I put on the John Denver record again and walked down to the lake. Saw another shooting star, three since Wednesday. ๐
November 7, 2020 Night
Good evening! Partly clear and 52 degrees at the Stoney Pond State Forest. There is a west-southwest breeze at 6 mph. ๐. The dew point is 43 degrees.
Walked down to Stoney Pond but there is enough clouds โ๏ธ that the Syracuse light pollution makes the stars โจ much more difficult than previous nights. Came back to camp and sat by the fire ๐ฅ for a while. Definitely some nice scenery hiking along the Canastota-Cazenovia Trail and poking around Fenner. The wind farm and all the various livestock farms up that way are quite interesting to see. ๐ฎ It’s amazing what people can make from the earth ๐ tillage and grass. ๐ God bless the grass.
Joe Biden is the president elect and I listened to his speech ๐ค๐ด๐ป. Honestly with socially distant drive in rally due to COVID-19 it sounded like it was held at the median of the Belt Parkway. ๐ I get it but it’s weird to hear car horns at a political speech. I voted for Jo Jergenson but I think Biden will be a much better president than Trump. Biden has so much more experience, he listens to experts, and he’s a calming influence during the pandemic. ๐พBut even if I felt differently, I don’t have much say in the presidency beyond a bubble I marked on the voting Scantron machine. ๐๏ธ I don’t do many political rally anymore – protests are fun but I’m not interested in defending any particular cause. ๐ค
Maybe Trump to a certain extent was a good thing. ๐คฌ He tore down the old rules about obscenity, brought down the presidency in some ways to the people by replacing the class and decorum of the office with that of a cheap suit worn by Billy Fuscillo. ๐ด๏ธ He made politicians a lot more free on their social media and many ways elevated politics over bureaucary and decorum which had gotten awful stuffy ๐ง for the modern era. I think it’s fine for the world to know the president poops ๐ฉ and tweets from his gold plated toilet ๐ฝ. His three justices he appointed in the Supreme Court will provide an effective check on the new administration. โ No one party should be too powerful. ๐ข That farm I passed with the very well used and blacked with melted plastic all over them burn barrels had a big ol Trump flag out front. But as a farmer I’m sure he’s done more than most to conserve our earth ๐ and probably doesn’t send much trash to the landfill. ๐ฅ
Tonight will be mostly clear ๐, with a low of 47 degrees at 6am. 13 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around September 27th. Southwest wind around 6 mph. In 2019, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 23 degrees. The record low of 18 occurred back in 1971.
I don’t know it feels colder than that already, โ but truth be told it was so warm and sunny today that everything seems a lot colder then it is. But sitting the next to the campfire ๐ฅwith my vest and cowboy hat ๐ค it’s quite warm. I realize that there is so much I can’t change about the world today but I can continue to enjoy my own life free and work to save for a better tomorrow. ๐ต The politicians are going to do what they do but I can’t turn off the radio ๐ป and avoid the social media. ๐ฑ I don’t think I’ll ever own of those colored televisions ๐บ,
Tonight will have a Last Quarter ๐ Moon with 54% illuminated. The moon will rise at 10:33 pm. The Beaver ๐ป Moon is on Monday, November 23. The darkest hour is at 11:47 pm, followed by dawn at 6:16 am, and sun starting to rise at 6:46 am in the east-southeast (112ยฐ) and last for 3 minutes and 9 seconds. Sunrise is one minute and 16 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ The golden hour ends at 7:27 am with sun in the east-southeast (119ยฐ). Tonight will have 13 hours and 59 minutes of darkness, an increase of 2 minutes and 26 seconds over last night.
Tomorrow will be sunny ๐, with a high of 68 degrees at 2pm. 17 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around September 27th. Maximum dew point of 46 at 5pm. Light west wind. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning with more sun in the afternoon. The high last year was 37 degrees. The record high of 75 was set in 1975. 1.7 inches of snow fell back in 1894.โ
Tomorrow I have to take down camp โบ, officially by eleven o’clock when my three night tenancy expires. I will miss the wild Hill and Hollow country of Madison County ๐ฎ but it’s not going away any time soon. I mean this was the exact same campsite I was at a decade ago. But with the mild weather โ I haven’t been able to enjoy the solitude that was the case a decade ago – people are enjoying the nice weather. Can’t blame them. Me too!
Central NY ๐ฝ is different than the Adirondacks or the Green Mountains but I like the agricultural landscape for a change. ๐ฎ There are a lot of neat trails and scenic vistas out along this way. I honestly haven’t spent a lot of time out in Cazenovia area in years and the Trailway is quite nice. ๐ถ๐ป That said, Chittenango Falls was way too crowded but particularly the high country part of the Trailway was super quiet. ๐คซ I just wish more people would wear masks on the trail ๐ท. Apparently social distancing isn’t as popular here. ๐ฃ๏ธ
Iysa beautiful landscape out here, and some day I want to live back out in the country ๐ก๐ฎ๐ท but not one of those big fancy houses. More ramshackle like those often rundown farms I pass on by. There is something so beautiful about how nature grows back and works to take over everything – the abandoned homes and equipment, and just the mud and muck that can be found on every farm.
In four weeks on December 5 the sun will be setting in the west-southwest (239ยฐ) at 4:28 pm,๐ which is 18 minutes and 45 seconds earlier then tonight. In 2019 on that day, we had mostly cloudy, snow showers and temperatures between 38 and 28 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 40 and 25 degrees. The record high of 65 degrees was set back in 2001.
I may do a December trip โบ but I don’t really know, as I expect soon for remote work ๐ป to be ending and I don’t have a lot of vacation time left at this point before the end of the year. I feel like the abnormally warm weather is soon to switch to be cold โ and snow ๐จ. And once the roads are icy and snow covered, camping season is likely done for me unless I hot tent ๐ช locally as I’ve done some years during the holidays.
Looking ahead, Regular Deer Season in Southern Zone ๐ฆ is in 2 weeks, Small Business Saturday ๐๏ธ is in 3 weeks, Repeal of Prohibition Day ๐บ is in 4 weeks, Boxing Day ๐ฅ is in 7 weeks, Static Electric Shock Day ๐งผ is in 9 weeks, National Cheese Lovers Day ๐ง is in 11 weeks, Save the Pine Bush Turns 43 ๐ฆ is in 13 weeks, 5:30 PM Sunset ๐ is in 15 weeks and Snow Moon ๐ is in 16 weeks.
I don’t understand why people care so much about the presidency
I don’t understand why people care so much about the presidency. I can’t think of how the White House has ever affected me.
I don’t own a color television so I don’t have to worry about indigestion during dinner. But there really aren’t that many FBI agents on the highways writing parking and speeding tickets.
State government is vastly more important than some remote federal government that doesn’t effect the lives of ordinary citizens.
My gawd Chittenango Falls State Park is crowded. ๐๏ธ๐ฉโ๐ฉโ๐งโ๐ง๐ฒ๐จโ๐จโ๐ง
My gawd Chittenango Falls State Park is crowded. ๐๏ธ๐ฉโ๐ฉโ๐งโ๐ง๐ฒ๐จโ๐จโ๐ง
I guess that’s to be expected on such a truly beautiful day. I’m just trying to maintain social distancing and be as generally anti-social as possible because I don’t want the Corona and I like my solitude. I know the back trails.
Went for a drive around Fenner to see the wind farm and see the great views from the viewshed. Your up high there with great views of the gorge, Oneida Lake and many scenic farms. Plus it’s always fun to see all the farms that still use burn barrels for their household trash and net wrap. Lol! I stopped briefly at the Fenner Wind Farm Discovery Center. And I don’t know, the turbine blades are big but not as big as you might think.
Driving the back roads, singing along with Merle Haggard’s I’m Just a White Boy looking at the piles of manure, rusty tractors junk cars and falling down houses rapidly being taken over by the brambles. God’s Country, the wild and free life.
Google Photos says I watched the sunrise today from the exact same location as November 7, 2010. ๐
Google Photos says I watched the sunrise today from the exact same location as November 7, 2010. ๐
A decade has come and gone but much remains the same. I still love spending time out in Madison County, I continue to work towards owning my own land out in country where I can do my own thing and enjoy my own life. Have fires, watch a million more sunrises and sunsets, listen to coyotes and the cattle bellowing in the distance.
Goals take time, but slowly and steadily savings grows. I work hard, make good money. Work comes first but I still make a lot of time to enjoy the wilderness. I’m trying to invest heavily and save for retirement, so when the time comes I can have my own land, burn what I want, have livestock I kill myself and eat, and own whatever guns I want without asking government permission.
Good things come to those who wait and plan. I’m committed to building a better future for myself out in the country, maybe in a place like Madison County although with fewer restrictions than New York. But it just takes a lot of hard work, step by step to get to a better tomorrow.
November 7, 2020 Morning
Good morning! Happy Saturday. Finally the weekend in Biden’s America! Just biding my time this morning, watching the sun rise โ, next to the heater on this quite mild November morning. While it’s not over until the fat ladies in the electoral college sing ๐ถ, hopefully with masks ๐ท on, it seems likely to it will be Biden this time. Two weeks to Regular Deer Season in Southern Zone ๐ฆ. Late this year as Sunday was November 1st. Mostly sunny and 38 degrees at the Stoney Pond State Forest. There is a west-southwest breeze at 7 mph. ๐.
Going to be a beautiful day โ as witnessed by the dawn and the sunrise ๐ . Quiet in the woods except for some birds ๐ฆ and the rumble on the distant four lanes of US 20. Looking forward to hiking around Chittenango State Park and maybe some of the Link Trail outside of Fenner. ๐ถ๐ป Then get back to camp โบ before another long and dark night. But at least it’s not particularly cold.
Today will be sunny ๐, with a high of 69 degrees at 2pm. 18 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around September 24th. Maximum dew point of 47 at 10am. West wind 7 to 9 mph. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning with more sun in the afternoon. The high last year was 46 degrees. The record high of 75 was set in 1938. 4.5 inches of snow fell back in 1886.โ
Solar noon ๐ is at 11:47 am with sun having an altitude of 30.7ยฐ from the due south horizon (-39.8ยฐ vs. 6/21). It’s amazing how low the noon day sky these days is. A six foot person will cast a 10.1 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ๐ starts at 4:07 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (241ยฐ). ๐ธ The sunset is in the west-southwest (248ยฐ) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 4:49 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 8 seconds with dusk around 5:17 pm, which is one minute and 10 seconds earlier than yesterday. ๐ The best time to look at the stars is after 5:52 pm. At sunset, look for clear skies ๐ and temperatures around 67 degrees. There will be a west breeze at 7 mph. Today will have 10 hours and one minute of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 27 seconds over yesterday.
Tonight will be mostly clear ๐, with a low of 46 degrees at 6am. 12 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around September 29th. Southwest wind around 7 mph. In 2019, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 23 degrees. The record low of 18 occurred back in 1971.
As previously noted, there are 2 weeks until Regular Deer Season in Southern Zone ๐ฆ when the sun will be setting at 4:34 pm with dusk at 5:05 pm. On that day in 2019, we had partly sunny, shallow fog and temperatures between 47 and 26 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 46 degrees. We hit a record high of 70 back in 1931.
November 6, 2020 Night
Good evening! Mostly clear and 52 degrees at the Stoney Pond State Forest. ๐ Calm wind. The dew point is 46 degrees.
It’s a nice mild evening under the stars โจ laying back under the very starry skies. I dimmed the lights so I could see the stars better and because I’m a little low on power after charging my work laptop while I was working at the Cazenovia laptop. ๐ Lot of sun but the solar panel angle flat on the truck isn’t very good this time of the year.
The moon is rising now, ๐ and being such a clear evening should be a very nice moonlit evening. While I don’t plan on rushing out tomorrow, truth be told that with the time change ๐ darkness will return early. It’s maybe not as warm as a summer night by still pretty nice. A lot of people up here tonight, which is unusual for November but it’s so mild out.
Not as quiet up here as last night ๐คซ, as there are a lot of people camping up here for November โบ but I guess that’s to be expected with the unusually mild weather this year. In contrast, in 2018 was a terribly cold November. โ I’m just happy that I can get away and I’m not paying for a shit ton of heat at home. I brought my camp heater with me but I doubt I’ll need it any time this weekend. It’s still in the bag.
Had more hot coca โ and dipped Halloween Candy ๐ฌ in it, watching as the wrappers melted and burnt in the fire ๐ฅ. So much easier when you can use your paper plates and just burn the trash rather than washing out the bottles and cans for pretend recycling โป. I can’t wait until eventually live out in the country and just burn the burnables.
Tonight will be mostly clear ๐, with a low of 43 degrees at 6am. Nine degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around October 7th. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm after midnight. In 2019, we had clear skies in the evening, which became cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 32 degrees. The record low of 18 occurred back in 1962.
All and all it was a pretty good day, โบ and while I had some online meetings and work to do it was in general a pretty quiet day so I took a long lunch break and hiked around Cazenovia and then down around Nelson Swamp before returning back to camp before night quickly fell again. Mornings are still quite dark although the moonlight was pretty bright before dawn. ๐ Had a bit of the runs come morning but I squatted off my tailgate and sprayed it on the ground and just sholved up the poopy leaves into the fire pit come morning.
Tonight will have a Last Quarter ๐ Moon with 64% illuminated. The moon will rise at 9:24 pm. The Beaver ๐ป Moon is on Sunday, November 22. The darkest hour is at 11:47 pm, followed by dawn at 6:15 am, and sun starting to rise at 6:45 am in the east-southeast (112ยฐ) and last for 3 minutes and 8 seconds. Sunrise is one minute and 16 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ The golden hour ends at 7:26 am with sun in the east-southeast (119ยฐ). Tonight will have 13 hours and 56 minutes of darkness, an increase of 2 minutes and 27 seconds over last night.
Tomorrow will be sunny ๐, with a high of 69 degrees at 2pm. 18 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around September 24th. Maximum dew point of 49 at 11am. Calm wind becoming west around 6 mph. A year ago, we had light rain in the morning with more sun in the afternoon. The high last year was 46 degrees. The record high of 75 was set in 1938. 4.5 inches of snow fell back in 1886.โ
Tomorrow I plan to hike around Chittenango State Park ๐ and maybe some of the Link trail ๐ถ๐ป and the Fenner Wind Farm or some other other parks.
In four weeks on December 4 the sun will be setting in the west-southwest (240ยฐ) at 4:28 pm,๐ which is 19 minutes and 43 seconds earlier then tonight. In 2019 on that day, we had partly cloudy, snow showers and temperatures between 36 and 19 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 40 and 26 degrees. The record high of 63 degrees was set back in 1998.
Come December I might do another trip โบ but it depends on the weather. I don’t have a lot of vacation time left but it would be nice to do some winter camping before the end of the year. ๐ฒ
Looking ahead, Average Night Below Freezing ๐ is in 1 week, Buy Nothing Day ๐๏ธ is in 3 weeks, First Sunday of Advent โ๏ธ is a month away, Average High is 40 ๐จ is in 4 weeks, Saint Nicholas Day ๐ is a month away, Bake Cookies Day ๐ช is in 6 weeks, Christmas ๐ is in 7 weeks, New Years Day 2021 ๐ is in 8 weeks, Bubble Bath Day ๐งผ is in 9 weeks, 38th Birthday ๐ is in 12 weeks and Save the Pine Bush Turns 43 ๐ฆ is in 3 months.





