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During the Easter Holiday 🐰 in 2016, I camped at the Lean-to on Cotton Hill.

Waiting for sunset

It was a pretty quiet weekend, 🏠 I saw a few people pass by on the Long Path but other then that I had the whole mountain top to myself.

Saturday night

Carried the heater up the mountain, so I could warm my face in the morning. πŸ”₯ It was mild, but still fairly cold being late March.

Time to get up

The American flag πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ I had hung in front of the lean-to.

America

Nice sunset camping πŸŒ† up there.

Setting sun

On Easter, I hiked over the Middleburgh Cliff. 😰 Nice day but rather hot.

Schoharie Valley

I always like looking the Pitch Pines 🌲 up top there.

Pitch Pine

Map πŸ—Ί of the Cotton Hill Lean-To at Dutch Settlement State Forest.

 Dutch Settlement State Forest

America’s Freeway Exit Mentality

Many Americans are of the belief that if something does not have a named exit off a freeway it must not exist. After all, the logic goes, all the best places must have freeway exits otherwise they wouldn’t exist.

There is a map in many people’s heads of the world that looks like a freeway map with nothing else on it. If there is 30 miles between freeway exits, then their must be nothing for the next 30 miles.

One Car

That logic is faulty. There are many beautiful small communities and great places not serviced by freeways. Freeways are very expensive to build and even very basic rural exits can cost several million dollars to construct. Many good places are far removed from the freeway.

Indeed, especially when your a toll highway with toll collectors at every exit, don’t expect every an exit for every town or place you’d want to neccessarly go. And just because a super-highway “flies” past hundreds of small towns, doesn’t mean they don’t exist. Your just bypassing them.

February 16, 2023 Evening

Good evening! Clouds, damp and 47 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☁️ Calm wind. Mild tonight but cold later. Temperatures will drop below freezing at tomorrow around 5 pm. β˜ƒοΈ

It’s nice to be able to walk 🚢 for one more night without any more than a vest. Tomorrow though the heat will probably have to come for a few more days. Like so many days that threaten to rain, turned out to be just a few showers.

Tonight will have showers likely, mainly after 5am. Cloudy 🌧, with a low of 46 degrees at 12am. 28 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around May 8th. Light and variable wind becoming south 5 to 10 mph after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 13 degrees. The record low of -16 occurred back in 1973.

Another busy day came and went at work. 🏒 But it made the time go by quickly. I’m doing good at eating up all the fruit and vegetables I bought on Sunday. 🍏 I swear I’ve noticed some small changes since I’ve started my calorie reduction program. I’m just not nearly as hungry when I always have an apple or orange in my mouth. And I’ve done good with the steps every day.

Tonight will have a Waining Crescent 🌘 Moon with 14% illuminated. The Worm πŸ› Moon is on Saturday, March 4. The darkest hour is at 12:10 am, followed by dawn at 6:23 am, and sun starting to rise at 6:52 am in the east-southeast (106Β°) and last for 3 minutes and 1 seconds. Sunrise is one minute and 24 seconds earlier than yesterday. πŸŒ„ The golden hour ends at 7:32 am with sun in the east-southeast (113Β°). Tonight will have 13 hours and 18 minutes of darkness, a decrease of 2 minutes and 43 seconds over last night.

Did some cleaning this evening 🧹around the apartment after making macaroni and cheese πŸ§€ with a ton of veggies and real cheese, eat only one bowl and froze the rest for future meals. Getting milk πŸ₯› for the first time in over a week, a big drop from drinking two gallons a week. I also am skipping apple juice, the bottle I have left I bought in January. I’m spending less on groceries even if I am buying more and more fruits and vegetables which haven’t been impacted by inflation nearly as much.

Tomorrow will rain showers before 4pm, then a chance of rain and snow showers. 🌧️ Temperature rising to near 52 by 9am, then falling to around 33 during the remainder of the day. South wind 10 to 18 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 90%. Little or no snow accumulation expected. A year ago, we had mist. The high last year was 24 degrees. The record high of 60 was set in 1981. 11.9 inches of snow fell back in 2003.❄

In four weeks on March 16 the sun will be setting in the west (269Β°) at 7:03 pm (Daylight Savings Time),πŸŒ„ which is one hour, 34 minutes and 21 seconds later then tonight. In 2021 on that day, we had cold, mostly cloudy and temperatures between 33 and 13 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 45 and 26 degrees. The record high of 82 degrees was set back in 1990.

Looking ahead, Read Across America Day πŸ“š is in two weeks, Average High is 60 🌷 is in 2 months, Arbor Day 🌳 is in 10 weeks, 8:30 PM Dusk πŸŒ† is in 11 weeks, 8 PM Sunset πŸŒ‡ is in 11 weeks, 9 PM Dusk πŸŒ† is in 15 weeks, June 🍹 is in 15 weeks, 8:30 PM Sunset πŸŒ‡ is in 16 weeks, Last Sunset After 8:30 PM πŸŒ† is in 5 months, Ugly Truck Day 🚚 is in 22 weeks, Campfire Day πŸ”₯ is in 24 weeks, Columbus Day πŸ›₯️ is in 34 weeks, Average High is 60 πŸ‚ is in 35 weeks, Thanksgiving πŸ¦ƒ is in 40 weeks, Tea Party Day 🐍 is in 10 months, First Day of Winter β˜ƒοΈ is in 44 weeks and 4:30 PM Sunset πŸŒ† is in 45 weeks.

One Mile to Hunter Fire Tower

February 16, 2023 Morning

Good morning! Happy Thursday. Mostly clear and 44 degrees in Delmar, NY. There is a north breeze at 8 mph. πŸƒ. Is it May? It sure feels like that for the morning walk at 6:15. Temperatures will drop below freezing at tomorrow around 4 pm. β˜ƒοΈ

Absolutely stunning morning πŸŒ… for February. I can’t think of a clear mild morning this nice in February ever. Waning crescent πŸŒ™ moon almost to the due south. Of course we pay for this come the evening with rain then cold by tomorrow evening.

Today will have a chance of rain, mainly after 5pm. Increasing clouds 🌞, with a high of 53 degrees at 2pm. 17 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 2nd. North wind 5 to 8 mph becoming east 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 mist. The high last year was 34 degrees. The record high of 61 was set in 2006. 17.3 inches of snow fell back in 1958.❄

No more session days this week, which means getting out at five although it matters less now that I can take the express at five regardless of the weather or dress. 🏒 Busy day ahead but I like to be busy and keep stuff moving along. πŸ“„

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:10 pm with sun having an altitude of 35° from the due south horizon (-35.8° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 8.6 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer.

I want to get as many steps as possible before the rain 🌧️ but who knows it might not add up to much. πŸ‘£ But first breakfast after my morning walk as I’m already a bit hungry πŸ˜‹. Not a reheat day. But it will save time this morning as I don’t have to iron my shirt πŸ‘š and if I’m running late I can catch the express bus 🚍 near home.

The golden hour πŸ… starts at 4:49 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (247Β°). πŸ“Έ The sunset is in the west-southwest (254Β°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 5:29 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 1 seconds with dusk around 5:56 pm, which is one minute and 18 seconds later than yesterday. πŸŒ‡ The best time to look at the stars is after 6:30 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and temperatures around 50 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Tomorrow will have 10 hours and 43 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 43 seconds over today.

Tonight will rain, mainly before 1am, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 1am. 🌧 Low of 47 degrees at 7pm. 29 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around May 11th. Light and variable wind becoming south 5 to 9 mph in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 13 degrees. The record low of -16 occurred back in 1973.

President’s Day Weekend starts out nice with clouds and ultimately showers come Washington’s Birthday. β˜€ β˜” Saturday, sunny, with a high near 41. Northwest wind 8 to 14 mph. Sunday, mostly cloudy, with a high near 46. Washington’s Birthday still cloudy with rain showers late, 50 or so. Still mild. Typical average high for the weekend is 37 degrees.

I am a bit undecided about the upcoming weekend. β›Ί Mild but gray after Saturday. And it would nice to go somewhere different for the weekend. But where is the question? Or I could just stay home.

Looking ahead, there are 2 weeks until Read Across America Day πŸ“š when the sun will be setting at 5:47 pm with dusk at 6:14 pm. On that day in 2022, we had cold, mostly sunny and temperatures between 24 and 9 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 40 degrees. We hit a record high of 65 back in 1991.

Disappearing Snow

Have Cars Destroyed Urban America?


View Larger Map

Look at any American city from an aerial photo…

What is the first thing you see? Most likely it’s the highway system and it’s connected parking lots.

rentny

Near the superhighways is a dead-zone — not just dead grass from the copious amount of salt laid down, but also an economic dead zone, because nobody wants to live next to the rumble and pollution of an expressway. Cars make a lot of noise, that goes through walls and generally makes humans miserable. Cars spew toxic gases shorten people’s lives. When a driver is distracted or makes a mistake, they become deadly weapons that take life indiscriminately.

Many Lanes of Traffic

Automobiles kill cities. It’s that simple.Β 

But they also kill the countryside too, by demanding cities grow larger and larger, sprawling out into the countryside to accommodate the cars need for parking and high-speed roads to move them from place to place smoothly. Suburbia isn’t about homeownership, is as it’s about having a place to put the automobile, where it can be safely parked off the street.

Parking

There are plenty of homes in cities. For generations before the automobile, homeowners-owned row houses in the city. The problem is dense urban areas lack places to park automobiles safely. So people choose to move out to the suburbs, where they can have a garage and a driveway to park their cars. In the suburbs, one only has to drive a short distance to a freeway then to another vast parking lot at the office campus.

Farther Up the Dead End Road

Society needs to rethink it’s relationship with automobile.

Cars are a lot of fun, used in moderation. Like an occasional drag on a cigarette or a cold beer after work, driving is a pleasurable activity on the open road, in a rural area. But cars don’t belong in cities. Having a lot of horsepower, and dropping the gas pedal can be a lot of fun.

A Narrow Rough Road

I think in the future, automobiles will be used primarily as something you use on Sunday after church, to go out on a picnic in the country, following lush tree-lined parkways. Parks will be located at nearly every exit of the parkway. People will use cars on vacations to go places too unpopular to be worthwhile to run a transit line. Maybe also driven by farmers and rural residents, at least to a park and ride lot on the outskirts of city, which you would take a transit vehicle the rest of the way.