Good evening! Currently 37 degrees and cloudy this evening. It cleared out for a while this evening before dusk, but the clouds have returned with the approaching front. We are expecting some snow showers later this evening that might make the roads slippery.

Tomorrow starts the new work week for the new year. Five day work-week. January seems to have come so quickly, without the harsh weather we’ve gotten use to. Tomorrow is going to be cold, with temperatures around 20 degrees all day. A stiff breeze will make windchills appear below zero, but the mercury will be at least in the positive single digits. It will feel cold though. Not as cold as late February and early March last year, with temperatures in the morning in the negative 10 degree range. Last year was so bitterly cold, but we might once again get some of that cold, but not this week.

Did you notice how late the sunset was tonight? Or more properly, how late darkness came once civil twilight came to an end? Civil twilight tonight was at 5:06 PM, so when you get out of work at 5 PM, it won’t be totally dark out. That’s nice. Sunset is at 4:34 PM in Albany, and even later in later parts of the state. Not having clouds dominating the sky sure made it seem like the day was a lot longer today. With the colder weather of Monday and Tuesday plus the clear weather expected through Thursday, nicer days and later sunsets will be the norm. I’m sure glad for that.

Where did the time go? It seems like it just wasn’t early fall. Certainly it can’t be 2016 already. Then ago the lack of snow plus that Big Buddy Heater I’ve been able to camp until last week – and I’ll be camping next weekend or the weekend after, once my truck is back from repair and the weather is not too cold or snowy. It will be like a winter without winter, which is kind of nice. Granted, I can’t get back far in the Adirondacks from a plowed state highway but I still can spend nights in the wilderness, toasty by the Big Buddy and with bright light with my lantern. Local wilderness camping or in a lean-to is a possibility too – I have my mind on a particular spot in the woods where I want to set up camp. Spring will approach quickly. My winters are usually quickly consumed by the long days I put in at work. Four weeks and we’ll be in the first weekend of February. Eight weeks the time changes. But for sure, in the mean-time we will have some snowy and cold weather, even if El Nino keeps us relatively warm for most of the winter.

Pretty quiet day, although I did make some maps up in QGIS. I had a problem in QGIS that took a while to diagnosis – somehow I had a layer that was malfunctioning, but now it working correctly. I cranked out a batch of maps, including Google Maps of most of the competitive races in the County Legislature. At this point, I’m pretty much done with mapping Election Results at least until after primary day – although maybe I could get some of the old LATFOR data from 2008 and so an interactive primary map comparing Hillary Clinton versus Barack Obama. I think the next time I’m down at the library, I will have to get some more census data, although honestly on that front of running a bit thin on data to map too. Maybe some historical data might be interesting.

In the afternoon, I almost wish I had gone down to the park rather then the library, it was so nice. But whatever. Nicer days will certainly come, once we get past the coldest week of the year – typically next week. I do look forward to going to the park with a book from the library and reading to dusk or beyond. Or even just bringing my laptop down there, and playing on the WI-FI. Library Internet is fine, but I sure prefer to be outside when it’s nice. I wonder if they’ll even operate the ice rink at the town park this year, with the weather being so mild all winter. Below freezing temperatures are bound to come. This is Albany and winter, after all.

After this mild winter, it means there will likely be some hot and toasty summer days. I can feel the potholers already on a 90 degree day. I sure love those waterfalls on a hot day, and camping up by the East Canada Creek in the summer. It really is my home away form home. Summer nights are really quite wonderful, even if they last such a short time. It really can’t be a hot enough day for time in the potholers, although an extended drought I guess could really sap those waterfalls compared to more normal water conditions. I am also looking forward to heading out to the Finger Lakes for summer vacation, with hot days going in out of the pool at Watkins Glen. 2015 was an amazing year, and I hope to build upon it this year.

Have a great evening! I’m off for my evening walk.