Search Results for: photo certainly a nice day

To ride or not to ride to work today ๐Ÿšดโ€โ™€๏ธ ๐Ÿ”๏ธ

I think I already know the answer to that question, as much as I might not love the idea of riding South Pearl Street with the rough pavement, as I am sure there is still too much snow on the rail trail. Got to watch out for the black ice but I assume the bike trail and alike will be plowed in the city, just not down through the gorge. At any rate, Corning Hill is kind of a blast on the bike.

Good morning! Monday’s come back around again. Sunny and 29 degrees in Delmar, NY. ๐ŸŒž Calm wind. There are 4 inches of snow on the ground. โ˜ƒ ๏ธ Alas that’s the only thing giving me pause, as I doubt I can do the rail trail. But by evening the rail trail might be passable, or certainly by tomorrow. Wednesday might rain, and Thursday I might drive in if I plan to head to the Adirondacks after work, assuming I get Good Friday off. โœ๏ธ

So it’s the week leading up to Easter Weekend. ๐Ÿ‡ I am still hoping to have Good Friday off. That said, Thursday looks a bit wet ๐ŸŒฆ๏ธ so maybe I won’t head north until early on Good Friday. I am determined to get bacon ๐Ÿฅ“ at For the Love of Bacon, as while it’s not something I’d eat regularly it’s such a wonderful treat. ๐Ÿ– And your supporting local agriculture while getting a product made out of simple ingredients. I’m not a bacon and eggs each morning kind of person — but a little bit of bacon and bacon grease as a treat spread over a few weeks or months is wonderful. Lard is kind of a wonderful thing. ๐Ÿซƒ  I should bring a snow shovel and salt though if heading up north, as there is a chance I’ll need it. But at least fire danger should be relatively low  ๐Ÿ”ฅ for my mostly DEC compliant 3-foot campfire. I should bring a ruler ๐Ÿ“ to measure it, and not burn it, lol. ๐Ÿ˜ธ I just don’t like when people burn pallets and leave nails out for people to run over with their 35-inch tires. ๐Ÿ›ž Plastic, I don’t care as long as I don’t have to smell it and it fully burns up or is packed out. ๐Ÿ‘ƒ

Today will be sunny ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 46 degrees at 4pm. Three degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 19th. Light and variable wind becoming east around 5 mph in the afternoon. A year ago, we had light snow in the morning, which became light drizzle by afternoon. The high last year was 41 degrees. The record high of 74 was set in 1910. 1.9 inches of snow fell back in 1960.โ„

Yesterday I hiked Bennett Hill ๐Ÿšถ‍โ™‚๏ธ after the ice storm.  ๐Ÿ”Œ The power was back on by the time I got back from my folks house, I’m glad about that as otherwise it would have been a very cold and dark night. Didn’t help that I had left the heat at 48 degrees the night before, so things really dropped after the heat quit working at 1 AM the previous night. I was a bit worried about pipes freezing, though that has yet to happen even in the coldest weather, though I do remember them being a bit frozen after the 2009 Ice Storm when I lost power for three days. ๐ŸŒž And despite all the sunshine, it still was dark in my bathroom without windows, though what I ended up doing was drawing the blinds and leaving the bathroom door. Still I was super cranky about losing power, again for the second time in like two weeks.

Then I went out to my parents house for Sunday dinner of riggies ๐Ÿ, which is far more white pasta then I normally eat but it’s nice to have them as a treat while my family is still around. ๐Ÿ‘ช๏ธ I talk about how close I am to early retirement in 13 years, 10 months and 4 days, and for people who are older that seems like a lifetime — at least a remaining lifetime. But I do agree I really should be spending a least some of that time exploring America. If I want to move out (mid) west, I should explore it first.  ๐Ÿ›ป If it means boarding a plane โœˆ๏ธ and renting a car ๐Ÿค‘ and spending some money, then so be it. Then later in the evening, I went for an evening walk.  ๐Ÿšฒ๏ธ Never got test my adjustments to the bicycle gears  โš™๏ธ over the weekend, but I’m sure it will be good enough and I can tweak tonight. Probably won’t be riding home but will catch the bus home due to snow/ice remaining on the bike trail.

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 1:02 pm with sun having an altitude of 49.4° from the due south horizon (-21.4° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 5.1 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ๐Ÿ… starts at 6:37 pm with the sun in the west (267°). ๐Ÿ“ธ The sunset is in the west (274°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:14 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 54 seconds with dusk around 7:42 pm, which is one minute and 9 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ The best time to look at the stars is after 8:16 pm. At sunset, look for clear skies ๐ŸŒ„ and temperatures around 41 degrees. There will be a east breeze at 6 mph. Today will have 12 hours and 28 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 55 seconds over yesterday.

This evening after I get home I’ll probably have a quick dinner of sweet potato  ๐Ÿฅ” and some fried veggies, ๐Ÿง… and then go for evening walk before doing some reading ๐Ÿ“š๏ธ using that Libby app on my phone. I like E-Books whenever they’re available as it avoids a trip to the library, plus I don’t have to worry about getting the books wet and dirty, and I can bring them under the covers in my bed, which is good with the heated blanket, as especially once we get past today. I plan to read e-books exclusively when I head out of town this weekend — I’ll have to make sure the ones I have are downloaded to my phone.๐Ÿ“ฑ Unfortunately my phone is starting to fall apart, so I may have to think about replacing it soon.

Tonight will be mostly clear ๐ŸŒƒ, with a low of 26 degrees at 4am. Three degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 17th. East wind around 6 mph becoming light and variable after midnight. In 2023, we had light drizzle in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 31 degrees. The record low of 0 occurred back in 1885.

Spoke to my neighbor about the garbage pile  ๐Ÿ—‘๏ธ last week and he still hasn’t done anything to address it. He said he was holding it to take to his parent’s dumpster but had forgotten about it. I just don’t like how animals have gotten into it and I’m finding litter now. I wouldn’t care if he had secure garbage cans.

A picture perfect weekend on tap. ๐Ÿ˜Ž The only real question in my mind will I get off Good Friday. And can I leave early on Thursday? For Good Friday Eve, a chance of showers before 2am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 34. Chance of precipitation is 40%. For Good Friday, partly sunny, with a high near 48. Saturday, mostly sunny, with a high near 49. Easter, partly sunny, with a high near 47. Typical average high for the weekend is 51 degrees. That sounds like a winner, though it only can slide downhill from here. Not as warm in Adirondacks, but I’ll take that weather for late March.

As previously noted, next Monday is April Fools Day ๐Ÿคก when the sun will be setting at 7:23 pm with dusk at 7:50 pm. On that day in 2023, we had rain and temperatures between 74 and 41 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 52 degrees. We hit a record high of 77 back in 1986.

Blackhead from Acra Point

Friday, Again. โ˜บ

Second rent check is on the way to the new landlord via auto pay. It’s working out fine, this is the least expensive, most flexible living arrangement.

Good morning! Yeah, it’s Friday! Mostly sunny โ˜€ and 21 degrees in Delmar, NY. There is a northwest breeze at 11 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. The current wind chill is 9. There is a dusting of snow on the ground. โ˜ƒ Starting out real cold for late March, the heat is back on. Things will start to thaw out at around noontime. ๐ŸŒก๏ธ

Slept until almost six o’clock this morning, ๐Ÿ› at which point I got up and made up coffee โ˜• and some good hardy pancakes ๐Ÿฅž with blueberries and pineapple ๐Ÿ. Kind of a cold morning, I turned the heat on for a bit and enjoyed my time under the heated blanket. Should be a better day for riding to work but still cold but somewhat less windy. ๐Ÿšฒ

Today will be mostly sunny ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 37 degrees at 3pm. 11 degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around February 20th. Northwest wind 5 to 11 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 63 degrees. The record high of 81 was set in 2012. 7.0 inches of snow fell back in 1887.โ„

Yesterday was super windy ๐ŸŒฌ๏ธ riding back home, but it was excellent cardio. โ™ฅ Sweet potatoes ๐Ÿ  and a fried onions with corn with turmeric was dinner last night. ๐Ÿฝ Then I went upstairs, read ๐Ÿ“– and wrote ๐Ÿ“ a bit for the blog. There’s been a lot to think about these days. At one level I feel like a failure walking away ๐Ÿ‘ฃ from building a house ๐Ÿ—๏ธ but it wasn’t going to end well building I’m New York. If leaving immediately was a good choice, I would take it but it’s not. So I’m just going to stay the course for now. I’m not giving up on the dream, I’m delaying it until I have the necessary resources.

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 1:03 pm with sun having an altitude of 48.2ยฐ from the due south horizon (-22.6ยฐ vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 5.4 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ๐Ÿ… starts at 6:33 pm with the sun in the west (266ยฐ). ๐Ÿ“ธ The sunset is in the west (272ยฐ) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:11 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 54 seconds with dusk around 7:38 pm, which is one minute and 10 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ At dusk you’ll see the Full ๐ŸŒ Moon in the east-southeast (103ยฐ) at an altitude of 30ยฐ from the horizon, 251,954 miles away. ๐Ÿš€ The best time to look at the stars is after 8:12 pm. At sunset, look for mostly cloudy skies โ˜ and temperatures around 34 degrees. There will be a north-northeast breeze at 5 mph. Tomorrow will have 12 hours and 22 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 54 seconds over today.

There is some profound happiness in finding closure โ˜บ and reverting back to my original plan of moving out of state at retirement or possibly sooner. Age 55 at this point isn’t that far away and it’s a destination I can get to. ๐Ÿก The whole house search thing was kind of silly, I told myself that I could live with being in New York State but I knew that was a profound lie ๐Ÿคฅ I told myself. I want to keep on my savings path ๐Ÿฆ, continue my education ๐ŸŽ“, work hard and produce results in the meantime. The whole house search things really got started when I was super jealous that the head of programming I work with has a house in Westerlo. Stupid reason and it’s not me.

I do need to be more open about who I am but I face profound rejection for being who I am in the community I currently live in. ๐Ÿคทโ€โ™‚๏ธ I get what people mean by coming out of the closet when many don’t fearing both the personal and legal โš– ramifications of being true to oneself. Some of the ways I want to live in activities I want to participate are serious criminal offenses in New York State even if they are perfectly legal and commonplace other places. ๐Ÿ”ฅ ๐Ÿ”ซ ๐Ÿš™

Tonight will snow and sleet likely before 3am, then sleet likely between 3am and 5am, then freezing rain, possibly mixed with sleet after 5am. ๐ŸŒจ Low of 30 degrees at 1am. One degree above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 24th. Northeast wind 5 to 9 mph becoming southeast after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 80%. Little or no ice accumulation expected. New snow and sleet accumulation of less than one inch possible. In 2023, we had cloudy skies. It got down to 39 degrees. The record low of -04 occurred back in 1875.

This weekend is certainly starting out wintery. โ˜ƒ๏ธ I think it’s the final last blast of winter at this point. Hoping for better weather for the Easter holiday weekend next weekend ๐Ÿฐ and actually a little snow on the ground in the Adirondacks is not a bad thing come next weekend as it reduces the fire ๐Ÿ”ฅ risk. I’m so looking for a few nice nights in the wilderness. โ›บ

Tomorrow will rain or freezing rain, becoming all rain after 7am. ๐ŸŒง High of 38 degrees at 11am. Eight degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 2nd. South wind 6 to 10 mph becoming north in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 22 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Little or no ice accumulation expected. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 56 degrees. The record high of 80 was set in 1938. 6.1 inches of snow fell back in 2020.โ„

Looking ahead to Sunday, mostly sunny, with a high near 40. โ˜€ North wind 13 to 15 mph. Definitely a pretty bitterly cold day. Typical average high for the weekend is 48 degrees. I’m hoping for better warmer weather next weekend to spend in the Adirondacks.

One month ๐Ÿ“… from now will be Earth Day ๐ŸŒŽ when the sun will be setting at 7:47 pm with dusk at 8:15 pm.

Going to be a nice late winter Tuesday with ample sun but the wind sticks around โ˜€

At least I have power this morning and it’s not like I’m showering in the pitch black like yesterday. The windows are open as I like the fresh air, even if it’s cold out. Plus I burnt some crap on the stove this morning and it was a smoking.

Good morning! Happy Tuesday. Sunny and 34 degrees in Delmar, NY. ๐ŸŒž There is a west breeze at 8 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. There is a dusting of snow on the ground. โ˜ƒ Temperatures will drop below freezing at around 5 am. โ˜ƒ๏ธ

Going to be such a nice day I plan to leave early ๐Ÿšฒ and ride in via the longer way using the Menands exit off the Mohawk Hudson Bike Trail. Mornings are dark currently with the time change but we gain back that daylight quickly. ๐Ÿ’ก Things are much brighter this morning though with the power back on. ๐Ÿ”Œ

Today will be sunny ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 59 degrees at 4pm. 15 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 14th. Northwest wind 7 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph. Less windy though then yesterday. A year ago, we had cloudy skies. The high last year was 46 degrees. The record high of 69 was set in 2012. 30.4 inches of snow fell back in 1888.โ„ That’s a lot of snow. But then again, last week if it had been colder and not an El Nino year, we probably would have gotten a ton of snow.

It was great being able to ride home, with the extra hour of sunlight. ๐ŸŒ† We’ve gained a lot of time in evening in recent weeks, but the time change โฒ really was a game changer in the evening when it comes to sunlight. If it wasn’t so dang cold and windy last night, I would have totally enjoyed an evening walk in the daylight, or maybe even going down to the park.

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 1:06 pm with sun having an altitude of 44.3° from the due south horizon (-26.5° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 6.1 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ๐Ÿ… starts at 6:22 pm with the sun in the west (260°). ๐Ÿ“ธ The sunset is in the west (267°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 6:59 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 55 seconds with dusk around 7:26 pm, which is one minute and 11 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Crescent ๐ŸŒ’ Moon in the west (260°) at an altitude of 28° from the horizon, 228,842 miles away. ๐Ÿš€ The best time to look at the stars is after 8:00 pm. At sunset, look for clear skies ๐ŸŒ„ and temperatures around 50 degrees. There will be a west-northwest breeze at 9 mph. Tomorrow will have 11 hours and 53 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 54 seconds over today.

I am continuing to read, How to plan, contract, and build your own home. ๐Ÿ  I am not super interested in the section about what people want in the latest big suburbanite home, but I am quite interested in the permitting and contracting section, along with learning some of the basics of building construction. ๐Ÿ‘ท‍โ™€๏ธ While there are experts out there you can hire to swing a hammer, I want to make sure I’m getting a fair deal, ๐Ÿค that things will get signed off by town officials โœ… and that I’m able to build and live the way I want. I may have to pass up on a parcel or two that I love because I’m taking my time, โค๏ธ or pay a few months extra in rent, but I want to do what will work well for the next 20 years of my life through retirement and maybe beyond.

Tonight will have increasing clouds โ˜, with a low of 35 degrees at 3am. 10 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 10th. Northwest wind 5 to 7 mph becoming calm in the evening. I can probably leave at least some of the windows open tonight. In 2023, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became light rain by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 33 degrees. The record low of -6 occurred back in 1885.

Today in 1933, was the first of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s fireside chats. ๐Ÿ“ป He really mastered the communication methods of the time when he was running for president. A lot of homes had radios by the thirties. It’s funny though I listen to a fair bit of audio and even radio programs these days it’s either streaming or podcasts. Radio is still good when you are in the Adirondacks though without cell phone reception ๐Ÿ“ถ but there are a fewer and fewer places like that.

Weekend will be mild but it’s sliding in the wrong direction. ๐Ÿ˜ž Saturday, mostly cloudy, with a high near 51. Sunday, a chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 53. Chance of precipitation is 50%. Typical average high for the weekend is 45 degrees.

Looking ahead, next Tuesday is Last Day of Winter ๐Ÿ‚ when the sun will be setting at 7:08 pm with dusk at 7:35 pm. On that day in 2023, we had partly sunny, snow showers and temperatures between 33 and 22 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 46 degrees. We hit a record high of 78 back in 2012. I’m not sad about that but I bet March is going to end colder then certainly 2012.

Cattails

Do you believe in magic? With today’s weather it will feel almost magical ๐ŸŒž

At least when we see the sun later on this morning. Going to be a nice, spring like day once the clouds part. Or so I hope. My shoulder is still sore and achy, like from the Lyme I got years ago now, but I am fine. I feel a lot better now that I got my initial ideas sketched out for my off-grid property and cabin, even if it’s just a sketch and years worth of work ahead. I certainly like it much better then suburbanite, high consumption crap covered with vinyl-siding that dominates the real estate classifieds.

Good morning! Happy Sunday. Mostly cloudy and 45 degrees in Delmar, NY. โ˜ There is a north-northwest breeze at 7 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. The skies will clear around 10 am.

I ended up opening the windows after heading to bed, ๐Ÿ‘ฉ‍๐Ÿš’ after I burned something on the kitchen stove cooking and it inevitably set off the fire alarm. ๐Ÿ””  It was actually nice sleeping with the fresh air, and I am feeling a lot better the past few days, thought still a bit achy. I think it also helped that I started to draft out what I really want when I own my own land and build my house, and the reassurance from others that it’s possible. It feels good to know I don’t have to be stuck in surburbia forever, and that the only option isn’t vinyl siding and drywall with a big natural gas boiler and a 3,000 square foot home full of things soon to be garbage with a big mowed grass lawn. ๐Ÿคฎ It is possible to build that off-grid cabin I really want for a budget I can afford. And on that note, ๐Ÿ˜ด suddenly I am sleeping better.

Today will be partly sunny ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 55 degrees at 1pm. 14 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 6th. Maximum dew point of 47 at 12pm. North wind 7 to 9 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 40 degrees. The record high of 64 was set in 2002. 10.9 inches of snow fell back in 1994.โ„

On the list for today is buying the poster frames, ๐Ÿ–ผ๏ธ for the artwork to decorate my new office. Along with a brighter light bulb for the desk, maybe a candle warmer, and groceries for the week. ๐Ÿ›’ My pantry is well depleted, I really need to get shopping. ๐Ÿ  ๐Ÿ‡ Amazing how fast food comes and gets eaten around this place. I think I must have a very big appetite, but some of it is lower calorie value of the food I eat so I end up eating more, especially after ride back and forth to work on my bicycle. โ™ป๏ธ I also need to return cans to get my deposit back and free up some space in the outside trash can.

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 12:08 pm with sun having an altitude of 40.8° from the due south horizon (-30° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 7 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ๐Ÿ… starts at 5:10 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (256°). ๐Ÿ“ธ The sunset is in the west (262°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 5:48 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 56 seconds with dusk around 6:16 pm, which is one minute and 13 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ The best time to look at the stars is after 6:49 pm. At sunset, look for partly cloudy skies ๐ŸŒƒ and temperatures around 54 degrees. The dew point will be 47 degrees. There will be a north breeze at 7 mph. Today will have 11 hours and 24 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 52 seconds over yesterday.

In the afternoon going out to see the family ๐Ÿ‘จ‍๐Ÿ‘ฉ‍๐Ÿ‘ง and then over to my friend’s from Boy Scouts, to spend some time together, and learn what I can learn about how he put together his homestead outside of Greenville, rebuilding an old and vacant home. Now I’m thinking about building new, ๐Ÿ‘ท‍โ™€๏ธ but I want to gain whatever insight I can in my options and what contractors he worked with the process with the town building inspector. ๐Ÿงญ The more I can learn about the process, the fewer costly mistakes I will likely make, or so I hope. For me, it’s so much about the money but living the life I want to live. ๐Ÿ•๏ธ๐Ÿฅพ๐Ÿท๐Ÿ”

Tonight will be mostly cloudy ๐ŸŒซ๏ธ, with a low of 40 degrees at 5am. 18 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 22nd. North wind 3 to 6 mph. In 2023, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became light snow by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 32 degrees. The record low of -20 occurred back in 1950. I can leave my windows open again tonight! ๐Ÿ”ณ That’s great. I sleep so much better with fresh air.

Back in 1972, an airplane crashes in suburban Albany, off Holmesdale Ave in Albany (near Colvin Avenue and Washington Ave). Regional Carrier, Mohawk Airlines Flight 405 crashes as a result of a control malfunction and insufficient training in emergency procedures. ๐Ÿ›ฉ๏ธ  Also today in 1873, U.S. Congress enacts the Comstock Law, making it illegal to send any “obscene, lewd, or lascivious” books through the mail. ๐Ÿ“˜ ๐Ÿ“ฌ๏ธ And in 1991, an amateur video captures the beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers. ๐Ÿ‘ฎ‍โ™€๏ธ

Looking ahead, next Sunday is Daylight Savings Time ๐ŸŒ† when the sun will be setting at 6:57 pm with dusk at 7:24 pm (Daylight Savings Time). On that day in 2023, we had partly cloudy skies with snow showers and temperatures between 44 and 20 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 43 degrees. We hit a record high of 72 back in 1977. Before my time.

Sugar Loaf and Drowned Lands

Busy, busy, busy on this Hump Day โ˜€

Going to be fairly sunny and warm at least. I’m still feeling incredibly sore but I’m going to try to ride to work today. Such a nice day ahead.

Good morning! What day is it? A chilly start to Hump Day, but it should warm up quickly. Sunny and 18 degrees in Delmar, NY. ๐ŸŒž Calm wind. Things will start to thaw out at around 10 am. ๐ŸŒก๏ธ

Just another really busy day ahead. ๐Ÿšฒ The bicycle ride if I feel up to it will be some needed solitude and relaxation. I was up later then usual last night so I did not get a real early start but the orange – oatmeal pancakes ๐Ÿฅž were a nice sugary start to the morning. ๐Ÿ—ƒ๏ธ I already have a file full of stuff to review today, ignoring the call backs from banks wanting to sell me a mortgage and real estate agents salivating for my business. ๐Ÿ˜‹ I am free to ignore their emails, text and calls. ๐Ÿ“ง

Today will be sunny ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 42 degrees at 3pm. Four degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 6th. Light south wind increasing to 6 to 11 mph in the morning. Not too bad. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning, which became mostly sunny by afternoon. The high last year was 46 degrees. A little warmer than today. The record high of 73 was set in 2018. 11.0 inches of snow fell back in 1929.โ„

I got two different pre-qualification reports from banks ๐Ÿฆ and I’m exceptionally well qualified for up to a house up to $400k in financing if I put 20% down. No way am I planning to buy something that fancy. I called an old friend from Boy Scouts and we’re going to look at some foreclosures and abandoned houses๐Ÿš๏ธ on land. He bought his homestead fairly cheap and got a FHA loan and developed a financing plan that had contractors rebuild his house up to spec.

I really love the idea ๐Ÿ’ก of saving a blighted, old farmstead – particularly a small cabin or house on acerage. I can certainly haul trash and tires to the dump, scrap metal to scrap yard, and work with the fire department ๐Ÿง‘โ€๐Ÿš’to have bonfires to burn up wood and woody debris. ๐Ÿชต Rent a bulldozer to bulldoze any old non toxic farm dumps, cover deep with rock and dirt. This way I could restore a house that might otherwise be demolished and recycle or repurpose as much of the waste as possible. โ™ป It could be a lot of fun. Many things I’d have to rely on inspectors and contractors to repair ๐Ÿ‘ท but as my friend was saying those costs can be part of the mortgage. Plus all then I have control over how many gee gaws on the property, I’d rather have more acerage for goats ๐Ÿ and pigs ๐Ÿฝ than marble counter tops. Pigs after running a few ton of grain through can do miracles for poor quality land, but you want them well downwind of your house mPlus no neighbors right near by to smoke out with my fires or listen to the roar of their ATVs. ๐Ÿ”ฅ

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 12:10 pm with sun having an altitude of 36.7ยฐ from the due south horizon (-34.1ยฐ vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 8.1 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ๐Ÿ… starts at 4:56 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (250ยฐ). ๐Ÿ“ธ The sunset is in the west-southwest (256ยฐ) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 5:35 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 59 seconds with dusk around 6:02 pm, which is one minute and 16 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ At dusk you’ll see the Full ๐ŸŒ Moon in the east (87ยฐ) at an altitude of 33ยฐ from the horizon, 248,471 miles away. ๐Ÿš€ The best time to look at the stars is after 6:36 pm. At sunset, look for clear skies ๐ŸŒ„ and temperatures around 39 degrees. There will be a south breeze at 10 mph. Today will have 10 hours and 53 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 45 seconds over yesterday.

This evening I’m driving up to Troy ๐Ÿ›ป to be on TJ Kennedy’s Upstate Outdoors podcast. ๐ŸŽง It really should be a fun half hour to talk about some of my wilderness experiences โ›บ, camping ๐Ÿ• and what my plans are for what is happening in my life. ๐Ÿ It’s just so exciting to think I might be moving back out to the country again, and maybe it’s not the complete off-grid experience, I want to live simple and small, have acerage and so forth. ๐Ÿก It’s almost as if I’m now ready to put the whole camping and wilderness experience behind me for a place that I can actually call my true home. Okay I haven’t found my abandoned farm property yet nor do I have a restoration plan in place but I am hopeful.

Tonight will be partly cloudy ๐ŸŒƒ , with a low of 27 degrees at 5am. Eight degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 18th. South wind 6 to 8 mph. 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 25 degrees. The record low of -8 occurred back in 1963.

I’m nervous about all the changes lately ๐Ÿ˜ but I know good things will come. Maybe I’m pushing too quickly for change, there are big decisions ahead. I don’t have to return realtor or bank calls right away ๐Ÿ”• they’re just trying to get me to part with tens of thousands of dollars ๐Ÿ’ต and buy something wrong for me. ๐Ÿก I need to do my homework, really study property and figure out what is right for me. Obviously that’s enough land where I can have things like bonfires and camp โ›บ without ever leaving home. I’ll miss the travel but I’m honestly ready to settle down. If I heat with wood ๐Ÿชš and can have fires out back that takes away from a lot of the reasons to spend weekends in the wilderness.

A picture perfect weekend on tap. ๐Ÿ˜Ž Saturday, sunny, with a high near 27. That’s a bit cool for this time of year. Sunday, mostly sunny, with a high near 40. Sunday in particular would be great for searching the back roads for homes with that bud from boy scouting. Maybe I could also do an overnight in the woods on Saturday night. First though, I need to study bank and county foreclosure lists. ๐Ÿ“ƒ Typical average high for the weekend is 38 degrees.

Looking ahead, next Wednesday is Average High is 40 โ˜€๏ธ when the sun will be setting at 5:44 pm with dusk at 6:11 pm. On that day in 2023, we had snow showers, partly cloudy and temperatures between 36 and 26 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 40 degrees. We hit a record high of 63 back in 1903.

Photo.2013.03.03 15.25.18

Another busy day, though of a lot of it spent reading ๐Ÿ“š

There is a lot to learn about becoming a first-time homeowner. But I have a bit of time as I’m early in the journey, but it’s something I am pretty determined to do this year. It makes sense from a financial perspective, and even more so from mental and physical health perspective. I need the security of a permanent home, not one at the whims of landlord or a dilapidated, moldy building while I’m the director of an important state government agency making good money. I loved my years living in the city and spending my weekends in the wilderness, but all good things must come to an end, to be birthed into new things.

Good evening! Mostly cloudy and 34 degrees in Delmar, NY. โ˜ There is a west-southwest breeze at 10 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. There is a dusting of snow on the ground. โ˜ƒ Temperatures will drop below freezing at around 6 pm. โ˜ƒ๏ธ

It’s an exciting time to be me, but also so scary. ๐Ÿคฏ I just keep looking around at things, knowing that it might not be tomorrow that it’s the last time I have a view, but much in my life that I once new and treasured will soon be gone. Like those final days in my office in Alfred E Smith Building when there was times I would just stare into my sunlight-filled corner office, that was increasingly packed up and empty, and out of the of windows at the sweeping views of the Hudson River and Downtown Albany. Knowing it would be gone when I moved to the suburban office in Menands. ๐Ÿ˜ž

Getting out of this apartment will be good for me. ๐Ÿš My licensed mental health counselor identified this as a major problem — and action I should be taking — three years ago. Maybe I should have kept going to see him, but it became a major expense in time and cost. ๐Ÿ‘ฉ‍โš•๏ธ It won’t happen tomorrow, and I’ll have to deal with new landlord until things are closed, which is likely many months away as I’m at the start of the journey. The guy has made it almost impossible to pay him except through his personal Venmo (or via human bank teller at a specific bank only during Monday through Friday, 9-4 PM), of him in a swimming pool and cigar in his mouth, which he uses in exchange to buy beer for his friends at the bar. ๐Ÿป ๐Ÿšฌ Sounds like fun, but certainly not respect. No phone number or address, just an email in case of emergencies. One that he doesn’t reply to emails. ๐Ÿ“ด  Yeah, that kind of landlord. When I own a home, I’ll miss the weekends in the wilderness, riding back and forth to work, and all the niceties of living in the city — walk to the library and park, but getting out of city will be good for me. But having a garden, livestock, a place for bonfires in backyard, and a wood stove it will be great. ๐Ÿ”ฅ ๐Ÿ ๐Ÿ”

Tonight will have a chance of snow showers, mainly before 3am. Mostly cloudy ๐ŸŒง, with a low of 23 degrees at 6am. Four degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 5th. Southwest wind 9 to 13 mph becoming northwest after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Total nighttime snow accumulation of less than a half 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 23 degrees. The record low of -07 occurred back in 1878.

Today I rode out to Voorheesville ๐Ÿšฒ and then went down to the library. Filled out more mortgage applications, ๐Ÿ“ž chatted with another mortgage broker for a while on the phone. Spent a lot of time reading about personal finance, home ownership, and the process of buying a home. I’m on my third full-length e-book on this topic since Friday night. ๐Ÿ“š I’ve been quite the bookworm lately. Did more reading about my legal rights as a renter, and how to protect myself from the new landlord. Maybe I shouldn’t be so scared of him, but he reminds me of so many of school yard bullies of years past. But I have the law on my side, though I don’t trust this guy, so I am going to be real careful paying him, make sure I get receipts for all payments. Had red lentil soup for dinner, and white beans with leftover chilly for lunch. I’ve been exhausted from all the stress of it all. ๐Ÿ˜Ÿ I’ve not been sleeping well. Maybe I’ll need more mental help as I go through this process. Good things are going to happen.

Tonight will have a Waxing Gibbous ๐ŸŒ” Moon with 72% illuminated. At 4 PM, the moon was in the east (89°) at an altitude of 42° from the horizon, some 240,347 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 August 19th. Buckle up for safety! ๐Ÿ’บ The Snow โ„ Moon is on Saturday, February 24. The darkest hour is at 12:10 am, followed by dawn at 6:21 am, and sun starting to rise at 6:50 am in the east-southeast (106°) and last for 3 minutes Sunrise is one minute and 26 seconds earlier than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ„ The golden hour ends at 7:29 am with sun in the east-southeast (112°). Tonight will have 13 hours and 13 minutes of darkness, a decrease of 2 minutes and 44 seconds over last night.

Washington’s Birthday will be sunny ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 31 degrees at 3pm. Six degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical Northwest wind 9 to 13 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 47 degrees. The record high of 66 was set in 1981. 11.4 inches of snow fell back in 1972.โ„

Another chilly day tomorrow, ๐ŸŒฌ so maybe I didn’t miss out on much by choosing to stay in town. ๐Ÿ• It’s good to save money, big purchases ahead, lol. Really hoping to catch up with the landlord tomorrow and see if I can get answers to my questions I emailed him when he stops by. โœ‰๏ธ Hard to say for sure, as I’m going to go grocery shopping in morning ๐Ÿ›’, then maybe for a hike mid-afternoon and then out to the folks house ๐Ÿ‘ช for Sunday dinner, a day late due to the holiday weekend.

In four weeks on March 17 the sun will be setting in the west (270°) at 7:06 pm (Daylight Savings Time),๐ŸŒ„ which is one hour, 34 minutes and 9 seconds later then today. In 2023 on that day, we had rain showers, cloudy and temperatures between 47 and 32 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 45 and 26 degrees. The record high of 75 degrees was set back in 1990.

Looking ahead, tommorow is Presidents Day ๐Ÿง“, Daylight Savings Time ๐ŸŒ† is in 3 weeks, St. Patrick’s Day ๐Ÿ€ is in 4 weeks, 7:30 PM Sunset ๐ŸŒ‡ is in 7 weeks, Cinco de Mayo ๐Ÿค  is in 11 weeks, Mothers Day ๐Ÿ‘ฉ‍ is in 12 weeks, Fathers Day ๐Ÿ‘จ is in 16 weeks, Primary Day ๐Ÿ—ณ๏ธ is in 4 months, National Nude Day ๐Ÿ‘ฑ is in 21 weeks, Average High 70 ๐ŸŽ‘ is in 28 weeks, September ๐ŸŽ is in 28 weeks, 7 PM Sunset ๐ŸŒ† is in 7 months, Autumn ๐Ÿ‚ is in 31 weeks, December ๐ŸŽ„ is in 41 weeks, Bill of Rights Day ๐Ÿ“œ is in 43 weeks, Bake Cookies Day ๐Ÿช is in 10 months and Days are Getting Longer โ˜€๏ธ is in 44 weeks.

Edge

Final Day of 2023

Made it to the end of year. Kind of a cloudy, gray, cool day to end out the year — certainly not the best day to be out doing outdoor activities, especially with the breeze and gray skies. Maybe it’s best that my planed camping trip didn’t work out after all.

I was originally planning to be out camping today, but when I got up to camp ๐Ÿ• the campsite was taken and everything up at Rensselaerville State Forest was a complete mosh pit, after all the rain we’ve had and above normal temperatures. I poked around the state forest for a while, thought about pitching a tent, but I would be setting up in the mud, and the other campsite — Campsite 3 was a mess because they’ve been logging off CCC Road. I think that red clay is as slick and muddy as I can remember due to it being such a mild, ice free winter. Maybe that black powder guy parked in the campsite did me a favor. I don’t think he was camping, though it seemed like he swapped off that site with another person, which makes me think maybe he had his stand up there and wanted to reserve the site. I’m not that heart broken ๐Ÿ’” about not camping this weekend. I might be back for Martin Luther King Day Weekend, โ„๏ธ which believe it or not is only two weekend away this point. I’m hoping it will be cold enough at that point that I won’t be dealing with all that mud and slop. Some snow would be nice, and most of the big hunting seasons are done ๐Ÿ”ซ though trapping is open and as small game.

Back to the table format on the weather, as my blog’s weather template always seems to break for the last day of the year. ๐ŸŒ† There is a one-day-a-year bug which I should fix but it happens only once in 365 days. I didn’t blog yesterday, at least with a status update as I got a bit of a late start, and was planning to do it up by camp which didn’t happen. Instead, I came home, unpacked my gear ๐ŸŽ’ which didn’t take long as nothing was disorganized or dirty, made some lunch and spent the balance of the day reading and studying my machine learning course. ๐Ÿค– This morning I finished up the Udemy Neural Nwtworks for R course and started one on Support Vector Classification for R. ๐Ÿ’ญ I’ve been thinking I should also do some machine learning courses on Python so I get a full knowledge and various platforms. ๐Ÿ‘ฉ‍๐Ÿ’ป I’m not opposed to Python though I tend to use R more then Python.

Today for exercise ๐Ÿšฒ I think I’m going to ride out to Voorheesville ๐Ÿš‚ and maybe stop at Hannaford out there to get some baker’s vanilla which I like in my coffee and warm milk at the end of day, plus also some more apple cider vinger which I like in my glass of warm milk at the end of day.. That said, I’m still cringing after spending $200 at the grocery store on Friday, though fortunately I got paid early — I couldn’t believe I got my first 2024 pay check on Friday, when the official pay day is next Wednesday, January 3rd. Paychecks have been coming earlier and earlier, often on Monday mornings, and I know New Years Day or Monday is a holiday, but I just assumed the money would come in on Tuesday. ๐Ÿ’ต It’s good though as I paid rent on Friday, ๐Ÿ˜ and I’ve been concerned about having the minimum in bank account.

I guess this sort of makes December, rather then January a three paycheck month, but as long as I keep things coming in and out consistently, I’m good. I just ended up buying a lot groceries, in part for camping but also there was a lot of things I wanted to keep my pantry stocked. That said, it should cut back on what I need in future weeks, as most of the more expensive things I stocked up are the kind of things that should last for a while. I don’t waste food, if things start to go bad, I cut off the bad parts and eat that first. ๐ŸŽ But I generally prefer frozen and vegatables, and aren’t afraid to use my freezer.

My parents have continued to be sick on and off ๐Ÿ˜ฃ so I’ve not been able to visit them in the few weeks ๐Ÿ‘ช and I’m not totally sure if we are going to do a get together for New Years Day, ๐ŸŽ† though we’ve been talking about doing a holiday celebration ๐ŸŽ„ getting together next week for Mom’s birthday with my sister, niece and in-laws, assuming everybody is feeling better by then and the weather is good.

As you will note below, going to be a mild week to start out January, and we are definitely starting to pick up more daylight at end of each day.

This Afternoon.
Feels like …
December 18th.

Mostly Cloudy

Mostly cloudy.
Northwest wind around 8 mph. and
37 degrees , 4:33
sunset.
Tonight.
Feels like …
December 3rd.

Slight Chance of Snow Showers

A slight chance of snow showers between 10pm and 4am. Mostly cloudy.
Northwest wind 3 to 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. and
26 degrees , 7:23
sunrise.
New Year’s Day.
Feels like …
December 22nd.

Mostly Cloudy

Mostly cloudy.
North wind 3 to 6 mph.
and
36 degrees , 4:33
sunset.
Monday Night.
Feels like …
December 10th.

Mostly Clear

Mostly clear.
Northwest wind 6 to 8 mph.
and
24 degrees , 7:23
sunrise.
Tuesday.
Feels like …
December 9th.

Sunny

Sunny.
West wind 5 to 9 mph.
and
40 degrees , 4:34
sunset.
Tuesday Night.
Feels like …
November 30th.

Partly Cloudy

Partly cloudy.
 
and
27 degrees , 7:23
sunrise.
Wednesday.
Feels like …
December 6th.

Mostly Cloudy

Mostly cloudy.
 
and
41 degrees , 4:35
sunset.
Wednesday Night.
Feels like …
November 23rd.

Mostly Cloudy

Mostly cloudy.
 
and
29 degrees , 7:23
sunrise.
Thursday.
Feels like …
December 18th.

Chance of Rain/Snow

A chance of snow before 10am, then a chance of rain and snow between 10am and 4pm, then a chance of snow after 4pm. Mostly cloudy.
Chance of precipitation is 30%.
and
37 degrees , 4:36
sunset.
Thursday Night.
Feels like …
December 21st.

Mostly Cloudy

Mostly cloudy.
 
and
21 degrees , 9 max wind chill, 7:23
sunrise.
Friday.
Feels like …
January 5th.

Mostly Sunny

Mostly sunny.
 
and
33 degrees , 9 max wind chill, 4:37
sunset.
Friday Night.
Feels like …
December 17th.

Partly Cloudy

Partly cloudy.
 
and
22 degrees , 11 max wind chill, 7:23
sunrise.
Saturday.
Feels like …
December 31st.

Partly Sunny

Partly sunny.
 
and
34 degrees , 11 max wind chill, 4:38
sunset.

Escarpment Fence