Winter Ticks Killing Alarming Number of Moose in New England

|

Winter Ticks Killing Alarming Number of Moose in New England

The Boston Globe reports that winter ticks, which can attach by the tens of thousands to individual moose, are prospering as a result of higher temperatures and shorter winters that allow them to live longer. Unlike deer and other animals, moose are unable to remove the ticks from their bodies by grooming.

“The moose are being literally drained of blood,” Pete Pekins, chairman of the Natural Resources Department at the University of New Hampshire, told the Globe. “This is about as disgusting as it gets out there.”

Save the Pine Bush Winter Outing

|

Save the Pine Bush Winter Outing

Save the Pine Bush Winter Outing

Sunday Afternoon,
January 22, 2017 at 1:00 pm

Meet at: Pine Bush Discovery Center parking lot, east side of Route 155, opposite Old State Road.

For GPS - For GPS - 195 New Karner Road, Albany NY 12205

Leader: Andy Arthur • For More Information: 518-465-8930

January 22, 2017 9 AM Update

|

Good morning! Happy Sunday. Next Sunday is My 34th Birthday. That’s a big deal but not as big of a deal as last Friday which was National Cheese Lovers Day. Today is National Hot Sauce Day which was good on top of my eggs for breakfast which also had cheese, onions, and corn on them. And sausage. 

Cloudy and dark this morning in Trump’s America. Rain showers later?  Fairly mild with temperatures around 40 degrees in Delmar. Calm wind.The skies will clear Wednesday around 5 am. Not a real nice morning out there. 

Today will have a slight chance of light rain. Patchy dense fog before 11am. Otherwise, cloudy, with a high of 46 degrees at 2pm. 16 degrees above normal. Calm wind becoming northeast around 6 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 20%. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies and a high of 29 degrees. The record high of 62 was set in 1906. 12.9 inches of snow fell back in 1987.

Hopefully today’s weather won’t scare people away from the Save the Pine Bush hike. That’s today at the Discovery Center off of New Karner Road. One in the afternoon. 

Taking a shower shortly then going to run to the store and give Big Red a bath. Then unpack the groceries and get ready for the Pine Bush hike. Do the hike then head out to Mom and Dad’s house for Sunday dinner. Head home and get ready for the new week. Monday may be a long day at work but not as bad as last week. 

The sun will set at 4:57 pm with dusk around 5:27 pm, which is 1 minute and 16 seconds later than yesterday. Today will have 9 hours and 39 minutes of daylight, an increase of 2 minutes and 1 seconds over yesterday.

Wednesday is the first sunset of the year when the sun sets after five pm. Daylight Savings Time begins in seven weeks with sunset at seven in the evening. 

Tonight will have a slight chance of rain before 1am, then a slight chance of rain, snow, and sleet between 1am and 2am, then a slight chance of rain and snow after 2am. Cloudy, with a low of 32 degrees at 6am. 18 degrees above normal. East wind 6 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. In 2016, it got down to 14 degrees under mostly cloudy skies. The record low of -20 occurred back in 1970.
Monday into Tuesday could deliver some frozen precipitation and slick roads but I expect very little accumulating snow in the Albany area. Maybe a little more in the mountains but it won’t last as it’s going to be mild by the second half of the week. 

Yesterday I went hiking along the Albany County Rail Trail, down to the Norman’s Kill Falls and the Port of Albany. It was a nice afternoon, it cleared out more than expected. I wish I had headed out of town but who would have guessed it by the forecast. Almost though about camping but it would have been pretty damp come morning. I miss being up in the woods and having fires. Maybe for my birthday weekend. 

As previously noted, next Sunday is My 34th Birthday when the sun will be setting at 5:06 pm with dusk at 5:36 pm. On that day in 2016, we had snow and temperatures between 38 and 25 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 31 degrees. We hit a record high of 54 back in 2002.