Balsam Swamp State Forest

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.

http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/8261.html

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Nostgolia on this Election Day 2023 ☕🙈🗳️

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This year I’m glad I’m not involved in any elections or doing anything political. Just sipping my coffee watching the sun rise remembering the days gone by but glad I’m not at all rushed this morning.

Good morning! Happy Election Day 2023. Partly cloudy ⛅ and 51 degrees at the Stoney Pond State Forest. ☔ There is a west-southwest breeze at 15 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 47 degrees. I can smell the manure somebody’s spreading this morning 💩 it’s November in Madison County and the field work is soon to be done for the season. 🚜 They might have snow as soon as midweek.

Turned out to be a much nicer morning then expected. ☕ I knew it was going to be a great day when I awoke, saw the clear night skies 🌜and the moon. Had a nice hardy breakfast of eggs 🍳 with lots of vegetables and onions 🧅 that I got at Aldi’a yesterday in Cazenovia. While yesterday was cold, damp and gray at times it was still a good day with lots of riding 🚲 and making the most of my day off. A lot has changed in this world over the past few years but mornings are still quite beautiful and the coffee is good.

Glad I’m not involved in any elections this year 🗳 but there were many hard fought ones out of Bill Magees auction house 🗝️ 🍶🏺just down the road. Been half a decade now, I saw the bridge in Cazenovia they renamed after him. It was sad he lost five years ago, but during that general election cycle wasn’t my race. 🧑‍🌾 Truth is winning these rural districts is almost impossible with the democratic party becoming mostly an urban issues party with gun 🔫 control one of their top priorities. I can understand why people vote the way they do nowadays out in the country. 🚜 It’s not just Trump. Both parties have become more extreme but the Republicans have really locked up the rural areas nowadays. I have a feeling that Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Senator John Tester of Montana are going to loose in 2024, especially if the GOP runs a stronger presidential candidate then felon Donald Trump. ⏳ Time moves on. Democrats though really have locked up the suburbs, especially the older ones and professional class. 🕴🏻

Today will have showers likely, mainly between 10am and 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a temperature falling to around 43 by 5pm. 🌦️ Breezy, with a west wind 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 32 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with sunny skies in the afternoon. The high last year was 69 degrees. The record high of 75 was set in 1938. 4.5 inches of snow fell back in 1886.❄

I’m not sure how long it will be nice, clouds are already pushing in. 🌥 I don’t want to deal with wet camping gear 🏕 so I’m slowly but surely taking things down. I don’t have solid plans for today but I think 🤔 I’ll just go for a walk 🚶 around Stoney Pond then head home and get unpacked. 👪 Planning to go see my family this afternoon it’s been three 3⃣ weeks as I’ve been out of town 🌲 on various trips. Despite yesterday being cold and dreary especially midday it was a great trip.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 11:47 am with sun having an altitude of 30.9° from the due south horizon (-39.6° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 10 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 4:08 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (241°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (249°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 4:50 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 8 seconds with dusk around 5:18 pm, which is one minute and 10 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 5:53 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and temperatures around 44 degrees. Breezy, 20 mph breeze ⛅ from the west-northwest with gusts up to 32mph. Today will have 10 hours and 6 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 26 seconds over yesterday.

Yesterday I rode the South Trail from outside of Cazenovia to New Woodstock. 🚵 Nice ride though best on a mountain bike as some parts of the trail are a bit rough with roots and gravel. Pungent with the cow poop and water slurry 🐮 💩 one of the dairies was applying to a nearby field but that’s to be expected this time of year.

Spent a little bit of time riding around New Woodstock yesterday after taking the South Trail from outside of Cazenovia to New Woodstock. 🚂 Neat little village with a Historical Museum just off the rail trail. They like in Cazenovia also have an old Black Diamond Caboose there. Cute little village.

Unfortunately my bike had developed a really annoying squeak on Sunday afternoon ⚙️ which I couldn’t figure out and started applying grease everywhere, including getting it all over my hands 👐 and jeans 👖 and started to drive me crazy thinking I might have a failing bearing or some problem that could leave me stranded. I thought it was just some stone dust from the Erie Canalway somewhere it shouldn’t be mixed with the grease. Kept stopping, applying grease trying to find the noise. 🔕 Finally, I figured it out, it was the left pedal got some stone dust in it and squeaking. A little spray lubricant, knock off WD 40 on the pedal after my south trail ride 🚲 returned my sanity.

Swung by Critz Farms hoping to get apples 🍏 but it looked like only the brewery was open 🍻 and I wasn’t looking for a drink. So I went to Cazenovia Lake Park. Kind of cold gray afternoon but the geeese didn’t seem to mind the cool gray day on Cazenovia Lake. 🦆

Then I went to the Lorenzo State Historic Site, never been there before. ⛲ Been by it a million times though. It was a Monday so all the buildings were shut up and no visitor services or as I needed a bathroom 🚽 but it was still nice to explore the grounds. Swung by the library 📚 in Cazenovia for a pee.

Then I Canastota – Cazenovia Trailway, it was starting to rain and was cold didn’t spend a lot of time, ☔ wanted get back to camp and start cooking soup plus by then I needed another bathroom 🚽 break. Too much coffee ☕ in the morning. 🌅 Also didn’t feel like carrying my mountain bike over several steps to cross Bingley Road. Visited Aldi’s in Cazenovia 🍏 🥦, such a delightful shopping experience. 🛒 Low prices, simple selection quick in and out and the cashier lines without them bagging is so quick. ☺

Got back to camp around 4 pm accidentally brushed a tree with one of my tires backing into the campsite ⛺ rushing having to pee but didn’t do any body damage to my truck 🛻 as the tires stick out beyond the body. Sun ☀ came out and ghe wind died down. Fried onions and mushrooms, boiled carrots, broccoli, spinach and whole wheat pasta, added some tuna fish 🐠 for an excellent dinner. Soup really warmed me up 🍲, I just wish I had some homemade bread 🍞 to dip in it but I eat all of that the previous three days. Had a nice fire 🔥 didn’t rain until 7:30 pm so it was a good evening at which point I retired to bed 🛏 in my truck for the evening.

Tonight will have a chance of rain and snow showers before 11pm, then a slight chance of snow showers between 11pm and 1am, then a chance of flurries after 1am. Cloudy 🌧, with a low of 26 degrees at 6am. Eight degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around December 3rd. Northwest wind 14 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Little or no snow accumulation expected. In 2022, we had clear skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 34 degrees. The record low of 18 occurred back in 1971.

Cool but fairly decent now for Veterans Day Weekend, especially come Saturday. ☀ Friday, clouds then clearing, high may reach 43. Saturday, mostly sunny, with a high near 37. Sunday, going to be sunny and 39. Typical average high for the weekend is 51 degrees. Probably will stay 🏡 next weekend.

Looking ahead, next Tuesday is Average High is 50 🍂 when the sun will be setting at 4:42 pm with dusk at 5:11 pm. On that day in 2022, we had partly sunny and temperatures between 42 and 27 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 50 degrees. We hit a record high of 70 back in 1973.

One Car

Made soup for dinner 🍲

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I like soup, there are no rules, just boil things in a pot with optional salt and spices until tender.

Don’t let anyone ever tell you there are rules or any specific ingredients needed!

The Quickway.

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They don’t kid about the Quickway being quick. I was driving along it at 63 MPH and cars were blowing past me like I was standing still. The speed limit is 55 mph.

Beautiful country for sure. Next heading down to Pennsylvania.

I’ve always liked the idea of redrawing the 50 states around communities of interest. 🗺

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That would fix the electoral college and make state governments more representative of the people. If you had truly solidly blue or red states it would enable them to enact policies closer to local needs and desires.

For example, I think it makes sense to put Northern New Jersey, New York City and Connecticut in one state then put the Adirondacks in Vermont and Western NY in Pennsylvania. Likewise it might make sense to put much of Western and Norgthern Michigan into Wisconsin and merge Detroit – Chicago – Indianapolis into another state.

Sure I get the inconveniences of being drawn into a different state – but it’s no different than moving from state to state – but it would require a constitutional amendment if not approved by the affected states and the congress.

Shifting that clock back didn’t really make the mornings much brighter 🔆

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Maybe I just get up too early, the hour when the good folks of Madison County are milking the cows but shifting that extra hour of daylight in the morning doesn’t help that much. There is only a limited amount of daylight in November.

Good morning! Monday’s come back around again. Partly clear and 33 degrees at the Stoney Pond State Forest. Sunrise is quite pretty now that it’s finally happening. 🌅 Calm wind.

Up early decided I wanted eggs 🥚 again this morning. No cinnamon on my eggs this morning, lol. 🍳 😂 Did fry up two onions 🧅 which made for an excellent start though sort of melted my olive oil bottle warming it by the heater. Mushrooms 🍄, garlic and spinach, lots of turmeric and smoked paprika. Then I decided I was still hungry so I fried up some French style green beans with another egg and nutritional yeast. 🥗 Should be good on the energy ⚡ side of things today.

Today will become mostly cloudy 🌤️👉🌥, with a high of 48 degrees at 2pm. Five degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around November 18th. Light south wind increasing to 11 to 16 mph in the morning. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. It was humid. The high last year was 72 degrees. The record high of 73 was set in 2015. 3.2 inches of snow fell back in 1933.❄

Today I plan to head to Cazenovia around nine 9⃣ and park and ride my bike from there. 🚲 Some around the village, Lorenzo State Historic Site and Cazenovia Lake Park.🏰 I know nothing about the historic site, worth checking out. Then some of the Chittenango – Cazenovia trailway down to Chittenango Falls State Park 🏞 and hike down to the falls and maybe some of the park trails in the back.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 11:47 am with sun having an altitude of 31.2° from the due south horizon (-39.3° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 9.9 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 4:10 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (242°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (249°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 4:51 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 7 seconds with dusk around 5:19 pm, which is one minute and 12 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 5:54 pm. At sunset, look for mostly cloudy skies ☁ and temperatures around 47 degrees. Breezy, 16 mph breeze ⛅ from the south. Tomorrow will have 10 hours and 6 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 26 seconds over today.

Yesterday was a great day. ☀️ A whole lot more sun then I expected. I thought maybe sunshine breaking through clouds late but not the deep blue skies most of the day. ☺ Started out around 11 am parked across from the Chittenango Village Hall, rode along the Chittenango River Trail, the partially completed Chittenango Feeder Trail to current terminus, Chittenango Canal Musuem, then along the Old Erie Canal to Green Lakes State Park, part of the way around Green Lake, then to Canastota and Wampsville. 🚲 Then back around to Canastota and poked around the village then back to Chittenango on Main Street. 36 miles or so ridden, see my track I posted earlier. 🗺

Drove back through the Fenner Wind Farm ⚛ and made it back to camp ⛺ nearly a half hour before dark. 🌃 🔥 Had a quick dinner of bean soup 🥣 and bread 🍞 that I reheated then fried some apples, banana and strawberry 🍓 🍏 🍌 in some olive oil with stevia. Pretty good. A bit cool with the wind for a while 🍃 but it died down as the night progressed.

Tonight will have showers, mainly before 2am. 🌧 Low of 43 degrees at 7pm. Nine degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around October 11th. Windy, with a southwest wind 18 to 28 mph, with gusts as high as 43 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It was somewhat humid. It got down to 46 degrees. The record low of 18 occurred back in 1962.

Replenished the firewood stock 🪓🪵 up at camp ⛺ so I’m ready for tonight. I’m not going to string up a tarp but I’ll have dinner fairly early and a fire 🔥 and retire to the bed of my truck once the rain 🌧️ picks up which looks to be around seven 7⃣ o’clock if the forecast is accurate. I have books 📚 to read inside my truck cap and I have cell service here 📱 so I can stream video, listen to podcasts or lectures from my truck. Hoping tomorrow will be dry enough to do some riding or hiking, not sure but maybe one of those preserves on Otsego Lake north of Cooperstown. 🚶 I could also ride around Hamilton and poke around the village a boy if it’s not raining.

Veterans Day Weekend 🪖 goes back and forth on how nice it will be. Depends on the timing for that front on Thursday still could change. Still much cooler than this past weekend. Veterans Day Observed, Friday, mostly cloudy and 40. Saturday, partly cloudy, with a high near 37. Sunday, mostly sunny and 38. Typical average high for the weekend is 51 degrees. Not sure if I’m heading out of town next weekend but if I do probably Rennselearville State Forest though I’ve considered Vermont too.

Looking ahead as but not forward, next Monday is the first Average Night Below Freezing 🌌 when the sun will be setting at 4:43 pm with dusk at 5:12 pm. Earlier for sure back in the Albany. On that day in 2022, we had partly cloudy and temperatures between 49 and 36 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 50 degrees. This morning in Madison County was a bit below freezing but the elevation is higher here. We hit a record high of 69 back in 1964.

I’ve decided this winter ❄ I really want to and should commit to bringing my programming and data science skills to the next level 🖥 with those free courses on Udemy offered by my library 📚 and other free sources of programming knowledge like Free Code Camp. I was really into Free Code Camp until the class got really hard and was on topics I thought I’d never actually use for my blog and similar purposes. 🤓 But now in the next few months when I transition over to Data Services professionally, I want to have not only the skills needed to succeed at work but also personally. Computer programming and data science skills are a transferrable to a wide variety of careers. 🧑‍🏫

Finger Lakes Sunset

Honestly I didn’t mind the time change today 🌇

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I got an early enough start that I had plenty of time to ride and explore the Erie Canalway in Madison County and by four o’clock was tired and got back to camp while it was still light.

Really it’s when I go back to work on Wednesday and can’t ride my bike home from the office due to the time change that will be the major bummer. That said with the days growing shorter and colder even if we didn’t set our clocks back an hour it would soon be too dark in evening. Plus I’m a early riser, I want to start doing my morning walks again and would prefer more of the marginal daylight we have remaining in the morning.

Cows 🐮 > Hazardous Waste Sites ⚛️

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Taxpayers will end up cleaning up all that TCE and other chemicals you forever taint the groundwater with in search of a handful of jobs for a decade before converting this Greenfield to a Brownfield.

Ask IBM.