The Rattlesnake Hill Wildlife Management Area is a 5,100 acre upland tract, situated approximately eight miles west of Dansville, New York. Roughly two-thirds of the area lies in southern Livingston County, while the remaining third lies in northern Allegany County. The tract was purchased in the 1930’s under the Federal Resettlement Administration and is one of several such areas turned over to DEC for development as a wildlife management area.
The area is appropriately named after the Timber Rattlesnake, which may be occasionally found in the more remote sections of the “Hill”.
The area offers an interesting blend of upland habitats such as mature woodland, overgrown fields, conifer plantations, old growth apple orchards and open meadows.
The area is inhabited by a variety of game species and is open to public hunting. The white-tailed deer, wild turkey, ruffed grouse, grey squirrel, cottontail rabbit and woodcock are found on the area. An occasional snowshoe hare may be observed adjacent to thick creek bottom brush or conifer plantation habitats.
A number of small marsh units have been developed and provide limited hunting for waterfowl. Some of the area’s furbearing species such as mink, beaver and raccoon may be occasionally viewed at these marsh units.
I was on the fence about riding in today but I figured it would save a buck thirty and I figured even if the weather is crap for the evening I’m not going to be riding home as it’s dark out.
Good morning! Yeah, it’s Friday! Partly cloudy and 46 degrees at the Empire State Plaza. ⛅ There is a south breeze at 13 mph. 🍃. Temperatures will drop below freezing at Monday around noontime. ☃️
That wind is really whipping around on the Plaza 🌬️ but the actual ride in was quite pleasant. I’d like to get in 10,000 steps for the day 👣 but that might be hard as I have a one o’clock meeting 🧑💼 and I’m not sure if it will be nice enough to walk in the evening. Plus it’s a Friday and I’m tired but the 7 ¾ mile bike ride from Delmar to the office downtown 🏢 and the eighteen flights of stairs to my office has to count for something.
Today will be partly sunny 🌞, with a high of 63 degrees at 1pm. 14 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around October 13th. Maximum dew point of 50 at 4pm. South wind 13 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 44 degrees. The record high of 73 was set in 1928. 2.8 inches of snow fell back in 1992.❄
That’s a pretty impressive forecast to start the day out, and it was worth it to ride in. 🚲 I was a bit hesitant as the weather is going to be cool and windy 🌬 come the evening as the front pushes through that will bring rain for SZ opening day 🦌 and I’m planning on bringing my laptop home, 💻 and hauling the day pack with the laptop carrying case plus loading my bike on the bus 🚌 can be a bit of a armful but I’ve done it before. Bike will ride good on the bus even if it’s windy I’m sure, as there is plenty of wind pushing on the bike every other day I ride the bus with my bike on the expressway.
Yesterday I got sweet onions 🧅 and that was the first thing I chopped up this morning and fried up with spinach, mushrooms 🍄 tomatoes 🍅 and eggs 🥚. You know a good fiber and protein rich breakfast. 🍳 When I make up eggs, it’s rarely more than the eggs are glue to be used with all those delicious 😋 vegetables.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 11:41 am with sun having an altitude of 28.4° from the due south horizon (-42.4° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 11.1 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 3:50 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (237°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (245°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 4:32 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 13 seconds with dusk around 5:01 pm, which is 52 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the First Quarter 🌓 Moon in the south-southwest (198°) at an altitude of 18° from the horizon, 229,292 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 5:37 pm. At sunset, look for mostly cloudy skies ☁ and temperatures around 61 degrees. The dew point will be 50 degrees. Breezy, 18 mph breeze ⛅ from the south with gusts up to 30mph. Should be a pretty mild evening. But windy. Today will have 9 hours and 45 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 6 seconds over yesterday.
Maybe I will be able to do an evening walk 🚶♀️ after all. I will see on how cold and windy it is out this afternoon. I might also walk down to the library, and play with remote sensing data down at the library. But first more of that pea soup 🍲 and homemade bread that I made up yesterday and proved to be a good dinner. Plus maybe I’ll fry up more apples 🍎 and bananas with that avocado oil 🥑 which is great because I can use a ton of heat to cook and brown things without reaching the smoke point.
Tonight will have showers, mainly before 5am. 🌧 Low of 46 degrees at 6am. 13 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around October 8th. South wind 8 to 16 mph becoming north after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 26 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. In 2022, we had cloudy skies. It got down to 28 degrees. The record low of 10 occurred back in 1972.
Continuing that Udemy Course on Remote Sensing using the Semi Automatic Classification plugin 🗺. I’m not totally sure what I’m going to use my new found skills for but it’s something I’ve been interested in a while. 🖥 Raster math is kind of fun and interesting, especially when you use R to do it. Indeed while I may learn with QGIS I’d probably end up using R just because it’s faster to write code then click on all those dialogs.
Tomorrow will have a chance of showers, mainly before 7am. Cloudy through mid morning, then gradual clearing 🌞, with a high of 49 degrees at 12pm. One degree above normal, which is similar to a typical day around November 16th. North wind 10 to 13 mph. Chilly with that wind though. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 43 degrees. The record high of 71 was set in 1928. 9.0 inches of snow fell back in 1980.❄
Doesn’t look like a real great Saturday, ⛷ but I might go to the Bethlehem Sports Mart that the Boy Scouts host at the High School and look at Cross Country Skis. Then maybe ride out to Voorheesville, just to check out the new Slingerlands temporary rail trail bridge, 🌉 and maybe get apples 🍏 at Indian Ladder and other things at Hannaford Voorheesville. I’ll still probably get up at 5 o’clock to bake bread 🥖🍞 and Butternut Squash. 🍆
Looking ahead to Sunday, a slight chance of showers before 1pm. 😎 Partly sunny, with a high near 47. Southwest wind 8 to 15 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Another cool day with the wind, but being SZ season, I’ll probably not wander too far out in the woods. 🦌 But maybe ride out to Five Rivers. And also run to the grocery store for the big weekly shop 🛒 . Chance of precipitation is 20%. Typical average high for the weekend is 48 degrees.
Looking ahead, next Friday is Buy Nothing Day 🛍️ when the sun will be setting at 4:27 pm with dusk at 4:56 pm. On that day in 2022, we had partly sunny and temperatures between 49 and 24 degrees. I know you will miss all the sales but that plastic shit kind of stinks when you burn it. Typically, the high temperature is 46 degrees. We hit a record high of 70 back in 2014.
I’m still hoping to get out of town next Friday into next week ⛺ 🚵 but I’m watching the forecast and it seems like the Adirondacks might be getting it’s first good snow come the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. 🌨 It’s not to say I can’t hot tent though, as long as the snow banks aren’t too deep along NY 8. Maybe the bigger issue is that next weekend might be cold ❄ quite cold up north. It’s not the mercury I’m concerned about but if it’s windy out or not. That wind chill can really get to you.
Making a run at sixty degrees this afternoon but don’t worry the sun will be setting in the four o’clock hour so no bike ride home.
Good morning! Happy Thursday. Sunny and 31 degrees in Delmar, NY. 🌞 Calm wind. Things will start to thaw out at around 7 am. 🌡️
Kind of a cold start to the morning, ❄️ for my morning walk. I was up at 5 AM to start the pea soup 🥘 but went back to bed until around 6 AM when I went out for my walk. Oatmeal pancakes, this time experimenting with an egg in the batter, some cider vinegar and baking soda to see if I can make them more fluffy. 🥞 Honestly, they were somewhat better. I should play with whole-wheat flour and a more conventional pancake recipe, though I don’t like the idea of adding sugar or oil to the mix. Plenty of sugar from the blueberries 🫐 I used in the mix.
Today will be sunny 🌞, with a high of 57 degrees at 2pm. Eight degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around October 28th. Light and variable wind becoming southeast around 5 mph. A year ago, we had light drizzle in the morning with more sun in the afternoon. The high last year was 42 degrees. The record high of 71 was set in 2006. 3.4 inches of snow fell back in 2002.❄
Riding to work today, 🚲 should be a nice one for that. If not so dark in the evening, it would be excellent for a bike ride home too. Going to be certainly mild enough, I’ll take October weather in mid-November. I’m hoping for a pretty mild winter, ⛄ being an El Nino year. So far no snow or even salt on the roads, as we’ve not had any icing or snow this year as it’s been mild and relatively dry. Probably the best chance for them calling out the salters in the mountains is that Wednesday before Thanksgiving, but even I’m skeptical about that. They’ve had them out a lot more in the highlands of West Virginia this year.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 11:41 am with sun having an altitude of 28.7° from the due south horizon (-42.1° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 11 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 3:51 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (238°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (245°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 4:34 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 13 seconds with dusk around 5:02 pm, which is 53 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Crescent 🌒 Moon in the south-southwest (211°) at an altitude of 12° from the horizon, 231,427 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 5:38 pm. At sunset, look for mostly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 53 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Tomorrow will have 9 hours and 45 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 6 seconds over today.
Dinner last night was 15-bean soup 🥘 but as I didn’t have enough soup, I cut up some spinach, celery, carrots, onions and added some smoked paprika to make it a meal, dipped in with lots homemade bread, this way the loaf without the shredded carrots. 🥕 As much as I like my bread with the carrots 🍞 I find it really tough on my stomach and guts, so I might end up cutting that out for just whole-wheat bread with some oatmeal put in the mix. Or just only whole-wheat flour, if I want things to be fluffier. Dessert was Greek yogurt with too much canned 100% pumpkin and some pumpkin pie spice. Tasted good but I probably eat too much. I keep telling myself I need to get pie pumpkins 🎃 and make my own pumpkin up at home. It would save the can ♻️ that I otherwise have to save for recycling. Rather compost then recycle, then tin cans usually still have a good market.
Last night I returned my library books 📚 to the library. I had a stack of books I haven’t read but I keep putting off returning them. I am spending my free time with the Udemy classes on Remote Sensing, so it’s not that I’m not learning, but it’s not with books. Most of the library books I get out are pretty out of date, and I am lazy and I just like watching video lectures, especially now that I get Udemy through my library for free. 📱 There are so many great online resources I’m learning I can access with my library card, physical books aren’t the only way to keep up with the world. 🌎 Plus I like being able to snuggle under my heated blanket with the phone, rather then a book. That said, I’m usually dog tired by 8 or 8:30 PM as I get up at 5 AM each day, to start cooking. 👩🍳
Tonight will be mostly clear 🌃, with a low of 34 degrees at 1am. Three degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around November 9th. South wind 3 to 7 mph. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 32 degrees. The record low of 7 occurred back in 1972.
Looking forward to that pea soup when I get home 🍵 re-heated up with lots of good homemade bread and some balsamic vinegar. Just writing that makes me hungry. Not a real cool evening but it’s not exactly warm and with the sun set so early, it should be plenty cool by later in the evening.
Right now, a split verdict on the weekend. 😕 Saturday, a chance of showers before 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 47. Northwest wind 10 to 14 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. Sunday, partly sunny, with a high near 45. Typical average high for the weekend is 48 degrees.
Turkey fans and turkey farmers will note that next Thursday is Thanksgiving 🦃 when the sun will be setting at 4:28 pm with dusk at 4:57 pm. So early! On that day in 2022, we had partly cloudy and temperatures between 49 and 24 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 46 degrees. We hit a record high of 72 back in 1931.
Draw me a map by Deirks Bentley might be an appropiate song for today. I mean that’s what everybody expects the people in Buffalo to order LATFOR nee IRC to do. I’ll try to post new mapstoday, not those type, though I might be too busy but I can always recycle one on this America Recycles Day. Cause as any good redneck will tell you, ya can’t burn everything though many have tried.
Good morning! What day is it? Quite an introduction to GIS Day, of course. 🗺 Partly clear and 34 degrees in Delmar, NY. Calm wind. 🌅 Temperatures will drop below freezing at tomorrow around 5 am. ☃️ Not that it’s much warmer than that this morning but the salters ain’t out yet.
Slept into almost six o’clock this morning 🛏 as I didn’t get to bed 🛏 until close to nine due to attending that public meeting in Colonie over more development in the Albany Pine Bush. Endless hearings it seems like and most of it wasn’t even about the Pine Bush. 🦋🌲🌲🦋 More of that bean soup last night and carrot 🥕 bread. That electric⚡blanket felt so good this morning 🛏 especially as I don’t have the heat on yet so it’s fairly cool in my bedroom. But I like cool, makes the coffee ☕ and the hot shower 🚿 better in the morning. ☺
Decided on French Toast 🍞 this morning to with the loaf of non carrot homemade bread I pulled out of the freezer topped with blueberries and lots of cinnamon and ginger. Good breakfast, the eggs 🥚 in the French Toast add protein to hopefully resist the blood sugar crash from the blueberries 🫐. Haven’t done French Toast in a long time.
Figured it would be good to cut back on the FODMAPS at least temporarily🍚😲 as I’ve been so gassy lately that all the knock off Gas X ain’t helping. It’s just been a lot of fiber and beans and lentils. Healthy but tough on the guts. 💩My love of all things carrot 🥕 is tiring me out, got to change it up.
Heading in early this morning as it’s pretty nice and I’m up and going. 🚲 I’ll ride in and save the bus fare 💵 and then put my bike on the bus 🚍 for the trip back home. It’s too bad the evenings are so dark with the time change. I probably could have done a morning walk but I figure I’ll get to the Plaza early on my bike then walk 🚶 the Concourse until quarter to nine then climb the eighteen flights of the stairs to my office 🏢.
I’m hoping to get squash of some kind at the Farmers Market 🍆 🎃 today. I would like to bake it up with bread on Friday and probably pea soup 🍲 and chickpeas for the weekend to make hummus. Been thinking about making pancakes 🥞 from scratch using whole wheat 🌾 flour rather than oats and banana as a way to change things up and get more protein in breakfast as most pancake recipes involve eggs. 🥚 Change is good, oats are healthy but not the only option.
Today will be partly sunny 🌞, with a high of 48 degrees at 1pm. Two degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around November 18th. Calm wind becoming south 5 to 9 mph in the morning. Not a half bad day for mid November. 🦃 A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 40 degrees. The record high of 74 was set in 1993. 4.8 inches of snow fell back in 1906.❄
Solar noon 🌞 is at 11:41 am with sun having an altitude of 29° from the due south horizon (-41.9° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 10.8 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 3:52 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (238°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (246°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 4:34 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 12 seconds with dusk around 5:03 pm, which is 55 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Crescent 🌒 Moon in the southwest (222°) at an altitude of 6° from the horizon, 233,969 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 5:39 pm. At sunset, look for partly cloudy skies 🌃 and temperatures around 47 degrees. There will be a south breeze at 9 mph. Tomorrow will have 9 hours and 47 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 7 seconds over today.
Tonight will be mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming clear ☁, with a low of 32 degrees at 6am. Typical for tonight. South wind around 6 mph becoming calm after midnight. In 2022, we had light snow in the evening, which became light drizzle by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 32 degrees. The record low of 7 occurred back in 1972.
Right now, a split verdict on the weekend. 😕 Saturday, a chance of showers before 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 48. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Sunday, mostly sunny, with a high near 45. Typical average high for the weekend is 48 degrees.
The Slingerlands Rail Trail Bridge 🌉 is finally done so that’s an excuse to ride out to Voorheesville this weekend. 🍏 Maybe get apples. The Bethlehem Sportsmart is Saturday might go and look at getting cross country skis 🎿 as one of mine cracked last year. Also considering going to the Pine Bush to ride trail and visit the Salvation Army for clothes along with Aldis and India Farmers Market. Options exist for the coming weekend though I’m hoping to get away the following weekend to the Adirondacks.
Looking ahead, there are 3 weeks until Saint Nicholas Day 🎅 when the sun will be setting at 4:23 pm with dusk at 4:53 pm. On that day in 2022, we had rain showers, partly cloudy, mild and temperatures between 54 and 39 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 41 degrees. We hit a record high of 68 back in 2001.
One of the other directors at work was saying how wonderful those electronic mouse zappers are but I avoided buying one as they’re like 20 bucks. At first it was great, catching three mice with no mess or blood, just open and dump the reusable trap but last night I heard a mouse and the zapper was tripped but no mouse to be found. Much like the snap traps, the mice are somehow getting away. Annoying. Same thing happened with the bucket drowning trap – catch a ton at first and then the rest get away.
Good morning! Mostly cloudy and 30 degrees in Delmar, NY. 🌥 There is a west-northwest breeze at 6 mph. 🍃. Things will start to thaw out at around 7 am. 🌡️
Up a little after 5:30 am ⏰ I decided to the route involving eggs 🥚 and spinach with onions, beans, broccoli and whatever else I wanted like cottage cheese and ;nutrional yeast and hot sauce. 🍳 It was good except for the egg I dropped on the floor and had to clean up half awake. 😴 I didn’t need to get up that early to cook but I had to run to the bathroom 🚽. That said the electric blanket felt wonderful this morning, still resisting turning on the central gas heat downstairs.
Walking 🚶 down to the earlier express bus 🚍 from the Park and Ride. A bit too cold and wet to ride to work 🚲 today plus Lynne is leaning on me to attend yet another Colonie meeting about developing even more of the Pine Bush. This week it’s housing, a change from the warehouses and industrial solar facilities. 🏘 🏭 🌲I’ll catch the 182 up there after work I guess. Walking laps in the Concourse.
Figured with that extra cup of coffee ☕ probably best to walk the Concourse and then when I inevitably need to run to the restroom I can stop there. At least with the eggs and hopefully the full nights sleep – I was asleep a little after eight – 🛏 I won’t have the blood sugar crash 😴 of yesterday around ten o’clock in the morning when I could barely keep my eyes 👀 open reading that cap grant 📝 I was reviewing on my desk. It inevitably wasn’t the most excited organization without colorful people running it like the brain 🧠 teaser of one I got later in the day.
I am blaming the cream of wheat 🌾 with the blueberries 🫐 and chia seeds and greek yogurt for the crash but it probably was as much getting up at five o’clock to bake the bread and soup, listening to the Bread Greatest Hits record 💿 and that very boring 💤 cap grant I was reviewing. 🔎 I guess every day at work can be exciting, some days are just dull. That said, the blueberries and cream of wheat did hit the spot.
Today will have a slight chance of snow showers before 7am. Mostly cloudy 🌞, with a high of 44 degrees at 11am. Six degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around November 28th. Northwest wind 6 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 42 degrees. The record high of 70 was set in 1973. 14.4 inches of snow fell back in 1972.❄
That fifteen bean soup 🥣 and homemade bread 🍞 really hit the spot on the cool evening last night, it was good on a cool evening. I went for my evening walk 🚶 shortly thereafter headed to bed 🛏 with the heated blanket trying to watch as much of the Udemy course that I could with my eyes open before going asleep. That said, I’ve been gassy 😲 since eating that especially with that bread that contains all of those shredded carrots 🥕.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 11:41 am with sun having an altitude of 29.2° from the due south horizon (-41.6° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 10.7 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 3:53 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (239°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (246°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 4:35 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 11 seconds with dusk around 5:04 pm, which is 57 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 5:40 pm. At sunset, look for partly cloudy skies 🌃 and temperatures around 43 degrees. There will be a northwest breeze at 14 mph. Today will have 9 hours and 51 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 11 seconds over yesterday.
I got oranges 🍊 for a snack in the office 🏢 as they are coming back into season and it’s important to have lots of Vitamin D with the darker days ahead and inevitably more people getting sick. 🤒 I was doing the muzzle thing for a while when I got back from West Virginia 🗻 though I stopped but if I hear sick people in the office that I can’t persuade to go home, I’ll put it back on.
Tonight will be partly cloudy 🌃 , with a low of 25 degrees at 5am. Seven degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around December 7th. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light and variable after midnight. Another cool autumn evening ahead. In 2022, we had partly cloudy skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 21 degrees. The record low of 14 occurred back in 1939.
A fairly typicalmid November weekend with showers for opening day in the SZ. 🦌 Saturday, a chance of showers before 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 50. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Bang, bang. 🔫 Sunday, partly sunny, with a high near 44. Typical average high for the weekend is 48 degrees.
I am just focused on the Friday after Thanksgiving 🦃 for getting out of town. I am already tired of the Albany and ready for more nights 🌃 in the wilderness. But who knows what the weather will be like at that point but one can hope. 🤞
Looking ahead, there are 3 weeks until Repeal of Prohibition Day 🍺 when the sun will be setting at 4:23 pm with dusk at 4:53 pm. On that day in 2022, we had partly sunny and temperatures between 44 and 26 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 42 degrees. We hit a record high of 65 back in 2001.
It’s very much an open question when so many of the top Trump officials from 2020 now are justice involved if not serving prison sentences for their involvement in the insurrection. A future administration is going to require tens of thousands of patronage employees but many may not be willing to step up because of the risk to their careers and reputation.
Often working in a presidential administration is the capstone of a career. But for so many appointees in the first term of Trump, they faced extensive political pressure to violate norms and even laws, not only putting their personal ethics at question but also subjecting themselves to criminal penalties and fines, not to mention risks to their future.
While there are millions of Americans to pick from and there are inevitably Trump supporters who’d love to join his administration, most are likely not the experienced, seasoned professionals who you would hope the President would attract as advisors.
Two loafs of bread, rice and lentils, beans soup cooking down on the stove. It’s good that I have so much food cooking on the stove this morning as I haven’t turned the heat on except for the electric blanket. Kind of a cold morning but I’m enjoying it and are out for my morning walk.
Good morning! Clear and 21 degrees at the Delmar, NY. 🌅 Calm wind. Things will start to thaw out at around 9 am. 🌡️Seven weeks until 2024.
I’m out walking 🚶 this morning, kind of enjoying the cold ❄. It’s a rather crisp morning but a nice sunrise. I think I’ll enjoy the coffee ☕ even more when I get home. I am going to be wearing my gloves 🧤 when I ride to work. 🚲 I kind of like the cold. It’s good as who knows how many more days I’ll be riding to work, though if it’s snow-free or rain-free I’ll try to do the mornings. In the evenings, I’ll be taking the express home. 🚌
Today will have increasing clouds ☀ 👉 ☁, with a high of 42 degrees at 2pm. Eight degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around December 3rd. Light and variable wind becoming south 5 to 10 mph in the morning. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 49 degrees. The record high of 69 was set in 1964. 6.0 inches of snow fell back in 1886.❄
I am not super disappointed with staying in town this past weekend. 🌥 It was definitely cloudier and cooler then they had at first predicted. 🏘 Plus I had a great bike ride on Saturday, heading from home in Delmar to outside of Halfmoon on the Champlain Canal Trip. Sometimes you don’t have to spend a lot of money for a great weekend adventure. 😀 That said, I’m hoping for good weather come Black Friday, to get to back to the Adirondacks at least one more time for the year.
I did forget however to get squash when I was at the grocery store this past weekend. 🎃 Not a big thing but I would have liked some fresh baked squash of some sort this morning when I was baking. Instead, I ended up cooking up two loafs of bread. 🍞 It kept the oven full but I do like squash. Maybe I should run at lunch time some point this week to Price Chopper Downtown and get some squash — or Hannaford on the bike ride 🚴♀️ but the thing is I have enough food cooked up for now, that I don’t really need squash. Been a few weeks since I’ve had spaghetti squash, maybe that’s what I should get. Wednesday is farmer’s market day, might be a good day to get some. 🍆
Solar noon 🌞 is at 11:41 am with sun having an altitude of 29.5° from the due south horizon (-41.3° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 10.6 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 3:54 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (239°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (246°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 4:36 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 11 seconds with dusk around 5:05 pm, which is 59 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 5:40 pm. At sunset, look for mostly cloudy skies ☁ and temperatures around 41 degrees. There will be a south-southeast breeze at 9 mph. Tomorrow will have 9 hours and 51 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 11 seconds over today.
Getting up at 5 AM this morning to bake bread ⏰ means I’m tired, especially as I didn’t get to bed until a little after 9 PM 🛌 and then I awoke a few times during the night to run to the rest room. 🚽 It’s fine, I am often in a bit of a haze on a Monday but I think the cold air is helping a bit 🌬 as I ride my bike downtown. I figure I have the rest of the week to wake myself up. 😴 I’ll just hide behind my desk, slog through more cap grants.
Tonight will have a slight chance of rain and snow showers before 3am, then a chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 32 degrees at 4am. Typical for tonight. South wind 5 to 8 mph becoming west after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Little or no snow accumulation expected. Sounds like it will hold off for the evening walk. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 27 degrees. The record low of 12 occurred back in 1996.
Seasonably cool and sunny for opening weekend in the SZ. 😎 Saturday, partly sunny, with a high near 50. Sunday, mostly sunny, with a high near 46. Typical average high for the weekend is 48 degrees. Probably not what the hunters want but I’m not complaining. The following Monday or maybe Tuesday is pay day for me, which then hopefully I can start to pay back the loan I made from my various savings accounts to cover my credit card balance. 💳 I hate robbing Peter to Pay Paul but I’m a lot better off then many people. Between the car insurance, the blog hosting contract, summer and autumn vacations, needing better fitting clothes and healthier foods, money has just been flying out the doors lately — and don’t forget inflation. 💸 It’s really bad the way my budget looks currently.
With rifle season underway in the Southern Zone I’ll be staying close to home, but the following weekend I’m thinking of heading up to either the East Branch Sacanadaga or maybe Piseco-Powley if the snow risk seems low. 🏕 Probably the prior, even though I don’t like the noise there from the highway, I do like the fact I haven’t been there in years, the snow risk is relatively low, and it will be quiet people wise, especially as many hunters filter down to SZ for more action there. Probably also do a NZ hike, wearing blaze orange, on a more remote trail but one less likely to have much hunter pressure. 🚶♀️ 🦌 But that’s still two weekends away and weather could change.
Maybe this upcoming weekend though I’ll go mountain biking in the Albany Pine Bush 🚵♀️ hit up Aldi’s up that way and check out India Farmer’s Market for food and Salvation Army for more good-fitting clothes, especially dress clothes for work. 👔 I’ve gotten some nice stuff from the Salvation Army, but you have to watch out for stains and other imperfections. But being so much lighter these days 🤰 I fit into a lot more used clothing that is often quite good quality if you know what to look for.
Looking ahead, there are 2 weeks until Cyber Monday 🛍️ when the sun will be setting at 4:26 pm with dusk at 4:55 pm. On that day in 2022, we had rain and temperatures between 48 and 29 degrees. I might take that day off from work, to be as far away from Cybering as possible. Typically, the high temperature is 45 degrees. We hit a record high of 66 back in 1896.
Deciding to take a trip out to Madison County a week after West Virginia made me realize in how many ways the landscapes are similar, even while they are different. Less coal and more cows in Madison County, but many of rural homesteads and farms really aren’t that different. Hills are smaller and hollows less deep, but in many ways the people are all alike, trying to make a living out of a tough, rural landscape.
Modern American culture is much more standardized then one might want to admit. We all use and consume same products, the J.D. tractors in New York aren’t that different then West Virginia. Mobile homes and double-wides look much the same, the same breeds of goat and cattle are raised all over. People raise hogs and chickens all over, the make-shift shelters and pens really don’t look all that much different. The wood and coal smoke isn’t all that much different nor the pungent smell of farm country in the autumn after and during harvest time.
We are often told that West Virginia is somehow different then New York. But if anything, the accents aren’t much different or indeed in some parts of rural New York the accents might be even stronger. The thing is most things aren’t that different, as rural culture is both nationalized, as are products and services. And the land is the land, livestock husbandry that works in one part of nation works equally well in other parts of nation, using similar products. And people generally scrape by a living in much the same way, no matter which part of the rural country they reside in.
