Cool enough this morning to be reminded of what fall feels like without the humidity and wildfire smoke mugging you the moment you step outside. That said, autumn is just around the corner as is August. It will come quickly come August 8th when I’m back from summer vacation, and I loose all the sunlight in the evening as I’ll be back farther east.

Good morning! Mostly clear 🌅 and 61 degrees in Delmar, NY. Calm wind. The dew point is 56 degrees.

Out walking 🚶 at 6:15 am which probably isn’t good idea as I didn’t get to bed until much too late after the late return from the hike last night, which I followed by sitting out back for a while and then running inside, taking a shower 🚿 and checking carefully for ticks before bed 🛏. A hard boiled egg 🥚 and some grapes 🍇 for protein and sugar before the morning walk. Whole grain oatmeal with fresh blueberries and black berries with more black coffee after the morning walk.🫐🍓 Plus maybe some carrots 🥕 for a fiber boost.

Today will be sunny 🌞, with a high of 85 degrees at 4pm. One degree above normal. Maximum dew point of 61 at 10am. Calm wind becoming southeast around 6 mph in the afternoon. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. It was sticky. The high last year was 97 degrees. The record high of 97 was set in 1991.

Finally finished my bike build. 🚲 I’m much happier with Blackie now that I got all the accessories installed except the heavy gauge u-lock holder 🔒 because I’m debating if I should mountain on the frame or on the rack, for better balance center and axle wise versus blocking the location for future additional water storage unit under bike lights for safer nighttime riding for finding potholes and rough terrain on the trail. The waterproof phone holder is great with the Zeopoxa Cycling app which not only tells me my speed but also distanced traveled and provides a map of my route. And every mile it barks out how many miles traveled, average speed and calories burnt. 🗣️

That said, I think the feature I like the most about my bicycle is the 13×15 crate I have mounted on my bike rack, now with a MIK adapter for quick release so I can load the box when it’s not on the bicycle or take off for transit on the bus or in my truck. 🧺 Or what riding in real rough country or greater efficiency. It’s great, you just throw whatever gear you want in it and go. Hammock, backpack, water, lunch, tools, etc. Also makes a good grocery carrier for heading home from the store. 🏪 Detach the crate, load in the store and I never have to worry buying too much groceries to haul home. Probably use it tonight for that purpose. Toss in the Bluetooth speaker 🔊 and have tunes 🎶 and podcasts to listen to plenty loud over the roar of traffic. Ended up using six plastic cable zip ties to secure the basket to the MIK adapter, it just worked better than bolts and washee with my particular crate. The crate is the weakest link, not the twist ties but I feel confident it could safely carry 20-30 lb of supplies or groceries. 🍏 While the rack is rated for 30 kg or 66 lb, the mount is 20 kg or 44 lb, I think the lightweight crate I installed probably couldn’t handle that much. But I don’t often get juice or milk at the grocery store — milk but usually at Stewarts where I walk, and only a gallon at most of the time. Bicycle water bottle holders are inexpensive, but I’m not sure the advantage over just tossing the water in the back. Maybe for long trips I’d want additional water closer to the front axle.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:02 pm with sun having an altitude of 68.1° from the due south horizon (-2.7° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.4 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:47 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (293°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (300°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:29 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 19 seconds with dusk around 9:01 pm, which is 48 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Crescent 🌒 Moon in the west (275°) at an altitude of 15° from the horizon, 251,882 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:44 pm. At sunset, look for partly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 76 degrees. The dew point will be 62 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Today will have 14 hours and 55 minutes of daytime, a decrease of one minute and 43 seconds over yesterday.

Well that certainly was an interesting evening hiking in the Norman’s Kill Ravine Preserve. 🚶 The loop trail was just longer than I expected and the terrain was more rugged then I would expect for suburban Delmar. Not even all that exciting, just a lot of ridges and swamps along a flatwater, very muddy from the recent rain ☔. I think the trails are a bit rougher than I would want to take my new mountain bike on but might walk them again come the autumn when things are colorful and the views are better. 🍂

Tonight will be mostly cloudy 🌥, with a low of 67 degrees at 4am. Four degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 64 at 4am. South wind 3 to 7 mph. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It became very sticky as the night progressed. It got down to 72 degrees. The record low of 45 occurred back in 1974.

I am thinking tonight maybe of checking out another nature preserve along the Normans Kill, the Normans Kill Preserve behind the Justice Center on Normans Kill Boulevard next to Delaware Plaza. This preserve looks much more interesting then Normans Kill Ravines Preserve, and is much smaller / quicker hike, though a slightly longer bus ride. I was thinking I could go there and then go grocery shopping for the weekend thereafter, all using my bicycle.

On this day in 1969, Apollo 11’s crew successfully makes the first landing on the Moon 🌕 in the Sea of Tranquility. Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the Moon, well at least in England. Us Americans would get to watch it the next day. 📺 Funny how time zones work. The world conquered the moon, returned a half dozen times or so and got bored and gave up visiting the moon only three years later. 🌎 Worldly problems like Vietnam, pollution and inflation somehow seemed more important than visiting the moon. I guess they were, but to give up so quickly after a goal 🥅 was reached seems like a major societal cop out.

Continues to be a nice weekend on tap. ☺ That said, the muggers will return after the rain tonight into tomorrow. Saturday, isolated showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 2pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 80. West wind 6 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. Maximum dew point of 63 at 8am. Sunday, sunny, with a high near 84. Maximum dew point of 63 at 7pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 84 degrees.

The plan continues to be to head out of town for the weekend. I am thinking early Saturday morning through mid-day Monday, after the rain stops. I am leaning towards Catskill Scenic Trail on Saturday morning from Grand Gorge to Stamford, then swim in Mine Kill State Park, then Sunday maybe mountain bike around Burnt-Rossman Hills State Forest truck trails. I do want to get Shaul’s too, I haven’t decided if that will be Saturday or Sunday. Probably Sunday as Shaul’s closes at 5 PM. Maybe that could be another pool and bicycle day. Biking along NY 30 from the Blenhiem Bridge and maybe doing another afternoon at Mine Kill Pool could be good for Sunday, even though I’d rather hang out at camp for the day and not have to take down camp or at least lock things up, and then have the fun of getting out of that rough site and the bumpy roads. But whatever. Then maybe more of the Catskill Scenic Trail on Monday morning, such as Stamford south to Bloomville. And another swim before heading out to the folks house. Truth is I don’t want to get home too late on Monday as I need to pack for summer vacation like the next day.

Looking ahead, there are 2 weeks until Campfire Day 🔥 when the sun will be setting at 8:15 pm with dusk at 8:45 pm. On that day in 2022, we had hot, mostly sunny and temperatures between 90 and 64 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 83 degrees. We hit a record high of 97 back in 1975.