Managed Retreat – 99 Invisible Podcast

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Managed Retreat – 99 Invisible Podcast

"Some locals like Danny Couch, who became a representative for Save the Lighthouse, advocated for the idea of building a solid concrete wall around the lighthouse. But Pilkey had maps and diagrams showing how sea walls are actually counter-productive and often lead to accelerated erosion. Then one day Pilkey met an engineer named Dave Fischetti, who suggested a novel compromise: instead of building a sea wall or letting the lighthouse fall into the ocean, why not move it? Even though the lighthouse was 200 feet tall and weighed 4,800 tons — engineers had moved bigger structures. And this presented an opportunity, to test something that planners call “managed retreat.” The idea is that, as sea levels rise, we won’t be able to defend every coast with a giant wall. Instead we’re going to have to make plans to abandon certain areas and make choices about what to move out of the way. Pilkey thought that if Buxton could be convinced to move this big lighthouse, it might show that managed retreat is feasible."

March 6, 2018 Evening

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Good evening! Cloudy as the snow pushes in and 38 degrees in Delmar, NY. There is a southeast breeze at 6 mph. 🍃. Pleasant evening before the snowstorm. Mild but the clouds are pushing in with the upcoming snow storm. I guess you have to enjoy the nice weather before the big ol’ nor’easter. 🌨 Even if it snows a ton, over the next few days, by the weekend we will be back into the low 40s with sun. The average high is around 40 this time of year, so snow just doesn’t last that long in March.

It was a pretty long and busy day at work, and I’m quite tired.💤 Going to listen to this podcast on the bus on the way home, 🎧 and maybe set the alarm on my phone, so I don’t fall asleep. Sometimes it’s a shit-show around work, but I’ve been doing this for so long, not much phases me. It’s nice being experienced,🗝 and knowing what you are doing.💡That said, I’m still learning new things every day. Plus I got those free bumper stickers and that great free “NRA Stand and Fight” beer koozie that I got the Legislative Sportsman Day I’ll use for a lot of summer drinking this year in the wilderness.🍺 I probably can’t put the bumper stickers on my truck, as I’m a liberal Democrat, but maybe I’ll slap them on my camp table or the plastic kitchen mess kit box🍳 that I’ve been using ever since I found it for free on the street corner.

When I get home, I will probably move my truck,🚗 to make it easier to plow the ton of snow, and just kind of let it snow until it stops. I haven’t decided if I will go to the store, or just run the truck for a little while. I hate to run the engine for a short time then leave it parked until the weekend, as I know that always risks a low or dead battery. I don’t really need to go anywhere before the weekend at any rate. 🥞 Well I sort of need vegetable oil for the waffles, but olive oil as a substitute. With the snow coming, I’ve been using I wonder if the office will close tomorrow. 🚍 I know the Assembly Legislative Session has been canceled for tomorrow. If the office does close, I might strap on my skis⛷ and head down to the rail trail🛤 if it’s not too windy and nasty out.🌪Otherwise, I’ll just take the bus to work like i’ve done nearly every work day for a decade plus now. Snow doesn’t impact you when you have public transit to take to work every day. That’s the best thing about living in the city — the bus drivers take care of everything for you.😻

Tonight will snow,❄ mainly after 1am. Increasing clouds,☁ with a low of 30 degrees at 6am. Eight degrees above normal. Southeast wind around 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Total nighttime snow accumulation of around an inch possible. The morning commute won’t be bad but it will get worse as the day progresses. Maybe they’ll send us home early. In 2017, we had mostly cloudy skies. It got down to 36 degrees. The record low of -6 occurred back in 1950.

Tonight will have a Waning Gibbous Moon 🌖 with 71% illuminated with the moon rising at 11:04 pm. The moon will rise at midnight. The Last Quarter Moon is on Thursday night with heavy snow. The Worm Moon 🌝 is on Friday, March 30th. The sun will rise at 6:21 am with the first light at 5:53 am, which is one minute and 41 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌄 Tonight will have 12 hours and 27 minutes of darkness, a decrease of 2 minutes and 53 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will have a chance of snow before 10am,🌨 then rain and snow likely between 10am and noon, then snow after noon. The snow could be heavy at times. High of 35 degrees at 10am. Six degrees below normal. East wind 6 to 11 mph becoming north in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 5 to 9 inches possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies with more clouds in the afternoon. The high last year was 50 degrees. The record high of 62 was set in 1974. 10.3 inches of snow fell back in 1967.❄

Right now, a split verdict on the weekend. 😕 Saturday, a chance of snow showers before 1pm, then a chance of rain and snow showers. Mostly cloudy,☁ with a high near 38. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Sunday, partly sunny, with a high near 40.☀ Typical average high for the weekend is 42 degrees.

In four weeks on April 3 the sun will be setting at 7:24 pm (Daylight Savings Time),🌄 which is one hour, 32 minutes and 29 seconds later then today. In 2017 on that day, we had rain, partly cloudy skies and temperatures between 61 and 31 degrees. 🌧Typically, you have temperatures between 53 and 33 degrees. The record high of 79 degrees was set back in 1981. Spring will come eventually.

I am definitely looking forward to the time change. At first the 7 PM sunset won’t allow a lot of time to go down to the park after work, but a seven o’clock sunset has a dusk at 7:30 pm, which is the real time when you have to leave the park.🏞 And because we are close to the start of spring, the length of day is rapidly increasing. I really enjoy reading at the park after work. 📖 Although since they’ve added free wi-fi to the park, I admit I’ve been reading a whole lot less at the park.

Looking ahead, First Day of Spring 🐣 is in 2 weeks, Tax Day 💰 is in 6 weeks, 8:30 PM Sunset ⛱ is in 13 weeks, Election Day 2018 🗳 is in 8 months, Christmas 🎅 is in 42 weeks, New Years Day 2019 🎉 is in 43 weeks, 36th Birthday 🎉 is in 47 weeks and Election Day 2020 🗳 is in 139 weeks.

🇺🇸🦅Only 79 days remain until the start of Memorial Day Weekend!🦅🇺🇸

An April North Country Trip, A Revised Plan for 2018

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An April North Country Trip, A Revised Plan for 2018

A little over a year ago, I wrote a post about my plans for an April Road Trip to the North Country. For a number of reasons that trip never got off the ground, not the least being the wet and cold spring and the amount of things I had going on at work last year. This year though, I would like to try to make this trip, with the first few days spent taking NY 30 up to through the Adirondacks, maybe camping off of NY 8 one night then at Horseshoe Lake another night.

Camping

When I reach the North Country, I would probably either camp on Conservation Road at Deer River State Forest or maybe the Walter Pratt Campground at Brasher Falls State Forest. The later is somewhat better, as it’s less likely to be muddy or snow covered in April, and it’s a fair bit closer to Massena. More cell service to keep me entertained at night. Deer River would be better in the sense that there are more areas near the campsites with hills and terrain that could be used as backstops while plinking. Maybe hit up some trout spots? It is April, after all.

Deer River off of Webster Mill Road

My April Road Trip would be quite similar to the trip I took in November 2015 to the Northern Adirondacks, probably fish in Deer River, go up to the Power Project in Massena, maybe do some short hikes in the Adirondacks. Drive back down through the Adirondacks or maybe via the Black River Valley.

Campsite

I would like to explore more of the state forests in St. Lawrence County. There is a lot of great land up that way that I’ve mapped and looked at the DEC websites for but have never explored myself. Many people might denounce the land is being flat with a lot of dairy farms – but I suspect it’s actually quite rolling in parts and many of the state forests are quite interesting. Wolf Lake State Forest seems to perk my interest.

It’s a bit farther then past April Road Trips I’ve done, but it would be fun to get back into this part of the state that I haven’t visited in a few years. I like getting around and seeing different parts of the state, as going to the same location, year after year, gets kind of boring. I’ve only really been up to the North Country (Franklin and St. Lawrence County) twice, so there are a lot left to explore.