Winter’s going to kick like a mule come next week but we’re only like 68 days away from spring and being an El Niño year it’s not going to remain cold for all that long.

Good morning! Happy Thursday. Mostly cloudy at the freezing point in Delmar. ☁ There is a west-southwest breeze at 9 mph. 🍃. There are some remaining snow banks on the ground. ☃ But not for long. ️Things will start to thaw out at around 7 am. 🌡️

Cornbread this morning with onions, garlic, spinach and lots of spices.🥧 Came out such a deep rich color and fluffy thanks to the baking soda. Do wish I had added some salt. 🍊 Then I ran a full orange, peel and all through the food processor for a fiber rich treat. 🧡 Fiber fills you up and blunts the impact of all those sugars and the inevitable insulin spike. I do poop 💩 a lot on the morning especially after all that coffee ☕ rich with cinnamon and ginger.

Today will have a slight chance of rain and snow showers after 1pm. Cloudy 🌧, with a high of 38 degrees at 2pm. Five degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around February 21st. West wind 6 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 33 degrees. The record high of 67 was set in 2020. 8.0 inches of snow fell back in 1922.❄

Riding to work again today, 🚲 this time taking my preferred route through the Norman’s Kill Gorge as the snow and ice should be mostly gone. ☺ I really don’t love riding Delaware, I’d much rather do the rail trail. That said not sure how much I’ll be riding next week, going to be cold plus Tuesday and Wednesday are session days. Do think it’s likely I’ll be finally moving out to the burbs for work but I have a schedule ready for the shuttle 🚀. Okay, maybe not that kind of shuttle. I don’t think the cold will be that prolonged being an El Niño year, or so I tell myself.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:04 pm with sun having an altitude of 25.5° from the due south horizon (-45.3° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 12.6 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 3:58 pm with the sun in the southwest (233°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (241°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 4:42 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 21 seconds with dusk around 5:13 pm, which is one minute and 5 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 5:49 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and snow 🌨 and temperatures around 38 degrees. There will be a south-southwest breeze at 6 mph. Tomorrow will have 9 hours and 22 minutes of daytime, an increase of one minute and 27 seconds over today.

Yesterday on my way out ran into the landlord and we got chatting 🗣️ and guess what I forgot to lock 🔒 my door 🚪 or even shut it tightly. It was a mild day and the heat probably didn’t kick on, and it’s not like I have much worth stealing. 👮 Today I’ll be more careful. Going to try to leave a bit earlier today so I’m not as rushed plus I have a morning meeting to get down to. 👥

Tonight will have a slight chance of snow showers before 10pm. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 27 degrees at 4am. 11 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 18th. South wind around 6 mph becoming west after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 20%. In 2023, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became light snow by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 32 degrees. The record low of -26 occurred back in 1968.

15 bean soup 🍲 last night was delicious 😋 though it made the last of my carrots 🥕 dissappear and a lot of spinach and celery. I should have bought the five pound bag of carrots last week. Rye bread with lots of red onions in it for a rich flavor. Then a shredded apple run through the food processor with lots of cinnamon and ginger with a touch of peanut 🥜 butter powder after my evening walk. Not quite a slurry, I mean smoothie but good. Not so cold for the evening walk. 🌧️ Rained on the bus 🚍 ride home but stopped by the time I was filled up with that delicious soup and bread. I was in bed 🛏 by eight and up by five this morning.

Weekend continues to look rainy after first then get cold. 🌦️🤜🌬️🤜🧊Saturday, rain before noon, then showers likely, mainly between noon and 1pm. High near 48. Southeast wind 14 to 17 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. Sunday, a chance of snow showers after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 32. Breezy. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Typical average high for the weekend is 33 degrees. I’m still thinking about at least one night up in the woods but I concede with the wind, going to be a cold weekend.

Looking ahead, next Thursday is Winnie the Pooh Day 🍯 when the sun will be setting at 4:51 pm with dusk at 5:21 pm. On that day in 2023, we had cloudy, mild, freezing rain showers and temperatures between 44 and 32 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 32 degrees. We hit a record high of 59 back in 1973. Last week I bought honey 🛒 but I haven’t opened it yet. I’ve decided to include more natural sugars sparingly in my diet for flavor but only occasionally as a treat. That and real maple 🍁 syrup. Yum. But it’s not going to be an everyday thing and will always be paired with fiber rich foods and whole grains be it milled corn, milled oats or whole wheat foot.