›บ I’m thinking the last week of May – the one after Memorial Day Weekend – to do a three night trip to Piseco Powley Road starting that Thursday night before the weekend if it is nice. I hope to have the screen house by then to avoid the bugs. Peak black fly season isn’t so bad if I have shelter during the day as black flies aren’t out after dark. Memorial Day Weekend proper I’ll stay home ๐Ÿก most likely to avoid the crowds especially if other developed campgrounds are closed forcing people into the back country taking up all the good sites. I’m also seriously thinking about planning my summer vacation up at Piseco Powley Road – and a week at the House Pond Swimming Hole could make up for all the state park pools being closed. ๐ŸŠ I’d have to see about getting a camping permit.

Looking ahead, Mothers Day ๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€ is in 1 week, Pack Rat Day ๐Ÿ€ is in 2 weeks, Strawberry Moon ๐ŸŒ• is in 5 weeks, Fathers Day ๐Ÿ‘จ is in 6 weeks, Election Day 2020 ๐Ÿ—ณ๏ธ is in 6 months and Election Day 2020 ๐Ÿ—ณ๏ธ is in 6 months.

๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿฆ…Only 19 days remain until the start of Memorial Day Weekend!๐Ÿฆ…๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ

Tulip Time!