Good evening! I was sitting out back for a while looking at the stars but it started to get cold. Now I’m back inside, in my bedroom next to my American flag lit by camp lamp. That flag is enormous in my apartment. It looks nice but will be even nicer in the woods next week. I’m a Proud American. Partly clear and 49 degrees in Delmar, NY. There is a west-northwest breeze at 8 mph.

Tonight will be mostly clear, with a low of 35 degrees at 5am. Two degrees below normal. Northwest wind 3 to 8 mph. In 2016, it got down to 31 degrees under clear skies. The record low of 19 occurred back in 1973.

Waning Gibbous Moon tonight with 82% illuminated. The Last Quarter Moon is on Wednesday night with chance of showers expected. The Full “Flower” Moon is in 4 weeks. The sun will rise at 6:15 am with the first light at 5:46 am, which is one minute and 38 seconds earlier than yesterday. Tonight will have 10 hours and 37 minutes of darkness, a decrease of 2 minutes and 46 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow, Good Friday, will be sunny, with a high of 64 degrees at 4pm. Six degrees above normal. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph in the afternoon. Sounds like it’s going to be a pretty nice day. A year ago, we had sunny skies and a high of 58 degrees. The record high of 83 was set in 1968. 1.4 inches of snow fell back in 1950.

For Saturday, a chance of showers and thunderstorms between 2pm and 5pm, then a chance of showers after 5pm. Increasing clouds, with a high near 63. Light south wind increasing to 11 to 16 mph in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 26 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Maximum dew point of 44 at 9pm. 

On Easter, a slight chance of showers, then scattered showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 81. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Maximum dew point of 55 at 8pm.

Typical average high for the weekend is 58 degrees.

It wasn’t a terrible day but it was rather chaotic at times. I think I made it through the day okay but there was a few brushes against disaster but I think I’ll be fine. I need to push back politely with people when they become too demanding on things. I don’t always have to take calls too or answer emails right away. 

I have Good Friday off which is good because I’m tired after this week. I want to work on wiring up the truck cap and the rest of the things set up and tested for camping this week. I will probably go grocery shopping on Monday and maybe leave Tuesday after work or maybe hold off for Wednesday. I’m undecided. 

I was noticing how green the grass has gotten in both Delmar and in the city. Some trees are starting to blossom, but no leaves except on some of that awful, invasive honeysuckle that tends to take over in all scrubby places in the woods along the roadsides. Spring will come to the Albany-area eventually. We had some sun for a while, then it clouded up and cleared for dusk. 

While models of the Southern Adirondack snow pack show significant snow in parts of the Southern Adirondacks, with the weekends rains and warmer temperatures, it’s expected to be almost entirely gone. That said, already the North Country is free of snow, and most of the Adirondacks should be melted by the time I get up there. But I don’t want to get far off blacktop this time of year, especially with the rain, as everything is probably mud and muck. April camping kind of sucks this time of year, with all of the mud. Plus I expect it to be fairly cold and wet at least from Thursday into Friday. Well, I know to proceed slowly, and get out and walk the road before I drive it if there is any question. I’m not getting stuck in the mud. Buck no!

I’m thinking on Wednesday or Thursday, hitting up Horseshoe Lake for a night, and maybe hiking back to Lows Ledge. The rough but asphalt NY 421 is plowed all the way back to Horseshoe Lake, although the road to Hitchens Pond is closed for the spring mud season. The snow is gone up there from the map but you never know with drifts. It’s been a number of years since I’ve been up that way, and it would be fun to explore. Off-season I probably have my choice of sites on Hitchens Pond, and if I paddle from Horseshoe Outlet to Hitchens Pond, it could be quite nice. But it might also have things blocking the way, so I might avoid it due to water that is still pretty cold.

Later in the week into the weekend I’m thinking about the Deer River area in Malone if the road is passable. I don’t remember it being soft but if it looks risky I’m not going to try it. There are other places to explore and fish. Fishing the Deer River though kind of excites me. Such a beautiful part of the state, mostly unknown around here.  As I noted yesterday, might camp at the Walter Pratt area. I think I would prefer that as I have better cell reception there and those campsites have outhouses and picnic tables. There are some state forests like Wolf Lake State Forest, I’d love to see in St. Lawrence County. The power project and paddling part of the St. Lawrence River might be fun too. Then maybe come back through the Black River Valley and camp in the Otter Creek area, assuming the road is open this time of year.  I should call the DEC in Lowville on Monday to find out. I’m thinking that Eatonville Road is probably still very soft this time of year if it’s open at all. Maybe I should plan to come back through the Adirondacks and camp somewhere there like Jones Pond. 

In four weeks on May 11 the sun will be setting at 8:07 pm, which is 31 minutes and 26 seconds later then tonight. In 2016 on that day, we had mostly sunny skies and temperatures between 75 and 40 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 68 and 46 degrees. The record high of 90 degrees was set back in 1911.

Looking ahead, the Start of June is in 7 weeks. Lots of weeks of Black Fly Season ahead.