Search Results for: photo fair bit of water going over potholers

The days go by too quickly it seems ⌛

I was saddened, maybe even devestated to hear of John Wolcott’s passing while I was up in the wilderness, cut off from the news of the world. At one level I expected it sooner, he wasn’t well when I left for summer vacation and he hadn’t gotten better the last time I visited and I knew the end was near. And it was a cold and rainy four days, away from it all up at Piseco-Powley Road, though maybe it was good to be away from it all for four days before summer was done for good. No radio news, nothing up to date since leaving Thursday. Last summer weekend camping at least at Piseco-Powley though I might do an autumn trip and thinking Speculator for Labor Day Weekend. Can you believe it in two weeks?

Good afternoon! Partly cloudy and 74 degrees at the Herkimer Home Historical Site. ⛅ There is a west breeze at 7 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 62 degrees.

I would have hoped for better weather for the weekend that was 🌦️ but I’m not surprised by rain every day with the summer that’s was and the forecast that degraded as the long weekend approached. There was some breaks of sunshine ☀ but most of the weekend was cloudy with times of rain, especially after dark but also each morning after I got up including take down take down day, earlier today. Cold and rainy. Not a wash out but at times I was glad I packed the propane heater it got a fair amount of use for August camping!

Fortunately I caught the impending rain ☔ with the darkening skies and got the screen tent 🎪, flags 🎌 and tarp down before they could get very wet. 💧 Had a bit of sun today which is good for drying gear and as my starting and accessory batteries 🔋 could use a good boost this morning as it’s been cloudy and I haven’t run my engine since Thursday. It was raining while driving down to Little Falls this afternoon but now it’s getting sunny and warmer.

This afternoon will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 78 degrees at 4pm. Four degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around September 5th. Maximum dew point of 63 at 4pm. West wind around 8 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with a few breaks of sun the afternoon. It was somewhat humid. The high last year was 93 degrees. The record high of 97 was set in 1937.

The rainy weekend did leave a lot of time for reading 📖 and playing around with cooking 🧑‍🍳 some meals coming out better than others. Been trying to come up with filling meals that taste damn good, relatively easy to cook but also have less calories but more fiber and protein, along with essential vitamins. 💊 Plus I have so much good farmers market 🌽 foods to eat up. The sweet corn 🌽 from Samdil’s was amazing as was the peaches 🍑 from Roger’s.

Took a few naps 😴 in the hammock besides reading, 📖 listening to podcasts and some bike riding 🚲 and hiking it’s been a very lazy weekend but I’m chocking it up to the weather. ☔ Honestly though if it had been nicer it would have been a lazier weekend just floating on the tube ⭕. Let’s be honest. Still every day either walked at least five miles, rode 7 ½ or a combination of both. 🚶 Do it’s not like I was just eating 🍴 and sleeping. 🔥 Had some nice fires in part because it was so cold and rainy, smokey at times due to the wet wood.

Bike 🚲 and hiked part of the way back to both the swimming hole off Old Edick Road snowmobile trail on Friday and on Saturday did Goldmine Stream Falls. Lot of water 💦 going over Goldmine Steam Falls. Thursday I rode up to Notch Mountain ⛰ and Friday also spent time at the Potholers but no swimming 🏊 due to it being very cold and the water levels dangerously high. I’ve never seen the Potholers so high in the summer months. 🏊‍♂️

Saturday night was the best night by far, stayed up until close to midnight watching the shooting stars ✨ from my hammock then listening to music 🎶 down by the campfire 🔥 for warmth. Had a second beer 🍻 and maybe a smoke 🚬 which is so uncommon these days since I’ve gotten into healthy eating in my forties. But also snacked on sweet corn 🌽 and peaches 🍑 by the fire. No more cookies these days, I go for natural fruits when I’m hungry. Greek yogurt too but not on Saturday. Switched on Country is so much funnier when your slightly stoned. 🤪

Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:04 pm with sun having an altitude of 59.5° from the due south horizon (-10.9° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 3.5 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:18 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (282°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (288°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:56 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 4 seconds with dusk around 8:24 pm, which is one minute and 34 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the First Quarter 🌓 Moon in the west-southwest (246°) at an altitude of 14° from the horizon, 246,018 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:03 pm. At sunset, look for partly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 75 degrees. The dew point will be 64 degrees. There will be a west breeze at 5 mph. Today will have 13 hours and 47 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 40 seconds over yesterday.

Today out exploring Little Falls, Herkimer Home, Bike Path and Moss Island. 🚲 No set agenda, I’m just in the area until 6 pm or so when I’ll take NY 5S to Sprakers then down to Sloansville and US 20, maybe stop for ice cream 🍦 and sweet corn 🌽 if I see a good place. I was surprised that Green Acres dinner and ice cream stand is still open in Dolgeville, I heard it’s closing but I’m not going back that way.

Tonight will have increasing clouds ☁, with a low of 64 degrees at 6am. Four degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 64 at 7pm. Light northwest wind. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies. It was humid. It got down to 70 degrees. The record low of 42 occurred back in 1977.

The unavoidable truth is a five 5⃣ day work week ahead in the office 🏢 as the head director is off for my unit, and as the deputy I have to step up and fill in for her role. It’s fine, but no more passing the buck, ignoring emails 📧 and not taking immediate action on staff and inter departmental requests because I don’t want to step on the toes 👣 of the director. 🙈 It means no sneaking off to the woods this week. Promised my mom next week to do a clam bake for them too. 🦪 Following weekend though probably head to Spectulator, maybe taking off that Friday or working remotely.

Need to order the bolt 🔩 and the tool to install the lost bolt on Blackie’s 🚵 rack. The zip tie was a good emergency fix but it still rattles and I’m not convinced that I should carry a lot of groceries on the rack with the loose bolt. Could fail under weight. 🍏 Rather be safe then sorry and have groceries spill all over the road.

In 2014, seventy-two people are killed in Japan’s Hiroshima Prefecture by a series of landslides ☔ caused by a month’s worth of rain that fell in one day. Reminds me of the some of the extreme rain we’ve been having lately.

I was sadden to learn of John Wolcott’s passing this afternoon 😢 while I was away from town at camp. 👼🏼 He was quite the man though I don’t know even half the story as so much of his memory had passed by the time I started interviewing him and going through his files. 📂 I do always wonder what was in his attic that burned in that fire 🔥. I know after that fire I personally made sure to keep multiple off site back ups, scan in important documents and purge a lot of the paper 📄 I owned. Never got to the really interesting stuff in his attic where the fire burned hottest. So much of the story untold. 🕯

I’m glad I blog in part because it’s a way to ensure at least part of my story is told and can get found on the Way back Machine and the Internet Archives. 🖥 You never really know how long people’s lives will last, or the institutions and things around us. Here one day, gone the next. 🕊 Honestly I thought 💭 the news 📰 would happen during summer vacation, though I’m glad I did spend a few afternoons with him at the hospital, took him around the Crossings and read to him before it was over. 🦆 🐦 🦋 🎍 I do wish I had found time to do that one more time before it was too late. 🙏 I need to do better with my parents.

Looking ahead, there are 3 weeks until 6:30 Sunrise 🌇 when the sun will be setting at 7:20 pm with dusk at 7:47 pm. On that day in 2022, we had mostly sunny, patches of fog and temperatures between 83 and 56 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 77 degrees. We hit a record high of 96 back in 1931.

Powley Bridge

Those forty inch jeans 👖 don’t really fit anymore and are so baggy

I really need to get some new jeans that are better fitting though I only got this pair a few months ago, not realizing what was despite the warnings I was given. Especially because the Salvation Army shirt I got is so nicely fitting. Still I’m hesitant to invest in a new clothes of any expense as I know what I’m up against in a culture that prioritizes low quality calories, excessive sugar and fat. I’m good but the social pressures are so bad, and it can be lonely eating things that are actually half decent for you.

Good morning! Happy Tuesday. Rain and 66 degrees at the Elm Ave Park and Ride. ☔ There is a north-northeast breeze at 5 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 66 degrees. The skies will clear tomorrow around 2 pm.

Too rainy 🌧️ for the morning walk and I wasn’t moving fast enough to catch the earlier bus 🚍 downtown. The rain let up and I walked down to the later express 🚏but in part I delayed as I didn’t really want to do laps in the Plaza in part because that would add another time up and down the eighteen flights at work and I didn’t want to do that. Lousy excuse but I’m still not doing elevators at work.🛗 It’s stupid, I’m not afraid of the state elevators and I’m sure the state police 🚨 would come and rescue me when the elevator breaks down but I like the exercise of climbing 🧗‍♂️ all those stairs. The worse thing that could happen is I get trapped in the elevator with the head of the Assembly Republicans and after a few awkward seconds maybe talk about deer 🦌 hunting or something in the wilderness.

Morning was eggs 🍳 with a bunch of onions, spinach, and peppers. Lots of fiber and protein there. Had a few cups of coffee ☕ though I really should cut back on the fluids as I’ve been having to piss a lot due to 6000pall the water I’ve been consuming from the watermelon 🍉, zucchini 🍆, egg plant and the fruit 🍏 I’ve been eating. Last night was breaded egg plant with panto breadcrumbs using egg as a glue, with a sauce made from tomatoes, jalapeños, onions and Italian spices and a bit of dried Parmesan on top. Broccoli 🥦 on the side. It was good in the broiler all crispy.

Today will have showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 3pm. 🌦 High of 71 degrees at 3pm. 11 degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around September 24th. Maximum dew point of 69 at 2pm. 🏖️ Northeast wind around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with a few breaks of sun the afternoon. The high last year was 87 degrees. The record high of 96 was set in 1959.

Another work day today, then one tomorrow, then it’s off to camp in the Adirondacks. 🏕 I’m not sure how nice Friday will be and Saturday looks chilly up north, but I might end up bringing both the heater and bug screen, along with tarps. 📚 I’m sure Lynne is going to ask if I want to go to the Guilderland Meeting regarding the Senior Home Development in the Pine Bush 🌲 but I’ll see if I can get out of that because I don’t feel that great, and I’m tired of attending meetings regarding the Pine Bush, yelling and screaming and being mocked in the press. 📰  I really have other priorities, and I’d like to get books from the library and get packed for camping. I doubt I’ll leave before early on Thursday morning, but if I get ready, it’s less to do tomorrow. Pine Bush stuff is kind of important, but I don’t want to be on the forefront, and so many of these hearings and being shoved down by the town board is kind of boring. Plus I have salmon 🐟 to cook up tonight with spinach, and I’m looking forward to that on this rainy night.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:01 pm with sun having an altitude of 61.5° from the due south horizon (-9.3° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 3.3 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:20 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (284°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (290°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:59 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 4 seconds with dusk around 8:28 pm, which is one minute and 27 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:07 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and thunderstorms 🌩 and temperatures around 70 degrees. The dew point will be 67 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Today will have 13 hours and 58 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 32 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1am, then a slight chance of showers between 1am and 2am. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 65 degrees at 4am. Four degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 68 at 6pm. East wind around 5 mph becoming south after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies. It got down to 58 degrees. The record low of 41 occurred back in 1972.

In 1969, the Woodstock Music Festival Opens on Max Yasgur’s dairy farm in Bethel, 🎧 🎸🎷 much to the distaste of his neighbors and fellow community members. 🐮 I’m sure he just thought of it as a way to make some money on a wet, muddy field that wasn’t growing much hay or silage that year due to the weather. He used to run the largest dairy farm in Sullivan County. Of course, they cut his milk contract in subsequent years, and was forced out of the dairy business. His son would go on to be the Sullivan County Clerk some years later. And the farm became a tourist destination in recent years. 🗑 The hippies trashed the land more then Yasgur could have ever expected, to say nothing of what they did to the neighbors. And he just wanted a little money from the hippies, and expected after the weekend, the muddy field could be tilled up and put back in production.

On this day in 1970, President Richard Nixon completes the break from the gold standard by ending convertibility of the United States dollar into gold by foreign investors. 💰 Much was made out of it, but truth be told the US hadn’t been pegging it’s currency to gold since the 1930s and by the 1960s the value of the US currency had grown with the size of the economy and inflation, it was getting harder and harder to come up with enough gold to settle the currency, especially as investors sought more gold as a hedge of growing inflation as the sixties slid into the 1970s. 📈 Truth be told, regardless had the gold standard ended or not, the gas crisis would have still occurred, and it would have done a lot of damage to economy, though a lot of that was baked in after the sixties, and all the post-war expansion including the baby boom and the construction of the Interstate system which produced a enormous boom that was petering out by the seventies as major legs of the system were finalized. 🛣

Cool but sunny this weekend. 😎 Saturday, mostly sunny, with a high near 75. Maximum dew point of 58 at 2pm. Sunday, sunny, with a high near 84. Maximum dew point of 64 at 4pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 82 degrees. Actually, Sunday will be fairly warm and muggy. But Friday the high is only 66 degrees with rain showers. I am going to bring my heater up north I guess this weekend, along with the screen tent as the bugs may be bad. 🎪 I wasn’t sure if I was going to bring my kayak up north, but Sunday could be a very nice day for kayaking on the Mohawk River around Moss Island, 🛶 especially if I do a bike ride first. Although do I want to spend more time at the Potholers at Piseco-Powley? 🏊‍♀️ Decisions! 🤔

Looking ahead, there are 11 weeks until Halloween 🎃 when the sun will be setting at 5:51 pm with dusk at 6:19 pm. On that day in 2022, we had partly cloudy, rain showers and temperatures between 64 and 37 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 56 degrees. We hit a record high of 75 back in 2019.

When Big Bay turns north to Piseco Lake it becomes too shallow to navigate

This past year I spent 37 nights camping in the wilderness 🏕

This past year I spent 37 nights camping in the wilderness 🏕

Places I Camped in 2021

While this was less then the 63 nights I did in 2020, with remote work winding down and more in-person meetings and events happening in Albany, I ended up not getting out as much as I did the previous year. Still 37 nights camping is still a lot of time in wilderness.

It was a lot rainier then some summers, so that also made it harder to get out of town for long weekends. When I did go camping, and I wasn’t remote working, I tried to make it a priority to find more-remote areas without cell service, so I could get solitude without the constant buzz of the phone. Plus I tended to stay in one campsite for two or three days, to avoid the hassles of taking down and setting up camp.

Saturday/Sunday April 24-25: Two Nights on East Branch

I started out my travels in late April on the East Branch Sacandaga River along NY 8, near Fox Lair. On Saturday, before arriving to camp, I hiked along Hope Falls Road and back to lower and upper Tenant Creek Falls. Sunday, I hiked around Fox Lair, sat down by the river for a while, did some fishing. Had a big ol’ fire. It was cold but also kind of spring-like.

Sunday was kind of cloudy but not to wet

Monday April 26: One Night on Sacandaga River/Speculator Tree Farm

Monday I drove up to Speculator to do remote work at the library and the town park/beach with my laptop. I set up camp at Campsite 17 and in the evening after work, I hiked along Old NY Route 8B, spending some time along Austin Falls and heading back to camp before it got too dark. Tuesday I worked up in Speculator, before heading home. Things were still very brown and gray in the Adirondacks, although I ended up stopping along the Mohawk River in Rotterdam and hiking on the bike trail before dark, and it was much greener down there.

Thursday to Saturday May 13-15: Three Nights on Sacandaga River/Speculator Tree Farm

Thursday morning I got up early and drove up to Speculator before 9 AM to work remotely. I worked until lunch time in Spectulator when I drove down to Campsite 17 and set up camp and worked from there. Worked all day on Friday from camp, mostly sending emails from the hammock although I also edited a report I was working on with my laptop at the table, and grabbed some files a colleague needed off the server over the VPN. Knocked over the lantern, smashing the glass and breaking the the neck on it. On Saturday I hiked back along Robb Mill Road and some of the side trails in the Conservation Easement. Sunday, I drove up to Watch Hill on Indian Lake, hiked that, while there was a constant threat of thunderstorms, so I did it fairly quickly.

Sacandaga River below Austin Falls

Sunday May 16: One Night Camping Near Mason Lake

After hiking Watch Hill I ended up camping at Mason Lake. I also spent some time walking around the Indian Lake/Lewey Campground, just seeing what was there I was hoping being a Sunday I could get a campsite near Mason Lakke, but no such luck. Ended up camping at Campsite 5, a ways from the lake, although in the evening I did walk down to the lake. I did have cell service where I was camping, but it was spotty, so come Monday morning, I headed back to Speculator for work. The black flies were bad camping there, until well after dark I spent most of the afternoon hiding under the screen tent. In the morning, once the sun was up and the tent was down, I was booking out there because the black flies were intense.

Thursday, Friday, Saturday June 17-19: Three nights Camping at House Pond Campsite

Junteenth Weekend, a new state holiday. Piseco-Powley Road was rebuilt, and I spent a lot of time down at the swimming hole there. I was working remote on Thursday, but I left home after work and drove north before dusk. Spent a lot of time cooling off in East Branch by the campsite, laying in the hammock and relaxing. Saturday I spent kayaking at Lily Lake, but none of the lilies were out. Sunday I spent the balance of the day the potholers.

Reading ?

Friday, Saturday, Sunday July 8-10: Three nights camping on Hope Falls Road

After quite a run of rainy weather, we had part of weekend that wasn’t super wet. Also, many weeks in the summer, I preferred to just stay close to home, and catch the Nature Bus and spend Saturdays exploring Thacher Park for free. Friday was a personal day – I had a eye doctors appointment. Then I went north and set up camp at Hope Falls Road. Saturday, I hiked back to Ferris Lake and Tenant Creek Falls. Sunday, partially in the rain, I hiked back to both lower and upper Tenant Creek Falls. Sunday evening back at camp, it absolutely poured. I was originally planning to work remote on Monday and maybe Tuesday in Speculator but the weather was so wet, I decided against that.

Friday July 23: Overnight at Cherry Ridge

Heading out to the Finger Lakes, I overnighted at Cherry Ridge at Charles Baker State Forest in Madison County. It was a stop over after leaving home after work. Noticed how much sway there was in front end of the truck, and the tires were getting loud as they were warn and cupped, grew concerned that I might have issues later on. Eventually in December I replaced the tires, the worn rear shock bushing. and bad sway links. I was dealing with some real anxiety issues at that point. But I had a little fire, then retired early to bed and then took camp down early in the morning and headed west to Montezuma Wildlife Refuge and the state Audubon Preserve.

Saturday July 24: One night Tent Camping Along Backbone Horse Trail at Finger Lakes National Forest

I knew arriving at the Finger Lakes National Forest on a Saturday would mean many campsites would be taken, including the site I wanted. I ended up tent camping at one of the primitive sites off Potomac Road. It was a one night deal as I prefer camping in the truck shell and I saw the people in the campsite I wanted leave, so I quickly grabbed that campsite in the morning. Ended up breaking one of the elastic straps in one of the tent poles, I still need to repair it.

Sunday-Saturday July 25-31: Six Nights Truck Cap Camping Along Backbone Horse Trail at Finger Lakes National Forest

My summer vacation was the Finger Lakes National Forest. I decided to stick close to camp for much summer vacation, not rushing too much from place to place, spending a lot of afternoons at the Watkins Glen Pool, doing some paddling in Seneca Lake and Cayuta Lake, hiking in Texas Hollow and Sugar Hill State Forests. Did a lot of reading and laying back in the hammock. The campsite I stayed at didn’t have cell service, so it gave me a much needed to respite from the internet for a few days. Had some nice fires, drank some beer, and got away from it all.

Summer Vacation Seems So Distant Now

Thursday, Friday, Saturday August 12-15: Three nights at House Pond Campsite with Clams and Sweet Corn

After summer vacation, I decided to take a long weekend — four days — up to Potholers, namely the House Pond campsite with lots of sweet corn, clams and beer. I can still taste the clams and beer, and I had plenty of them to eat over the weekend — they were breakfast, lunch and diner. But it was nice laying back in the hammock and swimming in the swimming hole by that campsite. I also hiked along old Edick Road and to Edick Road Campsite 1, which is way off from the main road, and then down to the ledge. Hiked back to House Pond, which was difficult as there was a lot of blow down from a storm earlier in the summer. Spent much of Sunday at the Potholers and then watched the sun set from the Kane Mountain Firetower. Didn’t bring the kayak this time.

Friday, Saturday, Sunday August 26-28: Three nights (again) at House Pond Campsite

With another warm week ahead, I decided to take off Friday and Monday off for one more week up at House Pond. This time I spent more time at Potholers, walking up there each afternoon, besides spending a lot of time at the swimming hole near this campsite. Did some fishing up House Pond, and a lot of drinking and reading from the hammock. Read yet another book about writing code in Python and Kristen Kimbell’s Dirty Life about farm life. I bought a large truck intertube for floating, but once I got to camp and started to setting up I realized I didn’t have an air pump with me, so I couldn’t use it while camping.

East Canada Creek Below Edick Road Ledge

Friday, Saturday, Sunday September 3-5: Three nights at Hardwood Hill at Perkins Clearing

Friday, September 3rd was the final day of remote work – Labor Day Weekend. I got up early, drove to Speculator before 9 AM. I started working from Speculator Library but with my phone having hotspot service and cell service, mid-day I drove up to Hardwood Hill. This time I made sure to inflate my intertube before heading up north, and I spent Saturday evening until well after dusk floating in the Jessup River off of Jessup River. Then I drove to Sled Harbor after dark, hoping to catch a glimpse the illuminated Wakely Hill Firetower, but I could not see it as it I couldn’t find the good views of the tower from the road after dark.

Saturday September 11: One night at Betty Brook

Decided to do a weekend trip out to Schoharie County to hike the Catskill Scenic Trail south of Grand Gorge through the deep notch where NY 30 runs. Hiked down to Hubbell’s Corners from Grand Gorge then went for a very cold swim at Mine Kill State Park. Mine Kill pool was open late this year due to opening late at the beginning of summer. Water temperature was 58 degrees. Sunday I also went for a quick swim at Mine Kill Pool again. Still very cold.

Into the Notch

Saturday September 18: One Night at House Pond

On September 18th, I drove up to Piseco-Powley Road to camp for three nights, four days. Spent one night at the House Pond Campsite, which I set up in the pouring rain, and spent time floating in the my new rubber intertube. It was a nice day once he rain stopped but the water was very cold. But it was nice laying back in the hammock that evening, although prior to dusk there was a lot of deer flies around and biting.

Sunday/Monday September 19 & 20: Two Nights at Powley Place

On Sunday afternoon I drove further up Piseco-Powley Road to Powley Place to do some camping and paddling on the East Canada Creek. Monday I hiked back to Goldstream Falls then carried my kayak down to the East Canada Creek and paddled down to the first rapids, portaged past that to the second main rapids. The beaver dams were relatively low this time, due to water levels being higher then other times when I’ve paddled the East Canada Creek. Laid back in the hammock, did some reading and looking out over the campsite on these mild, starry nights. Also did some floating down the East Canada Creek

Friday, Saturday, Sunday October 8-10: Three nights camping at Betty Brook

I took off the Friday before Columbus Day Weekend to hike Bear Pen Mountain in the Western Catskills. It was the start to a very colorful weekend. Betty Brook was nice, but it was good I got there relatively early — around 4 PM on Friday as the other campsites were quickly taken. On Saturday, I drove down to Stamford and hiked more of the Catskill Scenic Trail from Stamford for Bloomville then visited a friend in Summit. Sunday I hiked along Betty Brook Road to the snowmobile trail up Burnt Hill, then hiked over the dirt roads on Burnt and Rossman Hills, enjoying the leaves and wildlife. Hiked back  to camp and laid back into the hammock well into the evening, which was quite mild. Sunday I hiked from Grand Gorge to Stamford on the Catskill Scenic Trail.

Saturday, November 6: Camping at County Bridge Campground Pennsylvania

Originally I was planning to get new tires put on my truck prior to going to West Virginia,  trip that was postponed multiple times. Ultimately I decided it wouldn’t be a bad idea to just wear out the tires and go for the trip. I hadn’t decided on where I was going to go until I was on the road, and ended up going to Binghamton, then down to Pennsylvania for my first night camping. It was a cold first night — got down to 14 degrees.

Sunday/Monday November 7-8: Camp Run West Virginia

The first two nights I spent at Camp Run Primitive Campground at Miles, West Virginia which is located in a wash on the backside of Shenandoah Mountain. On Monday of that week I hiked up over Shenandoah Mountain, and watched the sun rise over Camp Run Lake. Tuesday morning I drove over through Judy Gap then up Spruce Mountain and hiked up that. In the afternoon I hiked up Seneca Rocks, something that had long been on my bucket list to do.

Quiet Walk Along Camp Run Road

Tuesday, November 9: Camping at Canaan Heights

On Tuesday night I camped up in Canaan Heights / Table Rock outside of Thomas WV. I was going to stay multiple days but hearing a lot of wheel bearing noise in my truck, I decided it best to head north on Wednesday and see if I could either make it home or get the truck fixed. The wheel bearing burned up by the time I got up to Lock Haven but was able to get it fixed that day and head north to County Bridge.

Wednesday, November 10: Camping at County Bridge Pennsylvania

The second time camping at County Bridge it wasn’t as cold.  I had a fire and retired to bed fairly early. But come the morning, neither the camp stove or the heater was working. I thought I might have have run out of propane. Then packed up in the morning on Veterans Day and headed north to Chenango Forks State Park, which I wanted to explore. I then stopped at Price Chopper, got some groceries and headed up to Long Pond State Forest for two kind of cold and chilly, damp nights.

Thursday/Friday, November 11-12: Camping at Long Pond State Forest

After spending the balance of Veterans Day, Thursday at Chenango Forks State Park, I camped for two nights at Long Pond State Forest. I was still having problems with my camp stove and heater, so it was kind of cold but I was able to find enough firewood to make do, and had some quiet evenings listening to the radio and just hanging out. Friday was pretty rainy, but I made due — beat having going back home. The fires were smokey but they were warm enough. And it beat being home.

Dusk in November

Monday/Tuesday December 20-21: Camping at Stoney Pond State Forest

I thought about getting out of town after Thanksgiving but the weather did not cooperate. Then my truck’s repairs and tires got dragged out to mid-December. I decided to take he week off before Christmas to go camping. I was thinking about Central New York and then the Finger Lakes, but ultimately made it no farther then the Finger Lakes. Saturday was pouring rain, and then Sunday was bitterly cold. And my camp heater and stove were malfunctioning. But ultimately I was able to get it working, after much fiddling at camp. I camped two nights at Stoney Pond, spending Tuesday poking around Cazenovia. Tuesday was very gray, and Wednesday was snowy. Wednesday I drove to Hamilton and hiked part of the Chenango Canal Trail.

Wednesday, December 22: Camping at Moscow Hill Assembly Area

My final night camping in 2021 was the Moscow Hill Assembly Area at the Charles Baker State Forest. I decided to camp there as it was more sheltered from the wind and snow, and in case we got more snow, I figured I wouldn’t have to worry about the snow, as the county highway isn’t that far away. They were expecting high winds and low windchills, but it turned out not to be too bad. I thought about staying another night on Thursday, but the weather for Thursday looked sunny, and wanted to do some hiking, plus I wanted to be home for Christmas Eve for a family Christmas Party.

Good Evening – August 15, 2021

Good evening! Sitting on the Kane Firetower waiting for the sun to set 🗼

Partly clear and 69 degrees at the Kane Mountain Firetower. Light breeze. The dew point is 51 degrees. A very clear evening 🌃 for sure, good for watching the sunset. With the low dew point I can easily see the other side of the Mohawk Valley including some of the silos on the Schoharie side. Also the wind turbines on the ridge outside of the Adirondack Park.

It’s been a nice weekend up north, ☺ with way too many beer boiled clams, sausage and sweet corn 🦪🍻🌽 and swimming 🏊🏻‍♂️ holes and about 25 miles of hiking – well over 15 miles was today alone. Camped at the House Pond Campsite 2 again. Today I hiked from Seeley Road in Knapville to Dexter Lake and then to Spectacle Lake and then to Waters Mill Pond. Then about two hours in the evening cooling off in the Potholers, followed by a sunset hike up Kane Mountain. Now to drive home by 10 pm.

Yesterday, I hiked back to House Pond which had a lot of blow down over parts of the trail. 🎋 There was a bad thunderstorm ⛈ in July that I remember seeing on the news 📰 that caused some big trees to come down, but at least it didn’t wash out the road much or if it did Stratford had already fixed it. Looks like they had to saw and remove multiple trees off Piseco-Powley Road that had came down it and I could hear them cutting downed trees at the hunting camp down the road and I saw them leaving with several pickup trucks full of wood.

Also yesterday I hiked along the Edick Road Snowmobile Trail and then back to Edick Road Campsite #1 out along the ledge overlooking the East Canada Creek, spotting a photographing a doe up close. 🦌 I climbed down the gorge wall and watched the various birds 🐦 in the grass lands along that grassy part of the river. Then more clams, corn and sausage. And back to Potholers.

Friday was even more lazy — it was fairly hot. Many hours reading and learning more about Python, 🐍 and then I hiked to Potholers. 🏊‍♀️ Then after I got back to camp, I swam at the swimming hole across the road from House Pond Campsite 2 until dusk, listening to a podcast, started a fire 🔥 had more clams, 🕹 laid back in hammock until it started to pour 🌧 and then hung out under the tarp as it rained some more listening to podcasts until 11 PM.

Thursday, was a rather late start because it was so humid and I was on vacation and was lazy. I screwed up and didn’t get my turn signal on time for Sandell Farm’s to get sweet corn, and ended up going to Rogers Orchard to get sweet corn and blueberries. 🍎 Then I ended up running to Wally World and forgetting the main reason I wanted to go there — to get coffee. ☕ I like the large coffee containers they have there not just because they are inexpensive on a per pound basis, they make great containers for making ice in for camping. Or “donating” to the state to put toilet paper in the outhouses, to keep the racoons from shredding it. 🚽 I was hoping to check out Willie Marsh 🐸 but I got on the wrong road, so I didn’t go by there. I finally got camp around 12:30, set things up, made my first batch of clams, 🕹 and they were good. Swam in the swimming hole across the way from House Pond Campsite, 🏊‍♀️ which might not be the potholers, but it’s right next door. Sat back in the hammock for a while listening to some music 🎼 and the news 📻, then had a fire. 🔥 The wood sure was wet that first night, and it was a bit smokey until I got it going well.

May 31, 2021 Morning

Good morning! Happy Memorial Day 🇺🇸 ! Thanks to all that have served, whether it was for a noble cause, a paycheck, or because our government leaders where foolish war mongers. Five weeks to Hottest Time of the Year 😅. That said, after a cold and rainy past few days, the heat machine cranks up by this mid-week with hot and muggy weather. At least I have the fan out. But for now, cloudy, damp and 45 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☔ There is a north-northwest breeze at 6 mph. 🍃.

Yesterday, I spent most of the afternoon continuing to dig through the remaining increasingly moldy remaining files. 📁 We’ve pretty much reached the end of wet stuff, and things have mostly dried out. Some old newspaper articles literally fell apart and became mush — wouldn’t have been bad to toss in a compost pile with some manure to turn into dirt. But most of the papers themselves were salvaged 📄 although we found more wet stuff then expected at the end and kind of ran low on screens to dry things out. My hat’s definitely off to the firefighters, demolition workers and city officials 👨‍🚒 👨‍💼 👷 that made it possible to recover so much. There are still some good people in the government. And the team of volunteers including Lynne Jackson and Dan Van Riper who have been working for over a week now to save things. I’m going back over this afternoon for another session of drying and salvaging materials, although after today I am going to be pretty busy and long for work, 🏢 and I’m hoping to get out of town before work on Friday. 🏕

Memorial Day will have showers likely, mainly before 1pm. Patchy fog before 7am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy with more sun late 🌦, with a high of 65 degrees at 4pm. 10 degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 28th. Maximum dew point of 49 at 12pm. Northwest wind 6 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning with more sun in the afternoon. The high last year was 65 degrees. The record high of 92 was set in 2013.

In a little bit, certainly by around 8 AM or so I am going to walk out to Five Rivers. 🐦 Probably the trails are just one big mosh pit after the rain, but there should be a lot of robins out. With so much rain lately, I haven’t had a chance to do much walking or time outdoors. Last weekend I hiked Bennett Hill and I’ve done my morning walks, but not many evening walks. 👣 It’s been tough with the weather for sure. ⛈ Maybe there will be a lot of wildlife out after all the rain we’ve had later. Then I’m going to come home, catch a bus downtown again, more file drying 📂 and then out to folks house for Memorial Day/Sunday dinner. 🍔 Might be nice enough to sit outside.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:54 pm with sun having an altitude of 69.3° from the due south horizon (-1.5° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.3 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:44 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (295°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (302°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:27 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 23 seconds with dusk around 8:59 pm, which is 48 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:44 pm. At sunset, look for partly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 59 degrees. The dew point will be 48 degrees. What a big change from what we’ve had lately. There will be a northwest breeze at 5 mph. Today will have 15 hours and 5 minutes of daytime, an increase of one minute and 18 seconds over yesterday. Days are getting long now, for a few more weeks.

Tonight will be mostly cloudy 🌥, with a low of 46 degrees at 4am. Seven degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around May 10th. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming light and variable in the evening. In 2020, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 41 degrees. The record low of 35 occurred back in 1945.

Tomorrow at lunch time 🥪 I need to go to the store and get food. 🛒 I am working from home on Tuesday but Wednesday and Thursday I will be at the office downtown 🏢 and I expect late nights in the office so I’m not going to have a lot of free time. Friday morning before work I plan to head north and work from Spectulator.

Going to be a nice, hot and humid summer weekend. 🏊 Saturday, a chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 85. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Maximum dew point of 64 at 9am. Sunday, mostly sunny, with a high near 88. Maybe 90? Maximum dew point of 65 at 7pm. I would say, that’s very much summer weather. Hot and humid. 😓 Typical average high for the weekend is 77 degrees.

My therapy session 👨‍⚕️ has been postponed one week from Friday, so this week I can get at least in theory in get up to the Adirondacks and work from Lake Pleasant on Friday and then camp up in the Speculator-area. I am a bit tired of being up there, but having the internet at the library and the nice lake to sit down by and work, sure makes it’s worthwhile. 🏕 I want to do Piseco-Powley Road and potholers, but i think I will wait a few weeks until the legislative session is over — supposedly on June 10th, and then take a long weekend when I can be totally off-the-grid and not be doing work emails or anything else work related. 🏊‍♀️ Where work can be the furthest from the mind. Plus in two or three weeks the water temperature should be much warmer. I plan to take off a fair amount of time this summer, and maybe I can do some remote work too, although I kind of hate the mixing of work and pleasure, even if it means ore gets done.

As previously noted, there are 3 weeks until Summer ️⛱️ when the sun will be setting at 8:36 pm with dusk at 9:11 pm. On that day in 2020, we had hot, mostly sunny and temperatures between 92 and 69 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 81 degrees. We hit a record high of 97 back in 1938.

Tired Dog

May 11, 2021 Morning

Good morning! Happy Tuesday. Up bright and early, as I’ve decided I want to get in habit of getting up earlier, especially with going back to the office next week with the reduced bus scheduled 🚌 and even sooner going up to the Adirondacks before work come Thursday. ⛰ Spring is well underway, with only three weeks to 9 PM Dusk 🌆 . Partly sunny and 43 degrees in Delmar, NY. 😎 There is a west breeze at 7 mph. 🍃. Good morning, it’s springtime, going to warm up quickly, reach 58 degrees later with a stiff breeze.

A nice morning for the walk 🚶🏻. I am going to miss my morning walks when I’m back working downtown 🏢 although I am hoping they bring back ghr express bus 🚍 and I can walk down there in the morning. 😷 Then throw my muzzle on and be whisked downtown. Saw both a few red winged black birds, a robin and a gold finch this morning. 🐦

Landlord showed up yesterday with the plumber, 🚽 unannounced and got the various issues fixed with the plumbing. It will be nice having a bathroom sink that works again, no more problems with the toilet, and not the constant wet and leaks in kitchen. It literally took him about two hours, although I ended up working at the library as it involved a lot of banging of pipes 👩‍🔧 and I didn’t want to necessary to let my very much Republican landlord hearing the business calls. Been super busy lately with work. 🏢 Literally, some of these issues should have been addressed a decade ago, but I’ve been like it’s not a big issue until right now. 🛠

I wasn’t happy with the unexpected visit by landlord, 🧹 as things were kind of a mess and pile of dishes in the sink, the floors are unclean and working from home that was terribly distracting. 🛀 I wanted to take a shower yesterday, but I couldn’t do that as he had the pipes all apart in the bathroom. But at least I can do that today. With the warmer weather, I think I am going to go back daily showers, as I tend to get kind of dirty and smelly, and I am going to be in the office more now with things getting back to normal. 💦 I figure the various fixes should save a fair amount of water.

My therapist is not wrong in saying I shouldn’t delay everything and procrastinate. 👩‍⚕️ It really does help with the anxiety to not be such a procrastinator. 😟 Well, now I don’t have to clean up things as much, although without out the leaks, and constant mold it might be a lot easier to clean shit up. 🔥 I’ve also been told I’ll be less of a fire bug if I get my anxiety levels more under control by being less of a procrastinator, fearing less of the worse case scenarios. 👩‍🌾 And just remember, as I redneck, I’ll always be a redneck, and there ain’t no changing that. Rednecks do redneck things, and that’s totally manageable condition. Or something to that effect he said. 🤣 I am paying $25 an hour plus my insurance another $50 for advice like that. White trash with money, I guess. 💵

Chuckling, going past my childhood neighbors house (the long-haired country boys in trailers with the pigs and cows) 🐷 with that great big pile of wood, pallets and debris, they’ve been saving to burn on May 15th when the burn ban is over. 👩‍🚒 Besides being real American rednecks, they’re firefighters, they have to sort of follow the law when they burn shit.

Today will have isolated showers after 3pm. Mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 59 degrees at 1pm. 11 degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 15th. West wind 7 to 17 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. A year ago, we had light rain in the morning, which became partly cloudy by afternoon. The high last year was 63 degrees. The record high of 90 was set in 1911. 0.5 inches of snow fell back in 1907.❄

Should be a real nice day for sure, although a bit cool with breeze. 😎 But a ton of sunshine. But the best is yet to come as we push towards the weekend and things start to get nicer. I am going to work from home today I think, 👩‍💻 as the plumbing is fixed. As was going to work in the office either today or tomorrow to make sure the equipment is still working and my ID badge still works, etc. 💳 but there really is no need when I can be home enjoying the fresh air. I think things will be fine next week, I’ll just bring my laptop in case things are down in the office. 💻 Between the wi-fi they have there and my hotspot I should be good. I always used to joke about being cruel and unusual punishment to have to work downtown on nice days, even if work pays for my big jacked up truck, my guns, my fishing pole and all the stuff I like to burn up in the woods. 🤑 Speaking of which, today is pay day.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:53 pm with sun having an altitude of 65.4° from the due south horizon (-5.5° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.8 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:27 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (289°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (296°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:07 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 12 seconds with dusk around 8:38 pm, which is one minute and 5 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:19 pm. At sunset, look out for possible pop up showers 🌧 and temperatures around 50 degrees. Bring your rain coat, prepare to get wet. 💧 You’ve been warned. ⚠️ There will be a west-northwest breeze at 10 mph. Today will have 14 hours and 29 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 13 seconds over yesterday.

I told John Wolcott I’d be coming over today 🔎 but I don’t think that’s likely to be with my work schedule. I should think about getting packed starting today or this evening 💼 for camp especially if I’m going over to John’s house tomorrow. I could go grocery shopping tomorrow at lunch for camp ⛺ but that’s a risky proposition as I often get busy with work midday 🕛 and meetings get called. I do want to have most of the supplies I need as Charlie John in Spectulator is a great store but expensive.

Tonight will have isolated showers between 10pm and 11pm. Partly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 40 degrees at 6am. Seven degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 24th. West wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. In 2020, we had cloudy skies. It got down to 37 degrees. The record low of 29 occurred back in 1969.

A picture perfect weekend on tap. 😎 Saturday, scattered showers, mainly after 2pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 69. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Maximum dew point of 45 at 7pm. Sunday, scattered showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 70. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Maximum dew point of 47 at 8pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 71 degrees.

I am thinking I will head north on Thursday, before work 💻 and work from Speculator, camp somewhere nearby on Thursday night, and then somewhere a bit more remote come Friday evening through Sunday evening. Probably work in Speculator Thursday, Friday and Monday. Tuesday I have be back in office, suit and tie. 👨‍💼 I expect to be in the office a lot more soon, so I figure get out and enjoy it while I still can. ⛺ I was thinking about Madison County, as they won’t have black flies there, but maybe mosquitos. I really want to paddle Nine Mile Swamp, and maybe also around Hyde Bay at Glimmerglass. 🛶 Plus good bird watching at the Rogers Center 🐦, and the rich smell of fresh farm dirt in Sherburne. 🐮 I am thinking maybe either the following weekend or after the Memorial Day Weekend. The thing is if I go out there, I can only stay three nights without a camping permit. 🎫 Plus fewer options to go shooting in woods. 🔫 No idea on Memorial Day Weekend, depends on the weather. I might do the Green Mountains, as I know a few places where I have a good cell service up there for work or maybe I’ll tent camp for a few nights locally. 📱 Just need to plan things out, so I don’t have to be in office right around then. And to have enough solar to keep everything running smoothly.

As previously noted, there are 3 weeks until 9 PM Dusk 🌆 when the sun will be setting at 8:26 pm. Good weather for going down to the park with a book. 📕 Or swimming at the Potholers. 🏊‍♀️ On that day in 2020, we had partly cloudy, rain showers and temperatures between 68 and 41 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 76 degrees. We hit a record high of 94 back in 1918.

Springtime on the Trail

July 21, 2020 Morning

Good morning! Happy Tuesday, back to work from Speculator. Partly sunny and 59 degrees in Speculator, NY. There is a northwest breeze at 5 mph. 🍃.

By working up here I could stay another day in the Adirondacks and if I camp overnight, ⛺ I’ll drive home Wednesday evening about when the weather gets more stormy. I’ve been off the internet all weekend as I had no service which is nice for a change, it’s good to be away from work and everything else. 💼 With the primaries and everything else going on it seems like most of weekends previously were quite busy.

Today will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 77 degrees at 4pm. Six degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around September 1st. Maximum dew point of 59 at 8am. West wind 5 to 7 mph. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning with more sun in the afternoon. It was humid. The high last year was 91 degrees. The record high of 101 was set in 1930.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:05 pm with sun having an altitude of 66.9° from the due south horizon (-3.1° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.6 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:50 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (293°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (300°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:32 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 22 seconds with dusk around 9:05 pm, which is 52 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Crescent 🌒 Moon in the west-northwest (293°) at an altitude of 5° from the horizon, 232,588 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:49 pm. At sunset, look for partly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 71 degrees. The dew point will be 57 degrees. There will be a northwest breeze at 6 mph. Today will have 14 hours and 54 minutes of daytime, a decrease of one minute and 50 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be partly cloudy 🌤, with a low of 58 degrees at 5am. Four degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around August 27th. Maximum dew point of 57 at 8pm. Northwest wind around 6 mph becoming light and variable after midnight. In 2019, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It became humid as the night progressed. It got down to 66 degrees. The record low of 47 occurred back in 1970.

It was a nice long weekend camping at Piseco Powley Road, at times quite nice but for a while Sunday evening when the wind died down it was rather muggy. 😰 But when the breeze picked up it was pretty cold nice. Rained from a thunderstorm late Sunday night. ⚡ I’ve enjoyed being off the grid, having no cell service 📱 or ability to take calls all of the long weekend. I’ll upload some pictures later in the day. 📷

Saturday I walked the closed portion of Piseco Powley Road. 🚧 The south bridge is damaged from the October 31st storm and repairs will be necessary for Stratford to fix the other sections. That said, beyond the substructure of the bridge being rebuilt and some fill and a culvert needing replacing, most of the tools to rebuild the road shouldn’t be particularly difficult or unusual to implement.

On Saturday I also patched the hole in the screen tent. 🎪 It isn’t pretty as it doesn’t quite match in color and I wish I had had gotten the fabric a little tighter but it provides a good bug free area for camping. 🐜 Bugs have been bad this weekend, especially the deer fly although not so bad in the Potholers and times in the screen tent have been nice. After dark and early mornings I’ve been using the hammock a fair bit as the deer flies aren’t as bad then.

The Potholers were nice in the heat 🏊, I spent several hours laying in them and cooling off. I sat down there listening to podcasts 🎧and just enjoying the cold water 💦 and hot sun ☀. During the weekend there was a fair number of people there although I expect I would see a lot more were the road to be fully open. I am hopeful though that once the bridge is repaired, they can get the road repaired relatively quickly. I’m still thinking it might be done by hunting season. That will certainly make visiting the Potholers a lot more of an option come 2021.

Only one real shit moment at camp. 😮 On Monday evening after parking at camp I noticed something hanging out below the front axle like something was broken. Turned out to be just a root but I was afraid that I had broken something on my truck. Just a silly shadow of a root. Pulled it up and tossed it in the woods. This campsite is a bit of a mud wallow at the parking spot but has been as long as I’ve camped here. At least it’s very quiet here with the road closed heading south bound from the Potholers – the only traffic is those going down there.

I thought about moving down to Powley Place last evening so I could enjoy the stars ✨but ultimately I decided against that. It was fine, I was in by 9:30 and at that point wouldn’t have seen many stars. But I did stop by Powley Bridge briefly this morning to see the new temporary bridge and observe what has changed since the October 31st flood last year.

On this day in 1925, Dayton, Tennessee high school biology teacher John T. Scopes is found guilty of teaching evolution in class and fined $100. 👮 Darn criminals ruining our country. The judge incorrectly set the fine, rather then letting the jury do it, so his conviction was overturned on appeal. 🏫 The law would remain on the books until it was repealed 1967. Also in 1983, the world’s lowest temperature in an inhabited location is recorded at Vostok Station, Antarctica at −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F). ⛄ They should build a pipe and send it up north to cool off people efficently.

Been doing a lot of reading 📖 while up in camp. Re-read Heather Thomas’ Raising Beef Cattle 🐮 which is an interesting book on the ins and outs of cows. They’re pretty amazing animals which do pretty good most of the time on grasses, water, salt and some careful human hands to train them and take care of their needs. Beef cattle don’t have the complicated nutritional needs of the high performance Holstein cows 🐄 used on most dairies.

Should be a great weekend. 😎 Saturday, mostly sunny, with a high near 82. Maximum dew point of 59 at 8am. Sunday, a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 83. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Maximum dew point of 63 at 7pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 83 degrees.

I haven’t decided if I will stay all week in the Adirondacks. 🗻 Only three nights until the weekend so I could get a campsite near Speculator and work up here to the weekend and then go back to Piseco Powley Road. I’m undecided though because working and camping can be kind of tiring, especially if I don’t get enough sleep. 😴

Looking ahead, there are 15 weeks until Election Day 2020 🗳️ when the sun will be setting at 4:45 pm with dusk at 5:15 pm (Standard Time). On that day in 2019, we had partly sunny skies with a few rain showers and temperatures between 53 and 30 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 53 degrees. I was really sick that day last year with Lyme disease. We hit a record high of 75 back in 1990.

View At Kinzua Point