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.
Three weeks from now it will be back to work in the new year. Going to take a few days off before Christmas though that week between Christmas and New Years I’ll have to be in the office downtown to supervise the unit as the other director is off and to pack up my office in preparation for the move. I figure I’ll come by the office after hours when parking is free to move boxes and my plants.
Good morning! Happy Tuesday. Mostly clear and 33 degrees in Delmar, NY. There is a south breeze at 6 mph. π. Temperatures will drop below freezing at tomorrow around 3 am. βοΈ
Decent enough morning to ride to work. π² Cool but that’s to be expected this time of year. Should be a good ride in. Only a few more days I expect to be able to ride in before it’s too snowy and I’m working out in the suburbs but we’ll see. At least when spring comes I won’t have to be doing the State Street Hill on my bike. π Plus riding the bike saves a buck thirty and the craziness π€ͺ due to South Swan at the South Maul Arterial being closed due to the water π¦ main brake. I wonder if that’s fixed yet.
Today will be sunny π, with a high of 43 degrees at 2pm. Four degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around December 2nd. South wind 6 to 10 mph. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies. The high last year was 30 degrees. The record high of 62 was set in 1979. 6.6 inches of snow fell back in 1970.β
Just another work day. Rush project today. Should be a fairly busy day but it will make time go by quickly. Tomorrow is the annual work from home day, π‘ I guess it’s part of the holiday celebration and allows people to bake cookies for cookie share day on Thursday. πͺ
Last night had a nice dinner. π² That bean soup and bread was good last night but kept my stomach rumbling throughout the night. Had a bunch of Acorn Squash. Went for my evening walk πΆ. Got milk π₯ last night which was good with the coffee β and cranberry pancakes π₯ this morning. Added shredded oranges to the top with some honey. π―Up at five o’clock β° and then did some more of my class on artifical intelligence π§ and neural networks.
Solar noon π is at 11:50 am with sun having an altitude of 24.3Β° from the due south horizon (-46.5Β° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 13.3 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour π starts at 3:38 pm with the sun in the southwest (231Β°). πΈ The sunset is in the west-southwest (239Β°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 4:23 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 24 seconds with dusk around 4:54 pm, which is 7 seconds later than yesterday. π The best time to look at the stars is after 5:31 pm. At sunset, look for clear skies π and temperatures around 40 degrees. There will be a south breeze at 10 mph. Tomorrow will have 9 hours and 8 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 39 seconds over today.
Tonight will have increasing clouds β, with a low of 30 degrees at 4am. Six degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around November 22nd. South wind 6 to 9 mph. In 2022, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 8 degrees. The record low of -6 occurred back in 1988.
Tomorrow my truck gets inspected, oil changed and tires rotated. π»Working from home then. Baking cookies for bake cookies day at work. πͺ I need to pull the hub caps off, I was going to do that this morning but I can do it tomorrow. I’m not worried, π― I think Big Red should pass inspection with ease.πThe truck needs to be dropped off at the garage by 8:30 then I’ll ride home π² and work from home or maybe the library depending on how much bandwidth I need.
Today, Pennsylvania becomes the second state to ratify the United States Constitution, π five days after Delaware became the first on this day in 1787. It’s a nice document but only as good as the politicians and those appointed by the politicians that enforce it.
A picture perfect weekend on tap. π Saturday, partly sunny, with a high near 44. Sunday, partly sunny, with a high near 43. Typical average high for the weekend is 38 degrees. Thinking of riding out to French’s Mills and or the Pine Bush Preserve on Saturday. π² π²
Looking ahead, there are 2 weeks until Boxing Day π₯ when the sun will be setting at 4:29 pm with dusk at 4:59 pm. Popular day for burning π₯ all those Christmas boxes I guess. On that day in 2022, we had partly sunny and temperatures between 30 and 16 degrees. It’s a state holiday for me – Christmas Eve Observed I guess due to it being om a Sunday for folks traveling. Typically, the high temperature is 35 degrees. We hit a record high of 59 back in 1895.
Once again the year is rapidly coming to a close. While I’m hoping to get away for one or two more adventures before the year is done, I am fully aware that 2024 is just around the corner.
I am excited about my new job and moving forward with my career. I continue to learn and refine my skills and look forward to a better tomorrow. At the same I am quite content with the year that was – had a lot of good adventures, been feeling great and healthy. Discovering how to eat and cook well really was a game changer, I feel good much of these days.
In a weeks more days my fortieth year comes to a close. One year closer to Mission Fifty, the plan to develop myself into the person I want to be at age fifty. I’m not there yet but moving my career forward, constantly learning, eating healthy and exercising is getting me closer. I continue to learn and explore owning my own land and those days are getting closer, one step at a time.
What can I say. Adding that vital wheat gluten to my whole wheat bread added some extra fluff and it really made things less crumbly with much better texature. I’ll see how it holds up over the next few days, as I slowly slice off slices to dip in soup, make french toast and enjoy dipped in olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Good morning! Monday’s come back around again. β Hope you know where your umbrella is and your windshield wipers work during this dire emergency winter storm, comma lol. Rain and 36 degrees in Delmar, NY. π§οΈ There is a northwest breeze at 11 mph. π. Temperatures will drop below freezing at around 9 pm. βοΈ
Taking the express bus π in on this rainy β morning. Not the early one either, as by the time I was done cooking π§π»π³ and getting ready it was a no go for the earlier express. I’m not super excited about doing a lot of walking πΆ this morning, though I’ll try to get in my steps π£ for the day, maybe even if that means bundling up and going for the evening walk. Going to be cold by evening especially with the wind. π¬οΈ
There is a closure through the Empire State Plaza tunnels due to a water π¦ main β break which might cause delays but I don’t care I’m not driving π and it’s not a big deal if I’m a few minutes late. Looks like the driver is taking an alternative route through the city to avoid traffic. It’s not like next year when I’ll be transferring to the shuttle π bus out to the suburban office. I do miss riding in on my bike but not with the cold and wet rain. π² Tomorrow I’ll be back riding to work. January is going to be tough on the biking, due to the cold and inevitable snow on the trail, not to mention it’s not safe to be riding Water Street after dark in the evening.
Today will rain and snow before 11am, then a slight chance of rain between 11am and noon. π High of 41 degrees at 12pm. One degree above normal, which is similar to a typical day around December 8th. Breezy, with a northwest wind 11 to 16 mph increasing to 17 to 22 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 39 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. Little or no snow accumulation expected. I’m sure at some point we’ll have snow. π¨ A year ago, we had light snow throughout the day. The high last year was 30 degrees. The record high of 61 was set in 1952. 4.3 inches of snow fell back in 1970.β
Adding the vital wheat πΎ gluten to my 100% whole wheat bread added a tad bit more fluff to the bread but it didn’t make it as light as white bread. π Did make things stick together a lot better though for better slicing and texture. I bet it will hold up better in my bean soup.π I’ll have to experiment with different amounts of yeast again but ultimately whole wheat is going to whole wheat. I wouldn’t say though it’s a flat bread as it was much more fluffy then what I had. White bread might be a lot more fluffy but it’s less healthy. I guess a reasonable compromise might be whole-white wheat, which is whole grain but the white wheat rather then the slightly more protein rich red wheat.
Solar noon π is at 11:49 am with sun having an altitude of 24.4° from the due south horizon (-46.4° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 13.2 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour π starts at 3:38 pm with the sun in the southwest (231°). πΈ The sunset is in the west-southwest (239°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 4:23 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 24 seconds with dusk around 4:53 pm, which is 4 seconds later than yesterday. π The best time to look at the stars is after 5:30 pm. At sunset, look for partly cloudy skies π and temperatures around 37 degrees. The wind chill around sunset will be 26. βοΈ Breezy, 22 mph breeze β from the west-northwest with gusts up to 38mph. Tomorrow will have 9 hours and 9 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 42 seconds over today.
Looking forward to tonight with the bean soup and bread. π π² It should be a good evening, but cold with the wind. But I want to walk at any rate, I’ll bundle up. πΆβοΈ Then settle back down home under the heated blanket. Not super cold tonight, but it will be windy. But it could be a lot colder — look at the record low of negative 12.
Tonight will be mostly cloudy π₯, with a low of 28 degrees at 5am. Four degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around November 29th. Maximum wind chill around 22 at 5am; Northwest wind 7 to 15 mph becoming south after midnight. In 2022, we had light snow in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 20 degrees. The record low of -12 occurred back in 1988.
I was noticing that Price Chopper has raw walnuts for sale π° π which might be a lot of fun when I go camping next week to roast over an open fire. I am still thinking of heading out to Madison County in the lead-up to the Christmas Holiday but it really depends on how much snow there is. βοΈ Right now there is quite a bit of snow but I think much of it might melt by next weekend. I could do Stoney Pond or the Charles Baker Horse Camp. I know the mountain bike trails are closed but I can hike or ride the roads. π΄βοΈ
Today in 1997, The Kyoto Protocol opens for signature. π The US would never ratify the agreement, and while some countries would participate, it was a lot of talk and not a lot of action. Every year the earth gets a little bit warmer and it ain’t because I drive a big jacked up truck π» or burn those Styrofoam egg cartons I stuff in my trash and ultimately the fire. π₯ Seriously though we are making some technological progress but things are still going in the wrong direction as the population increases and every year we burn more fossil fuel.
A picture perfect weekend on tap. π Saturday, partly sunny, with a high near 44. I am thinking Saturday of doing a bicycle ride out to the Albany Pine Bush — and maybe taking the bus back home after dark, after doing some maul walking or similar activities, just to see how crazy it is. I think I can go past the Industrial Depot and the Guilderland National Guard Rifle Range to Willow Street and out from there. Then mountain bike π΅βοΈ around the Pine Bush. Sunday, partly sunny, with a high near 44. π Sunday, I am going to a family event watching the Nutcracker πͺ and then out to dinner. Not too bad for the weekend before Christmas π€Ά. Typical average high for the weekend is 38 degrees.
Looking ahead, next Monday is Bake Cookies Day πͺ when the sun will be setting at 4:25 pm with dusk at 4:55 pm. I got to bake cookies actually on Wednesday for the Cookie Share Day in the office on Thursday. I am thinking homemade cranberry-sugar cookies, going to try making with whole-wheat flour and stevia along with butter, so they aren’t quite as much junk food. On that day in 2022, we had partly cloudy and temperatures between 35 and 25 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 37 degrees. We hit a record high of 60 back in 1921.
Good news! Last night was the earliest sunset of the year in Albany. Sunset was a 4:22 PM yesterday. Today the sunset will be about 25 seconds later, for a sunset time of 4:23 PM. Daylight will be added slowly everyday to the end of the day, starting at about half a minute, accelerating to about two minutes by the first day of spring.
To be fair, daylight will be decreasing every day until about December 20th and won’t start growing until December 24th but the loss is in the morning and not in the evening. In the meantime, the sun’s position relative to the atmosphere bending will cause later sunsets.
It was fun but I couldn’t get any traction at all climbing the hills. Granted I don’t have studded tires, but the hills were so slick with that mixture of sand and organic matter that is common on the hills around Delmar. After riding a short amount of trail I tossed my hands up and headed back for the road, and then rode out to Voorheesville. Road 15 miles today before coming home and having lunch — sweet potatoes fried up with peas and left rice-lentils from last week. Little bit of salt and turmeric, and some olive oil and pure delicious nature.
Good morning! Happy 7:15 AM Sunrise βοΈ ! Not that you could tell this morning, it was cloudy. A few minutes ago the rain started — caught a few showers riding back from Voorheesville — with temperatures around 51 degrees. β There is a south breeze at 13 mph. π. Felt that wind really pushing in my face. The dew point is 49 degrees. It’s going to be a wet and windy next 24 hours, but maybe not too snowy locally — as temperatures aren’t expected to drop below freezing until Monday around 9 pm. βοΈ
Breakfast started out closer to 6 am with coffee, fried kidney beans, onions, corn and spinach and eggs. π³A good protein rich breakfast. Lunch was fried sweet potato π with leftover brown rice-lentils. A good ride before the rain picked up. It will be nice this afternoon seeing the folks. πͺ Italian riggies for dinner.
Going to work on improving my bread π this coming week. With the whole wheat πΎ flour I’ve been cooking healthy but the bread is often dense and crumbly after a few days. Buying some wheat gluten and xanthan gum to experiment with better bread including rye bread this week. 15 bean soup tomorrow then chicken π soup later in the week I plan to cook.
Today will rain, mainly after noon. π§ High of 52 degrees at 1pm. 14 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around November 5th. Maximum dew point of 52 at 2pm. ποΈ South wind 7 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half 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 31 degrees. The record high of 64 was set in 1966. 6.1 inches of snow fell back in 2014.β
Doesn’t look like the worse weather really gets underway until relatively late. π§ π¨ It looks like if anything a lot of heavy rain and snow. I am going to try not to stay out at my parents house too late into the evening, lest I get caught driving home in really soaking wet weather. I do
Solar noon π is at 11:49 am with sun having an altitude of 24.5Β° from the due south horizon (-46.3Β° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 13.2 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour π starts at 3:38 pm with the sun in the southwest (231Β°). πΈ The sunset is in the west-southwest (239Β°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 4:23 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 24 seconds with dusk around 4:53 pm, which is one second later than yesterday. π The best time to look at the stars is after 5:30 pm. At sunset, look for rain π§ and temperatures around 51 degrees. The dew point will be 51 degrees. There will be a south breeze at 7 mph. Today will have 9 hours and 10 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 51 seconds over yesterday.
Tonight will rain before 3am, then rain and snow. π§ Low of 34 degrees at 4am. Nine degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around November 12th. Northwest wind 9 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible. I guess but it’s really going to be too warm to accumulate a lot on the road. In 2022, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became light snow by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 25 degrees. The record low of -8 occurred back in 1988.
Today in 1978, Prime Minister of Israel Menachem Begin and President of Egypt Anwar Sadat are jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their work ending the Arab-Isreali conflict. π€ Seems so quaint now, and insignificant with Isreal and Hamas back at war. Not the same characters but in many ways still kind of the same conflict. Also, in 1817 Mississippi becomes the 20th U.S. state, and was the last one to have the rebel flag on it’s state flag until a few years ago, when it became too embarassing with Black Lives Matters. π΄σ ΅σ ³σ σ ³σ Ώ I always thought the rebel flag controversy was stupid, why can’t boys still watch the Dukes of Hazard? Being a rebel or proud of southern heritage is different form being a racist.
As previously noted, there are 2 weeks until Christmas Eve π when the sun will be setting at 4:28 pm with dusk at 4:58 pm. On that day in 2022, we had cold, partly cloudy, snow showers and temperatures between 15 and 7 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 36 degrees. We hit a record high of 72 back in 2015.
Not long ago, the idea that Donald Trump could return to the White House seemed like a MAGA-fueled fantasy. With his legal troubles piling up, Ron DeSantis surging, and President Biden notching legislative successes, a Trump victory appeared out of reach. Not anymore. And so, the question becomes, what would a second Trump term look like? “Chaos,” says David Frum, staff writer at The Atlantic. “It would mean endless questions about presidential power, military obedience. It would be chaos upon chaos, upon chaos.”
Frum joins Diane on today’s episode of On My Mind to discuss “The Danger Ahead,” the lead essay for the January/February edition of The Atlantic. The issue features a series of pieces that consider what Donald Trump might do if he regains the presidency in 2024.
I sometimes think people don’t understand me. But it’s, in part because I don’t speak clearly and because ultimately I don’t know myself very well. But also others aren’t me.
