Tomorrow officially starts spring on the calendar, but as usually is the case in New York State that doesn’t mean tulips and warm weather is right around the corner — though with El Nino and climate change in control I’m not convinced in a few days it won’t get real warm quickly. Remember, the record books are littered with 80 degrees over the years throughout March. No ninety degree days so far, but the climate is warming.

Good morning! Monday’s come back around again. Mostly sunny 🌞 and 32 degrees in Delmar, NY. There is a west breeze at 7 mph. 🍃.

Up and going a little after 5 AM ☕️ after running to Stewart’s to get more of the moo juice for my coffee. 🐄 Carrot pancakes this morning 🥕🥞 with fresh maple syrup and blueberries that were pretty damn good. It was a beautiful morning when I went out to Stewart’s, and now I’m sitting at my desk here in my apartment looking out the window. As usual, I am going to ride to work today. A bit cool of a day, but so be it. I will wear gloves and a winter jacket if necessary. 🚴‍♂️

Today will have increasing clouds ☁, with a high of 45 degrees at 3pm. One degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 17th. West wind 7 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning with a few breaks of sun the afternoon. The high last year was 44 degrees. The record high of 69 was set in 2012. 8.0 inches of snow fell back in 1977.❄

I’m hoping to talk to my neighbor about the growing pile of garbage bags 🗑️ next to his apartment. I didn’t say anything last week, as I assumed on Saturday he’d be making a trip to the transfer station. ♻️ I assume he doesn’t give a rats ass  🐀 about the landlord at this point because he’s moving out with the rent hike coming in search of greener pastures, but I don’t want rats in my apartment nor do I want the fire risk  🔥 that piles of garbage bring. The new month-to-month agreement is pretty clear that not allowed — I had to ask for special permission to have my kayak outdoors. 🚣 If he doesn’t clean it up soon, I’m going to email the new landlord, and if he doesn’t take action, I’ll call the town. 🏛️

It’s obnoxious to deal with, because I normally wouldn’t care, especially if the garbage was in cans, 🛢️ as sometimes it’s a while before I get it burnt up, taken to my parents trash pickup, or hauled to the transfer station, but I don’t leave it sitting out where animals can get to it. 🐿️ Already I’ve seen some garbage strewn around. I need to get out of this dumpy apartment before it burns or I get evicted in pursuit of redevelopment of the land — but I want to buy myself whatever time I can, especially if I want to build my dream solar homestead. ⏳️🏠️ That said, I won’t complain too much, as I’m kind of loud with my food processor and smoke alarm — to say nothing of cussing out the world when drop a pot on my foot, dirty and  generally obnoxious too. 🤬 Trust me I can be vulgar at times, sometimes even a bit downright racist.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:04 pm with sun having an altitude of 46.7° from the due south horizon (-24.2° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 5.7 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 6:29 pm with the sun in the west (264°). 📸 The sunset is in the west (270°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:06 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 54 seconds with dusk around 7:33 pm, which is one minute and 10 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Gibbous 🌔 Moon in the southeast (136°) at an altitude of 70° from the horizon, 244,770 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:07 pm. At sunset, look out for snow showers 🌨 and temperatures around 39 degrees. There will be a west-northwest breeze at 11 mph with gusts up to 21mph. Tomorrow will have 12 hours and 10 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 55 seconds over today.

I am coming to realize how abusive Rosa the substitute dental hygienist was on Friday.  🦷I am not going to pay somebody to get abused — even if my insurance covered the visit. I appreciate constructive criticism 🪥 and I’m thinking about getting an electric toothbrush for better cleaning, but Rosa was downright abusive. I get she had her new toy that showed how bad my teeth were in high-resolution colored pictures, but I did not deserve to be berated for a half hour about how bad my oral care is despite my attempts to each healthy 🍎 and floss regularly. 😁 She scheduled with me for a follow up visit, but I am the customer so I have every right to cancel that appointment 🛑 and find a hygienist who is professional.

Tonight will have a slight chance of snow showers before 3am. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 29 degrees at 6am. Two degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 24th. Northwest wind 10 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. In 2023, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 22 degrees. The record low of -10 occurred back in 1967.

More reading and studying about building a house tonight. 🏠️ The usual of checking Zillow and Landwatch for new parcels and houses to come on them market, expanding my circle out a bit 🛞 looking at different acreage and locations to determine what would be the best place to live. I mean if I see a small house on acreage, I would be willing to consider it, it as it’s greener to reuse an existing structure and not develop new land, but the flip side is such a property would be likely very poorly insulated and grid-tied. 🏚️Plus if at all possible, I want to avoid vinyl siding, which I despise to no end.

Right now, a split verdict on the weekend. 😕 Maybe it’s too early to really determine for sure. Saturday, a chance of rain and snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 44. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Sunday, mostly sunny, with a high near 41. I have some other places I want to check out this weekend, plus find time for some hiking and fun, as I have to keep living while building my dream homestead. 🏃‍♂️ Typical average high for the weekend is 48 degrees. 🌻 There is hope for spring. The following weekend — Thursday evening through Easter Sunday I’m hoping to camp in the Adirondacks unless there is a shit ton of snow or rain is promised all weekend.

As previously noted, there are 2 weeks until 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.