Swift Wetland Preserve ๐Ÿ“

This 21.6-acre wetland in Delmar, located directly across Delaware Avenue from the Bethlehem Central High School sports field, was a gift from the Swift Group. The Preserve was created to protect the wetlands remaining after homes were constructed on neighboring parcels. It includes a 1-acre man-made wetland, built to help compensate for natural wetlands that were filled in. The Bethlehem Central High School Science Department used a grant administered by the Conservancy to integrate the wetland into the school’s earth science and biology curriculums as an outdoor classroom. The Swift has several trails built by Chris Joyce as his Eagle Scout project for a local Boy Scout troop. Local volunteers, with funds donated by The Friendship Singers, built the kiosk at the Preserve’s entrance.

http://www.mohawkhudson.org/preserves/Swift.htm

๐Ÿ–ผ๏ธ Photos ๐Ÿ“ฝ๏ธ Videos

August 5, 2020 Morning

Good morning! What day is it? Hump Day, of course. Foggy and 66 degrees in Delmar, NY. ๐ŸŒซ There is a south-southwest breeze at 6 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. The dew point is 65 degrees. The muggy weather ends around 11 pm. ๐Ÿ˜“

At least around here, the fog seems to be mostly clouds ๐ŸŒซ and that’s keeping things cooler for now. I should go for a morning walk ๐Ÿšถ now and then get milk ๐Ÿฅ› and have breakfast ๐Ÿฅฃ before things warm up a bit. I want to get to the library ๐Ÿ“š fairly early so I can upload ๐Ÿ“ค and test my photo uploader. ๐Ÿ“ธ

Today will be mostly sunny ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 82 degrees at 3pm. Typical for today. Maximum dew point of 65 at 7am. South wind 6 to 8 mph becoming west in the afternoon. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 83 degrees. The record high of 99 was set in 1955.

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 1:02 pm with sun having an altitude of 64.2ยฐ from the due south horizon (-6.6ยฐ vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.9 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ๐Ÿ… starts at 7:32 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (287ยฐ). ๐Ÿ“ธ The sunset is in the west-northwest (294ยฐ) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:12 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 10 seconds with dusk around 8:41 pm, which is one minute and 15 seconds earlier than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ The best time to look at the stars is after 9:22 pm. At sunset, look for mostly clear skies ๐ŸŒ„ and temperatures around 74 degrees. The dew point will be 61 degrees. There will be a northwest breeze at 6 mph. Today will have 14 hours and 18 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 18 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be mostly clear ๐ŸŒƒ, with a low of 59 degrees at 5am. Two degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around August 21st. Maximum dew point of 61 at 6pm. Should be a great evening for sleeping. Northwest wind around 6 mph becoming calm in the evening. In 2019, we had mostly clear skies. It became sticky as the night progressed. It got down to 63 degrees. The record low of 45 occurred back in 1994.

Going to be a nice, hot summer weekend. ๐ŸŠ Saturday, mostly sunny, with a high near 84. Maximum dew point of 65 at 9am. Sunday, sunny, with a high near 87. Maximum dew point of 65 at 11am. Typical average high for the weekend is 82 degrees.

I got to think about packing for summer vacation soon. ๐Ÿ’ผ Maybe a little bit today but I’ll do most of the packing probably on Thursday. Not sure if I will leave before or after work on Friday, I guess it depends on my work schedule, I probably could work remotely if I stayed overnight in Madison County on Friday. I’m thinking ๐Ÿ’ญ I might not be ready to leave until then as I’m kind of a slow packer.

Really not sure how nice things will be next week ๐ŸŒปbut we will see. If it’s cloudy and rainy I’ll bring my screen tent ๐ŸŽช and use it for shelter at camp. ๐Ÿž It’s still nice to get away and after next week I expect work to be non stop through November. ๐Ÿ—ณ๏ธ

Saturday's fire

Map: Junius Pond Unique Area
Map: Dunham Reservior

August 4, 2020 Morning

Good morning! Happy Tuesday. Rain showers and 69 degrees in Delmar, NY. โ˜”There is a south-southeast breeze at 6 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. The dew point is 68 degrees. The skies will clear around 10 pm.

I dropped my truck off for the oil change ๐Ÿ›ข and walked home. ๐Ÿšถ A nice walk not raining too hard but everything is kind of damp and cloudy today but at least it not hot. So no complaints there. I’ll either walk down or take a bus ๐Ÿš down to pick up the truck during my break or lunch. I’m a salary employee once again so I guess it doesn’t matter all that much. I can always work late to finish up on work. ๐Ÿ’ผ

Did I misplace my new flash drive ๐Ÿ’พagain? Darn. I need that for work. I’ll find it. I’m sure it’s around here somewhere. I do really like my new phone ๐Ÿ“ฑ despite some of the minor flaws I discovered last night and it’s less than pocket and hand friendly size. ๐Ÿ–๏ธ

Today will be tropical storm conditions possible. Showers and possibly a thunderstorm before 2pm, then rain and possibly a thunderstorm after 2pm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. ๐ŸŒ€ High of 76 degrees at 1pm. Six degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around September 5th. Maximum dew point of 71 at 2pm. ๐Ÿ–๏ธ Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts between 1 and 2 inches possible. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. It was somewhat humid. The high last year was 84 degrees. The record high of 98 was set in 1955.

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 1:02 pm with sun having an altitude of 64.5ยฐ from the due south horizon (-6.4ยฐ vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.9 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ๐Ÿ… starts at 7:33 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (288ยฐ). ๐Ÿ“ธ The sunset is in the west-northwest (294ยฐ) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:13 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 10 seconds with dusk around 8:43 pm, which is one minute and 14 seconds earlier than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ The best time to look at the stars is after 9:24 pm. At sunset, look for rain ๐ŸŒง and thunderstorms ๐ŸŒฉ and temperatures around 70 degrees. The dew point will be 68 degrees. Blustery, ๐ŸŒฌ with a stiff breeze at 29 mph the west with gusts up to 40mph. Today will have 14 hours and 20 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 17 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will continue to have tropical storm conditions possible. Rain and possibly a thunderstorm before 11pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between 11pm and 2am. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Low of 65 degrees at 5am. Four degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 69 at 6pm. ๐Ÿ–๏ธ Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between three quarters and one inch possible. In 2019, we had mostly clear skies. It got down to 54 degrees. The record low of 43 occurred back in 1972.

I think when I go to pick up my truck ๐Ÿšš I’ll catch a bus ๐Ÿš down there.

Going to be a nice, hot summer weekend. ๐ŸŠ Saturday, sunny, with a high near 86. Maximum dew point of 65 at 10am. Sunday, sunny, with a high near 88. Maximum dew point of 67 at 11am. Typical average high for the weekend is 82 degrees.

I am still thinking next weekend I’m going to go to the Finger Lakes National Forest โ›บ ๐Ÿฎ for the week. I just got to figure out how many of those days I’ll be working – I want some days to swim ๐ŸŠ at Watkins Glen State Park ๐Ÿž and some time to kayak ๐Ÿ›ถ. With social distancing though I am going to avoid the parks in favor of more hiking in remote woods ๐ŸŒฒand kayaking.

Looking ahead, there are 13 weeks until Election Day 2020 ๐Ÿ—ณ๏ธ when the sun will be setting at 4:45 pm with dusk at 5:14 pm (Standard Time). On that day in 2019, we had partly sunny, rain showers and temperatures between 53 and 30 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 53 degrees. We hit a record high of 75 back in 1990.

Paddling through Pond Lilies

Map: Albert J. Woodford Memorial State Forest
Map: Brooktrout And Deep Lake

First new blog posts using my new phone! ๐Ÿ“ฑ

First new blog posts using my new phone! ๐Ÿ“ฑ

So far I’m pretty happy with my new phone. It was $60 plus tax and ten for the protective case and it’s much nicer than my old phone which wasn’t charging properly anymore. As much as I hate to throw away something that still works, the truth is my old phone wasn’t charging ๐Ÿ”Œ properly and that was going to cause problems with work if my phone was dead when I needed to get client calls.

Map: Green Mountain National Forest North
SVGZ Graphic: How Asians Voted in NYS in 2020