Good Morning! Happy Tuesday. The second day of the work week, but at least the weekend looks quite nice. It is a pleasant morning, walking down to the bus stop. They finished paving Elm Avenue yesterday, so it’s a nice smooth, quiet surface.

Went down to the Park last night, but it sure gets dark early, with sunset at 7:51 PM. That said, the twilight doesn’t happen until a little after 8:20 PM, so on a clear night like last night it’s not so bad. But it sure cuts into the time for reading after work at the park. It won’t be long – that is in November – when it will be past twilight around 5 PM.

November camping is always an adventure, setting up camp by around 4-4:30 PM and making sure you have a roaring fire by 5 PM and that the lights are up and working perfectly. By then I should have my solar panel set up, so that will help keep the battery charged, along with the recently discovered “fast idle” setting on my truck. Fast idle means the batteries will charge faster and better, while ensuring good lubrication of the engine – I sometimes worry about excessive idle at low speed.

Don’t have my truck back yet, but I’m still waiting for the call. I was told Monday or Tuesday, and certainly this week. If I don’t hear anything today, I will stop by the shop tomorrow morning. With work, who knows if I will even be able to get out today. The +weekend forecast looks really nice, and I want to get out at least one more time before the summer is unofficially over.

The Bethlehem Steam Station is hard at work today, as seen from the cloud of steam and smoke coming up from Glenmont area. It also looks like the Rensselear Power Plant is working too. I guess they run quite a bit today, being efficent and modern plants, but it may also have to do with the weather conditions – this morning’s cooler air trapped in the valley, causing the steam to be trapped in an inversion.

Yesterday, I got the Trapper’s Post in the mail. I haven’t really had a chance to look at it, but I need to get my hunting and trapping license, plus a turkey tag this year. The thing is need my hunter ed and trapper ed certification cards, but they are currently in my truck, which I haven’t gotten back yet. But I am hoping today is the day.