Search Results for: photo toes in the potholers

The days go by too quickly it seems โŒ›

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. โ›… There is a west breeze at 7 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. The dew point is 62 degrees.

I would have hoped for better weather for the weekend that was ๐ŸŒฆ๏ธ 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 โ˜€ 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 โ˜” with the darkening skies and got the screen tent ๐ŸŽช, flags ๐ŸŽŒ and tarp down before they could get very wet. ๐Ÿ’ง Had a bit of sun today which is good for drying gear and as my starting and accessory batteries ๐Ÿ”‹ 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 ๐ŸŒž, 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 ๐Ÿ“– and playing around with cooking ๐Ÿง‘โ€๐Ÿณ 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. ๐Ÿ’Š Plus I have so much good farmers market ๐ŸŒฝ foods to eat up. The sweet corn ๐ŸŒฝ from Samdil’s was amazing as was the peaches ๐Ÿ‘ from Roger’s.

Took a few naps ๐Ÿ˜ด in the hammock besides reading, ๐Ÿ“– listening to podcasts and some bike riding ๐Ÿšฒ and hiking it’s been a very lazy weekend but I’m chocking it up to the weather. โ˜” Honestly though if it had been nicer it would have been a lazier weekend just floating on the tube โญ•. Let’s be honest. Still every day either walked at least five miles, rode 7 ยฝ or a combination of both. ๐Ÿšถ Do it’s not like I was just eating ๐Ÿด and sleeping. ๐Ÿ”ฅ Had some nice fires in part because it was so cold and rainy, smokey at times due to the wet wood.

Bike ๐Ÿšฒ 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 ๐Ÿ’ฆ going over Goldmine Steam Falls. Thursday I rode up to Notch Mountain โ›ฐ and Friday also spent time at the Potholers but no swimming ๐ŸŠ due to it being very cold and the water levels dangerously high. I’ve never seen the Potholers so high in the summer months. ๐ŸŠโ€โ™‚๏ธ

Saturday night was the best night by far, stayed up until close to midnight watching the shooting stars โœจ from my hammock then listening to music ๐ŸŽถ down by the campfire ๐Ÿ”ฅ for warmth. Had a second beer ๐Ÿป and maybe a smoke ๐Ÿšฌ which is so uncommon these days since I’ve gotten into healthy eating in my forties. But also snacked on sweet corn ๐ŸŒฝ and peaches ๐Ÿ‘ 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. ๐Ÿคช

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 1:04 pm with sun having an altitude of 59.5ยฐ from the due south horizon (-10.9ยฐ 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 ๐Ÿ… starts at 7:18 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (282ยฐ). ๐Ÿ“ธ The sunset is in the west-northwest (288ยฐ) 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. ๐ŸŒ‡ At dusk you’ll see the First Quarter ๐ŸŒ“ Moon in the west-southwest (246ยฐ) at an altitude of 14ยฐ from the horizon, 246,018 miles away. ๐Ÿš€ The best time to look at the stars is after 9:03 pm. At sunset, look for partly clear skies ๐ŸŒ„ 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. ๐Ÿšฒ 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 ๐Ÿฆ and sweet corn ๐ŸŒฝ 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 โ˜, 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 5โƒฃ day work week ahead in the office ๐Ÿข 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 ๐Ÿ“ง and not taking immediate action on staff and inter departmental requests because I don’t want to step on the toes ๐Ÿ‘ฃ of the director. ๐Ÿ™ˆ It means no sneaking off to the woods this week. Promised my mom next week to do a clam bake for them too. ๐Ÿฆช Following weekend though probably head to Spectulator, maybe taking off that Friday or working remotely.

Need to order the bolt ๐Ÿ”ฉ and the tool to install the lost bolt on Blackie’s ๐Ÿšต 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. ๐Ÿ 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 โ˜” 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 ๐Ÿ˜ข while I was away from town at camp. ๐Ÿ‘ผ๐Ÿผ 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. ๐Ÿ“‚ I do always wonder what was in his attic that burned in that fire ๐Ÿ”ฅ. 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 ๐Ÿ“„ I owned. Never got to the really interesting stuff in his attic where the fire burned hottest. So much of the story untold. ๐Ÿ•ฏ

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. ๐Ÿ–ฅ You never really know how long people’s lives will last, or the institutions and things around us. Here one day, gone the next. ๐Ÿ•Š Honestly I thought ๐Ÿ’ญ the news ๐Ÿ“ฐ 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. ๐Ÿฆ† ๐Ÿฆ ๐Ÿฆ‹ ๐ŸŽ I do wish I had found time to do that one more time before it was too late. ๐Ÿ™ I need to do better with my parents.

Looking ahead, there are 3 weeks until 6:30 Sunrise ๐ŸŒ‡ 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 ๐Ÿ‘– 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. โ˜” There is a north-northeast breeze at 5 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. The dew point is 66 degrees. The skies will clear tomorrow around 2 pm.

Too rainy ๐ŸŒง๏ธ for the morning walk and I wasn’t moving fast enough to catch the earlier bus ๐Ÿš downtown. The rain let up and I walked down to the later express ๐Ÿš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.๐Ÿ›— It’s stupid, I’m not afraid of the state elevators and I’m sure the state police ๐Ÿšจ would come and rescue me when the elevator breaks down but I like the exercise of climbing ๐Ÿง—‍โ™‚๏ธ 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 ๐ŸฆŒ hunting or something in the wilderness.

Morning was eggs ๐Ÿณ with a bunch of onions, spinach, and peppers. Lots of fiber and protein there. Had a few cups of coffee โ˜• 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 ๐Ÿ‰, zucchini ๐Ÿ†, egg plant and the fruit ๐Ÿ 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 ๐Ÿฅฆ on the side. It was good in the broiler all crispy.

Today will have showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 3pm. ๐ŸŒฆ 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. ๐Ÿ–๏ธ 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. ๐Ÿ• 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. ๐Ÿ“š 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 ๐ŸŒฒ 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. ๐Ÿ“ฐ  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 ๐ŸŸ to cook up tonight with spinach, and I’m looking forward to that on this rainy night.

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž 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 ๐Ÿ… starts at 7:20 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (284°). ๐Ÿ“ธ 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. ๐ŸŒ‡ The best time to look at the stars is after 9:07 pm. At sunset, look for rain ๐ŸŒง and thunderstorms ๐ŸŒฉ 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 ๐ŸŒง, 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, ๐ŸŽง ๐ŸŽธ๐ŸŽท much to the distaste of his neighbors and fellow community members. ๐Ÿฎ 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. ๐Ÿ—‘ 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. ๐Ÿ’ฐ 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. ๐Ÿ“ˆ 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. ๐Ÿ›ฃ

Cool but sunny this weekend. ๐Ÿ˜Ž 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. ๐ŸŽช 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, ๐Ÿ›ถ especially if I do a bike ride first. Although do I want to spend more time at the Potholers at Piseco-Powley? ๐ŸŠ‍โ™€๏ธ Decisions! ๐Ÿค”

Looking ahead, there are 11 weeks until Halloween ๐ŸŽƒ 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

A Monday morning as we enter the second half of August ๐ŸŒ…

The morning today is surprisingly dark but we’re losing daylight quickly this time of year and more clouds and rain drops then I would have expected from the initial forecast. I’m up and going a bit earlier than normal but it’s good to get a jump on the weekend and I was going.

Good morning! Monday’s come back around again. Mostly cloudy with a few rain drops ๐Ÿ’ง and 63 degrees in Delmar, NY. โ›… It’s raining out again, so shocking. Calm wind. The dew point is 59 degrees.

Out for the morning walk ๐Ÿšถ. After breakfast ๐Ÿฅฃ and a shower ๐Ÿšฟ I’m thinking I’ll take Blackie ๐Ÿšต to work. Saves $2.60 in bus fares plus it’s a nice ride and it won’t be too hot or rainy today. Tomorrow it will be back on the express bus ๐Ÿš. I think taking Madison Ave from the bike path rather than Howard and Green and riding across the Plaza roads. ๐Ÿš˜ You’d think Howard would be a quiet side street but with all the parking garages it’s not and lower Madison has less traffic then you’d expect even at rush hour. Oatmeal soaked overnight with blueberries and chia seeds plus a little Greek yogurt for breakfast. Egg plant for dinner tonight. ๐Ÿ† I tried the oatmeal overnight thing on Saturday for the pancakes mix today doing it for actual cold oatmeal to eat this morning.

Today will be partly sunny ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 80 degrees at 4pm. Two degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around August 28th. Maximum dew point of 63 at 9am. Calm wind becoming west 5 to 8 mph in the morning. Good morning for riding Blackie ๐Ÿšต to work. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 82 degrees. The record high of 97 was set in 1988.

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 1:01 pm with sun having an altitude of 61.8ยฐ from the due south horizon (-9ยฐ vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 3.2 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ๐Ÿ… starts at 7:22 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (284ยฐ). ๐Ÿ“ธ The sunset is in the west-northwest (291ยฐ) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:01 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 5 seconds with dusk around 8:29 pm, which is one minute and 26 seconds earlier than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ The best time to look at the stars is after 9:09 pm. At sunset, look for rain ๐ŸŒง and temperatures around 74 degrees. The dew point will be 63 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Tomorrow will have 13 hours and 58 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 33 seconds over today.

It was a nice weekend โ˜บ but it came and went so quickly. Pretty evening up on Bennett Hill ๐ŸŒ‡ and it was nice seeing the folks. ๐Ÿ‘ช My pantry is well stocked ๐Ÿ and I was able to get some more reasonably well fitting clothes at the Salvation Army. Biking in the Pine Bush was nice and being able to use Blackie ๐Ÿšต to run to the bank and Walmart when I needed to without having to fire up Big Red. ๐Ÿ›ป I’d like to get some Balsamic Vinegar today and the nice thing about bicycle commuting is I can just stop along the way. ๐Ÿ›’

Tonight will have showers, mainly after 3am. The rain could be heavy at times. ๐ŸŒง Low of 65 degrees at 5am. Four degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 63 at 7pm. ๐Ÿ–๏ธ Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies. It got down to 58 degrees. The record low of 48 occurred back in 1964.

Back in 1962, Two gunmen hijacked a mail truck in Plymouth, Massachusetts, โœ‰ and made off with $1.5 million. Kind of a crazy story, they dressed up as construction ๐Ÿšง workers, barricaded off Interstate 495, took the unmarked mail truck ๐Ÿšš at gun point ๐Ÿ”ซ never to be seen again, leaving the Massachusetts State Police ๐Ÿ‘ฎ and the FBI with no answers. Everybody says it was an inside job but one seventy years nobody knows what happened to the money, ๐Ÿ’ต back when it was real money and just a typical retirement account.

A picture perfect weekend on tap. ๐Ÿ˜Ž Saturday, sunny, with a high near 81. Maximum dew point of 60 at 3pm. Sunday, sunny, with a high near 87. Maximum dew point of 63 at 11am. Typical average high for the weekend is 82 degrees.

Unfortunately Friday looks to be a bit wetter in the morning โ˜” and cooler with a high of 68 up north but Thursday will be closer to eighty and sunny ๐ŸŒž so I’m thinking about spending some quality time up at the Potholers ๐ŸŠโ€โ™‚๏ธ this weekend before summer is done, followed maybe on Sunday with paddling around Moss Island in Little Falls ๐Ÿ›ถ and riding some of the bike trail out that way.

And now something to look forward to next Monday is World Mosquito Day ๐Ÿž when the sun will be setting at 7:50 pm with dusk at 8:18 pm. On that day in 2022, we had hot, partly sunny and temperatures between 88 and 70 degrees. Mosquitoes have been bad this year, I might bring the mosquito tent ๐ŸŽช when I head north this weekend. Typically, the high temperature is 82 degrees. We hit a record high of 98 back in 1916.

View

Totally agree that walking in that thunderstorm last night wasn’t a great idea โ›ˆ

I didn’t think it would be nice enough to go out walking last night but then I stepped outside it seemed okay, the wind blowing the opposite direction of the clouds to the west. It risk of thunder seemed pretty low, and I wanted to get at least 8 miles in for the day. But the time I was farthest from home the lightening was too close for comfort and five minutes from home the sky opened up. Ultimately I did get in 8 miles for the day, not the ten I normally walk and didn’t make it to the park, but that’s fine.

Good morning! With a few loud cracks of rain and thunder it’s morning. The sun is is rising, the skies are clearing somewhat and let’s call it 66 โ…” degrees at the 6:30 for the morning walk in the land of the Delmartian. โ›… Calm wind. The dew point is 64 degrees.

Last night I got home ๐Ÿก from work glad that I didn’t get soaked and figured that the evening walk ๐Ÿšถ was off the agenda. Then at 6:30 I stepped outside and looked at the radar and decided it would be okay. And it was for a while until the wind shifted and thunder โšก pushed closer. In the end it was fine, though I got a bit wet and went to bed early. ๐Ÿ› Walked 8 miles for the day plus 39 flights of stairs up and down. I was asleep by around 8 pm and up around 5 am.

As it was still raining out when I awoke ๐Ÿณ I decided to have breakfast before walking which was cold black coffee โ˜• with cold eggs and spinach from the other day. I also had a half of banana ๐ŸŒ from last night. At lunch time yesterday I walked up to Market 32 in Albany and got a bunch of bananas to hold my pantry over until Saturday when I can do a bigger shop ๐Ÿช. Cold lunch today with black beans, mushrooms, chopped farmers market tomatoes, peppers. Avoids the line for the microwave at work, though I’ve figured out the technique is to cook lunch at 12:50 PM before the 1 PM rush.

Today will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 5pm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain. Patchy fog before 7am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy ๐ŸŒง, with a high of 83 degrees at 2pm. One degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around July 4th. Independence Day! Maximum dew point of 71 at 2pm. Calm wind becoming south around 6 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies. It was somewhat humid. The high last year was 85 degrees. The record high of 99 was set in 1995.

I’ll have to keep that Market 32 in Albany in mind ๐Ÿ›’ for when I need stocking up of a few ingredients downtown. Much better than the old Ghetto Chopper and really only a few blocks away from work if I take South Swan to Elm Street. They don’t have much in household supplies – I was hoping to get super glue to fix my boots ๐Ÿ‘ข – but the fresh fruits and vegetables looked good. It’s small so a fast shop. Probably can’t get frozen things there and I decided to skip getting plain non fat Greek yogurt just because of the hot day walking back to the office and the bus ride home but in the winter I think that’s an option.

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 1:02 pm with sun having an altitude of 69.1ยฐ from the due south horizon (-1.7ยฐ 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 ๐Ÿ… starts at 7:51 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (294ยฐ). ๐Ÿ“ธ The sunset is in the west-northwest (301ยฐ) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:33 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 22 seconds with dusk around 9:06 pm, which is 36 seconds earlier than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ The best time to look at the stars is after 9:50 pm. At sunset, look for rain ๐ŸŒง and thunderstorms ๐ŸŒฉ and temperatures around 74 degrees. The dew point will be 70 degrees. There will be a south-southeast breeze at 6 mph. Today will have 15 hours and 5 minutes of daytime, a decrease of one minute and 25 seconds over yesterday.

Six months into healthy eating ๐ŸŽI am finally starting to notice how much thinner I am. I have a feeling that my BMI is now below 25 though I don’t have a scale so I don’t know but I know I have lost weight since the last time I visited the doctor at the end of May when I was 209 lb and needed to get to 194 lb to be a healthy weight at 6′ 2.5″ though most others say I’m 6′ 4″ or 6′ 5″ with the boots on. My love handles have virtually disappeared and my stomach is much smaller, and I’m pretty sure that size 36 pants ๐Ÿ‘– are now the proper size, the smallest since probably I’ve been since elementary school. The problem is finding clothes in my closet that don’t make me look like a clown. ๐Ÿคก Still have a little more belly fat I’d look to loose, not just because of the look but because outer fat is associated with inner muscle fat, especially in the heart ๐Ÿ’– which is rather bad. But I feel like I am starting to get in great shape, mostly from eating a nutritious diet but also because I’ve kept up with the walking and stairs. And hopefully cycling too. Steiner, you are biting me with this bicycle thing. ๐Ÿ˜ 

Tonight will have showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before midnight. Mostly cloudy ๐ŸŒง, with a low of 66 degrees at 5am. Three degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 70 at 6pm. Southeast wind around 6 mph becoming calm in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies. It got down to 57 degrees. The record low of 44 occurred back in 1950.

I need to think about getting new boots before vacation. ๐Ÿ‘Ÿ Or at least rugged sneakers, something I can use for mountain biking and maybe jogging which I tell myself that I’m thinking ๐Ÿ’ญ about taking up ๐Ÿƒ maybe half seriously since becoming thinner. Around camp and certainly st the swimming pools and holes the knock off crocks are fun but they’re not appropriate for much else. They have no ankle support, get my feet muddy, and worse of all let in any stones and sticks into my foot ๐Ÿ‘ฃ where I can step on them.

On this day in 1969, the $500, $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000 bills are officially withdrawn from circulation. ๐Ÿ’ต After this date, if you wanted to buy a large purchase in cash, you needed a lot of hundred dollars in bills. ๐Ÿ’ฐThey had last been printed in 1945, and were finally dropped from circulation in 1969, in part as an effort to reduce corruption and money scams. Nowadays a hundred ๐Ÿ’ฏ dollars seems almost a paltry amount with inflation not that I ever carry anything bigger than $5 bills because it’s just easier to use the credit card ๐Ÿ’ณ for anything bigger.

Tomorrow will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 3pm. Partly sunny ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 87 degrees at 3pm. Three degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 72 at 11am. Muggy, swamp weather. South wind 3 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies. It was somewhat humid. The high last year was 86 degrees. The record high of 96 was set in 1997.

Tomorrow I will walk ๐Ÿšถ early to best the heat. ๐Ÿ˜ฐ Then it’s those oatmeal banana pancakes ๐ŸŒ ๐Ÿฅž love with blueberries and maybe some sugar free maple syrup and cold black coffee. So good! Then it’s off to Steiners to check on the status of the bicycle ๐Ÿšฒ they promise to be assembling for me. They don’t have it, I’ll test ride the XXL of the Marlin 5 and order and pay for the Marlin 6 as long as they can give me a set date for delivery. ๐Ÿšš Otherwise I will order online with another shop. This purchase needs to be closed down this weekend.

Then the next thing to do is get grocery shopping ๐Ÿ›’. I want to get more red kidney beans for maple syrup ๐Ÿ˜ next week and get them soaking to be cooked come Sunday morning. Plus all the usual, more Greek yogurt, ๐Ÿฎ frozen fruit ๐Ÿ“, peppers ๐Ÿซ‘๐ŸŒถ๏ธ, mushrooms ๐Ÿ„ and the usuals. I also need shampoo and extra deodorant the later this keep in the office ๐Ÿข after climbing the stairs. Then I’m not totally sure. ๐ŸŠ If it’s hot and looks like thunderstorms will stay away, maybe go to the town pool. I would have to register though to get a pool fob, maybe I should do that and it’s $5.25 to enter. ๐Ÿ˜• And you have to do that in advance. Seems like a pain. If I get the bike, ๐Ÿšต ride out to Voorheesville and probably the Black Creek Marsh. If it’s hot and I don’t want to spend money, go to the library for a while ๐Ÿ’ป with my computer, then come home, sit by the fan and get through some more of the stack of library books I have at home. ๐Ÿ“š

Looking ahead to Sunday, showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain. High near 83. โ›ˆ๏ธ South wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible. Not just a few passing showers. Maximum dew point of 74 at 12pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 84 degrees.

And so is the weekend forecast. ๐Ÿ˜– But if I can get this damn bicycle ๐Ÿšฒ thing closed down, I’ll be happy. I am thinking about taking off at least one day next week, where and what to do is to be decided but I need to get a few things ready for my vacation, I’ve taken fewer days off this summer than expected. Maybe it will be to get the rack on the bicycle, break it in or pick it up. ๐Ÿ›  Maybe the Potholers or Schoharie the second half of the week. ๐ŸŠ

Two weeks from now, God willing, ๐Ÿ– I will be well on my way to the Finger Lakes. I really want to leave by eight AM on that Friday to get the campsite I want in the National Forest โ›บ and then have the afternoon to set up and relax. ๐ŸŽฃ Do some fishing, a nice bicycle ๐Ÿšฒ ride and maybe watch a Finger Lakes sunset ๐ŸŒ‡ across a cow pasture in the National Forest.

After vacation, August 11th I have a dentist appointment at 10:15 AM ๐Ÿฆท which I will follow up probably with a long weekend. Maybe Schoharie or the Adirondacks. Have to be strategic at this point as there are only three weeks left in August at that point before Labor Day Weekend, and I want to have at least a few more long weekends before summer is done. ๐ŸŠ ๐Ÿ›ถ That said, except for the Mine Kill Pool there is no reason I can’t take lots of long weekends come September and October. ๐Ÿ I am not doing a West Virginia trip — or even a week-long trip at this point this autumn, so that leaves other days to allocate. I would like to do some kayaking, fishing, hunting, and bike riding this autumn. Charles Baker State Forest roads probably would be wonderful for autumn bike riding, as would the Chenango Canal Trail and others.

Looking ahead, there are 7 weeks until September 1st ๐Ÿ‚ when the sun will be setting at 7:31 pm with dusk at 7:59 pm. That’s the start of Labor Day Weekend. On that day in 2022, we had mostly sunny skies with rain showers and temperatures between 73 and 55 degrees. Cool day. The average high is 79 degrees. We hit a record high of 96 back in 1953. I might do Spectulator that weekend, especially if they have fire tower lighting that I could observe from I don’t know, Watch Hill (?). ๐Ÿ• Some of those truck trails through the Conservation Easement might be nice on the mountain bike, as would be camping up on Hardwood Hill, looking at the stars, lighting off ground fireworks and sparklers. ๐ŸŽ†

Back Out on Open Lake

Stay home, save money ๐Ÿก

That’s one way to look at the weekend. I can’t believe we are going to have yet another cloudy, rainy weekend. I’m not spending the money to drive out to Schoharie in crap weather, especially as I don’t have Blackie, my bicycle yet.

Good morning! Happy Thursday. Foggy ๐ŸŒ and 67 degrees in Delmar, NY. Calm wind. The dew point is 66 degrees. The skies will clear around 11 am. Or so I hope. Might rain or thunder some more, but hopefully not during my lunch-time walk, evening commute or evening walk. I’m noticing a theme here.

Out walking this morning. โ˜” What a surprise, between the fog and the weather pattern were stuck in, it’s raining out. And it going to be cloudy and hot Saturday with rain come Sunday. Hey at least not camping saves money! Or so I tell myself. 10 ยพ miles walked yesterday, 42 flights of stairs up and down. I had time, I could have walked ๐Ÿšถ more last night but I was achy and tired, ๐Ÿ› so I got to bed on time but woke up much too early, around 5 AM. But I got in close to 8 hours of sleep last night.

This morning is an oatmeal day. ๐ŸŒ ๐Ÿฅฃ I almost would like oatmeal-banana pancakes, but I want to save the last two bananas I have to bring into my office at work to make it through Friday. Oatmeal with blueberries ๐Ÿ’™ is a quick breakfast, I might throw in some walnuts, as I’ve had them for a few weeks now and don’t want to risk them going bad. I like walnuts, their healthy but a little high in fat My pantry at home is a bit picked over, but I think I still have healthy options left, ๐ŸŒฝ especially after getting sweet corn and tomatoes yesterday at the farmers market. I was hoping I would have had an excuse to go to the store when I picked up Blackie, but not so far this week. ๐Ÿ›’ I have more rice and lentils I can cook up tomorrow, and I took the black beans out of the freezer. I’ll probably have that with sweet corn and tomatoes tonight. And red onions ๐Ÿง… of course.

Today will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 3pm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain. Patchy fog before 7am. Otherwise, partly sunny ๐ŸŒค๏ธ ๐Ÿคœ ๐ŸŒง, with a high of 89 degrees at 2pm. Five degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 71 at 11am. Light southeast wind becoming south 12 to 17 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. A year ago, we had cloudy 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 1894.

I’m still waiting for the call about Blackie from the bike shop. ๐Ÿšฒ I might not have been clear what I was asking when I called yesterday but it’s kind of weird to explain – they’re building the bike for me but I haven’t paid for it or even taken the proper size bike for a test ride. So I probably wasn’t clear what I meant about test riding the XXL bike on the phone, that it’s the one they are putting together for me to purchase. ๐Ÿ“ž It was a different salesperson I got yesterday then who I talked to on Friday but I thought when they said it said it would be ready in a few days I would have it by Wednesday. I’m not going to take off time until I know it’s ready, though I will stop by Saturday to follow up. I really want to ask about the rack too fitting the bike. I am pretty sure that’s the bike I want, but I would want to make sure it fits before I lay down the big bucks. Plus Saturday, then is a good time to get groceries, even if it’s a bit crowded. ๐Ÿ ๐Ÿฅฆ

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 1:02 pm with sun having an altitude of 69.2ยฐ from the due south horizon (-1.6ยฐ 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 ๐Ÿ… starts at 7:52 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (294ยฐ). ๐Ÿ“ธ The sunset is in the west-northwest (301ยฐ) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:34 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 23 seconds with dusk around 9:06 pm, which is 33 seconds earlier than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ The best time to look at the stars is after 9:51 pm. At sunset, look for rain ๐ŸŒง and thunderstorms ๐ŸŒฉ and temperatures around 77 degrees. The dew point will be 68 degrees. There will be a south breeze at 10 mph. Today will have 15 hours and 6 minutes of daytime, a decrease of one minute and 21 seconds over yesterday.

Finally the farmers market ๐ŸŒฝ ๐Ÿ… had tomatoes and sweet corn that made me happy. ๐Ÿ˜Š The fresh sweet corn was amazing especially with some MSG – I skipped the butter due to the saturated fats. Tomatoes were good though not as exceptionally good as I had hoped. ๐Ÿ‘จโ€๐ŸŒพ If I don’t get to Schoharie this weekend it’s not the end of the world. There is farm stands going out on vacation, Sandell’s Farm going up to Piseco-Powley Road, and the best farm stands really are in August and September in the Schoharie Valley, and probably is the best riding of the Catskill Scenic Trail. ๐Ÿšฒ

Tonight will have showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 11pm. Some storms could be severe, with damaging winds and heavy rain. Mostly cloudy ๐ŸŒฉ, with a low of 65 degrees at 5am. Two degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 69 at 6pm. Another night in the swamp. South wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light and variable after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible. That sounds wet. In 2022, we had light rain in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It was somewhat humid. It got down to 65 degrees. The record low of 49 occurred back in 1940.

On this day in 1977, the Great 1977 New York City Blackout begins, ๐ŸŒƒ plunging New York into 24 hours of darkness, chaos, and crime. It really was a dark time in the city. This black out mostly effected the city, not upstate so much. Albany has gotten shifty after the pandemic but it’s nothing like New York City, especially in the olden days of the 1970s. ๐Ÿšจ

Not a particularly nice weekend on tap. ๐Ÿ˜ž Saturday, a slight chance of showers before 8am, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 88. South wind 5 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Maximum dew point of 71 at 10am. I’ll watch the radar, maybe I’ll do the town pool in the afternoon. Sunday, a chance of showers, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 2pm. High near 82. Chance of precipitation is 80%. Maximum dew point of 74 at 12pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 84 degrees.

If it only was slightly nicer out ๐ŸŒค๏ธand I had the bicycle ๐Ÿšฒ I would reconsider my plans to go to Schoharie. If the shop calls today or tomorrow and I can sneak out of work early and get the bike and groceries, I’ll reconsider my plans. It might be more haze then clouds and maybe it won’t be until late when the showers and Thunderstorms come rolling through. It would be fun to swim ๐ŸŠโ€โ™‚๏ธ and see the auto show ๐Ÿš˜ and it’s going to be a hot one. Otherwise, there is always next weekend – the last one before Summer Vacation. ๐Ÿ–

I am still hopeful that the through we are stuck in breaks up by August ๐ŸŒง๏ธ and we can finally have some nice hot and sunny weather โ˜€ with calm weather. I don’t mind some heat and humidity on vacation or for that matter when I’m at the Potholers in Adirondacks. ๐ŸŠโ€โ™‚๏ธ Often the weekend before Summer Vacation ๐Ÿ“ฆ I like to stay home and pack but I’m not necessarily convinced that is necessary as I pretty much know what I need and will pack only food for the first few days and get fresh food out in the Finger Lakes. ๐Ÿ‡ Next weekend if it’s decent I could do Schoharie or the Potholers, maybe extending the weekend by a day on either side of the weekend.

Looking ahead, next Thursday is Ugly Truck Day ๐Ÿšš when the sun will be setting at 8:29 pm with dusk at 9:01 pm. On that day in 2022, we had hot, humid, mostly sunny, thunderstorm and temperatures between 97 and 72 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 84 degrees. We hit a record high of 97 back in 1991.

Driftwood

We all continue to sweat ๐Ÿ˜ฐ

Some more than others. That statement is true on so many levels. I’ve never had air conditioning at home. Maybe this is morning is not a good one to be listening to the Stones’ Paint It Black. Of course the that doesn’t count all the hours lately I’ve been sweating climbing the stairs in the office and out walking, 40 flights including in the LOB and 10 ½ miles again yesterday. And the thing I’m really sweating about these days – funding the perfect bicycle. A nice problem to be sweating a lot about.

Good morning! Yeah, it’s Friday! A three day work week doesn’t seem so bad after a four day weekend. ๐Ÿ™ƒ Partly cloudy and 69 degrees in Delmar for the morning walk. โ›… There is a south-southeast breeze at 6 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. The dew point is 66 degrees. The muggy weather ends next Wednesday around 7 pm. ๐Ÿ˜“ Or is that just when the weather model ends?

Last night was sticky for sleeping ๐Ÿ˜ด and the evening walk. ๐Ÿšถ By any standards it’s bed hot and muggy, I’m starting to see black mold pop up in my apartment again. I better clean that this weekend before it gets worse. I did not sleep well at all last night despite getting to bed ๐Ÿ› a little after nine. 9โƒฃ Mostly because of the heat but also because so much of my life has been consumed by trying to figure out what would be the perfect ๐Ÿ‘Œ bicycle ๐Ÿšฒ for me. More urban commuter or mountain bicycle? ๐Ÿšต๐Ÿšด

Today will have showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 5pm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain. It’s summer, I just hope Piseco-Powley Road doesn’t wash out. Partly sunny ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 88 degrees at 1pm. Four degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 73 at 12pm. South wind 6 to 8 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with a few breaks of sun the afternoon. The high last year was 85 degrees. The record high of 97 was set in 1988.

This morning I decided to do scrambled eggs with red kidney beans run through the food processor to make a paste and fried, with also a sauce of tomatoes and jalapeños made in the food processor. ๐Ÿณ Made a good filling meal for two breakfasts ๐Ÿ˜‹ without preservatives or much unhealthy. I wanted something protein rich but limited sugar to help make up for my rough night sleeping. ๐Ÿฆ Yesterday’s shrimp and rice ๐Ÿš was good for dinner.

All electric bus ๐Ÿš โšก that was running on time until we hit the construction ๐Ÿšง detour due to them once again trying to fix the on ramp from US 9W to Downtown Albany and 787. Big delays on Southern Boulevard. The air conditioning wasn’t super cranked up on the bus either, though it was reasonably cool but not as refreshing as yesterday morning on bus. I’m going to be late in the office ๐Ÿข but I don’t care, it’s summer and I’m often early. Getting off at the Plaza and will walk in the Concourse as it’s cooler there. Might do the same as lunch time too to beat the heat. ๐Ÿ˜ฐ

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 1:01 pm with sun having an altitude of 70° from the due south horizon (-0.8° vs. 6/21). The golden hour ๐Ÿ… starts at 7:54 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (295°). ๐Ÿ“ธ The sunset is in the west-northwest (302°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:36 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 26 seconds with dusk around 9:09 pm, which is 20 seconds earlier than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ The best time to look at the stars is after 9:55 pm. At sunset, look out for rain ๐ŸŒง and thunderstorms ๐ŸŒฉ and temperatures around 76 degrees. The dew point will be 70 degrees. Sticky There will be a calm wind. Today will have 15 hours and 13 minutes of daytime, a decrease of one minute over yesterday.

It’s going to be a hot evening so I might delay my evening walk ๐Ÿšถ for a while to study bicycles some more. ๐Ÿšฒ I need to test ride more but I’m really thinking basic mountain bike especially for puncture resistance and tubed tires for easier repair for inevitable flats. I’m willing to trade up efficiency for commute to work for better gravel and dirt road performance. โš™ I would rather peddle harder then be off the road waiting for parts.

Tonight will have showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 11pm. Patchy fog after 3am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy ๐ŸŒƒ, with a low of 67 degrees at 4am. Five degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 71 at 6pm. Light and variable wind. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. In 2022, we had partly cloudy skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It was somewhat humid. It got down to 67 degrees. The record low of 43 occurred back in 1969.

On this day in 1981, U.S. President Ronald Reagan appoints Sandra Day O’Connor ๐Ÿ‘ฉ๐Ÿป‍โš–๏ธto become the first female member of the Supreme Court of the United States. ๐Ÿฅช That’s almost as cool as sliced bread, which is sold for the first time by the Chillico the Baking Company in 1921. It’s actually amazing to think it was so long that the Supreme Court was all male, only forty odd years ago was there any women on the court. Now if they could only get come young people on the court and less of the old white bread. ๐Ÿฅ I haven’t had bread in ages, mostly as it’s a lot of more carbs and while whole grain has more fiber I generally just stick with brown rice as a durable, preservative free form of carbs to use in many meals. ๐Ÿด

Tomorrow will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 2pm. Patchy fog before 8am. Otherwise, partly sunny ๐ŸŒž , with a high of 87 degrees at 3pm. Three degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 72 at 12pm. Light and variable wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with a few breaks of sun the afternoon. The high last year was 85 degrees. The record high of 100 was set in 1936.

I fully concede that this would be the perfect weekend for the Potholers ๐ŸŠ‍โ™‚๏ธ or Mine Kill Pool if I wasn’t planning on test riding and hopefully buying a bicycle ๐Ÿšฒ this weekend. I feel like this whole process has dragged on for much too long but it’s taken me a while to figure out that I would be best off with a new rather than used or rebuilt bicycle. Then the trade offs of efficency of a road bicycle vs durability of a mountain bike ๐Ÿšต have been in my mind plus what I’m willing to spend. You know I’m the boy that looked at getting a Toyota Prius for cheap, reliable environmentally friendly transportation before settling on a big jacked up truck. I have a feeling my bicycle buying process is going that way, especially as I play through all the disadvantages of riding a bike to work over taking the bus – theft, car crashes, pollution. That air conditioning feels so good on the bus in the sweltering heat.

I will try to leave by 10:30 tomorrow to test ride more bicycles. ๐Ÿ”Ž๐Ÿšฒ. I really want to settle on something this weekend and either take delivery or at least have it on order for next week. I am going to start at Steiner’s Sports in Glenmont, as they have more mountain bikes it seems, and then try Downtube next. If I like what they have at Steiner’s Sports in Glenmont but they don’t have it at their local shop, but I can get it at their main shop in Hudson, I am more then willing to drive down there on Saturday afternoon or Sunday. Downtube wants to charge $50 destination fee on top of the MSRP, which is reasonable but if I can save some money, that’s even more reasonable. I think I finally have a better idea of what I want.

Then the other thing I need is grocery shopping. ๐Ÿ ๐Ÿ„ With the blueberries I got at the farmer’s market on Wednesday I have enough of a grocery haul to make it to the weekend, but things are starting to get a bit low and I want to maintain a nutritious, diverse and tasty diet. ๐Ÿ˜‹ I worry if I let my pantry get too bare then I will start going for less healthy calories.

Looking ahead to Sunday, a chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 2pm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Mostly cloudy, ๐ŸŒฅ with a high near 79. South wind around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. Maximum dew point of 70 at 12pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 84 degrees.

Looking ahead, next Friday is National Nude Day ๐Ÿ‘ฑ when the sun will be setting at 8:33 pm with dusk at 9:06 pm. It’s when my dentist appointment is. ๐Ÿฆท I’ll wear clothing though when I get my teeth cleaned. At least that’s when I think it is. On that day in 2022, we had partly cloudy and temperatures between 85 and 65 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 84 degrees. We hit a record high of 99 back in 1995.

I am hoping that National Nude Day is one that I can get out of town, for the weekend. Maybe just Schoharie County but I could also see the Potholers ๐ŸŠ‍โ™€๏ธ as it’s been a while since I’ve spent a few nights in the wilderness. Hopefully with a bicycle to ride too. At this point I’m trying to save money, and Schoharie might be better for just two nights, and it would be good to improve my swimming skills. Heading up mid-day on Friday is no guarantee that I’ll get the House Pond Campsite for easy access to the East Canada Creek for floating and walk to the Potholers. I haven’t done the Mine Kill Pool in a long time, I don’t recall if I ever made it out there in 2022 or not.

Photo.2013.06.15 17.31.39

The Friday before Memorial Day Weekend ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ

And I’m so not rushing around to make sure I have everything packed so I can be eaten alive by the black flies while I struggle to find cell service so I can work. Or rolling out of Mayfield watching traffic queue three miles in the distance as people crawl towards Northville and I’m openly wondering if all the good campsites are taken. I’m sure there is a lot of summer and autumn left.

Good morning! Yeah, it’s Friday before Memorial Day Weekend! ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Sunny and 42 degrees in Delmar, NY. ๐ŸŒž Calm wind. An absolutely beautiful morning, although a bit cool for the morning walk.

These days with the early sunrise ๐ŸŒ… I find it difficult to sleep much past five o’clock which is bad for the sleep ๐Ÿ˜ด as it’s also hard to get to bed before 9:30 or so after the evening walk ๐Ÿšถ. But I’m moving forward and I’m thinking eggs, tofu spinach and feta for breakfast this morning. ๐Ÿณ I’ve really been overdoing the sugar lately and eggs have an amazing staying power for the full day. ๐Ÿ’ช

Today will be sunny ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 72 degrees at 5pm. Two degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around May 19th. Calm wind becoming north 5 to 7 mph in the morning. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 74 degrees. The record high of 94 was set in 2010. There was a dusting of snow in 1953.โ„

Should be a pretty nice day. โ˜บ Yesterday wasn’t half bad, walked 11 ยฝ miles had a good dinner with salmon, peppers, tomatoes and a lemon juice ๐Ÿ‹ topping. Work was busy but it’s exciting getting that new Census Housing Data for sure. ๐Ÿ–ฅ That said, I had most depressing project to review yesterday ๐Ÿ“ but not everything can always be happy and fun when you are paid to review it.

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 12:53 pm with sun having an altitude of 68.5ยฐ from the due south horizon (-2.3ยฐ vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.4 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ๐Ÿ… starts at 7:40 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (293ยฐ). ๐Ÿ“ธ

Going to catch the earlier express bus ๐Ÿš๐ŸšŒ in this morning so I can bring the Lupine Festival ๐Ÿฆ‹ display to my office ๐Ÿข and hopefully bring it back to Lynne this afternoon. Then do some more walking ๐Ÿšถ before getting down to work for the day. As I won’t be leaving right from work today to the Adirondacks I figure I won’t be guilty of such clock ๐Ÿ•’ watching today but it should still go by quickly as I expect to be quite busy.

The sunset is in the west-northwest (300ยฐ) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:22 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 20 seconds with dusk around 8:54 pm, which is 55 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ At dusk you’ll see the First Quarter ๐ŸŒ“ Moon in the southwest (234ยฐ) at an altitude of 52ยฐ from the horizon, 251,804 miles away. ๐Ÿš€ The best time to look at the stars is after 9:38 pm. At sunset, look for mostly clear skies ๐ŸŒ„ and temperatures around 65 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Today will have 15 hours of daytime, an increase of one minute and 37 seconds over yesterday.

After work tonight I want to go to the library ๐Ÿ“š and get a book to read for the holiday weekend then run to Walmart after 8 pm after they restocked followed by Market32 for anything they don’t have. ๐Ÿซ‘๐ŸŽ๐ŸŒถ๏ธ๐Ÿฅš Want to make sure to have lots of fresh fruits and vegetables for camping ๐Ÿ•.

Tonight will be mostly clear ๐ŸŒƒ, with a low of 45 degrees at 5am. Seven degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around May 7th. Light and variable wind. In 2022, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It became humid as the night progressed. It got down to 63 degrees. The record low of 30 occurred back in 1969.

The plan for tomorrow ๐Ÿšฒ is to work on the bicycle in the morning ๐Ÿ’ป along with any other work that comes in tonight into the morning then go out and primatively hammock camp โ›บ in the back country as simply as possible doing all my cooking ๐Ÿณ over a fire with hiking ๐Ÿšถ, reading and nature observation during the day. Use a candle ๐Ÿ•ฏ and the fire ๐Ÿ”ฅ for light at night ๐ŸŒƒ.

Tomorrow will be sunny ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 79 degrees at 5pm. Five degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around June 12th. Calm wind. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 77 degrees. The record high of 94 was set in 1914.

Looking ahead to Sunday, sunny, with a high near 85. โ˜€ Calm wind becoming west around 6 mph in the afternoon. Maximum dew point of 55 at 8pm. That will feel like summer. Typical average high for the weekend is 74 degrees.

And Memorial Day ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ will be sunny โ˜€ with a high of 87 degrees as the heat wave strengthens heading into the work week, even if Monday is a holiday. I’m sure it will be a long and busy work week next week, though maybe not so bad as Tuesday is the Assembly Majority picnic and Thursday is a get away day. Then that final hellish week and they will be gone. And then the recovery weekend for me spent with dad at the Gas Up. ๐Ÿšœ

The truth is I’m more focused on the following weekend, June 3-4 for more of a get out of town adventure โ›บ๐Ÿ›ถ๐ŸŒณ๐ŸŒฒ just because I know the woods will be quieter that weekend, the black flies less bad ๐Ÿœ, water warmer, less traffic and likely less work for me. All a win – win assuming the warm weather doesn’t crap out by then. And of course, Juneteenth long weekend extended by a few extra days at the Potholers. ๐ŸŠโ€โ™‚๏ธ

Looking ahead, there are 7 weeks until National Nude Day ๐Ÿ‘ฑ when the sun will be setting at 8:33 pm with dusk at 9:06 pm. On that day in 2022, we had partly cloudy and temperatures between 85 and 65 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 84 degrees. We hit a record high of 99 back in 1995.

Brief Rainshower On A Hot Day