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Japanese Stiltgrass – NYIS

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Japanese Stiltgrass – NYIS

apanese stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum), also known as Nepalese browntop and Asian stiltgrass, replaces native vegetation in a wide range of ecosystems including forested floodplains, forest edges, stream banks, fields, trails, and ditches. It thrives as a weed in lawns and gardens. Japanese stiltgrass grows well in many light conditions (from deeply shaded hemlock forests to sunny open fields), prefers damp conditions, and often can be found in disturbed areas. It expands into dense stands of grass that prevent desirable vegetation from growing.
Thematic Map: Albany County Population Density - 3D Rendering

Gilded White House

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Every time I see pictures of the White House with all the tacky gold-leaf covered walls, I can’t help but imagine come December 2028, all of that crap will be ripped off the wall and tossed in a dumpster in back of White House. No other president is going to want such garish embellishments, especially if they are cheap and nasty clap-and-trap from Home Depot spray painted with fake gold paint as I expect they are.

Smoking

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Wldlife smoke blows in from Canada as seen on MODIS Aqua - July 14, 2026.

Map: Goldmine Stream Falls

I guess the air conditioning is nice on the bus πŸͺ­

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Certainly would be cooler then riding the bike to work. It’s just hot.

I think it’s been a long time since I’ve been home during a heat wave. 🫠 Usually when we have a real scorcher, I head north to the Adirondacks or am out on summer vacation. 🩴 But this was a midweek heat wave and it would have been difficult to just append it on the weekend. While I slept well – I’ve been so tired lately – it was just hot and sticky. I was going to just have oatmeal πŸ₯ž and cold coffee from yesterday β˜• but somehow I ended up making pancakes πŸ“ with honey and strawberries, with a second pot of fresh coffee. 

Last night was just hot when I got off the bus 🚡‍♀️ πŸ˜… and I just decided to lay back in bed. πŸ›Œ I got watching a video about styrofoam chemistry – and somehow you know you watch one suggested video on how it can be condensed and recycled, and next your learning about production of EPS and how it’s different from the XPS they use in building insulation. This morning, I finished off the last of eggs I had gotten from Walmart making up the pancakes, stuffed it in white trash bag, and thought a bit about the black smoke and particularly pungent smoke from styrofoam when it doesn’t burn hot. πŸ”₯ Back in the day, I used to use so many styrofoam plates both camping and at home during the summer months, and they certainly did make things burn hot. All those toxins, lol. 🀣 Us country boys at heart, doing hick shit. πŸ‘©‍🌾 Ah, smell of freedom and the whiff of my parents neighbors hogs 🐷 driving past the other day. Maybe it’s because I love fire, and want to learn more about the chemistry πŸ‘©‍πŸ”¬ of the things I send up in smoke and watch being mounded on the outskirts of the city but lately I’ve be super interested in learning all about various chemicals used in industry.

I thought about riding 🚡‍♂️ in today, but it would be hot. πŸͺ­ The air quality is bad and I’d be dripping in sweat by the time I got to the office. Must be from all that styrofoam, my F-350 SuperDuty that’s been parked since Saturday, the Greenies who styrofoam and black smoke horrifies, Climate Change and of course the wildfires burning in Canada, which are probably due to in part from Climate Change and the F-350 but maybe not so much the styrofoam. 🌲 Yesterday, the local was running so late in the evening with the construction 🚧 I was able to catch the earlier home. And then it was hot and I just laid by the fan. My CDTA Navigator Card πŸͺͺ is so much more handy than the silly phone πŸ“± app which is much more problematic than I’d hope. Maybe I’ll luck out again, and catch the earlier bus home tonight, but does lightening strike in same place twice? I’ll check the real time bus info when I get off the shuttle, otherwise I guess it’s walking laps under the Plaza. Kind of a wired day with the wildfire smoke, the sky is yellowish-gray. 🎴 Can’t smell it but the brief moments running over to the bus, I could feel it burn a bit. Maybe it’s all in my imagination. πŸ’­

Still looking through replies to my ad about selling the old truck. πŸ›» One person looked at it, a few others expressed interest, but nothing quite yet. The initial flurry of action made me think maybe I set the price too low, but things have started to dry up, and I don’t know how much I’m willing to go below my current number. I need to post on more listings and share more, that’s a project for a rainy Saturday. πŸ‘©‍πŸ’» I can either bring my personal laptop home or maybe just use my work laptop for that. Depends if I ride in on Friday I guess. Might be a better day to bus it in with rain expected by evening. 🚴‍♀️ I might bike it in tomorrow though.

The weekend plans for Schoharie don’t seem likely based on the forecast. β›ˆ What was going to just be scatter thunderstorms now looks like all day rain for the Saturday. Maybe I can schedule in showing off my old truck this weekend to potential buyers. πŸ›» I do want to get away at least one more weekend before summer vacation, just to really give my new rig a good test to work out the bugs. 🐞 Like I’m still trying to figure out why sometimes the interior lights don’t fully shut off when I close the doors. Maybe the following weekend I can take a long weekend to Schoharie or the Potholers, depending on how hot it is.

Map: Carters Pond Wildlife Management Area
Map: Eldridge Swamp State Forest