Up bright and early as often is the case in the morning. Coffee and eggs just enjoying the quiet over the land as the sun rises. In the distance is the roar of an ATV as I sit warming my hands over the propane heater.

Good morning! Happy Columbus Day. ⛵🍂Mostly clear and 43 degrees in Delmar, NY. There is a south breeze at 5 mph. 🍃.

Five o’clock I rose as always 🛏 and it was dark in the woods. I don’t mind, I like an early start and a good breakfast. 🍳 Annoyed I left the sweet corn 🌽 and onions 🧅 home but I had plenty of other good things to use in my eggs – I packed the jalapeño I had plus canned 🥫 olives and chopped tomatoes. Kind of getting past the farm fresh tomato 🍅 time of year.

Columbus Day will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 60 degrees at 3pm. Four degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around October 19th. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 63 degrees. The record high of 83 was set in 1949. There was a dusting of snow in 2000.❄

Cold this morning with the breeze 🌬️ but should get nicer as the day progreses. Going to ride Blackie 🚵 around Rennselearville State Forest on some roads and trails, have lunch 🍲 and then head over to Partridge Run WMA for biking along the Switzkill and other gravel rides for the balance of the day. Hopefully it will warm up. Yesterday was kind of cool and wet at times, I retired to bed at nine o’clock as it started to rain as I sat by the fire 🔥. At least my only time limitation today is getting home by dusk.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:43 pm with sun having an altitude of 41.2° from the due south horizon (-29.6° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 6.9 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 5:47 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (256°). 📸 The sunset is in the west (262°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 6:25 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 55 seconds with dusk around 6:51 pm, which is one minute and 42 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 7:26 pm. At sunset, look for partly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 55 degrees. There will be a southwest breeze at 7 mph. Tomorrow will have 11 hours and 22 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 48 seconds over today.

Today is the big blog renewal day. 📄 I’m going to bite the bullet and get it done. I like blogging and telling my story. Plus the ad revenue has been pretty good, looking forward to that first check come November. And in a few months time I should be mostly made whole, when I don’t count my time. ⌚ But it’s something I like doing. Kind of like my vacation next week.

Tonight will be partly cloudy 🌃, with a low of 39 degrees at 4am. Four degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around October 21st. South wind around 6 mph. In 2022, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 40 degrees. The record low of 25 occurred back in 1980.

That new bicycle lights are awesome. 🔦 Super bright for riding at night, no worries about hitting potholes or missing something on the road or trail riding after dark. I was so impressed doing a little bit of night riding on CCC Road last night. 🛒 While it might be dusk 🌆 riding home from the grocery store tonight I should be good with that nice bright light. Plus I’ll have plenty of good fruits and vegetables to eat for the week to come. Still will need to visit Walmart probably on Tuesday for socks 🧦 and other supplies.

Yesterday I totally fell off the health wagon 🍻 having a few beers, eating too many carbs 🍞 and even maybe sneaking in a dart or two 🚬 around the campfire. 🔥 Big portion of couscous, chicken, celery and spices for dinner. I don’t smoke or drink except by the fire sometimes. 🍏 Way too many apples and Greek yogurt. So bad! Got to have some fun, tonight it will be back to rice and lentils I think. 🤔 I need to get to the supermarket 🛒 and get more fresh produce tonight as I will have finished off the carrots 🥕 and celery along with apples 🍏 and bananas 🍌 by the end of the day and I need them to eat at work tomorrow.

Rainy weekend on tap to start the October Vacation. 🌧️ Saturday, rain likely. Cloudy, with a high near 55. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Sunday, rain likely. Cloudy, with a high near 55. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Typical average high for the weekend is 62 degrees.

What a bummer. 😔 I’m really watching next weekend to see how my October vacation is going to go. I really don’t want to postpone it due to rapidly dropping daylight, leaves and temperature. I can live with a rainy weekend as I drive south to West Virginia 🗻 but not a week of rain and high temperatures in the mid 40s. I might have to reconsider my trip – cancel it, postpone it or choose another location closer to home. I don’t know, going to watch the forecast for Thomas WV as it draws closer, the 8-14 day outlook suggests cool but dry which I’m good with if not too windy. 🤷‍♂️

Looking ahead, there are 5 weeks until Average Night Below Freezing 🌌 when the sun will be setting at 4:36 pm with dusk at 5:05 pm (Standard Time). On that day in 2022, we had partly cloudy and temperatures between 49 and 36 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 50 degrees. We hit a record high of 69 back in 1964. Those days are coming much too quickly and I’ll eventually need to turn back on the heat and plug air leaks in my apartment.