The sunset I watched the other night over Onondaga Lake

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The other evening I watched the sunset over Onondaga Lake. It was pretty watching the sun shimmer on the lake. I’ve always enjoyed watching the sun set, although it’s always tinged with a degree of sadness knowing that it’s a day of life passed by and forever gone. Darkness takes over the land and the stars are not far away.

Before I leave Syracuse I do want to get out on Jones Hill to watch the one more sunset on a nice clear evening, and the stars rise. Not the cloudy weather we had the last time I was up there.  I’m undecided if I will spend the night on the mountain in my hammock – it depends on how cold it really is. I’m not afraid of the mountain and the hammock is really comfortable but in autumn the temperatures can drop fast.

I am sure there are many great sunsets to look forward to and evenings ahead. I can’t look back, only look towards a better future while enjoying the present.

Good Night

Should nature be altered to make it safer for public?

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Outdoor recreation dilemma: Should nature be altered to make it safer for public?

"Headlines related to outdoor recreation seem to be taking a grim turn as of late. From hikers falling off cliffs to rafters drowning in tragic accidents, it's difficult to ignore the mortality rate that comes along with enjoying nature. In many instances, these deaths could be prevented had systematic safety measures been taken: an extra guardrail, additional signage, the removal of a certain rock. This begs an important question: Should nature be altered by humans to make enjoying it safer? And if so, how much?"

"The outdoor recreation industry seems to have two factors working to create a perfect storm of dangerous situations. First, a shocking number of people are taking up outdoor recreation for the first time, inexperienced in the basics and leaping into a world full of risk. Second, the internet and social media have created a sort of "FOMO" (fear-of-missing-out) effect, in which people are able to see others in amazing spots, quick to find the easiest way to track down that same spot for themselves. This can create a boom in visitations to areas that would generally be considered dangerous or too technical for the general public."

Adirondacks affected by warming climate in a number of ways

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Adirondacks affected by warming climate in a number of ways

"The go-to images that illustrate our planet’s rising temperature are the rising ocean around the Florida Keys, coral reefs fading or glaciers melting into rushing rivers. But the Adirondacks have suffered from our rising thermostat, and the trend is continuing. Algae is growing in the region’s warming lakes. Invasive species are creeping north, threatening forests, animals and water bodies. Activities like skiing, snowmobiling and snowshoeing are threatened as winters get warmer and less snowy. These changes are infringing on an Adirondacks tourism economy in which visitors spent $1.4 billion last year."

October 14, 2018 Afternoon

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Good afternoon! Partly sunny and 57 degrees in North Syracuse. ☀ Warmed up a lot from earlier, when it was still only in the 40s to start out the day. There is a southwest breeze at 8 mph. 🍃. Temperatures will drop below freezing at Thursday around 4 am. ☃️ Not a half bad afternoon, but it’s been busy and crazy, but the brief break at Clark Reservation State Park this morning was nice — but the leaves weren’t all that great with still a lot of green.🏞 I was hoping for a lot more color.

Tonight will have a chance of showers, mainly after 3am. Partly cloudy 🌃, with a low of 43 degrees at 6am. Three degrees above normal. South wind 5 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. In 2017, we had mostly clear skies with more clouds in the early hours of the next day. It got down to 57 degrees. The record low of 27 occurred back in 1978.

The sun will set at 6:22 pm with dusk around 6:51 pm, which is one minute and 38 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 At sunset, look for mostly clear skies and 55 degrees. 😃 There will be a south breeze at 6 mph. Today will have 11 hours and 4 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 49 seconds over yesterday.

Tomorrow will have showers likely. Cloudy 🌦, with a high of 60 degrees at 3pm. Typical for tomorrow. Maximum dew point of 49 at 3pm. All this rain we’ve had lately has been just obnoxious. Southeast wind 7 to 15 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. A year ago, we had cloudy skies, clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 74 degrees. The record high of 86 was set in 1897. There was a dusting of snow in 1939.❄

There are 23 days, 6 hours and 11 minutes until the poll close on Election Day in New York. 🗳 Each day that goes by means we are one more until all the silly season comes to a conclusion. So much effort goes into elections, and then they happen, you fill in some bubbles onto a scantron, and then it goes into a scantron machine and a big bin, and it’s just history. And then we have those people on our televisions, 📺 at least those unfortunate to such things.

I am going to try to get a morning or evening out of the office at some point this week, but we will see how things go. I might do Green Lakes 🌲 one morning or maybe go back down to Jones Hill for another hike down there. I’d like to get back down in the country, especially if there is a lot of color to be seen. I miss driving those rural roads and the small towns, with the smell of wood smoke and manure. That’s why I look forward to my autumn trip so much. Camping will be great.🏕

Big Red is continuing to work well. I hate the tight turns in our parking lot, 🅿 so whenever I can, i am going to keep parking in the front lot. It just makes it easier for me. For some reason with the black top coat in the lot where I am in, it causes the wheels to chrip a lot (everybody’s car does this) and sometimes I’m feeling a bit of clatter in the wheel at hard turn, but it may just be the tight angles and the extra pressure on the wearing out ball joints or other suspension parts. I know between the rough roads and extra stress the lift kit puts on things, at some point things will need replacing. But not right away. I’ve already budgeted in money for lift-kit repairs, as I know they are inevitable. 🤑 Still I like riding up high and my big truck.

Lots of sun so I left both batteries connected to the panel, so that I can get a good solid charge on both. 🔋 With all the short trips, especially at night, I worry about the starting battery not getting a good solid charge. I am looking forward to getting that meter and wiring up so I can see how much power the panel is actually putting out ☀ and how much power I’m actually pulling from the battery at night while camping.

As previously noted, there are 3 weeks until Daylight Savings Time Ends 🌇 when the sun will be setting at 4:52 pm with dusk at 5:21 pm (Standard Time). On that day in 2017, we had partly cloudy skies and temperatures between 50 and 33 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 53 degrees. We hit a record high of 76 back in 1994.