Pulling the plug on West Virginia for now πŸ”Œ πŸ‘ˆ πŸ—»

Is that even possible? I heard they have a lot of coal there, it’s not like the Gaza strip.

I so wanted to go to West Virginia this year. And I might but not next week. I keep putting off my decision to formally request to not take off next week from work, hoping in vein that the forecast for the High Country of West Virginia would improve in vein.

It’s been a tough decision as I really wanted to go next week when there would still be good color but after the crowds of Columbus Day Weekend. When it would still be fairly warm and the days relatively long for the autumn season.

But the cruel reality is that the low pressure is moving further south than originally expected and it’s not only expected to deliver a significant amount of rain come Saturday into Sunday – which I don’t care so much but leave the High Country socked in rain showers and fog most of the week, with highs in the low 40s with the strong winds that give the trees of Dolly Sods their distinctive shape. Really doesn’t sound like much fun for camping.

I’m sure I could survive hot tenting but it wouldn’t necessarily be a totally pleasurable experience, especially figuring it’s not cheap to drive my Big Jacked Up Truck all the way to West Virginia which is about 500 miles and two days away from Albany. A lot of gas and wear and tear on my twelve year old truck. And that means at least one night each way camping at the County Bridge campground in Pennsylvania which is relatively inexpensive but not free. It would be lots of money spent for camping in hypothermia weather.

Maybe the forecast will improve for the following week or even in three weeks when Election Day and Veterans Day holiday fall on the same week, offering extra time off without using as much time. Or maybe I’ll plan other smaller trips closer to home. But I’m disappointed as I really was looking forward to my West Virignia trip.

Rainy Day in Canaan Heights

I-88 Outside Otego.

Quiet and smooth section of I-88 that had been recently repaved on a nice day, rolling down a hill, winding through the Western Catskill Mountains.

It’s not a half bad morning today πŸŒ…

Moving forward on this Thursday morning, the weekend is moving closer. Doesn’t look like a wash out this weekend locally but kind of gray again. The same can’t be said though about the High Country of West Virginia unfortunately. But that’s nothing I can change no matter how much I refresh the web page for the Tucker County forecast.

Good morning! Partly cloudy and 47 degrees in Delmar, NY. β›… Calm wind.

Eggs, onions, veggies and probably too much spices 🍳 for breakfast this morning. Didn’t get up real early today, quarter to five as by the time I got unpacked from my trip to Wally World and lights out πŸ› it was well after nine. Plus no big meals 🍴 cooking this morning, did most of my cooking yesterday. β˜• When I get home I’ll have that second cup of coffee with cinnamon and ginger, maybe a few blueberries 🫐, shower 🚿 and ride to work. 🚲 Bike rides so much smoother and better since I got that waterproof βš™ chain oil. The dry chain oil worked okay but not for long.

Today will be partly sunny 🌞, with a high of 64 degrees at 2pm. One degree above normal, which is similar to a typical day around October 11th. Maximum dew point of 48 at 10am. Calm wind becoming northwest 5 to 7 mph in the afternoon. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 71 degrees. The record high of 85 was set in 1954. There was a dusting of snow in 1904.❄

Should be a great day for a bike ride into the office. 🚲 Third day in the row, not too bad, though yesterday was kind of cloudy. I definitely used both the front and rear lights yesterday for safety, with the shadows and clouds hanging over low over everything. It’s nice being able to plug things in and things quickly charge with the USB charger overnight. I also will enjoy that sunlight soaking through the window as I work on the stack of cap grants on my desk. πŸ“ƒ Then this afternoon it’s off to the dungeon for a while for some darkness. Not going to be the same in the break-room 🍬 since I’ve gotten into the healthy eating thing.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:43 pm with sun having an altitude of 40.1° from the due south horizon (-30.8° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 7.1 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour πŸ… starts at 5:42 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (254°). πŸ“Έ The sunset is in the west (261°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 6:20 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 57 seconds with dusk around 6:47 pm, which is one minute and 39 seconds earlier than yesterday. πŸŒ‡ The best time to look at the stars is after 7:21 pm. At sunset, look for partly clear skies πŸŒ„ and temperatures around 59 degrees. The dew point will be 47 degrees. There will be a northwest breeze at 7 mph. Tomorrow will have 11 hours and 13 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 49 seconds over today.

Yesterday I went Walmart and got socks, boxers, and supplies. πŸ›’ They didn’t have gray socks so I ended up deciding on black socks 🧦 which are fine as I didn’t want easily stained white socks. Nice having boxers that fit well now that I’m so much slimmer and aren’t totally worn out. I’ve actually been tossing a lot of old boxers and socks in the rag pile lately to take to the recycling dumpster, as many have gotten holes or are otherwise worn through. Got Keifer milk (fermented milk) as something new to try, it’s like yogurt but thinner like milk and supposedly is really good for the gut with all kinds of healthy live bacteria unlike most yogurt where the bacteria is killed before consumption.

Tonight will be partly cloudy πŸŒ†, with a low of 41 degrees at 6am. One degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around October 15th. Northwest wind 6 to 8 mph. In 2022, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became rain by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 53 degrees. The record low of 24 occurred back in 1981.

Mice have been bad this year 🐭 in my apartment since it’s gotten cool, so I picked up some additional sticky and traditional spring mouse traps. Usually once I catch enough of them they thin out for the winter. I think they probably like all the bread crumbs and other crumbs with all the fresh cooking I do these days. 🍞 I don’t mind that much except when they chew holes in the walls, and crap all over my griddle and spread disease, but they’re also annoying when once scurries off. My experience is though overtime with the traps, they’ll disappear. I could also get out the bucket trap which is often quite effective for a while until it no longer is once they figure it out or get enough thinned out.

Not as wet for the Albany area this weekend, as the low center and rain has moved south. πŸŒ§ Instead of us getting it, it will be West Virginia, where I was planning on going this weekend, lol. Saturday, a chance of rain, mainly after 2pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 56. North wind around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. Sunday, mostly cloudy, with a high near 57. Still hardly a banner weekend. Typical average high for the weekend is 62 degrees.

I might end up heading up to the Albany Pine Bush πŸ¦‹ to ride trail with Blackie and to the Salvation Army to look at some more clothes, stop by Farmer’s Indian Marker and Aldis for more spices and groceries, and maybe explore the Italian or Chinese markets further down center. πŸ‘©‍πŸ’Ό At this point especially I should see if I can get some dress shirts at Salvation Army for work, or other “nice” stuff to wear in the winter that fits me well. At least it’s not going to be as wet as originally predicted. 🌧

Further out, next Thursday is Average High is 60 πŸ‚ when the sun will be setting at 6:08 pm with dusk at 6:36 pm. On that day in 2022, we had partly sunny and temperatures between 53 and 33 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 60 degrees. We hit a record high of 79 back in 1963.

 View of the Old Letchworth Bridge