A cloudy and dark Tuesday for rounding out August ☁️
Listening to Rich Men North of Richmond as I’m out for the morning walk, living in the new world with and old soul. A big pot of brown rice, red and green lentils are cooking down for the week – already had my first cup of coffee and looking forward to cream of wheat with chia seeds, yogurt and frozen fruit.
Good morning! Happy Tuesday. Dark and gray and 64 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☁ But when there is no hope, there is help – see today’s forecast in the third paragraph. It’s already clearing to the east. There is a south-southeast breeze at 5 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 64 degrees.
I was hoping to ride home last night 🚲 but when I started down Madison it started raining ☔ and I ran over to Broadway in front of the old Union Train Station and put my bicycle on the bus 🚍 and rode home. I should remember that is always an option and riding even one way still burns calories and saves money 💵. Bike rides secure but bounces a lot on some of the bumps. Heck of it is was just a light drizzle I’d probably had been fine to ride home but whatever – my left eye 👁️ was kind of irritated at any rate.
Today will be partly sunny 🌞, with a high of 81 degrees at 4pm. One degree above normal, which is similar to a typical day around August 27th. Maximum dew point of 67 at 6pm. Going to be sweating a bit on the ride out of Norman’s Kill. Maybe not a good day for making those spinach pizza things I’ve been thinking about cooking this afternoon. It will depend how hot and sweaty I am when I get home and if I want to ride out to Voorheesville in twilight of the day. Maybe tomorrow with the rain. South wind 5 to 8 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. It was sticky. The high last year was 91 degrees. The record high of 96 was set in 2018.
Wearing my glasses into work today 👓 so I can totally have the four-eyes are better then two eyes look today. I don’t l like my limited view from the glasses, but I also don’t want to do any more damage to my sore eyes. I am hopeful by mid-day and evening commute I can be back to contacts. Then assuming the weather doesn’t crap out, it will be back down the Madison Street Hill, and then to Albany County Rail Trail making the climb 😅 up through the Normans Kill George 🚲 to home.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:57 pm with sun having an altitude of 56.8° from the due south horizon (-14° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 3.9 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 6:59 pm with the sun in the west (277°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (284°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:37 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 58 seconds with dusk around 8:04 pm, which is one minute and 40 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Blue 🌝 Moon in the southeast (124°) at an altitude of 7° from the horizon, 226,316 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:42 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and temperatures around 76 degrees. The dew point will be 67 degrees. There will be a south breeze at 7 mph. Tomorrow will have 13 hours and 18 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 45 seconds over today.
Went to bed 🛏 early around 7:45 and I was asleep by eight. My left eye 👁️was very irritated as I forgot my contact solution when I went out to my parents house yesterday overnight and by afternoon it was a mess. Kind of a dark and rainy evening ☔ and because I get up so early it’s hard for me to stay up late. Had a great dinner of tofu – zucchini parmesan with the sauce made from delicious paste tomatoes that I got from my parents house. 🍅 Dessert was opening up that cantaloupe that I got at the store 🍈 on Sunday. Good stuff.
Tonight will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 4am. 🌧 Low of 66 degrees at 6am. Seven degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 67 at 6pm. 🏖️ South wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It became very sticky as the night progressed. It got down to 66 degrees. The record low of 38 occurred back in 1982.
Yesterday, I got a call from a friend who was a nurse 👩⚕️ in her younger years, concerned about all my recent weight loss. Apparently a lot of people have been talking about how much thinner I’ve gotten, concerned that I’m not eating enough. 📩 She sent me an article about the dangers of loosing weight too quickly, with fatty liver disease and other things that can happen if your crashing with your calorie intake. But truth be told, But the thing is when you don’t eat a lot of processed foods and eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, 🍏 it’s hard to eat excessively and keep pounds on. 🤰Trust me, I’m often very stuffed after eating and keep filling my mouth throughout the day with quality food. I don’t just eat 3 times a day, but non-stop from morning to night.
The heck of it is despite all my weight loss, I am eating more then ever and spending more on food. 💸 Some of it’s inflation but also I’ve been trying to expand my pantry and keeping healthy eating interesting, with new and different foods every week. At first I was very picky about what should be in my diet 🐠🔍 but now I focus more on overall, doing a lot more home cooking with quality ingredients and very little sugar, saturated fats, and a reasonable amount of carbs. And lots of fruits and vegetables, consistent with Harvard guidelines for such things. 🍽 That said, I am surprised how much I’ve lost even since May. The 36×32 jeans I bought this weekend which I was afraid would be too tight, where almost too loose, almost necessitating a drop to 34. Figuring a year ago was I was primarily wearing 40 inch jeans, and even at times some of them were a bit tight, I’ve become so much thinner and healthier. I think it’s doing the stairs at work and lately bicycling to work. It’s not the limiting the plate size for sure.
I did do that physical back in late May, 👩⚕️ I’ve thought about reaching out to my Health Insurance’s nurses line to see if they have any advice on my recent weight loss. I am not concerned as I think it’s just I”m burning more calories then I’m taking in ⚖ but folks still seem to be very concerned. I am hearing that from a lot of people. Maybe I should see if my insurance covers the visiting of a dietitian to help me better understand my food choices, and come up with a better balanced meals, though I think my food choices are basically the consensus of what most of the health experts are saying, 🥑 and I’m NOT under in-taking healthy fats or proteins — or have some kind of undiagnosed disease. It’s not just that one nurse friend either, it’s relatives, co-workers and others.
On this day in 1966, the Beatles perform their last concert before paying fans 🎸 at Candlestick Park in a wicked thunderstorm ⛈ San Francisco. After this, if you wanted to hear the Beatles, you had to listen to them on vinyl records or AM radio. 📻 Their next album would be Sargent Pepper’s Lonely Club Heart band, and it would have a dramatically different sound then the Love, Love Me Do records. 🎶
I have Labor Day Weekend Off 🏕 including the Friday before so I can go up to camp bright and early. I probably will do like I did two week ago — pack Thursday night — leave very early, maybe before seven, get gas in Rotterdam, ⛽ then stop at Samdil Farm for sweet corn and vegetables and maybe meat, 🌽 🥩 Walmart for supplies 🛒 and then try to make Speculator as close to 9 AM as possible to get the campsite I want and get set up. Then hang out for a bit, have lunch, then maybe mountain bike 🚵♀️ in the afternoon and do some fishing. 🎣 Maybe kayak Indian Lake on Saturday, if not to choppy. 🛶 Saturday evening I might do an after-dark hike up Watch Hill to spot fire towers lit for the firetower light-the-night event. 🏃 🔦 Later in the weekend, probably Sunday or Labor Day I’ll have to go back down to Spectulator for some swimming. 🏊. Should be a wonderful weekend, especially with some fresh-locally sourced steak and shrimp. And so much delicious sweet corn and other good things to eat.
A picture perfect Labor Day Weekend 🇺🇸 weekend on tap. 😎 Friday, sunny high around 75 with a maximum dew point of 57 come 7 pm. Saturday, mostly sunny, with a high near 80. Maximum dew point of 61 at 4pm. Sunday, mostly sunny, with a high near 84. Maximum dew point of 65 at 1pm. Labor Day is going to warm, may hit 87 degrees with lots of sun. I’ll be on the kayak 🛶 on Lake Pleasant. Typical average high for the weekend is 79 degrees. Won’t be quite as warm up north.
Looking ahead, there are 9 weeks until Halloween 🎃 when the sun will be setting at 5:51 pm with dusk at 6:19 pm. On that day in 2022, we had partly cloudy, rain showers and temperatures between 64 and 37 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 56 degrees. We hit a record high of 75 back in 2019. Been interested in making some baked pumpkin dishes, come the autumn. Plus pumpkins are a lot of fun to shoot with the ol .22 rifle up in the woods.
Potholers – August 18, 2023
Very high water levels for summer during late summer 2023 on Potholers, Piseco-Powley Road.
Otego – Oneonta on Interstate 88
Enchanting, rural country south of Oneonta on a recently paved section of Interstate 88 which made for a nice ride.
Closing out summer weekends on this rainy Friday ☔
Next weekend is Labor Day Weekend, words that I find almost find hard to write. As that garage in Johnstown has on the sign, summer should get a speeding ticket.
Good morning! Yeah, it’s Friday! Clouds with a break in the rain and 65 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☁ There is a south-southeast breeze at 9 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 63 degrees. 0.52 inches of rain is expected before it ends tomorrow around 4 am.
Another day for busing it 🚍 as I’m not convinced that it won’t turn to heavy rain last night. At least this time I’m prepared with my rain coat 🧥 so that almost guarantees that it won’t rain. Next week at this time I’m hoping to be well on my way to Spectulator so I can set up camp ⛺ before nine o’clock for the long weekend. I’ll see if I can remote work otherwise I’ll take off a personal day.
Today will have showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 9am, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 9am. Cloudy 🌦, with a high of 75 degrees at 3pm. Six degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around September 14th. Maximum dew point of 70 at 2pm. South wind around 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. It could be a swamp for bicycling home, assuming it’s not raining. And I’m not convinced that will be the case. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with a few breaks of sun the afternoon. It was somewhat humid. The high last year was 87 degrees. The record high of 99 was set in 1947.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:59 pm with sun having an altitude of 58.2° from the due south horizon (-12.6° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 3.7 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:06 pm with the sun in the west (279°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (286°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:44 pm after setting for 3 minutes with dusk around 8:11 pm, which is one minute and 38 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Gibbous 🌔 Moon in the south (180°) at an altitude of 20° from the horizon, 232,021 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:49 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and thunderstorms 🌩 and temperatures around 73 degrees. The dew point will be 69 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Today will have 13 hours and 32 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 42 seconds over yesterday.
If it’s not raining too much today, 🍞 I am thinking of riding down to Hannaford and getting some whole-wheat flower and yeast so I can start experimenting with making bread again for the first time in years. Looking to make some simple, relatively healthy wholegrain bread as a way to mix up my diet more, especially with winter coming and wanting to have something to dip into the various vegetable soups I want to make come winter. 🍲 And maybe some more frozen fruit, though that could wait to the weekend as I sliced into the pineapple 🍍 last night and still have bananas left.
Tonight will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms before midnight, then a slight chance of showers between midnight and 5am. Patchy fog after midnight. Otherwise, mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 66 degrees at 6am. Seven degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 70 at 6pm. Light and variable wind. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It was humid. It got down to 62 degrees. The record low of 40 occurred back in 1942.
On this day in 1950, President Harry Truman orders the U.S. Army to seize control of the nation’s railroads to avert a strike🏗️ So much for the boy from Missouri being a socialist. 🇨🇳 For those looking for more processed food and unhealthy levels of salt in their diet, in 1958 world’s first publicly marketed instant noodles, 🍝 Chikin Ramen, are introduced by Taiwanese-Japanese businessman Momofuku Ando. And for us Linux users, in 1991 Linus Torvalds announces the first version of what will become Linux. 🐧
Tomorrow will have a slight chance of showers, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. Partly sunny 🌦, with a high of 79 degrees at 3pm. Two degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around September 1st. Maximum dew point of 66 at 9am. Northwest wind 5 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with a few breaks of sun the afternoon. It was somewhat humid. The high last year was 83 degrees. The record high of 98 was set in 1948.
John Wolcott’s funeral is on Saturday at ten AM, ⚱ so I will be needing to get up at the normal time, go for my walk, have breakfast 🥞 and then shower 🛀 and get on the suit and black tie. 👔 After the funeral, I am thinking I will run to Albany Walmart or maybe just Aldi’s as it’s out in the Colonie, then maybe to Indian Farms and Our Families Harvest to stock up on fresh fruit and vegetables, namely apples and sweet corn. 🍏 🌽 Also I’m quite interested in the Farmer’s Indian Market off Central. Might be some good spices and unusual vegetables at an affordable rate there. Plus bulk bags of rice, lentils and MSG. Got to have that MSG. 👹 Lol! Honest, it doesn’t turn you into a monster but it makes food taste so good.
Looking ahead to Sunday, partly sunny and cool, with a high near 74. ☀ North wind around 6 mph. Maximum dew point of 60 at 11am. Very autumn like. Should be a nice day for the clam bake with my parents. I’m actually tempted to get up early and do a hike or bike ride early in the morning. 🚴♀️ Typical average high for the weekend is 81 degrees.
Looking ahead, next Friday the Average High Falls To 79 🎑 when the sun will be setting at 7:31 pm with dusk at 7:59 pm. On that day in 2022, we had mostly sunny, rain showers and temperatures between 73 and 55 degrees. We hit a record high of 96 during the 1953 heat wave 🌊 . Summer comes to a close.
Riding the Hump Day 🐪
I guess the ride to work is more of a reverse hump as you ride down to the Hudson River through the gorge then head up the Madison Avenue Hill which I’m getting better at pedaling. That said, I do like how it feels when my heart is beating hard. 🚲
Good morning! What day is it? Hump Day, of course. Partly cloudy, the sun is rising and 54 degrees in Delmar for the morning walk. ⛅ Calm wind. The dew point is 52 degrees. Nice morning 🌅 as the sun rises, but it started out dark with the clouds and the later sunrise.
It looks like come Thursday with the rain I’ll be back to bussing it 🚍 so I guess it best to take advantage of the weather today. I’m out for the morning walk 🚶, breakfast and the shower 🚿. Something with zucchini for breakfast, I have too much currently. Probably fry them up with onions and garlic to keep the vampires 🧛♂️ away. That was supposed to be dinner last night but somehow when I got home 🏡 I just did edamame with rice – and some balsamic vinegar. I think I’ve worked off the extra pounds from the long weekend 🤰🏼 that was.
Today will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 79 degrees at 4pm. Two degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around September 1st. Maximum dew point of 56 at 9am. Light and variable wind. Should be a great day! Not too hot for the ride home. 🚲 A year ago, we had thunderstorm in the morning, which became thunderstorm by afternoon. It was very sticky. The high last year was 80 degrees. The record high of 94 was set in 1947.
Yesterday I cooked up hard boiled eggs 🥚 and a bag of red kidney beans to have later this week. Rode out to Five Rivers Environmental Education Center 🐦 for a while. Dessert yesterday was some cottage cheese and frozen mango. I’m saving the pineapple 🍍 for later in the week. Messed up the hard boiled eggs again — didn’t boil them enough, had to put them in a pot again, and ruined one or two of them when I tried to peal them and it I ended up with yoke everywhere. Walked 4 miles yesterday, rode 23 miles between the commute and Five Rivers.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:59 pm with sun having an altitude of 58.9° from the due south horizon (-11.9° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 3.6 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:09 pm with the sun in the west (280°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (287°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:47 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 1 seconds with dusk around 8:15 pm, which is one minute and 35 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the First Quarter 🌓 Moon in the south-southwest (208°) at an altitude of 20° from the horizon, 237,502 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:53 pm.
At sunset, look for mostly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 74 degrees. The dew point will be 54 degrees. Very pleasant evening! There will be a south-southeast breeze at 5 mph. Today will have 13 hours and 37 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 40 seconds over yesterday. Not sure what the evening will look like, but I could ride out to Voorheesville or Bender Melon Farm Preserve, 🍈 depending on the weather and the time. I have not been impressed by the peaches at the farmer’s market lately, 🍑 but the “eastern peaches” they have on sale on Hannaford are good and super cheap, which makes me think I should stop on my evening commute — as the rest of the week I’ll be busing it with rain coming.
Tonight will have increasing clouds ☁, with a low of 59 degrees at 6am. One degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around August 26th. Maximum dew point of 56 at 5am. Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph after midnight. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It was humid. It got down to 66 degrees. The record low of 42 occurred back in 1971.
On this day in 1970, César Chávez’s Salad Bowl strike, the largest farm worker strike in U.S. history, begins. 🥗 I’m not a real fan of salads, I don’t think they’re particularly nutritious and are often used as an excuse for unhealthy eating in the second course.
Cool and potentially rainy on Saturday. 😕 Saturday, a chance of showers after 2pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 75. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Maximum dew point of 65 at 11am. Might be okay for a bike ride after John Wolcott’s funeral, depends on the time though and if I go out to the folks house for clams. 🕹 But Sunday looks great, not too hot or sunny. Sunday, mostly sunny, with a high near 73. Maximum dew point of 58 at 10am. Typical average high for the weekend is 81 degrees.
A true sign of autumn coming, next Wednesday is Average High Falls To 79 ️Degrees ⛱️️️ when the sun will be setting at 7:35 pm with dusk at 8:03 pm — especially the earlier sunset. On that day in 2022, we had rain and temperatures between 90 and 66 degrees. We hit a record high of 98 during the 1953 heatwave. Then next Friday starts Labor Day Weekend. So soon it would seem.
