Rededicate Myself to Spending More Time in the Wilderness Observing.

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I was listening to the Iowa Sportsman podcast about shed hunting, I was thinking I really don’t spend enough time in the wilderness. Living in the city, it’s just kind of a bother to fire up my pickup truck, invest the fuel and mileage to get out to the wilderness, especially in the cold of the winter, to walk the miles to search for sheds and see more of the woods.

Before sunset

I’d be a better outdoorsman if I actually spent more time in wilderness then I do. Just more time walking around, exploring. I guess I do spend a fair amount of time in the summer months, although probably too much of the time is spent in swimming holes or paddling or traveling, and not enough time just walking in the woods, actually observing.

A winter wonderland

I really should spend more time in the wilderness, but traveling is expensive, and money spent now is money not available for the future. But maybe this summer, I will rededicate myself to investing more time to simple walks in the woods, more time by the fishing hole, and more time just observing nature — and less time running from point a to point b.

More Observers

Today’s Almanac for Wednesday February 27

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Today’s Almanac

Night before dawn is 6 hours and 4 minutes,
Dawn starts at 6:04 am and runs for 28 minutes,
Sunrise is at 6:32 am which is 5 hours and 27 minutes before noon,
High noon, the transit of the sun, is at 12:07 pm,
From twelve noon to the sunset at 5:42 pm is 5 hours and 42 minutes,
Dusk lasts for 31 minutes concluding at 6:11 pm,
Leaving 5 hours and 48 minutes until midnight.

Why Food Could Be the Best Medicine of All

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Why Food Could Be the Best Medicine of All

"Geisinger’s program is one of a number of groundbreaking efforts that finally consider food a critical part of a patient’s medical care–and treat food as medicine that can have as much power to heal as drugs. More studies are revealing that people’s health is the sum of much more than the medications they take and the tests they get–health is affected by how much people sleep and exercise, how much stress they’re shouldering and, yes, what they are eating at every meal. Food is becoming a particular focus of doctors, hospitals, insurers and even employers who are frustrated by the slow progress of drug treatments in reducing food-related diseases like Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and even cancer. They’re also encouraged by the growing body of research that supports the idea that when people eat well, they stay healthier and are more likely to control chronic diseases and perhaps even avoid them altogether. “When you prioritize food and teach people how to prepare healthy meals, lo and behold, it can end up being more impactful than medications themselves,” says Dr. Jaewon Ryu, interim president and CEO of Geisinger. “That’s a big win.”

February 27, 2019 Morning

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Good morning! What day is it? Hump Day! Hump Day! HUMP DAY! Two weeks to 7 PM Sunset 🌆. The more you know. Clawdy, oh so clawdy and 10 degrees in Delmar. ☁ There is a north breeze at 5 mph. 🍃. There is some snow on the ground, not a lot, more coming this evening. ☃ ️Things will start to thaw out at Friday around noontime. 🌡️

Another chilly and cold late February day. The bright blue skies are gone, I’ll have to turn the lights on when I get to the office.💡 So be it. At least the winds of earlier in the week are gone. 💨At least the bus was on time, and I figure at some point the weather pattern will change and things will warm up. But not today. And we are getting some snow this afternoon to boot.❄Maybe it will be good for the weekend to do some skiing, although a lot depends if we get snow or rain on Saturday. Otherwise it will be all ice.

Today will snow likely, mainly after 4pm. Before then, cloudy 🌨, with a high of 19 degrees at 2pm. 19 degrees below normal. Half as warm as it should be. Okay, math may not work that way. North wind around 5 mph becoming light and variable. I think I’ll be slip sliding my way back home on the bus, although I didn’t bring my boots.👢  Chance of precipitation is 60%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny. The high last year was 56 degrees. The record high of 61 was set in 1997. 3.6 inches of snow fell back in 2013.❄

The sun will set at 5:42 pm with dusk around 6:11 pm, which is one minute and 15 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At sunset, look for snow to be starting 🌨 and temperatures around 19 degrees. Not a good day to drink before driving home, for sure. Take the bus or an Uber. There will be a east breeze at 5 mph. Today will have 11 hours and 10 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 51 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will snow, mainly before 3am. 🌨 Low of 18 degrees at 6pm. Three degrees below normal, which is similiar to a typical night around February 16th. East wind around 6 mph becoming north after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible. Not a big snow storm, I’m sure the roads won’t be awful come the morning. In 2018, we had mostly clear in the evening, which became mostly sunny by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 32 degrees. The record low of -10 occurred back in 1950.

Tomorrow will be partly sunny 🌞, with a high of 28 degrees at 2pm. 10 degrees below normal. Northwest wind 6 to 8 mph. Not real great for melting snow but the sun and breeze will help. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 60 degrees. The record high of 63 was set in 1903. 9.7 inches of snow fell back in 1948.❄

Yesterday, much to my surprise, I got to go home by around 5:30. That said, I was pretty tired and after dinner I went to bed around eight. 😴I would have ridden the excerise bike or done my evening walk but I was just so exhausted. The previous night I awoke much too early and came the next day I paid the consequences. When I don’t get enough sleep I’m not only tired but I also tend to get migraines. 😩

I’ve been looking at JC Penny again for pants and because I left their site and came back I got a good coupon. 😍I’m thinking again about ordering those pants for work, I really should have more pants in my collection for the long session weeks that are coming. I don’t have to have a fresh pair of pants everyday but I kind of prefer it especially in case they get dirty. 👖

Right now, a split verdict on the weekend. 😕 Saturday, a chance of snow before 1pm, then rain and snow likely between 1pm and 4pm, then snow likely after 4pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 39. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Sunday, a chance of snow showers before 7am. Partly sunny, with a high near 35. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Typical average high for the weekend is 39 degrees. Definitely not a real nice weekend but at least it will melt away the snow we expect to get tonight.

In four weeks on March 27 the sun will be setting at 7:15 pm (Daylight Savings Time),🌄 which is one hour, 33 minutes and 4 seconds later then today. In 2018 on that day, we had mostly cloudy, rain showers and temperatures between 48 and 26 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 49 and 30 degrees. The record high of 78 degrees was set back in 1998.

The past two years we’ve had pretty mild late February into March but this year seems to be an exception. 🌷I’m hoping this extended period of cold means that once the ridge breaks down we will have a warm spring. I really want to shut off the heat and open the windows, to say nothing about doing some travel and nights in the wilderness. ☺

Looking ahead, 7 PM Sunset 🌆 is in 2 weeks, Arbor Day 🌳 is in 2 months, May 🕊 is in 9 weeks, Memorial Day 🇺🇸 is in 3 months, 8:30 PM Sunset ️⛱️ is in 14 weeks and Inauguration Day 2021 👴🏻 is in 99 weeks.

Why Are You Photographing Me?