On this Wednesday before the long Memorial Day Weekend we are at 58 degrees on our way up to 75 degrees with more sun later. It should be not half bad Hump Day. Assuming that I get out of work at a reasonable hour, I plan to gas up my truck and buy food and supplies for the camping trip. Maybe get the kayak racks put on.

The sun will set at 8:20 pm with dusk around 8:53 pm, which is 56 seconds later than yesterday. At sunset, look for partly cloudy conditions and 68 degrees. The dew point will be 53 degrees. There will be a south-southeast breeze at 5 mph. Today will have 14 hours and 56 minutes of daytime, an increase of one minute and 39 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be mostly cloudy, with a low of 53 degrees at 5am. Three degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 53 at 6pm. South wind around 5 mph. In 2016, it got down to 51 degrees with rain and shallow fog and patches of fog and mist and partly cloudy skies. The record low of 30 occurred back in 1956.

As previously noted, there are 3 weeks until Flag Day when the sun will be setting at 8:34 pm with dusk at 9:09 pm. On that day in 2016, we had mostly sunny skies and temperatures between 77 and 47 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 78 degrees. We hit a record high of 96 back in 1892.

Liberals may bemoan the president’s budget but I think it’s a fresh breath, a new idea, a reinvention of government. Maybe it’s time to consider the work that agencies do; there is a lot of bloat in government. I just wish there was bigger cuts to defense, military, homeland security, and police. There is so much bloat in the institutions that primarily exist to protect the state. I would be sad if a friend or love one died from terrorism or crime but those risks are so infinitely small, that I would rather see most of those funds used to pay down the deficit. Maybe if I lived in crime ridden city, I would feel different. But I live in the suburbs.

I saw that Moose River Plains roads are open for the season but only the major roads west of Lost Ponds. I’m not surprised, things are pretty soft up there after the relatively wet May. At least the fire risk is low. I’m thinking about Independence Weekend for the Plains. By then the black flies will be gone.

The forest service roads are much better maintained in Vermont and should be in good condition. They have a lot more gravel so they tend not to get as muddy. Saturday should be quite nice, I’m thinking about hiking back to Stratton Lake and then just hanging out on Sunday or maybe paddling in Grout Pond. That beach at Grout Pond is nice but I think it will be too cold for swimming. I am thinking I will pack the heater, even if I don’t end up using it much in case it’s cold in the mornings and warm my hands. I don’t expect the mercury in Vermont to get much above 65 or maybe 70 when I’m there and during cloudy and wet periods that can be rather cold.

I’m almost to work. Have a great day!