Search Results for: photo end of day rapidly approaching

A nice morning after a cool and windy weekend at Rennselearville State Forest ๐ŸŒ€

It was nice to get away for two nights, only a quick trip from home. Not a lot of gas or costs which is good plus some great views, chances to ride and walk in the woods.

Good morning! Mostly sunny โ˜€ and 52 degrees at the Rensselaerville State Forest. There is a west-northwest breeze at 8 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. The dew point is 49 degrees.

Nice morning today ๐ŸŒ… but a bit chilly. But it’s the second half of September and I’m in the high country of Albany County so it’s to be expected. Didn’t run out of propane which became a concern yesterday when I noticed the tank was getting light and it’s been about ten nights in the woods since filling the tank on vacation, though many did not involve using the heater much.

Today will have increasing clouds โ˜€ โžก โ˜, with a high of 65 degrees at 4pm. Nine degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around October 7th. Maximum dew point of 51 at 10am. West wind around 8 mph. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning with more sun in the afternoon. The high last year was 72 degrees. The record high of 89 was set in 1942.

Taking camp โ›บ down relatively early ๐Ÿ•’ as I’m thinking about exploring Huyck Preserve ๐Ÿธ for a while before going to the folks house ๐Ÿก early to pick apples ๐Ÿ and Sunday dinner. ๐Ÿ ๐Ÿ— Going to be rain โ˜” by evening and I don’t want to get home that late with the earlier sunsets.

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 12:52 pm with sun having an altitude of 49.8ยฐ from the due south horizon (-21.1ยฐ 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. Autumn is rapidly approaching. The golden hour ๐Ÿ… starts at 6:28 pm with the sun in the west (268ยฐ). ๐Ÿ“ธ The sunset is in the west (274ยฐ) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:05 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 54 seconds with dusk around 7:31 pm, which is one minute and 47 seconds earlier than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Crescent ๐ŸŒ’ Moon in the west-southwest (249ยฐ) at an altitude of 6ยฐ from the horizon, 244,955 miles away. ๐Ÿš€ The best time to look at the stars is after 8:07 pm. At sunset, look for rain ๐ŸŒง and temperatures around 60 degrees. The dew point will be 51 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Today will have 12 hours and 27 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 51 seconds over yesterday.

Yesterday was a somewhat slow day and by midday I was a bit cold ๐Ÿฅถ so I retreated to my truck cap, took a nap and watched YouTube. ๐Ÿ“น Then the sun came out and warmed up a bit, wind which was roaring slowed and went for a ride to the Hillicross Parcel ๐Ÿž then around some of the dirt roads and haul roads ๐Ÿšฒ at the State Forest. Then came back, fried up some potatoes, spinach, snap peas and salmon ๐Ÿ  then went for a hike through the woods to the hill overlooking Camp Cass. Came back had a nice fire ๐Ÿ”ฅ until around ten. Very starry โœจ night, saw two shooting stars before retiring to bed around ten. With the breeze I kept the fire small as it was a rather sparky evening. Not worried about a grass fire but didn’t like all the sparks heading towards my truck for obvious reasons.

Tonight will have showers, mainly after 10pm. ๐ŸŒง Low of 53 degrees at 1am. One degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around September 19th. Maximum dew point of 53 at 1am. ๐Ÿ–๏ธ Light and variable wind becoming east around 6 mph in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. In 2022, we had partly cloudy skies. It became humid as the night progressed. It got down to 62 degrees. The record low of 35 occurred back in 1986.

I was hoping to get up to the Adirondacks next weekend for a long one, โ›บ but we’ll see with the weather. I doubt there is much color change yet ๐Ÿ‚ and as of now the long range for next weekend isn’t all that great. But September weekends are rapidly expiring and October is quickly coming. As of now I’m thinking of possibly taking a week the third week of October but things could change.

Looking ahead, there are 2 weeks until October ๐ŸŽƒ when the sun will be setting at 6:40 pm with dusk at 7:07 pm. Happens so quickly. On that day in 2022, we had partly sunny and temperatures between 69 and 46 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 68 degrees. We hit a record high of 90 back in 1927.

A Fall Reflection Seen from Wakely Dam

The mornings quickly haven’t been so dark ๐ŸŒ…

When the time change first hit with that power outage on Monday things were quite dark. But we are gaining daylight quickly in the morning in part because the transit of the sun is shifting earlier due to earth wobble and because spring is approaching rapidly adding daylight to both ends of the day.

Good morning! Happy Thursday. Can you believe it? I can’t. Partly cloudy and 42 degrees at the land of the Delmaritian. ๐ŸŒค๏ธ Calm wind. Temperatures will drop below freezing at Monday around 11 pm. โ˜ƒ๏ธ I can probably leave my windows open in the meantime though today was a bit chilly to start out.

Going to really enjoy that bike ๐Ÿšฒ ride in today. It was a cold start with the windows open but it’s warming up quickly with the sun out. ๐Ÿฆ Those red winged black birds are loud this morning, along with the song sparrows. I got to get back into bird watching again like during the pandemic. I was up at around 4:30 AM but that’s not surprising as I was alseep before 8 PM last night. Got a good nights sleep ๐Ÿ›Œ thanks to having the windows open. But I was dog tired before I went to bed. ๐Ÿถ

Another really nice late winter day ahead. Not record breaking but still. Today will be mostly sunny ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 67 degrees at 3pm. 23 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around May 2nd. Light and variable wind becoming northwest 5 to 7 mph in the morning. A year ago, we had light snow in the morning, which became heavy snow by afternoon. The high last year was 35 degrees. The record high of 75 was set in 1946. 17.0 inches of snow fell back in 2017.โ„

Last night I cooked up a sweet potato in the microwave, ๐Ÿ  mixed in some turmeric and nutritional yeast, and had some more of the black beans ๐Ÿฒ and tomatoes that I cooked up in the morning. It was going to be good meal before for a walk in the park,  ๐Ÿƒ but after dinner I was tired and decided to sit out back and read for a while until it get  dark ๐Ÿ”– and then I went straight to bed. I’ve been so tired lately in evening, because I wake up so early. That said, most mornings I’m not pissing away, but instead after eating breakfast I will read or listen to a podcast — or jot down my thoughts while I watch the sun rise. ๐ŸŒ…

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 1:05 pm with sun having an altitude of 45.1° from the due south horizon (-25.7° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 6 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ๐Ÿ… starts at 6:24 pm with the sun in the west (262°). ๐Ÿ“ธ The sunset is in the west (268°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:01 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 54 seconds with dusk around 7:29 pm, which is one minute and 11 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ At dusk you’ll see the First Quarter ๐ŸŒ“ Moon in the west-southwest (249°) at an altitude of 53° from the horizon, 233,320 miles away. ๐Ÿš€ The best time to look at the stars is after 8:02 pm. At sunset, look for partly cloudy skies ๐ŸŒƒ and temperatures around 58 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Tomorrow will have 11 hours and 59 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 54 seconds over today.

Tonight will have showers, mainly after 9pm. ๐ŸŒง Low of 47 degrees at 5am. 20 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around May 8th. East wind 3 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. In 2023, we had light snow in the evening. It got down to 29 degrees. The record low of 1 occurred back in 1993.

I am going to bring my laptop home tonight, ๐Ÿ‘ฉ‍๐Ÿ’ป and will walk down to the library ๐Ÿ“š and work down there. I want to research a few more properties, plan out my exploring property from the backroads trip for the weekend, and look more at what options are out there for cabin kits and plans. ๐Ÿ›– I keep learning more things and discovering more things I don’t know much about.

Today in 1900, the Gold Standard Act is ratified, placing United States currency on the gold standard. ๐Ÿช™ Did that lead to inflation after it ended in the seventies? Pundits have debated that for decades but with the growing world economy it proved to be unworkable. It kind of had to fade away.

Weekend looks nice for March. โ˜€ Saturday, partly sunny, with a high near 56. Northwest wind 6 to 9 mph. Sunday, showers likely, mainly between 8am and 2pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 51. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Typical average high for the weekend is 45 degrees. If Easter wasn’t two weeks away and were things not during the fire season I’d love to have a night or two in the wilderness. Maybe it will rain and snow for Easter Weekend ๐Ÿฐ but that’s still my best hope for getting out of town with the Good Friday holiday โ˜ฆ๏ธ.

Looking ahead to next week next Thursday is First Day of Spring ๐Ÿ’ฎ when the sun will be setting at 7:10 pm with dusk at 7:37 pm. On that day in 2023, we had partly sunny and temperatures between 59 and 24 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 47 degrees. We hit a record high of 78 back in 1921. Still looking about a month to a month and a half until a shit ton of black flies ๐Ÿœ and tulips ๐ŸŒท around. We’re still in the month of the manure spreaders. ๐Ÿ’ฉ

Middleburgh Round Top and Ecker Hollow

June 26, 2021 10 AM Update

Good morning! Happy Saturday. Finally the weekend! Four weeks to Strugeon Moon ๐ŸŒ• . Partly cloudy and 74 degrees at the Five Rivers Environmental Education Center. ๐ŸŒฅ There is a south breeze at 15 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. The dew point is 67 degrees. The skies will clear around 8 pm.

Hot day with the humidity ๐Ÿ˜ฐ although truth be told, tomorrow will be even hotter. Waiting for the bus ๐Ÿš up to Thacher Park after walking ๐Ÿšถ๐Ÿป out to Five Rivers. ๐Ÿฆ. ๐Ÿ˜ท Not wearing the mask much lately, I forgot it and had to run home. I can’t believe how hot it is out already.

Today will be mostly cloudy ๐ŸŒฅ, with a high of 84 degrees at 3pm. Two degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 67 at 10am. South wind 15 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 85 degrees. The record high of 99 was set in 1952.

The plan is to catch the next bus ๐Ÿš to Thacher Park ๐Ÿž and then go for a, walk ๐Ÿšถ๐Ÿป up to Thompsons Lake, swim and cool off ๐ŸŠ๐Ÿปโ€โ™‚๏ธ – already getting hot. Then back to Thacher Park and lay back in the hammock. A lot of people already at Five Rivers, I like the quiet – maybe it will be quieter ๐Ÿคซ in the evening when all the kids ๐Ÿ‘ง๐Ÿป go home for dinner. Probably do an evening walk there too.

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 12:59 pm with sun having an altitude of 70.7ยฐ from the due south horizon (-0.1ยฐ vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.1 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ๐Ÿ… starts at 7:55 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (297ยฐ). ๐Ÿ“ธ The sunset is in the west-northwest (304ยฐ) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:38 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 28 seconds with dusk around 9:12 pm, which is 2 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ The best time to look at the stars is after 9:58 pm. At sunset, look for partly cloudy skies ๐ŸŒƒ and temperatures around 77 degrees. The dew point will be 67 degrees. There will be a south breeze at 13 mph. Today will have 15 hours and 17 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 21 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be mostly cloudy ๐ŸŒฅ, with a low of 71 degrees at 4am. 10 degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 68 at 11pm. South wind 10 to 13 mph. In 2020, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became light rain by the early hours of the morning. It became somewhat humid as the night progressed. It got down to 61 degrees. The record low of 45 occurred back in 1970.

I suspect that this will be a tough night for sleeping ๐Ÿ˜ด so I’ll have to use the fan although Sunday and Monday will worse. I might end up going to the office ๐Ÿข the first half of the week just to beat the heat and get more in person hours in to keep the other directors happy ๐Ÿ˜Š. So much pressure to get people back in the office now that COVID is over ๐Ÿ˜ท ๐Ÿ‘พ ๐Ÿ’‰ but the thing is everybody likes remote work ๐Ÿ’ป and things are getting done whether it’s from camp or a bedroom. ๐Ÿ‘‚๐Ÿป It falls on deaf ears.

Last night was cooler ๐Ÿ˜Ž but I still needed the fan. โš› I was out at the Town Park last night watching the wildlife and noticing that the deer ๐ŸฆŒ already starting to get good sized numbs as their antlers grow in. Autumn is rapidly approaching. All the farms are cutting hay ๐ŸŒพ, you can smell the manure being applied to the fields now as the first cutting get racked and baled.

On this day in 1963, U.S. President John F. Kennedy gave his “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech, ๐ŸŽค underlining the support of the United States for democratic West Germany shortly after Soviet-supported East Germany erected the Berlin Wall. ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ช Also, The Universal Product Code is scanned for the first time in 1974 to sell a package of Wrigley’s chewing gum at the Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio. ๐Ÿฌ

Yesterday was my counseling session and it went well, ๐Ÿ‘จ๐Ÿปโ€โš•๏ธand I was feeling great after it until I realized how it was kind of a bummer. I really don’t like how my counselor keeps telling me that my problems are silly, and that because I’m not doing anything likely to cause significant harm โš  I shouldn’t worry so much about my pyromanania. ๐Ÿ”ฅ You want to move out to the country, have a burn barrel ๐Ÿ›ข, livestock ๐Ÿฎ, four wheelers ๐Ÿ๏ธand lots of guns ๐Ÿ”ซ more power to you. Liking fire or being a conservative doesn’t make you mentally ill. Not harming any one, if your safe and not smoking out your neighbors.

I guess he’s right but I wanted to be pressured to have my views challenged and change. ๐Ÿ’ญ I guess ethically he can’t tell me to be an urban liberal Democrat who drives a Prisus, ๐Ÿš˜ doesn’t eat meat ๐Ÿฅฉ, advocates for gun control ๐Ÿ”ซ, and recycles rather than burns his garbage โ™ป. I so wanted to be told I was terribly wrong, but I guess that’s not what a he can do. But I wish he would listen to me more and talk less. ๐Ÿ”• While I get that I’m paying for his advice I also feel that he should listen more and talk less.

He seems to want to move on to discussing my sometimes contrarian attitude ๐Ÿ™„ but at this point I don’t know how much farther I want to continue. I’m $125 in the hole ๐Ÿ•ณ with co-pay now, and I feel like I’ve discussed all my deepist secrets. ๐Ÿคซ I’ve learned some things, reevaluated parts of my life. ๐Ÿ‘ฉ๐Ÿปโ€๐ŸŒพ Started to think about girl friends and settling down a bit. I’ve learned additional techniques to deal with my anxiety ๐Ÿ˜ฏ and as winter became summer. ๐Ÿ– I think I want to cancel my next session and reevaluate come autumn although I’ve scheduled an appointment a week from Friday but I could cancel as I’d rather be in the Adirondacks.

Looking ahead, there are 4 weeks until Strugeon Moon ๐ŸŒ• when the sun will be setting at 8:24 pm with dusk at 8:56 pm. On that day in 2020, we had humid, partly sunny and temperatures between 82 and 65 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 84 degrees. We hit a record high of 96 back in 1941.

Branch Pond Road

September 3, 2020 Night

Good evening! Partly clear and 62 degrees at the Green Mountain National Forest. There is a southwest breeze at 8 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. The dew point is 55 degrees.

A nice evening but pretty chilly. ๐ŸŒƒ The moon ๐ŸŽ‘ rising and I’m sitting by the fire. This is a nice campsite with lots of sun but I’m having problems with the data service on my phone here so I’m going to have to move to a new campsite โ›บ before work so I have reliable service for walk.

The drive up here along US 7 was pretty โ›ฐ๏ธ especially around Sutherland. Very little traffic in Albany at rush hour, mostly because of everything is still remote work with the state. ๐Ÿš˜ A few parts of Kelly Stand Road are a bit rough in a few places from being so dry and washboarded.

Tonight will be mostly clear ๐ŸŒƒ, with a low of 55 degrees at 5am. One degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around September 6th. Maximum dew point of 57 at 10pm. Southwest wind 8 to 11 mph. In 2019, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became thunderstorm by the early hours of the morning. It became humid as the night progressed. It got down to 59 degrees. The record low of 37 occurred back in 1946.

Tonight will have a Waining Gibbous ๐ŸŒ– Moon with 96% illuminated. The Harvest ๐ŸŒฝ Moon is on Friday, September 18. The darkest hour is at 12:52 am, followed by dawn at 5:51 am, and sun starting to rise at 6:20 am in the east (79ยฐ) and last for 2 minutes and 58 seconds. Sunrise is one minute and 5 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ„ The golden hour ends at 6:58 am with sun in the east (86ยฐ). Tonight will have 10 hours and 57 minutes of darkness, an increase of 2 minutes and 50 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will be sunny ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 65 degrees at 2pm. 12 degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around October 2nd. Maximum dew point of 56 at 8am. West wind around 14 mph. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 80 degrees. The record high of 97 was set in 1929.

It sure gets dark early this time of year. ๐ŸŒ† I guess that’s not that surprising in the grand scheme of things, autumn is rapidly approaching and summer is rapidly fading away. But I guess it’s a good thing because everybody wants 2020 over sooner than later although I doubt there will be much toasting out New Years Eve in 17 weeks.

In four weeks on October 1 the sun will be setting in the west (266ยฐ) at 6:32 pm,๐ŸŒ„ which is 50 minutes and 9 seconds earlier then tonight. In 2019 on that day, we had rain and temperatures between 78 and 60 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 66 and 45 degrees. The record high of 90 degrees was set back in 1927.

Looking ahead, 6:30 Sunrise ๐ŸŒ‡ is in 1 weeks, Constitution Day ๐Ÿ“œ is in 2 weeks, October ๐Ÿฆ‡ and Harvest Moon ๐ŸŒ• is in 4 weeks, Average High is 60 ๐Ÿ‚ is in 6 weeks, Daylight Savings Time Ends ๐ŸŒ‡ is in 2 months, Election Day 2019 ๐Ÿ—ณ๏ธ is in 2 months, Thanksgiving ๐Ÿฆƒ is in 12 weeks, 7:15 AM Sunrise โŒ›๏ธ is in 14 weeks, Christmas Eve ๐ŸŽ… is in 16 weeks, New Years Eve ๐ŸŽ† is in 17 weeks, Latest Sunrise of the Winter ๐ŸŒ„๏ธ is in 4 months, Coldest Week of the Year ๐ŸŒฌ is in 19 weeks, Wolf Moon ๐ŸŒ• is in 21 weeks, Don’t Cry over Spilled Milk Day ๐Ÿฅ› is in 23 weeks and National Drink Wine Day ๐Ÿท is in 24 weeks.

Bay Beach

April 4, 2019 Morning

Good morning! Happy Thursday. Feels more like a Friday to me, although I have to go to work tomorrow. That’s what happens when you work Sunday. Two weeks to the Average High is 60 ๐ŸŒผ. Might even start to see some signs of spring at that point. Mostly sunny and 36 degrees in Delmar, NY. There is a west-northwest breeze at 9 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. Temperatures will drop below freezing at around 11 pm. โ˜ƒ๏ธ

Not a terrible day, fairly mild I still have the heat off. ๐Ÿ˜Ž May turn it back up later on though and the windows are closed as it’s not expected to be super warm. Certainly nice and sunny. I enjoyed my walk ๐Ÿšถ down to the express bus ๐Ÿš. Riding a coach bus to work today with nice soft seats. ๐Ÿ’บ Riding in comfort for sure.

Today will be sunny ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 50 degrees at 4pm. Three degrees below normal, which is similiar to a typical day around March 29th. Breezy, with a west wind 9 to 14 mph increasing to 15 to 20 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 31 mph. The wind will make it feel fairly cold but the sun โ˜€ will help.

Continued red flag ๐Ÿšฉ conditions as it’s spring, dry and windy. So Pennsylvania rednecks shouldn’t be burning ๐Ÿ”ฅ their paper plates and plastic milk bottles today. Save them for after the rain, get lots of beer and big ol’ bonfire. A year ago, we had light rain in the morning, which became partly cloudy by afternoon. The high last year was 52 degrees. The record high of 79 was set in 1950. 4.3 inches of snow fell back in 2016.โ„

The sun will set at 7:25 pm with dusk around 7:53 pm, which is one minute and 8 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ At sunset, look for mostly clear skies ๐ŸŒ„ and temperatures around 44 degrees. Breezy, 17 mph breeze โ›… from the west-northwest. With that wind, probably too cold to go to the park after work. Today will have 12 hours and 53 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 51 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be partly cloudy ๐ŸŒค, with a low of 22 degrees at 4am. 11 degrees below normal, which is similiar to a typical night around March 7th. Cold but not quite record breaking cold. Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph becoming light after midnight. In 2018, we had mostly clear in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 24 degrees. The record low of 14 occurred back in 2016. It still can get pretty cold this time of year.

Tomorrow will have a slight chance of rain and snow before 11am, then rain likely. Increasing clouds ๐ŸŒง, with a high of 42 degrees at 1pm. 12 degrees below normal, which is similiar to a typical day around March 11th. Light east wind becoming south 6 to 11 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Little or no snow accumulation expected. A year ago, we had light rain in the morning, which became partly cloudy by afternoon. The high last year was 39 degrees. The record high of 82 was set in 1928. 1.1 inches of snow fell back in 1914.โ„

Definitely going to be a cold and wet day tomorrow. ๐Ÿ’ฆ I am not camping, so I don’t mind. Sure, another nice day would be nice, but at least it will reduce the fire danger, provide moisture that with the increasingly mild weather will eventually make the city start to green up a bit. ๐Ÿž Yesterday, I went for a walk in Washington Park and there is no signs of the tulips, ๐ŸŒทand honestly things looked kind of barren with the snow gone, but things still brown and no leaves on the trees.๐ŸŽ‹ Honestly, I didn’t expect it to look like spring in the park, but I was hoping maybe to see a few more signs of spring.

Yesterday, I went over to John Wolcott’s house, continued going through his files. ๐Ÿ—ƒ Some of them were kind of interesting, especially the ones about thePryun Library that Erastus Corning and the DOT insisted had to be torn down for the flyover ramp for Interstate 787, even though they could have located it a few feet to the west for minimal costs, and remain within engineering standards. Some of the old dutch documents aren’t much of an interest, but anything involving Mayor Corning is very fascinating.๐Ÿ› The 1960s were a very interesting time in America.

When I got home, I was pretty tired and the wind was whipping around, ๐ŸŒช so I skipped my evening walk. Sure, I was a bad person, but I was quite happy to just lay back in bed. I opened up Facebook, jumped into the swamp, and got so disgusted by what I saw on Facebook, I closed the app. ๐Ÿ’ป I don’t even know why I go on there anymore. Maybe I’ve just become more conservative in recent years, or maybe it’s that my liberal friends have become more obnoxious. I don’t know.

I guess I shouldn’t avoid threatening ideas, but going on Facebook just makes me sick. ๐ŸคขLiterally makes me want to run down to the bathroom and puke out my brains.ย  I mean I like looking at the cute pictures of cows and hunting stuff, ๐Ÿ„ and seeing what my old friends from high school are up to, but so much of what is on there now is either advertising or abusively obnoxious political posts.

The weekend forecast continues to improve. ๐Ÿ˜Ž Saturday, a chance of rain before 8am. Partly sunny, with a high near 59. Northwest wind 5 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. Sunday, partly sunny, with a high near 61. Maximum dew point of 40 at 1pm. Not a drop of humidity in that air, but that’s to be expected this time of year. Typical average high for the weekend is 54 degrees.

Spring is rapidly approaching, although there is going to be a lot of snow and ice in the mountains, and mud in lower elevations. I think I’m going to do something fun this weekend — maybe a good hike ๐Ÿšถand and some fishing on Sunday. ๐ŸŽฃ Depending on how nice it is on Saturday morning, I might go for hike on rail trail ๐Ÿš‚ although I’m not sure how early it will clear out or how early I’ll be out of bed.๐Ÿ›

As previously noted, there are 2 weeks until Average High is 60 ๐ŸŒผ when the sun will be setting at 7:41 pm with dusk at 8:10 pm. On that day in 2018, we had cloudy and temperatures between 47 and 33 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 60 degrees. We hit a record high of 90 back in 1976.

Two weeks from now I’ll probably be on my trip to the Adirondacks or Central NY, although I still haven’t requested the time off.๐Ÿ• I am on the fence where to go — I kind of would like to go to the Adirondacks and the North Country, but not if there still is a lot of snow and ice to deal with. The alternative would be a mix between Charles Baker and Stoney Pond State Forest, maybe heading south to Balsam Pond, hitting up several trout streams, and more rural rather then mountain country. I mean still have plenty of time to visit the Adirondacks before summer is over. I don’t want to deal with camping with snow and ice.

In four weeks on May 2 the sun will be setting at 7:56 pm,๐ŸŒ„ which is 31 minutes and 48 seconds later then today. In 2018 on that day, we had hot, mostly sunny, rain showers and temperatures between 90 and 45 degrees. Last year was the record high. Typically, you have temperatures between 65 and 43 degrees.

While it may not feel like it this week, ๐ŸŒทthe truth is much warmer weather is likely just around the corner. Ninty degrees days are not out of the question nor is heat and humidity although I hope things green up before then so there is some shade to enjoy outside by then. And maybe a few weeks without the black flies. ๐Ÿœ

Last night, I got talking to somebody about the plastic bag ban. They were worried about what they would use for trash bags, ๐Ÿ—‘ once single-use shopping plastic bags were banned. I got thinking about it some more — and pointed out they could wash out the trash cans like people did in the olden days, without any problem. Seems like a simple solution for a silly problem. I don’t get why they always have to have trash bag liners.

Probably when I have my off-grid property, I’ll use animal feed sacks for the kitchen trash that’s going out to the burn barrel (the stuff like wrappers, bottles and packages contaminated by food), and just either use bread bags or wash out the compost container. It’s amazing how many feed bags even small hobby farms end up throwing out. It just seems like there is much too much disposable, single-use plastic out there. ๐Ÿ›No sense paying for something your going to burn, after all.๐Ÿ”ฅ Maybe that’s the future, but I’m still focused on it.

After finding a plastic bag in the Pine Bush ๐ŸŒฒ then seeing a bunch more in the trees, I’ve really started to come around on this issue — they really need to go — as they don’t rot in nature without being burnt. Sure, I’m not happy with them charging paper bags, as I don’t always remember to have my reusable bags with me, but I’m also thinking that using a plastic milk crates, might actually be a much easier way to handle groceries. Reusable bags tend to get dirty quickly, and are somewhat flimsy, but if I could stack groceries in a crate that can be washed off, that might work really well. Groceries would be less likely to spill or get damaged when packaged in a plastic create.

Looking ahead, Average High is 60 ๐ŸŒผ is in 2 weeks, Pink Moon ๐ŸŒ• is in 2 weeks, 8 PM Sunset ๐ŸŒ‡ is a month away, Average High is 70 ๐Ÿฎ is in 6 weeks, Summer ๏ธโ›ฑ๏ธ is in 11 weeks, Independence Day ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ is in 3 months, August ๐ŸŒป is in 17 weeks and Last Sunset After 7 PM ๐ŸŒ† is in 26 weeks.

South East from Farm Tower

October 10, 2015 evening

Good evening from the Allegheny National Forest somewhere near Marienville, PA. While I am well aware of where I am via the GPS, I have never been back on this road. Based on map Iโ€™m familiar with the road it connects with. Itโ€™s labeled a narrow, rough, dirt road, and while I didnโ€™t think it was that bad in Big Red, it certain is narrow. I had to pass a hunterโ€™s pickup, and I think we passed with about 5 inches between our pickups and he had to be 5 inches from the steep drop off from the road. The current temperature is 42 degrees under clear skies. The nice weather is expected to continue through Monday and then turn to rain for Tuesday. The rest of the week look okay after Tuesday. Tomorrow is expected to be 67 and partly sunny and Monday will be 70, at least in Marienville.

Today was a sucky day, but nothing went bad that will screw up the rest of the week. The main two things that went wrong was I simply planned to go too many miles in one day, and traffic was very heavy being Columbus Day. I think 90% of the time when I was on US 6, I was in a line of traffic. I like the open road, I hate to get stuck in a line of cars, keeping my eye on the road at all times to watch for stopped traffic. I-88 had the most traffic on it that I could remember, I spent most of the time either getting passed or passing cars. The foliage was wonderful most of the way across, although around Wellsboro it was green, and when I stopped at Kinzua Bridge the foliage was already past peak. With fall it always seems like you have either greens or foliage past done.

Getting started this morning I knew I wouldnโ€™t get an early start. I did a lot of packing last night and shopping but I was dog tired after a long and stressful week. Work lately has been challenging. Iโ€™m glad Iโ€™m getting out of the office for the week. Rotating the tires on my truck and getting a state inspection proved to be a lot more of a process then I ever expected. The Quicky Lube I first tried to take my inspection at turned me away, because they said Big Red wouldnโ€™t fit in the garage. Then I went to Gocheeโ€™s garage during the week, which did the inspection and rotated the tires, but forgot to do recalibrate the TPMS and left off one of the hub centric rings off of one of the wheels. It involved two trips back there, because I didnโ€™t discover the TPMS error until I had driven 15 miles โ€“ the TPMS took a while to figure it was reading the spare tire and not one of the wheels that was actually rotating. Stupid shit, but it was early in the morning. I would be a little more concerned if it was something that could have left me broken down along the road โ€“ Iโ€™ll give them another try in the future, but if they screw up again, I will have to find yet another shop in Delmar. On top of all this, I was commuting out to my parents house every day, which meant I had little time to get ready at home during the week.

This morning I had to pack the food, the clothes, and few other things. I did do the water and most of the equipment last night. I decided to go to the laundromat in the morning, so I would have closer to the number of shirts and jeans I need for the week โ€“ I previously bought two additional pairs of jeans and shirts at Walmart โ€“ but I need 8 changes of clothes for the week, as I donโ€™t want to have to visit some random laundromat in West Virgina or Virginia. I had to go to the bank, check the oil and fluids in the car, and top off the pressure in the tires, so they would be a nice 45 PSI, so I got a firm ride and not waste fuel or have excessive wear. Then I had to go to the bank, to pick up $200 in petty cash. I didnโ€™t want to pick it up in advance, because I worried about losing it. I keep most of the petty cash in a locked box in my truck, until I need it, doling out when I get to firewood vendors, farm markets, tag sales, or campsites that requirement payments.

I have to admit Iโ€™ve gotten a bit bored with taking US 6 across Pennsylvania. I used like the trip and all the scenic vista and farm towns along the way, but Iโ€™ve made the trip a few too many times, and really need to come up with other places to go. Allegheny National Forest is fun, but I think Iโ€™ve done it a lot before. It seemed like a perfect stop over on paper on the way to West Virgina, although now Iโ€™m starting to think Iโ€™m a bit too far and will have to backtrack, even if I take US 219 south to West Virgina. Iโ€™m thinking the place I was originally planning to camp in West Virgina isnโ€™t what I want, so I may have to head a bit farther east. Taking I-99 might have been a better choice. Driving all the way to Allegheny National Forest is a haul, especially on the way home. I have made this trip many times before in one day, heading back home, but never out to camp. Heading home, itโ€™s a haul, but once you get on I-88 you set the cruise control on it and cue up a podcast, and nod off for about two hours. In contrast, going to Allegheny National Forest from Albany, puts all the small hick towns and the bulk of the trip after that long trip on I-88. When heading home, if you get home late, you can just collapse in your bed once reach home, the opposite is not true when you have to search for a campsite, as darkness is rapidly approaching.

I reached the Pine Creek Gorge at 3 PM today. Which sounds late, but itโ€™s actually how long it takes after leaving Albany at 9:15 AM and stopping at the bank and Stewart’s for firewood plus multiple piss breaks because I drank too much coffee then water in the truck on the way over. I wanted to drive up to Colton Point, because in places the color looked perfect out there โ€“ and other hills it still looked green โ€“ but time wouldnโ€™t let me. I knew I had a choice between Pine Creek George and Kinzua Bridge, and I chose later as I knew after today there was no chance I would get to Kinzua Bridge. The colors unfortunately were fairly dull and past peak on the bridge. Sunset was coming too fast, and even when I got to Kinzua Bridge at 5 PM, I knew I had only a half-hour because it was at minimum a half-hour to Kane, and whatever time I would take to find a campsite from there. I felt most of the day I was flying from place to place, and despite all the amazing color I saw, I didnโ€™t get many pictures. It didnโ€™t help that the best colors were along the expressways with no parking or on roads with absolutely no shoulder. Tomorrow may also be a rushed, long day โ€“ but not quite as many miles as today. But once Iโ€™m down in West Virgina, I donโ€™t expect to be nearly as rushed for the rest of the week.

At Coudersport I stopped at McDonalds and got a coffee, which helped keep me awake as I headed to Kinzua Bridge and ultimately to Kane and then camp. I also stopped at a farm stand at Coudersport, and got some mushrooms and peppers. They didnโ€™t have sweet corn, which was a disappointed. Probably the frost has ended the corn season in the Coudersport-area which is fairly high in elevation. I have a bit of Appalachian accent, but nothing like the farmer from Coudersport. Mid-western, Appalachian accent. Not like the more southern accents I expect to here once I reach the Virginas tomorrow. He seemed like a good guy, and had very affordable prices.

I got to Allegheny National Forest and wanted to camp near Kane or somewheres south. I remember the campsites along Forest Road 133 near Kane, but ended up deciding to take Forest Road 152 south from there, because I figured the farther south I went, the last south I had to go tomorrow. But it turns out there were no campsites on Forest Road 152 โ€“ despite driving 15 miles at the sky got darker and darker. Then I got on a forest road near Marienville, and ended up driving like 10 miles further south, not finding any campsites, until it was almost pitch black, and I found a campsite. Just in the nick of time. I had the firewood I bought at Stewartโ€™s, so I got a fire started and got going.

And then stuff didnโ€™t work. The 12-volt extension I have hooked from the deep cycle battery to my cellphone charger didnโ€™t work when I plugged it in this morning. Total surprise. I think the fuse blew in the cord, but I donโ€™t know. I will have to test it with a volt meter later in the week. I just plugged the cellphone charger into one of the main battery outlets, which works fine, but I like to have it run the accessory battery, in case I forget about it. Then later on the day, the brand new Halloween ghost lights I picked up at Walmart worked for 10 minutes until I bumped the string. $10 for 10 minutes of use seemed to suck. Then the string went dark. Eventually though the string started working again, once I played with the string. But it didnโ€™t come back until I played every socket.

I am taking most of the photos on my Digital SLR or point and shoot camera, so I wonโ€™t be uploading most of the pictures until the evening each night, or when ever I have cellphone service. Iโ€™m not crazy about the quality of my new cellphone camera, so I have to download the photos from my other cameras to my laptop, then to the phone. But I will try to keep up with the photos as much as possible.

It was a crazy first day of vacation. Tomorrow is going to be another crazy day. Iโ€™m setting my alarm clock for 6:30 AM, which is coming fast. Unforutnately, out in Western Pennsylvania the sun doesnโ€™t rise until 7:25 AM, so it will be a dark morning. But at least I have lights to help light the woods as I make breakfast and get going. I might just get coffee on the road, to speed camp tear down.

Good night! Sleep well.