April 14, 2019 Night

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Good evening! Modestly heavy rain and 55 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☔ There is a east-northeast breeze at 9 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 48 degrees. Evidently, I’m not going for my evening walk tonight. I did however ride the excerise bike for about an hour watching videos from Keith Fink’s Farm YouTube channel and one from Computerfile. The skies will clear tomorrow around 11 pm.

I have to admit I’ve kind of gotten to like watching YouTube videos I’ve downloaded for watching at home. That youtube-dl script is pretty awesome for that. 📹 While I don’t watch commercials television or professionally produced shows I do like watching videos and hunting, trapping and fishing, farming and off-grid living. And sometimes camping. It makes time riding on the excerise bike 🚲 go by quickly. While in many ways I prefer podcasts, videos can sometimes take you places where you can’t go just by audio. Plus the kind of videos I watch on my excerise bike aren’t the rot your brain like on commercial television. Sure, probably watching a farmer birth calves or seed 🌱 oats isn’t intectually stimulating but it’s fascinating.

Today was another automobile free day for me. 🚘 I walked out to Five Rivers Environmental Education Center and then took the bus 🚍 and walked over to John Wolcott’s house. 📂 I didn’t find a lot of interesting files over the four and half hours of study and sorting this time but you never know what you are going to find. I prefer walking 🚶 and transit when I’m in town not only to save money 💵 but because you see and experience more on foot.

Tonight will have showers, with thunderstorms also possible after midnight. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain. 🌧 Low of 55 degrees at 9pm. 16 degrees above normal, which is similiar to a typical night around June 2nd. Now if it wasn’t raining it would be a really nice evening. Warming through the night. Maximum dew point of 55 at 1am. 🏖️ East wind 9 to 14 mph becoming south after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. In 2018, we had cloudy in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 28 degrees. The record low of 21 occurred back in 1940.

Tonight will have a Waxing Gibbous Moon 🌔 with 85% illuminated. The moon will set at 4:26 am. The Pink Moon 🌕 is on Thursday night with a mostly cloudy skies then chance of showers. The sun will rise at 6:14 am with the first light at 5:45 am, which is one minute and 38 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌄 Tonight will have 10 hours and 36 minutes of darkness, a decrease of 2 minutes and 46 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will have showers, mainly before 8am. Temperature rising to near 60 by 10am, then falling to around 47 during the remainder of the day. Breezy, with a southwest wind 7 to 12 mph becoming west 15 to 20 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 31 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. A year ago, we had cloudy in the morning, which became rain by afternoon. The high last year was 36 degrees. The record high of 86 was set in 2003. 2.4 inches of snow fell back in 2014.❄

I am not looking forward to defensive driving tomorrow because I generally think motoring 🏁 is an unpleasant experience but it’s good to learn about the latest laws and safety techniques. So many of the safety videos are boring or obnoxious. Lots of time though to doodle and daydream a bit. But I like saving 10% on my car insurance.

I’m going to research other insurance companies and plans though and possibly look at a more affordable plan before my insurance expires at the end of the month of September. 😮 It’s important to have good coverage but I’m not sure if my plan – which is the same as my parents have had for decades with minor changes still makes sense for me. $920 a year for insurance when my truck is no longer new, I don’t drive daily and I’ve never gotten a ticket 🎫 or chargeable accident seems excessive. I might look at reducing my liability insurance and under insured motorists a bit – I would hate to be sued in court beyond what my insurance will cover in a severe crash but I realize such a crash caused by me is fairly unlikely because I primarily drive on rural roads and not in congested areas.

The long range doesn’t look that great for Easter weekend. Major bummer! 😞 No camping Easter Weekend 🐰 I guess. Next Saturday, showers likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 68. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Maximum dew point of 55 at 6am. Next Sunday, a chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 60. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Typical average high for the weekend is 61 degrees.

I am most likely looking at camping ⛺ in two weeks possibly taking off the Thursday and Friday of that week. I’ll miss the Save the Pine Bush Hike but I’d rather spend more time up in the wilderness as it’s been a long time since I’ve spent time overnight in the woods. 🔥 A nice campfire, and waking up to a sunrise in the wilderness would be wonderful.

In four weeks on May 12 the sun will be setting at 8:07 pm,🌄 which is 31 minutes and 23 seconds later then tonight. In 2018 on that day, we had cloudy, rain showers and temperatures between 50 and 48 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 68 and 46 degrees. The record high of 91 degrees was set back in 1881.

Looking ahead, Easter 🐰 is in 1 week, Cinco de Mayo 🤠 is in 3 weeks, Mothers Day 👩‍ is in 4 weeks, Fathers Day 👨 is in 9 weeks, National Nude Day 👱 is in 3 months (black flies will be gone by then), Altamont Fair Opens 🎡 is in 4 months, Sunset Before 7:30 PM 🌆 is in 20 weeks, Autumn 🍂 is in 23 weeks and Average High is 60 🍂 is in 26 weeks.

Water

Shots – Health News : NPR

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High Stress Can Lead To Heart Attacks, Sibling Study Finds. Here’s How To Relax : Shots – Health News : NPR

The findings, published in the current issue of the medical journal BMJ, "are quite consistent with other studies," says Simon Bacon, of Concordia University, who studies the impact of lifestyle on chronic diseases. He points to other studies that show depression, anxiety and stress increase the risk of cardiovascular events. He's written an editorial that is published alongside the study.

So, when is stress just a normal part of life — something we all just need to deal with — and when does it become so problematic that it sets the stage for disease? Part of the answer here depends on how we respond to stress, the scientists say, and on our own internal perceptions about how much stress we're feeling.

As somebody who is getting older I think about things like this a lot, and try to work to reduce stress in my own life. 

April 14, 2019 Morning

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Good morning! Happy Palm Sunday 🌴! Next Sunday is Easter 🐰. Cloudy and 50 degrees at the Five Rivers Environmental Education Center in Delmar. ☁ There is a north breeze at 5 mph. 🍃. The skies will clear tomorrow around 10 pm.

This morning I decided to walk out to Five Rivers Environmental Education Center 🐸, like I’ve been doing the past few weekends. I prefer it to the rail trail as you never see anybody walking out here and there is a lot more nature and interesting quiet places here then along the rail trail. Lots of birds 🐦 chirping around, I saw the Ground Hog again. I timed myself this morning ⌛took almost exactly 40 minutes to walk out here, a 2.4 mile walk at 3.7 mph. Walking is such a good healthy activity.

Today will have a chance of showers after 3pm. Mostly cloudy 🌦, with a high of 63 degrees at 4pm. Five degrees above normal, which is similiar to a typical day around April 25th. Maximum dew point of 49 at 6pm. Light and variable wind becoming east around 6 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. A year ago, we had cloudy in the morning, which became rain by afternoon. The high last year was 49 degrees. The record high of 83 was set in 1968. 1.4 inches of snow fell back in 1950.❄

I’m heading over to John Wolcott’s house this afternoon. 📂 I’m on the fence about taking the bus 🚍 versus driving 🚘 but I think the easiest and most environmentally friendly way is to bus it. I mean regardless of if I ride it, the bus is going downtown. I really try to do whatever I can to avoid motoring.

The sun will set at 7:36 pm with dusk around 8:05 pm, which is one minute and 8 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and temperatures around 56 degrees. Definitely a lot rain seen in the radar, Buffalo is getting soaked today. Won’t be much field work getting done in Western NY today. 🚜The dew point will be 50 degrees. There will be a southeast breeze at 9 mph. Today will have 13 hours and 22 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 46 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be occasional showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain. 🌧 Low of 54 degrees at 8pm. 17 degrees above normal, which is similiar to a typical night around June 6th. Maximum dew point of 55 at 12am. 🏖️ Southeast wind 10 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 31 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. In 2018, we had cloudy in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 28 degrees. The record low of 21 occurred back in 1940.

As previously noted, next Sunday is Easter 🐰 when the sun will be setting at 7:44 pm with dusk at 8:14 pm. On that day in 2018, we had sunny and temperatures between 60 and 34 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 61 degrees. We hit a record high of 89 back in 1923.

I am hoping for one nice day during Easter Weekend 🐰 to get out and hiking. Platte Clove is still on the top of my list 📃 but there are other options. So many trails are wet and muddy 💦🐷 this time of year.

Apple Trees