November 11, 2016 Evening

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Good evening. A rather blustery and cold evening in the Finger Lakes National Forest. Mostly cloudy and 34 degrees in Hector. The wind makes it feel much cooler. Breezy, 18 mph breeze from the north-northwest. The current wind chill is 23. The moon is peaking out and the skies will clear around 11 pm.

Not a half bad drive out here, but I did not like driving NY 206. I got stuck behind a milk bulk truck, which was full and crawled up the hills. Then I had a big line of cars behind me. Pulled over in Greene then by the time I was halfway to Whitney Point cars piled up behind me again. I was doing the speed limit or a few miles above it but it just was quite congested. 

I was planning to go to Walmart in Oneonta but decided to stop at Whitney Point. Which doesn’t have a Walmart. Waze directed me to either the Ithaca Walmart which was four minutes out of the way or the Munson Corners Walmart which was eight minutes out of the way. It was brand new and had a fairly impressive sporting goods section although nothing like the Mansfield PA Walmart with their racks and racks of AR 15s, at least before the obnoxious liberals said they couldn’t have them anymore. I’m just glad I missed the Ithaca traffic and driving the miserable NY 76.

I needed to go to Walmart specifically as I needed mantles for the lantern and wanted to get a new carbon monoxide detector should I pitch a tent and bring the heater inside to warm it up. My existing carbon monoxide detector is almost 10 years old, and wasn’t really designed for extended battery use as it’s a plug in model, so it tended to chew through batteries. The one I bought was designed to run on batteries exclusively and also has a monitor that tells you the exact CO levels. The Big Buddy Heater is a catalytic heater designed to be used inside (chemically oxidizes rather than burns propane like a catalytic converter in a car), the tent is fairly well ventilated, and automatically shuts off in case of low oxygen levels but in case of a malfunction I’d rather not die from CO poisoning.  

I didn’t pitch a tent this evening, but in some ways I wish I had. That wind is cold and a toasty tent would be nice. Although tents tend to be more drafty than my truck. I’ll be plenty warm when I get under the covers in my truck tonight. 

I’ve been craving ravioli for a while now. Cooked up a big pot of that tonight, along with garlic knots in the Dutch Oven. Baked the beef ravioli, covered with mozzarella and ricotta in the Dutch Oven. Tasted good. 

Nights sure are long this time of year. But I have a fire going and staying fairly warm with the help of the heater. Future nights I do want to camp somewhere more protected from the wind though. 

Tonight will be mostly cloudy, with a low of 29 degrees at 5am. Six degrees below normal. Northwest wind 13 to 18 mph decreasing to 6 to 11 mph after midnight. Chilly night for sure. One year ago, cloudy with a low around 47. The record low of 15 occurred back in 1976.

Waxing Gibbous Moon tonight with 83% illuminated. The moon will set around 6:14 am. The Full “Beaver” Moon is on Sunday night with partly cloudy skies expected.

Tomorrow will be mostly sunny, with a high of 43 degrees at 4pm. Six degrees below normal. West wind 6 to 10 mph. Last year, cloudy with a high around 56. The record high of 68 was set in 1909. There was 7.3 inches of snow back in 1968.

In four weeks on December 9 the sun will be setting at 4:34 pm, which is 13 minutes earlier then tonight. The average high is 38 degrees, and the record for that date is 62 degrees was set back in 1966.

November 11, 2016 Morning

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Good morning! Today is Veterans Day. Thank you to all who have served. Partly cloudy and 47 degrees in Delmar. There is a west-southwest breeze at 10 mph. Red sky in the morning. Showers are expected on and off this morning. 

Finishing getting packed for my road trip. Today will be cold today with the wind whipping around but hopefully by the time I reach the Finger Lakes the clouds have will clear. I can hang a tarp to block the wind. From there on subsequent days, heading out to Allegany County then Cattaraugus County then Chautauqua County and Pennsylvania. It seems like it is all coming together now. Everything seems to be going well. 

Every time I check it seems like the forecast changes but I’m still not expecting a washout but I do think today will be kind of chilly with unstable weather. But it will get nicer for the weekend. 

Veterans Day will be partly sunny, with a high of 48 degrees at 10am. Five degrees above normal. It won’t feel that way with the wind though. Generally   Breezy, with a southwest wind 10 to 15 mph becoming northwest 16 to 21 mph in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 33 mph. Last year, cloudy with a high around 51. The record high of 70 was set in 2002. There was 3 inches of snow back in 1906.

Sunset comes early, although it’s about 15 minutes later in the Finger Lakes. Thats one of the reasons I am heading out west for my November trip. The sun will set at 4:35 pm with dusk around 5:05 pm in Albany, which is 1 minute earlier than yesterday. Today will have 9 hours and 52 minutes of daylight, a decrease of 2 minutes and 16 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be mostly clear, with a low of 28 degrees at 6am. Eight degrees below normal. Blustery, with a northwest wind 15 to 20 mph decreasing to 8 to 13 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 31 mph. One year ago, cloudy with a low around 47. The record low of 15 occurred back in 1976.

There are 2 weeks until Buy Nothing Day / Black Friday when the sun will be setting at 4:25 pm with dusk at 4:56 pm. The average high temperature is 44 degrees, with a record high of 64 in 2004.

November 10, 2016 Night

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Good evening! Mostly clear and 40 degrees in Delmar. There is a south breeze at 8 mph. Cool moon lit evening but that is to be expected during the second week of November. Getting packed and watching the PBS Newshour. 

Mostly packed for my week long trip to the Finger Lakes, then Western New York and Chautauqua County then down to the Pennsylvania. I don’t have a set agenda but I have a general idea of where I want to go to and a lot will depend on the weather. It was a lot of work to pack, as I didn’t have any of the gear in my truck after spending the past two months working in North Syracuse.  Checked the fluids under the hood, went to the bank, got money and deposited the checks from the insurance overpayment and got most of my clothes packed. 

Also donated blood and got a haircut. I like being back home and able to walk everywhere. North Syracuse had sidewalks but where I was staying was a bit too far to walk. Cicero in contrast had no real sidewalks despite the many businesses. Didn’t get my flu shot though. Maybe next week. I should do that sooner than later, it’s easy and important. Needle hurt like a bitch when I was stuck twice to draw blood, mom says it was because I was dehydrated. Drank a lot of beer at the party last night and coffee in the morning but minimal fluids before donating blood. In retrospect that was a mistake. 

Getting better at driving after dark. I think driving home after dark most days in North Syracuse made me a much better night driver. That and the moonlight made driving home easy. 

Tonight will be partly cloudy, with a low of 40 degrees at 10pm. Eight degrees above normal. South wind around 8 mph. One year ago, cloudy with a low around 44. The record low of 15 occurred back in 1956.

Big beautiful Waxing Gibbous Moon tonight with 75% illuminated. The skies are full of moonlight. The moon will set around 4:58 am. The Full “Beaver” Moon is on Sunday night with partly cloudy skies expected. A lot of nice moonlit evenings are ahead for sure. 

Tomorrow will have isolated showers before noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high of 49 degrees at 10am. One degrees below normal. Breezy, with a southwest wind 14 to 22 mph becoming northwest in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 37 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. Last year, cloudy with a high around 51. The record high of 70 was set in 2002. There was 3 inches of snow back in 1906. The sun will rise at 6:42 am with the first light at 6:12 am, which is 1 minutes and 15 seconds later then yesterday.

Looking ahead, Thanksgiving is in 2 weeks. Tomorrow is Veterans Day and the Southern Zone opener is one week from Saturday. 

Madison County Muck

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I can’t believe how muddy my truck got driving through Madison County. I only drove on asphalt roads but I guess there is a lot of mud and muck on those rural roads from farmers hauling corn, tiling fields, spreading manure and planting cover crops. I guess it’s that time of year. 

November 10, 2016 Morning

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Good morning! Happy Thursday. Partly sunny and 32 degrees in Delmar. There is a west-northwest breeze at 5 mph. 

Kind of a cool morning getting out of bed  as the place I was staying in Cicero always had the heat turned up and I don’t do that at home. I normally leave my heat at 50 as it saves energy. But then again, I’ll be camping next week. 

Drinking percolator coffee was good this morning. Nice and strong. My home stove isn’t as nearly warm as my camp stove so it takes a lot longer. Coffee at camp will be nice, sitting next to the Big Buddy Heater on a frosty morning. Looks like I will have some days out in the wilderness at least through Thursday. 

Going to be a nice day. It l will be mostly sunny, with a high of 53 degrees at 1pm. Three degrees above normal. West wind 5 to 7 mph becoming south in the afternoon. Last year, mostly cloudy with a high around 59. The record high of 72 was set in 1931. There was 3.2 inches of snow back in 1987.

Today the long haired country boy is going to get a haircut. I don’t want my hair to get all icky while I spend my week in the woods. Then I got to go to the store and pick up up a few supplies, run down to the library and update my blog and research laptops further. I think I’m going for the IdeaPad R4 but need to research further. Just need to wait for the sale though. I might walk to the barber just for the exercise and because it’s a nice day. 

This evening the sun will set at 4:36 pm with dusk around 5:06 pm, which is 1 minutes and 2 seconds earlier than yesterday. That’s about 10 minutes before North Syracuse. Today will have 9 hours and 54 minutes of daylight, a decrease of 2 minutes and 18 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have increasing clouds, with a low of 39 degrees at 6am. Six degrees above normal. South wind around 8 mph. One year ago, cloudy with a low around 44. The record low of 15 occurred back in 1956.

There are 2 weeks until Thanksgiving when the sun will be setting at 4:25 pm with dusk at 4:56 pm. Everybody likes Turkey Day, especially turkey farners. The average high temperature is 44 degrees, with a record high of 70 in 2014. I remember my parents house loosing power on that mild Thanksgiving Day in 2014, but fortunately it came back in time to cook the turkey.