"A new USDA-funded study led by researchers at the University of Vermont surveyed a thousand farmers and ranchers scattered among ten representative states (CA, WA, UT, NE, MI, KY, MS, PA, VT, MA). The survey aimed to find out exactly what the realities and concerns are among workers in the agricultural field about their healthcare in order to better understand the impact of the Affordable Care Act on farmers—and help inform policy going forward."
"The findings are pretty grim. Twenty-four percent of farmers aged 18 to 64 purchased a plan on the healthcare exchange, which doesn’t sound like all that much until you learn that 72 percent of farmers are forced to get a second job, primarily for healthcare purposes. With a whopping 64 percent of farmers and ranchers reporting a pre-existing condition, the state of that provision within American healthcare is paramount; almost half of all the farmers and ranchers surveyed are concerned they’ll have to sell land or equipment to pay for healthcare."
"The Karner blue butterfly has exceeded recovery goals in the rare New York habitat where it was discovered by Russian author Vladimir Nabokov in the 1940s, officials announced Thursday."
"The butterfly, federally listed as endangered 25 years ago, is doing well in the sandy pine barrens west of Albany, the Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission said. The population has grown from less than 1,000 to more than 15,000 in 10 years."
"The 2003 federal Karner blue recovery plan for the 3,300-acre Albany Pine Bush Preserve set a goal of 3,000 as the minimum population for survival."
Last night I started to listen to the Shit Town podcast. I can see why it's likely to be the most listened to podcast of 2017 as it tells the sad story of small town eccentric in rural Alabama.
Good morning! Next Saturday is National Lasagna Day. Partly cloudy and 60 degrees in Brookfield. There is a west breeze at 5 mph. The dew point is 59 degrees.
Sitting back in the truck looking at the sky, with some patches of blue. It’s eight o’clock so I should get started on my day but that is yet to happen. I want to be on the road by ten. Still not sure if I’m going to Montezuma on the way down to the Finger Lakes National Forest or will go through Ithaca and Cortland. Depends a bit on the weather although today is expected to be quite cloudy and cool. I think I’m just going to have a quick breakfast then drive down to Route 12 and decide from there.
Today will be mostly cloudy, with a high of 76 degrees at 2pm. Seven degrees below normal. Maximum dew point of 60 at 10am. West wind 3 to 7 mph. A year ago, we had cloudy skies. The high last year was 94 degrees. The record high of 102 was set in 1926.
The sun will set at 8:31 pm with dusk around 9:04 pm, which is 53 seconds earlier than yesterday. At sunset, look for mostly cloudy conditions and 72 degrees. The dew point will be 60 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Today will have 14 hours and 47 minutes of daytime, an increase of one minute and 50 seconds over yesterday.
Tonight will have a slight chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low of 61 degrees at 5am. One degrees below normal. Maximum dew point of 60 at 6pm. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 20%. In 2016, we had cloudy skies. It got down to 65 degrees. The record low of 45 occurred back in 1981.
Today in 1991, Jeffrey Dahmer is arrested in Milwaukee after police discover human remains in his apartment. Remember if you eat other humans, to take our the garbage regularly. Two years later, Great Flood of 1993: Levees near Kaskaskia, Illinois rupture, forcing the entire town to evacuate by barges operated by the Army Corps of Engineers. I bet some rednecks in hick towns had some wild bonfires after that, getting rid of all their moldy, flooded junk.
As previously noted, next Saturday is National Lasagna Day when the sun will be setting at 8:24 pm with dusk at 8:57 pm. On that day in 2016, we had thunderstorm, thunderstorm rain, rain, mist, partly cloudy skies and temperatures between 87 and 69 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 82 degrees. We hit a record high of 97 back in 1894.
