I think I already know the answer to that question, as much as I might not love the idea of riding South Pearl Street with the rough pavement, as I am sure there is still too much snow on the rail trail. Got to watch out for the black ice but I assume the bike trail and alike will be plowed in the city, just not down through the gorge. At any rate, Corning Hill is kind of a blast on the bike.

Good morning! Monday’s come back around again. Sunny and 29 degrees in Delmar, NY. 🌞 Calm wind. There are 4 inches of snow on the ground. ☃ ️ Alas that’s the only thing giving me pause, as I doubt I can do the rail trail. But by evening the rail trail might be passable, or certainly by tomorrow. Wednesday might rain, and Thursday I might drive in if I plan to head to the Adirondacks after work, assuming I get Good Friday off. ✝️

So it’s the week leading up to Easter Weekend. 🐇 I am still hoping to have Good Friday off. That said, Thursday looks a bit wet 🌦️ so maybe I won’t head north until early on Good Friday. I am determined to get bacon 🥓 at For the Love of Bacon, as while it’s not something I’d eat regularly it’s such a wonderful treat. 🐖 And your supporting local agriculture while getting a product made out of simple ingredients. I’m not a bacon and eggs each morning kind of person — but a little bit of bacon and bacon grease as a treat spread over a few weeks or months is wonderful. Lard is kind of a wonderful thing. 🫃  I should bring a snow shovel and salt though if heading up north, as there is a chance I’ll need it. But at least fire danger should be relatively low  🔥 for my mostly DEC compliant 3-foot campfire. I should bring a ruler 📏 to measure it, and not burn it, lol. 😸 I just don’t like when people burn pallets and leave nails out for people to run over with their 35-inch tires. 🛞 Plastic, I don’t care as long as I don’t have to smell it and it fully burns up or is packed out. 👃

Today will be sunny 🌞, with a high of 46 degrees at 4pm. Three degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 19th. Light and variable wind becoming east around 5 mph in the afternoon. A year ago, we had light snow in the morning, which became light drizzle by afternoon. The high last year was 41 degrees. The record high of 74 was set in 1910. 1.9 inches of snow fell back in 1960.❄

Yesterday I hiked Bennett Hill 🚶‍♂️ after the ice storm.  🔌 The power was back on by the time I got back from my folks house, I’m glad about that as otherwise it would have been a very cold and dark night. Didn’t help that I had left the heat at 48 degrees the night before, so things really dropped after the heat quit working at 1 AM the previous night. I was a bit worried about pipes freezing, though that has yet to happen even in the coldest weather, though I do remember them being a bit frozen after the 2009 Ice Storm when I lost power for three days. 🌞 And despite all the sunshine, it still was dark in my bathroom without windows, though what I ended up doing was drawing the blinds and leaving the bathroom door. Still I was super cranky about losing power, again for the second time in like two weeks.

Then I went out to my parents house for Sunday dinner of riggies 🍝, which is far more white pasta then I normally eat but it’s nice to have them as a treat while my family is still around. 👪️ I talk about how close I am to early retirement in 13 years, 10 months and 4 days, and for people who are older that seems like a lifetime — at least a remaining lifetime. But I do agree I really should be spending a least some of that time exploring America. If I want to move out (mid) west, I should explore it first.  🛻 If it means boarding a plane ✈️ and renting a car 🤑 and spending some money, then so be it. Then later in the evening, I went for an evening walk.  🚲️ Never got test my adjustments to the bicycle gears  ⚙️ over the weekend, but I’m sure it will be good enough and I can tweak tonight. Probably won’t be riding home but will catch the bus home due to snow/ice remaining on the bike trail.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:02 pm with sun having an altitude of 49.4° from the due south horizon (-21.4° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 5.1 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 6:37 pm with the sun in the west (267°). 📸 The sunset is in the west (274°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:14 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 54 seconds with dusk around 7:42 pm, which is one minute and 9 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:16 pm. At sunset, look for clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 41 degrees. There will be a east breeze at 6 mph. Today will have 12 hours and 28 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 55 seconds over yesterday.

This evening after I get home I’ll probably have a quick dinner of sweet potato  🥔 and some fried veggies, 🧅 and then go for evening walk before doing some reading 📚️ using that Libby app on my phone. I like E-Books whenever they’re available as it avoids a trip to the library, plus I don’t have to worry about getting the books wet and dirty, and I can bring them under the covers in my bed, which is good with the heated blanket, as especially once we get past today. I plan to read e-books exclusively when I head out of town this weekend — I’ll have to make sure the ones I have are downloaded to my phone.📱 Unfortunately my phone is starting to fall apart, so I may have to think about replacing it soon.

Tonight will be mostly clear 🌃, with a low of 26 degrees at 4am. Three degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 17th. East wind around 6 mph becoming light and variable after midnight. In 2023, we had light drizzle in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 31 degrees. The record low of 0 occurred back in 1885.

Spoke to my neighbor about the garbage pile  🗑️ last week and he still hasn’t done anything to address it. He said he was holding it to take to his parent’s dumpster but had forgotten about it. I just don’t like how animals have gotten into it and I’m finding litter now. I wouldn’t care if he had secure garbage cans.

A picture perfect weekend on tap. 😎 The only real question in my mind will I get off Good Friday. And can I leave early on Thursday? For Good Friday Eve, a chance of showers before 2am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 34. Chance of precipitation is 40%. For Good Friday, partly sunny, with a high near 48. Saturday, mostly sunny, with a high near 49. Easter, partly sunny, with a high near 47. Typical average high for the weekend is 51 degrees. That sounds like a winner, though it only can slide downhill from here. Not as warm in Adirondacks, but I’ll take that weather for late March.

As previously noted, next Monday is April Fools Day 🤡 when the sun will be setting at 7:23 pm with dusk at 7:50 pm. On that day in 2023, we had rain and temperatures between 74 and 41 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 52 degrees. We hit a record high of 77 back in 1986.