An extraordinary autumn week ahead with temperatures expected to be heading up to the 80s with minimal humidity and lots of autumn color especially up north.

Good morning on this stunningly beautiful Monday morning as the sun rises. 🌄 Clear and 57 degrees in Delmar, NY. Calm wind. The dew point is 55 degrees. Out for the morning walk 🚶 after getting up well before dawn to fill my stove oven with pots and pans with good nutritious things to eat. Need energy ⚡ to power through the week, a five day week though I’m betting on the big boss letting us get a jump on the long weekend starting on two come Friday as otherwise I can’t leave early.

So what’s cooking at five o’clock this morning? 🧑‍🍳 Lots of good things for the week ahead.

• Coffee
• Oat pancakes topped with strawberries
• Spaghetti squash
• Split Pea Soup
• Homemade whole wheat bread
• Salmon and broccoli

Why so much cooking? Well when I get home from work and are hungry, I want things I can toss in the microwave and have ready in like five minutes all week.

It would be a nice morning to ride to work 🚲 but I can’t as I have my laptop 🖥 to bring in so I’m going to bring my bicycle on the bus and then ride home in the evening. I’ll ride both ways on Tuesday and I’m thinking if the weather cooperates I’ll take off Wednesday. Two options – Elm Ridge Wild Forest Mountain Biking and a hike up Windham High Peak 🗻 or ride the Albany Hudson Electric Rail Trail, visit the Martin Van Buren Historical Site and get apples 🍏 at Golden Harvest Farms orchard as in the autumn I can never get enough apples. In two weeks from now on my way to West Virginia I’m hoping to get paw paws from a roadside stand as it’s getting close to the end of the season but it’s been mild and they’re supposed to be awesome. 🍐

Yesterday I went for a ride at Kehler Preserve on Wolf Hill. 🐺 Those are some pretty nice trails for mountain biking. 🚵 Some roots but the trails are well graded and not real muddy despite what a wet summer lately. Also got a coat of primer on the wheel wells and rocker panels of the truck, had lasagna with my parents, got some needed groceries. 🛒 I was up at six o’clock, breakfast was eggs with all the fixings, along with beans I cooked up. 🍳 It was a busy Sunday in part because I got up so early. At my parents house I used their wi-fi to connect to my “smart bulb” I bought the other day, and set some nice warm-white color defaults, as I can’t control it but by the light switch at home as I lack wi-fi.