Good morning! What day is it? First day of legislative session, of course.🏛 Garth’s Good Ride Cowboy 🤠 on the radio. Six weeks to 5:30 PM Sunset 🌇 . Snow flurries clouds and 27 degrees in Delmar, NY. ❄ There is a north-northwest breeze at 8 mph. 🍃. There is a inch of snow on the ground. ☃ ️Things will start to thaw out at around noontime. 🌡️

So yes, happy middle of the week. 🐪 It will be the first week of January, and hopefully you week is having a fast and furious letdown like camels do. 🥛 Do watch those videos on Homesteady about camel dairying. Cloudy today. ☁ Looking forward though to more sun tomorrow. 🌞 Not real cold for the balance of the week into the week, so no complaints, but I see the writing on the wall. At some point, I will have to turn up the heat when the temperatures plunge.

Today will be scattered flurries before 8am. Mostly cloudy , with a high of 35 degrees at 1pm. Four degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around February 15th. Northwest wind 8 to 11 mph. A year ago, we had light snow in the morning, which became mostly clear by afternoon. The high last year was 40 degrees. The record high of 71 was set in 2007. 12.7 inches of snow fell back in 2002.❄

I didn’t get to the store 🏬 yesterday and I doubt I’ll be able to do so today. I’m just too busy with work and everything else. I still haven’t dug out my truck although I don’t think that will be a big deal. I think I will be too busy today 💼 with work but I do need to get to the bank 🏦 soon as I have a big check I’ve been holding for the new year for tax purposes but it needs to be deposited soon. Plus I’m low on food 🍲 although I think I can stretch groceries for one more day. I think maybe tomorrow – the weather will be much nicer and then I can also go to the library.😎 I also want to wash my truck. 😋 Salt eats cars. 🛻 I was at least happy that they credited my latest paycheck under the PEP vacation time for healthcare — my budget is always so tight 💸 and that extra $45 every two weeks ensures I can afford to eat and fuel my truck, which is kind of important. 🍎 It’s amazing how fast that money disappears into various retirement and investment accounts.

I went for my evening walk 🚶🏻 last night and it was pleasant. I saw snow on the radar but none fell from the sky. Cool but not unreasonably cold for January❄ But I’m sure in a few weeks the pattern will change and we will have a frigid February and March. I guess with remote work if it’s really cold I won’t have to go outside much less wait outside at the frigid bus stop. 🚏 You don’t know how cold it can be downtown with the wind whipping around all of the office buildings. 🏢👪🚃🏰🏬 This morning is gray but I’m out for my walk. 🌰 I need to restore some of my sanity before the craziness. 🚶🚶🚶🚶🚶

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:02 pm with sun having an altitude of 24.9° from the due south horizon (-45.9° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 12.9 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 3:53 pm with the sun in the southwest (232°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (240°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 4:38 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 22 seconds with dusk around 5:09 pm, which is one minute later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 5:45 pm. At sunset, look for mostly cloudy skies ☁ and temperatures around 33 degrees. There will be a northwest breeze at 9 mph. Today will have 9 hours and 12 minutes of daytime, an increase of one minute and 7 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be mostly cloudy 🌥, with a low of 24 degrees at 4am. Nine degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 11th. Maximum wind chill around 17 at 3am; Northwest wind 8 to 10 mph. In 2020, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 23 degrees. The record low of -12 occurred back in 1878.

Saw the first mouse 🐭of the year in my apartment. I am surprised that I haven’t seen many mice for many years and the mice were so bad this summer up in the woods. Well I’ll put together a bucket trap if they become a problem. And make sure to lock up food 🔒 and clean up the crumbs a bit more.

While I expect a busy day today, 💼 I will occasionally follow the news 📰 on the happenings in that other circus 🤹🏻‍♂️ known as Washington DC. I can’t believe so many people are denying reality after the incompetent incumbent got voted out of office. ❎ Comptence matters especially during a pandemic. 👾It’s important to stand up for your rights and protests are important part of a healthy democracy but you can’t deny objective reality.

A picture perfect weekend on tap. 😎 Saturday, mostly sunny, with a high near 31. Sunday, mostly sunny, with a high near 33. Typical average high for the weekend is 30 degrees.

I don’t want to go too far from home this weekend, 🏠🔙🏂 but I should definitely plan on getting out both days this week. I do like Schodack Island. Or maybe I should explore Papscanee Island. I haven’t been there since July and I could then go grocery shopping at Aldi’s. 🛍 Or maybe I’ll end up somewhere in Western Rensselear County. Then maybe Sunday I’ll hike around the Copeland Hill Preserve.

🌹🌻🌼Only 73 days remain until the first day of calendar spring!🌹🌻🌼 That means that Saturday works out to be 70 days or 10 weeks until calendar spring. Whatever that means. Gawd rarely follows the calendar, especially in New York.🌨 All the cow people down south will be putting their cows out to pasture in March and I’ll be jealous as shit. 🐮

As previously noted, next Wednesday is Make Your Dream Come True Day 🏡 when the sun will be setting at 4:45 pm with dusk at 5:16 pm. On that day in 2020, we had mostly cloudy skies with rain showers and relatively mild temperatures for January, between 40 and 29 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 30 degrees. We hit a record high of 71 back in 1932.

Been thinking a lot about what is next. ⛵ I know that for now the best thing is to stay the course but I tell you all those off grid, rural and farm groups I’m part of on Facebook has me dreaming about a better tomorrow. 🚜 I guess it’s one step at a time but I do look and see time starting to fly by so quickly. ⏳Goals at least targets 🎯 slowly but certainly are being made 🥅 but there is so much to do. I’m getting older and sometimes I look back at the silliness of my youth but I’m still learning.