John Boyd Thacher State Park, is situated along the Helderberg Escarpment, one of the richest fossil-bearing formations in the world. Even as it safeguards six miles of limestone cliff-face, rock-strewn slopes, woodland and open fields, the park provides a marvelous panorama of the Hudson-Mohawk Valleys and the Adirondack and Green Mountains. The park has volleyball courts, playgrounds, ball fields and numerous picnic areas with nine reservable shelters. Interpretive programs are offered year-round, including guided tours of the famous Indian Ladder Trail. There are over 25 additional miles of trails for summer hiking and mountain biking, and winter cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, hiking, and snowmobiling.
I forgot my lunch this morning, and had to run home, cuss myself out. Of course it didn’t matter as the early express didn’t show up until after the later express. Which is sort of bad, because the later express runs a half hour earlier. I only was catching the earlier express so I could walk before work, so in the end it didn’t really matter much.
Cloudy and 60 degrees at the Elm Ave Park and Ride. ☁️ Calm wind. The dew point is 59 degrees. Just kind of a gray and muggy day out today. Lots of low clouds around.
I was thinking next weekend would be nice to go up to Speculator for a long weekend 🍂 but there is so little color change this year due to being such a mild autumn. Yes, it looks like a big cool down this weekend, but I don’t see much frost in the mean-time. I guess September 24-25 is actually kind of early, though some years by now it’s past peak especially in Moose River Plains. Maybe the following weekend?
We are still in a drought, so the rain we get later on this afternoon is well needed. The weekend though looks real nice, but maybe quite autumn like.
Today. Feels like … September 1st.
A chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after noon. High near 79. South wind 3 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.
and
79 degrees
,68 max dew point,
6:59 sunset.
Tonight. Feels like … August 26th.
Showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 9pm. Low around 59. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
and
59 degrees
,
6:39 sunrise.
Tuesday. Feels like … September 17th.
A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1pm, then a chance of showers between 1pm and 2pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Partly sunny.
Northwest wind 5 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
and
74 degrees
,63 max dew point,
6:58 sunset.
Tuesday Night. Feels like … September 9th.
Partly cloudy.
Northwest wind 3 to 6 mph.
and
55 degrees
,
6:40 sunrise.
Wednesday. Feels like … September 11th.
A chance of showers after 2pm. Partly sunny.
Calm wind becoming south 5 to 9 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
and
76 degrees
,61 max dew point,
6:56 sunset.
Wednesday Night. Feels like … August 30th.
Showers before 11pm, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm between 11pm and 2am, then showers likely after 2am. Low around 58. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Did last week ever end? I mean really. It was nice get to away for the weekend but it came and went too quickly. I kind of feel nauseous this morning. I think I have a bad case of the Monday’s.
Partly cloudy and 65 degrees at the Elm Ave Park and Ride. 🌤️ Calm wind. The dew point is 64 degrees. They really could really drain the swamp this morning, it’s so humid. Not the actual wetlands but everywhere else where it’s so wet and humid.
It was nice to get away for a night ⛺ but it seems like it was just a blink of the eye 👁 before it was done. But at least Rennselearville State Forest isn’t a very long trip, I should keep it in mind for the winter especially when I want to get away and there is a lot of snow. I doubt camping is a popular thing there in the winter so I should be able to get the site whenever. Maybe that will be New Years Eve place. ✨
It’s already been raining up north on and off most of the weekend. But it will push south this afternoon. I’m actually sitting in the hammock watching the clouds roll in. There was definitely red skies in the morning as the sun rose and you can feel the breeze now.
Looks like next weekend may be cool but it might be perfect for enjoying the colors up north. Might want to bring my propane heater if I decide to go north next weekend. Probably work remote on Friday and then maybe do Watch Hill which is perfect for seeing the colors. Plus it’s Moose Festival Weekend in Indian Lake.
Today. Feels like …
September 17th.
A slight chance of showers, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Partly sunny.
West wind around 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
and
74 degrees
,60 max dew point,
7:03
sunset.
Tonight. Feels like …
August 30th.
A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy.
West wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
and
58 degrees
,
6:39
sunrise.
Monday. Feels like …
September 26th.
Showers and thunderstorms likely, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 4pm. High near 70. Southwest wind 8 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
and
70 degrees
,60 max dew point,
7:01
sunset.
Monday Night. Feels like …
September 9th.
Showers and thunderstorms likely before 11pm, then a chance of showers between 11pm and 2am. Mostly cloudy.
West wind around 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
and
55 degrees
,
6:40
sunrise.
Tuesday. Feels like …
September 30th.
Mostly sunny.
West wind 9 to 11 mph.
and
68 degrees
,57 max dew point,
6:59
sunset.
Tuesday Night. Feels like …
September 19th.
Partly cloudy.
and
51 degrees
,
6:42
sunrise.
Wednesday. Feels like …
September 17th.
A chance of showers after 2pm. Mostly sunny.
Chance of precipitation is 40%.
and
74 degrees
,58 max dew point,
6:57
sunset.
Wednesday Night. Feels like …
September 19th.
A chance of showers before 8pm, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm between 8pm and 2am, then a chance of showers after 2am. Mostly cloudy.
I wasn’t sure what my plans were for the weekend so I decided to stay relatively close to home and go up to Rennselearville State Forest for a quick overnight.
Partly cloudy and 59 degrees at the Rensselaerville State Forest. 🌥 There is a west-southwest breeze at 11 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 56 degrees.
Hiked about 10 miles yesterday up Mount Pisgah hill overlooking the Catskills 🚶 and various haul roads. Muddy up here after all the recent rain. 💦 More expected tomorrow. Been playing with my phone 📱 and using Google Lens to identify various plants. 🌸 Been doing some reading 📖 and watching some YouTube.
It was a nice night 🌃 not too cold but it’s dark a little after seven now especially with this campsite that is heavily shadowed to the south with trees. 🎄 Had a nice fire once it got going 🔥 but the wood was wet because the woods more generally is soaked from all the rain they’ve had lately.
I don’t often come up to Rensselaerville State Forest to camp ⛺ these days as there isn’t a lot to do besides hike in summer and ski 🎿 in the winter. There are some nice views and campsite 2 is pretty nice but still the options are a bit limited although I do think that I will return come winter for winter camping 🏕. Might be a closer alternative especially for New Years Eve. Nice thing is the road is plowed year round though it can be icy in the winter.
Been quiet 🤫 and nice, although it’s not as wilderness as the Adirondacks. Small game season, a lot of pew pew, lawn mowers and ATVs in the distance. Saw a mink yesterday crossing the road 🦦 lot of song sparrows but fewer butterflies 🦋 than I would expect. I guess they’re not wrong that the monarch butterfly is in decline. Been listening to some cows moo in the distance. 🐮
Taking camp down slowly, lying in the hammock 😴 enjoying the nice breeze. I want to do one more hike up here this morning and then visit the falls at Huyck Preserve before going out to visit the folks. 👪 Started to clear out again. Been a nice weekend that hasn’t required too much packing or set up or even gas ⛽ for that matter. I’m going to plan more trips on up here.
Break the Headphone Jack On Your Laptop?
Get an Inexpensive USB-to-Audio Dongle.
Last week I did something stupid — I left my headphones plugged into my laptop when I headed off to the office, breaking off the headphone jack in my less then two year old laptop. I found an inexpensive, plug-and-play alternative that works just a well as a headphone jack.
An USB-to-Audio dongle plugs into any USB port or hub and provides an analog headphone jack audio out. It’s a fairly tiny device with a male USB connector on one side and a headphone jack on the others. iPhone users often use a similar device to connect analog headphones to their phones.
The dongles are under $10 on Ebay and Amazon and can often be found on AliExpress direct from China for less then $5. The sound quality on the one I bought was basically the same as the laptop. The dongles works well, because USB-to-Audio standard is part of the USB standard and most software automatically supports it just like a conventional headphone jack.
