Balsam Swamp is a sprawling state forest that stretches almost 5.5 miles east-west across 4 towns. The area is very rural, and the landscape surrounding the State Forest is predominantly forested. Balsam Swamp State Forest is comprised of a mix of native hardwood forests, hemlock swamps, and conifer plantations. There are no designated recreational trails on the forest, but there is ample opportunity for self-guided day hikes to explore the diversity of habitats represented on this State Forest. Additionally, the western section of Balsam Swamp State Forest is adjacent to Five Streams State Forest to the south.
The main attraction of this forest is Balsam Pond. The impoundment is approximately 152 acres and is a popular destination for fishing and paddle boat sports. Balsam Pond is a warm water fishery that contains a mix of largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, chain pickerel, yellow perch, brown bullhead and sunfish. Tiger muskellunge have been stocked in the past with the last stocking occurring in 1995. However, there have been very few reports of anglers catching any of the adult tiger muskies. A shallow gravel boat launch is suitable for launching small fishing boats.
A small rustic camp ground is also located at Balsam Pond. Camping spaces are available at no cost on a first-come, first-serve basis and there is no running water or electricity. A fire ring, outhouse, and picnic table are provided for each camping space. A sign on Balsam-Tyler Road in Pharsalia designates the entrance to the boat launch and camping facility. This is a carry-in carry-out facility. Please do not litter.
Not that it really matters that much, if I wasn’t told I probably wouldn’t notice that today is my birthday. It’s not like I remember that day from my birth, or that the day has any inherit meaning, except maybe that I survived another year.
Good morning! Cloudy at the freezing point in Delmar. ☁️ There is a north-northwest breeze at 11 mph. 🍃. There are 3 inches of snow on the ground. ☃ ️Things will start to thaw out at around 8 am. 🌡️
I was up at 5 AM to bake bread 🍞 and spaghetti squash. 🍆 Made eggs for breakfast with onions, peas, green beans, hot peppers which were good with some cottage cheese. 🍳 I was hoping to get in early enough to walk the Concourse this morning, but it takes time to do all that cooking and I missed the earlier bus in but settled on walking down to the Park and Ride for some exercise. 👣 Kind of tired an drowsy today, 😴 despite getting to bed fairly early last night.
Today will have a chance of snow showers, mainly before 8am. Cloudy 🌦, with a high of 38 degrees at 12pm. Five degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around February 21st. North wind 11 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 44 degrees. The record high of 54 was set in 2002. 8.3 inches of snow fell back in 1990.❄
Yesterday, with the snow coming but mostly rain in Delmar until 5 PM 🌧 I decided to skip visiting my parents in favor of a trip to the laundromat and shopping in the morning. I can’t believe I spent another $130 on groceries and supplies, though it’s totally my fault as I bought some bulk containers of groceries that were nice but probably could have waited on. 🍏 🥦 But I didn’t want to risk running out mid-week. It’s fine, today I will likely get paid before my rent is due. Most of the things I bought were frozen or long-lasting like xylem gum and real maple syrup. 🍁
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:09 pm with sun having an altitude of 29.3° from the due south horizon (-41.5° 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 4:22 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 5:04 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 11 seconds with dusk around 5:34 pm, which is one minute and 18 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 6:09 pm. At sunset, look for mostly cloudy skies ☁ and temperatures around 34 degrees. There will be a north breeze at 10 mph. Tomorrow will have 9 hours and 56 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 16 seconds over today.
For both lunch and dinner last night I had a big pot of red lentil soup 🍲 that I shredded a whole lot of carrots 🥕 and onions in. Came out delicious once I added the right spices, let it cool a bit to thicken. The previous night was chicken noodle soup which also was good. I do think I need to cut back though on portion sizes — I can sure drink a lot of soup and it’s not like I’m adding a lot of unhealthy stuff but I’ve noticed I’ve started to put some more weight on lately. 🤰 I think it’s all the carbs from the bread, even though it’s whole wheat and no sugar, it adds up.
Tonight will be mostly cloudy 🌥, with a low of 22 degrees at 5am. Seven degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 1st. Maximum wind chill around 17 at 2am; North wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light after midnight. In 2023, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 28 degrees. The record low of -12 occurred back in 1965.
I am surprisingly worn out today, 😴 but after dinner which will be salmon, 🐟 broccoli, 🥦 spaghetti squash, 🍆 and some carrot bread, 🥕 I’ll do my evening walk then head to bed. 🚶♀️ I haven’t staying up late but sometimes Mondays can be tough. I am not doing anything special for my birthday this year. 🎂
Somewhat cool but sunny for a change this weekend. 😎 Saturday, partly sunny, with a high near 30. Sunday, mostly sunny, with a high near 28. Typical average high for the weekend is 33 degrees. I’m considering going camping this weekend, 🏕 just for a quick overnight, but it will all ultimately depend what the forecast is like. There would certainly be some snow and ground frozen with temperatures like that at least int he higher country.
Looking ahead, there are 3 weeks until Presidents Day 👴 when the sun will be setting at 5:33 pm with dusk at 6:00 pm. On that day in 2023, we had mostly cloudy and temperatures between 47 and 23 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 37 degrees. We hit a record high of 66 back in 1981.
Aldis in Colonie was so packed with people yesterday, picked over grocery wise with people stocking up for the winter storm that is supposedly approaching today, I just turned around and left. I look across the street at the Market32 with the packed parking lot, and tossed my hands up knowing chances were slim I’d get any whole-wheat flour or other needed groceries. Best to wait until today, when the stockers have been able to restore the shopping experience by morning. I’ll just do Walmart after I shower this morning.
Good morning! Happy Soon to be Wet and Sloppy Sunday. 🌧 It seems like it rains every Sunday lately. Without fail. Rain loves the weekend. Clouds and 35 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☁️ Calm wind. Temperatures will drop below freezing at tomorrow around 6 pm. ☃️
Decided I wanted pancakes today, 🍊 🥞 and I have a lot of oranges, so I decided to try out full-orange pancakes, milling both the orange and peal to make some rather zesty fully flavored pancakes with some lemon juice topped with some greek yogurt and honey. 🍯 Wow did they come out good — that orange flavor really shined, especially some ginger, vanilla in the mixture. Finished up the remaining oatmeal I had in the mixture, along with the whole wheat flour and had to fall back onto using some rye flour, but it worked out well.
Today will rain and snow. 🌧 High of 35 degrees at 7am. Two degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around February 9th. Calm wind becoming north 5 to 8 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 90%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than one inch possible. Not going to stick more A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 45 degrees. The record high of 56 was set in 1916. 9.6 inches of snow fell back in 1897.❄
Riding trail in the Albany Pine Bush was great yesterday 🚵♀️ 🌲 though by mid-day I was starting to feel a bit worn out from all the trail riding. The section off of Kings Road was closed due to them logging and using a tub grinder to chop up the black locus, blackberries and invasive trees as part of the restoration effort. 🦋 Ended up riding my bike around Morris and Curry Road to see what I could spot from the road both ecologically and development wise, to further educate myself for Save the Pine Bush. 💭 In the afternoon, after shopping at Salvation Army I decided to head up Balltown Road to Aquaduct, as I wanted to check out the old Aquaduct that once carried the second Erie Canal across the Mohawk River and then NY 146 until the 1964 bridge was completed, and the aquaduct demolished to improve the river’s flow and prevent ice jamming. Seems odd these days when Mohawk River ice jams are rare, because the river rarely jams up with so much ice. ❄️ Climate change has changed a lot in our world. There was some ice on Mohawk River but not a lot. Then I rode my bike down the Erie Canalway to the ALCO Trail through that swanky new Mohawk Harbor development, then through the Stockade and Riverfront Park, then the Erie Canalway Trail to Lock 8 and ultimately out to I-890 – NY 5 Connector near Rotterdam Junction. 🛣
While Aldis was insane yesterday, 👔 I did luck out at the Salvation Army in Karner – Niskayuna – Lisha Kill or whatever the area off of Central Avenue and got two nice dressier shirts. The stuff you get there is nicer then anything you might find at Walmart and cheaper then going to a place like Macy’s or JC Pennies. Plus often much higher quality. Two really nice shirts for $9.60. Can’t beat prices like that. Not only are there wonderful deals at Salvation Army, you’re supporting their disaster and community development efforts. That place is a complete dump on the outside, with people leaving discarded furniture and trash all around it, but inside it really is the best thrift store to get really nice clothing, often for prices far below other thrift stores around. Not going to find anything that nice so cheap at Goodwill or one of the “high end” thrift store boutiques like in Delmar or Slingerlands. Also looked at lamps for my new office, 🛋 but I’m going to wait until I move into my permanent office before committing to buying a desk lap, assuming I can’t find one in a storage closet somewhere. Thrift shop’s the way to go for that — I am thinking I can put a 150 watt equivalent bulb 💡 in it as a bright desk lamp. I just hate the overhead florescent lighting.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:09 pm with sun having an altitude of 29.1° from the due south horizon (-41.7° 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 4:21 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 5:03 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 11 seconds with dusk around 5:33 pm, which is one minute and 18 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 6:07 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and snow 🌨 and temperatures around 34 degrees. There will be a north breeze at 8 mph. Tomorrow will have 9 hours and 54 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 14 seconds over today.
Tonight will snow, mainly before 4am. 🌨 Low of 33 degrees at 5am. 18 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 5th. North wind 9 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible. Ain’t going to be much snow on the roads with that temperature, especially if they’re treated with the tons of deicing chemicals as they most certainly are. Maybe this week will be a good one to wash my truck. In 2023, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 22 degrees. The record low of -10 occurred back in 1925.
Looking ahead, there are 2 weeks until Don’t Cry over Spilled Milk Day 🥛 when the sun will be setting at 5:22 pm with dusk at 5:50 pm. I was totally getting teased the other day in my old office for being such a complainer. I know, I’m such a perfectionist. 💎 Cheap bastard too, but I’m saving all my money so I can blow it someday on land, 👩🌾 goats 🐐, hogs, 🐷 and cattle. 🐄 I’ve been told cattle are the fastest way to be broke forever, maybe except for horses. 🐴 Probably someday I’ll meet a girl who is as much a hillbilly as I’m and I’ll have to agree on horses in exchange for having a burn barrel and land. 🔥🛢 Actually, I think I complain about things, but it’s different from what others complain about. I don’t like working in suburbs, when so many others love the acres of parking for easy motoring and the convenience of avoiding crowded elevators, lol. 🤣 On that day in 2023, we had mostly sunny skies snow showers and temperatures between 38 and 23 degrees. I wouldn’t say that’s spilled milk, but a rather nice day. Maybe just a few drips of milk after the teats are stripped. 🐮 Typically, the high temperature is 35 degrees. Going to be in the forties during this up coming week. We hit a record high of 59 back in 1981.
Smile, it’s the weekend. Not the sunniest or warmest weekend after, but it’s good to get out and enjoy it. Leading in theory a Save the Pine Bush hike at 9 AM, though who knows if anyone will show up. But it’s a good excuse to get up early, get going so I will go hiking, then check out Salvation Army for some nice business-casual shirts and then do some shopping early on.
Good morning! Happy Saturday. Finally the weekend! I won’t say it’s a banner of weekend weather wise, but it’s not snowing and not cold. Cloudy and 36 degrees at the Elm Ave Park and Ride. ☁ There is a north-northwest breeze at 6 mph. 🍃. Temperatures will drop below freezing at Monday around 1 am. ☃️
Today will be cloudy ☁, with a high of 40 degrees at 2pm. Seven degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around February 28th. North wind around 6 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, which became mostly sunny by afternoon. The high last year was 36 degrees. The record high of 62 was set in 1974. 9.3 inches of snow fell back in 1963.❄
I intentionally planned a Save the Pine Bush Hike at 9 AM this morning 🌲 so I would have an incentive to get out hiking early this morning, and hopefully have some people to join me. Not the nicest day ever but with some friends it could be nice. And if nobody shows up — and for later in the afternoon — I’ll bring my mountain bike. 🚵 Often I find riding in the Pine Bush to be a little soft without fat bike tires but after the recent rain and snow, I expect the sand to be quite well packed and good for riding. I will probably will ride the East Barrens though I haven’t done Blueberry Hill in a while and that could be a good place to watch the sun set.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:09 pm with sun having an altitude of 28.8° from the due south horizon (-42° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 10.9 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 4:19 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 5:02 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 12 seconds with dusk around 5:31 pm, which is one minute and 17 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 6:06 pm. At sunset, look for mostly cloudy skies ☁ and temperatures around 39 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Today will have 9 hours and 50 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 9 seconds over yesterday.
After the hike this morning 🏃♀️ my plan is go over to the Salvation Army and look at shirts to wear 👔 for cheap, and maybe desk lamps. I don’t think my new office I’ll be moving into in March from my temporary desk has a desk lamp, and I’ve really gotten to like that brass desk lamp I had in my old office 🛋 as I don’t like the overhead florescent lighting. The darker lit office with task lighting just seems a lot more comfortable to work in. Then I’m hoping to get to Aldi’s and get some groceries 🛒 followed up by Yonder Farms for apples 🍎 and maybe stopped at Hannaford in Voorheesville so I can get more whole-wheat flour. 🍞 I’ve also thought about potentially exploring more of the Erie Canalway Trail and the Stockade in Schenectady, 🚲 but we’ll see how tired I am by mid-day. At any rate, I like to keep my options open. ⛽ I also need to get some fuel for my big-jacked up truck. That said, at least gas prices have come down.
Tonight will have a slight chance of rain and snow after 4am. Cloudy 🌧, with a low of 33 degrees at 1am. 18 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 5th. Light and variable wind. Chance of precipitation is 20%. In 2023, we had light snow in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 25 degrees. The record low of -16 occurred back in 2005.
Yesterday, I had my diversity training 👩🏫 which was remarkably interesting. What a difference a good professor really can make. It really gives you a chance to reflect upon how you view the world. So many years diversity training is overally legalistic and not enough reflection, but this year it really gave me some chance to think about my biases. I ended the day working in my old office, which was nice to catch up with some my colleagues and not feel like I’m in North Siberia, as often is the case up in the suburban office.
I’ve been continuing to explore how to use the R Statistical Language at work to automate processes and clean data. 💽 So much of my work in my new job is data-centric, and the tidyverse is such a handy way to process lots of data quickly. One of my goals is get away from PDF reports and presenting more data as nicely formatted Excel spreadsheets, as it makes it much more easier for users to produce calculations on their own computer. I installed R Studio on my work computer, though I with I could get Docker working and therefore Rselenium up and running on it, so I could automate some of the report generation by using a Selenium controlled browser. In theory I don’t need Docker but so far I can’t seem to figure out to get RSelenium to find Java I installed on the computer. Strange thing is OpenXLSX see Java without a problem.
Tomorrow looking at rain and snow, mainly after 8am. 🌧 High near 35. Calm wind becoming north 5 to 8 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 90%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than one inch possible. Going to try to get out to my parents house tomorrow, a lot depends on the weather. I might end up going to Walmart tomorrow, especially if I don’t get everything I need at Aldi’s today, most notably whole-wheat flour.
Looking ahead, there are 2 weeks until Clean Your Computer Day 🧹 when the sun will be setting at 5:21 pm with dusk at 5:49 pm. On that day in 2023, we had mostly cloudy, mild, rain showers and temperatures between 51 and 34 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 35 degrees. We hit a record high of 53 back in 1955.
Kind of a wet one to flush away the month of January. I’m up early walking laps on the Concourse in the Emperor’s Plaza. I was thinking if I wanted to do some cardio I could do the stairs in LOB, though truth be told I’ll be here come midday for diversity training and then I’m going to work the rest of the day in my old office.
Good morning! Yeah, it’s Friday! Heavy rain and 38 degrees at the Elm Ave Park and Ride. 🌧️ There is a southeast breeze at 7 mph. 🍃. Not much snow left after the warm temperatures and the rspTemperatures will drop below freezing at Sunday around 3 am. ☃️
For some reason I didn’t sleep well last night 🛏 so I’m up early walking 🚶 the Plaza. I just find it hard to sleep with the windows closed and I need another night in the wilderness but alas it’s January for a few more days and the woods is going to be a mosh pit after all the rain of recent. 🐽 I have diversity training today, so I’ll need to stay awake for that. And lots more reports to run. I need to figure out how to get Docker running on my work machine 🤖 to automate that further.
Breakfast this morning was pancakes 🥞 made from carrots 🥕 and apples with some egg and whole wheat flour for binder with cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice and honey 🍯 to top. Then I decided I was still hungry and wanted some protein, so I had some Greek yogurt and strawberries 🍓 as a side. ☕ Looking forward to more coffee when I get in the office. Last night it was pea soup 🥣 with carrot bread which came out so moist and tender, reminded me almost of carrot cake. By the end of the week I think I will have eaten nearly five pounds of carrots.
Today will rain, mainly before 10am. Patchy fog after 5pm. 🌧 High of 43 degrees at 4pm. 10 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 9th. Southeast wind 6 to 10 mph becoming northeast in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, which became light snow by afternoon. The high last year was 41 degrees. The record high of 59 was set in 1950. 8.5 inches of snow fell back in 1949.❄
Bike ride in and hike was good, 🚲 though on a cloudy day like yesterday it was darker than I would have preferred for riding across the Water Street Bridge. Didn’t help there was a bunch of debris from crashes on the shoulder. I should have enough time that in the future I might ride through Corning Preserve 🏞 and over the pedestrian bridge as an alternative.
I’m getting used to suburban office 🏢 with its acres parking 🅿 which everybody tells me is a good thing but I find it hard to believe. I just find the corporate architecture to be so soul depraving with the acres of cubicles, florescent lighting and the very square windows that are few and far between. At least I can make it work with the buses 🚍 and it’s an easier bike 🚲 ride. I enjoyed riding in yesterday and riding down to the river at lunch time, ☺ It will be nice come summer. Acres of parking probably is good if I’m planning on going out of town after work.
I do think I’m doing good work, 🖥 putting my data science skills and Unix knowledge to hood work in the new position. Change is good, I think I’m rapidly getting up to skill. Plus it’s a good resume builder as I can say I’m using Unix text utilities, SQL and R processing in a o
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:08 pm with sun having an altitude of 28.6° from the due south horizon (-42.3° 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 4:18 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 5:00 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 12 seconds with dusk around 5:30 pm, which is one minute and 17 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 6:05 pm. At sunset, look for cloudy skies ☁ and temperatures around 42 degrees. There will be a southeast breeze at 5 mph. Today will have 9 hours and 48 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 7 seconds over yesterday.
Tonight will have patchy fog before 7pm. Otherwise, cloudy ☁, with a low of 35 degrees at 5am. 20 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 10th. North wind 3 to 6 mph. In 2023, we had light snow in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 27 degrees. The record low of -23 occurred back in 1994.
Tomorrow will be mostly cloudy 🌥, with a high of 41 degrees at 1pm. Eight degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 3rd. North wind around 6 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, which became light snow by afternoon. The high last year was 36 degrees. The record high of 62 was set in 1974. 9.3 inches of snow fell back in 1963.❄
Looking ahead to Sunday, rain and snow, becoming all snow after 4pm. 🌨️ High near 35. North wind 5 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. Typical average high for the weekend is 33 degrees.
As previously noted, next Friday is Ground Hog Day 🐻 when the sun will be setting at 5:10 pm with dusk at 5:39 pm. On that day in 2023, we had partly cloudy and temperatures between 36 and 19 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 33 degrees. We hit a record high of 53 back in 1981.
I was a bit on the fence, but not being able to catch the earlier express in and walk the plaza due to riding late, I decided to ride to work. First time riding in to suburban North Albany, going to take the Delmar Bypass, then South Pearl Street to the bike path as I’m not sure how much snow is left on the bike path.
Good morning! Clouds, some fog and 40 degrees in Delmar. ☔ Calm wind. There is roughly an inch of snow on the ground. ☃ ️Warm weather is continued to be forecasted for the next few days. Temperatures will drop below freezing at Sunday around 8 pm. ☃️
This morning was eggs with a lot of onions, broccoli, and other delicious things. I also baked carrot bread and also a loaf of onion bread and sweet potatoes in the oven this morning. The onion bread is saved in the freezer for later in the week. Last night I took some well freezer-burnt pork roast, cooked up with a lot of chunks of apples, vegetables, mushrooms and onions in a frying pan, added it bunch of spices and called it a delicious dinner. I am continuing to work on cleaning out my freezer one meal at a time, while developing well balanced, nutritious fiber and vitamin-rich meals. Made a second pot of coffee up as I was running late, though I’ve been cutting back on the amount of coffee I’ve been drinking at home as I can get it a work too.
Today will have a chance of showers or drizzle, mainly before 8am. Patchy fog. Otherwise, cloudy 🌦, with a high of 45 degrees at 12pm. 13 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 15th. Calm wind becoming north around 6 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, which became light snow by afternoon. The high last year was 36 degrees. The record high of 61 was set in 1938. 9.5 inches of snow fell back in 2000.❄
Obviously it’s still too dark in the evening to ride all the way home, but my hope is to ride down to the old train station — Peter Kiernan Plaza — and catch the express bus home from there. I think after President’s Day, assuming the rail trail is free of snow, I’ll be able to ride both ways to work on nice days. We’ll see how often that happens in February, though so far the first half of the month looks fairly mild.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:08 pm with sun having an altitude of 28.3° from the due south horizon (-42.5° 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 4:17 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 4:59 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 13 seconds with dusk around 5:29 pm, which is one minute and 17 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Full 🌝 Moon in the east-northeast (64°) at an altitude of 5° from the horizon, 249,514 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 6:04 pm. At sunset, look for cloudy skies ☁ and temperatures around 42 degrees. There will be a north breeze at 5 mph. Tomorrow will have 9 hours and 48 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 7 seconds over today.
Last night was cold and rainy, so I spent the evening cooking up the old pork roast I had in the freezer and then kneading bread for the morning. Then I went to bed a little after 8 PM, so I could enjoy the heated blanket. I wasn’t going to turn on/up the heat if it’s going to be above freezing. I have lots of good things to eat going forward the next few days, probably including more of the fabled pea soup that contains that old stewing beef. Hoping to finish much of that off tonight, and will freeze whatever remains. Then tomorrow night I’ll break out some old lasagna I had in the freezer, and fry that up with vegetables and seasoning. Probably use up the rest of the sweet potatoes that I baked up the other day. It comes out much better then reheated nasty, calorie dense mush from the microwave.
Tonight will rain, mainly after midnight. Patchy fog. 🌧 Low of 36 degrees at 3am. 20 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 10th. North wind around 6 mph becoming light and variable. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. In 2023, we had light drizzle in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 28 degrees. The record low of -17 occurred back in 1920.
Continued mild and cloudy this weekend. Saturday, mostly cloudy, with a high near 41. Northwest wind around 6 mph. Sunday, a chance of snow before 7am, then rain and snow likely. Cloudy, with a high near 37. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Typical average high for the weekend is 33 degrees.
Looking ahead, next Thursday is February 🌧 when the sun will be setting at 5:09 pm with dusk at 5:38 pm. Often February has some of the biggest snowstorms and cold bursts, even though on average things are starting to warm up. On that day in 2023, we had partly sunny and temperatures between 29 and 12 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 33 degrees. We hit a record high of 65 back in 1989.
Got an inch or so of snow last night but not until late, as most of the evening was just rain. Trump won New Hampshire, I spent the evening at the Colonie Town Planning Board with Save the Pine Bush. Another week, another warehouse in the Pine Bush. Walking this morning inside the Concourse.
Good morning! What day is it? A Sloppy Hump Day, of course. Rain, slop and 34 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☔ There is a south-southeast breeze at 10 mph. 🍃 with gusts up to 20 mph 💨💨💨. There are 2 inches of snow on the ground. ☃ ️Temperatures will drop below freezing at Sunday around 9 pm. ☃️ Saving money on the heat again. Really won’t need it for the next few days except maybe for reasons of comfort. The dampness can make things feel extra cold, but there is warm soups/meals and the electric blanket for that.
I was hoping to get in early to walk the Concourse 🏃 but it turned out the earlier express was running about 20 minutes. Obnoxious, I know. I did get some steps in walking the Plaza — 👮 there were a ton of police there — probably some kind of protest today. But not as many as I wanted to get. Not fun waiting out in the rain. I though the real-time bus info was wrong 🚌 ⌚ but it wasn’t, and after a while I waited a bit inside, where it at least wasn’t raining and wet and miserable out like earlier. Almost wish I had driven in to avoid this crap, 💩 but the hell with warming up my truck and digging off the ice and slush, when I bus that will do it for me for only $2.60 round trip. The shuttle is free to my suburban office, it’s just the fare to the Empire Plaza.
Today will have a chance of rain or drizzle before 3pm, then rain, mainly after 3pm. Patchy fog after 3pm. 🌧 High of 38 degrees at 5pm. Seven degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around February 25th. South wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning, which became light snow by afternoon. The high last year was 36 degrees. The record high of 54 was set in 1999. 7.6 inches of snow fell back in 1948.❄
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:08 pm with sun having an altitude of 28.1° from the due south horizon (-42.7° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 11.2 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 4:15 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (237°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (244°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 4:58 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 14 seconds with dusk around 5:28 pm, which is one minute and 16 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Full 🌝 Moon in the east-northeast (69°) at an altitude of 15° from the horizon, 247,437 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 6:03 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and temperatures around 37 degrees. There will be a south-southeast breeze at 9 mph. Today will have 9 hours and 43 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 2 seconds over yesterday.
Tonight will rain, mainly before 4am. Patchy fog before 4am. 🌧 Low of 37 degrees at 6pm. 22 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 15th. South wind 5 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. In 2023, we had light snow in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 28 degrees. The record low of -12 occurred back in 1963.
And in case it’s not wetenough yet. ☔ Saturday, mostly cloudy, with a high near 43. Sunday, rain likely before 1pm, then rain and snow likely. Cloudy, with a high near 36. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Typical average high for the weekend is 33 degrees.
Looking ahead, there are 3 weeks until Valentines Day ❤️ when the sun will be setting at 5:26 pm with dusk at 5:54 pm. I think that’s the date state budget requests are do, lol. On that day in 2023, we had partly sunny, mild and temperatures between 50 and 30 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 36 degrees. We hit a record high of 63 back in 1946.
It’s a relative thing and indeed it’s going to cool off by afternoon and turn to snow and rain by evening. But I figure it should be a pleasant morning bike ride this morning, not so cold for a change. Makes up for the bone chilling ride yesterday.
Good morning! Mostly cloudy and 35 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☁ There is a west-southwest breeze at 6 mph. 🍃. Nice, saves on the heat. There are 2 inches of snow on the ground. ☃ ️Won’t be long before the bike path is free of snow again. Temperatures will drop below freezing at around 4 pm. ☃️
Johnnycakes this morning 🍳 with spinach and broccoli 🥦 topped with cottage cheese and nutritional yeast. No onions this time but jalapeños and turmeric in the mix. Lots of fiber and protein from the egg and cottage cheese. Then had with a grapefruit 🟠. I decided against kneading bread last night 🍞, been trying to cut back a bit on the carbs and I was tired 😴 aftera my evening walk 🚶.
Out riding this morning 🚲, not so cold. Recharged the bike lights up yesterday 🔦, they get a lot of use with the dark mornings though lately they’ve not been quite as dark as slowly but surely the days are getting longer even on cloudy days like today. Important to be seen on these dark winter mornings out riding early. 🌃
Today will have a chance of snow before 1pm, then snow, possibly mixed with rain. 🌧 High of 36 degrees at 11am. Four degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around February 14th. West wind 5 to 7 mph becoming north in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 80%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible. A year ago, we had light snow in the morning, which became light snow by afternoon. The high last year was 34 degrees. The record high of 64 was set in 1906. 10.6 inches of snow fell back in 1963.❄
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:08 pm with sun having an altitude of 27.8° from the due south horizon (-43° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 11.4 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. Midday sun is getting higher in the sky. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 4:14 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (237°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (244°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 4:57 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 14 seconds with dusk around 5:27 pm, which is one minute and 15 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Full 🌝 Moon in the east-northeast (75°) at an altitude of 25° from the horizon, 244,938 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 6:02 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and snow 🌨 and temperatures around 34 degrees. There will be a north-northwest breeze at 5 mph. Tomorrow will have 9 hours and 43 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 2 seconds over today.
Almost missed the express bus 🚍 home though maybe I could have caught it at the Capitol or had to take the 18 home. 🏡 If that happens occasionally it’s not the end of the world. Ron was driving the shuttle yesterday and he was running late and the express was running early and there was a school 🚸 bus and a lot of traffic on Erie Boulevard last night. The transfer is tight so I’m not surprised. 🤨 Still I prefer it to driving 🚘 especially in bad weather like tonight. But I’m looking forward to bike trail being snow free so I can bicycle 🚲 to work and not have to pay the bus fare.
Tonight will snow, possibly mixed with rain before 2am, then snow likely between 2am and 4am, then snow likely, possibly mixed with freezing rain after 4am. 🌨 Low of 30 degrees at 11pm. 15 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 27th. Light and variable wind becoming southeast around 6 mph after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 80%. Little or no ice accumulation expected. New snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible. Kind of a mixed bag. In 2023, we had light snow in the evening, which became cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 31 degrees. The record low of -17 occurred back in 1948.
I guess it depends on how cold ❄ it is when I get home if I do an evening walk 🚶 though I would like to keep up that habit. I don’t want to walk in the rain ☔ but I’ll walk in the snow 🌨. After such a lazy weekend I’m trying to boost my exercise program but it’s tough especially to do the cardio without the stairs of the office downtown. Friday I have training downtown so I can do the stairs then as I plan to spend the balance of the day in offices downtown.
Mild butrainy later ☔ this weekend. Saturday, mostly cloudy, with a high near 44. Could be a nice day for a ride on my bike out in the country. Sunday, rain likely. Cloudy, with a high near 40. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Typical average high for the weekend is 33 degrees.
Looking ahead, there are 2 weeks until Save the Pine Bush Turns 46 🦋 when the sun will be setting at 5:16 pm with dusk at 5:44 pm. Gaining quite a bit of light in the evening. On that day in 2023, we had partly sunny and temperatures between 41 and 21 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 34 degrees. We hit a record high of 55 back in 1991.
I also baked carrot bread and also a loaf of onion bread and sweet potatoes in the oven this morning. The onion bread is saved in the freezer 
for later in the week. Last night I took some well freezer-burnt pork roast, cooked up with a lot of chunks of apples, vegetables, mushrooms and onions in a frying pan, added it bunch of spices and called it a delicious dinner. 
I am continuing to work on cleaning out my freezer one meal at a time, while developing well balanced, nutritious fiber and vitamin-rich meals. 
Made a second pot of coffee up as I was running late, though I’ve been cutting back on the amount of coffee I’ve been drinking at home as I can get it a work too.
but my hope is to ride down to the old train station — Peter Kiernan Plaza — and catch the express bus home from there. 
I think after President’s Day, assuming the rail trail is free of snow, 
I’ll be able to ride both ways to work on nice days. We’ll see how often that happens in February, though so far the first half of the month looks fairly mild.
and then kneading bread for the morning. Then I went to bed a little after 8 PM, so I could enjoy the heated blanket. 
I wasn’t going to turn on/up the heat if it’s going to be above freezing. I have lots of good things to eat going forward the next few days, probably including more of the fabled pea soup that contains that old stewing beef. Hoping to finish much of that off tonight, and will freeze whatever remains. Then tomorrow night I’ll break out some old lasagna I had in the freezer, and fry that up with vegetables and seasoning. Probably use up the rest of the sweet potatoes 
that I baked up the other day. It comes out much better then reheated nasty, calorie dense mush from the microwave. 
Saturday, mostly cloudy, with a high near 41. Northwest wind around 6 mph. Sunday, a chance of snow before 7am, then rain and snow likely. Cloudy, with a high near 37. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Typical average high for the weekend is 33 degrees.
