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.
Does anybody use a watch in 2023? Second gear didn’t want to engage properly but I’m finally out walking and I think I can make up sufficient time during breakfast to catch the express.
Good morning! Happy Tuesday. Partly cloudy and 38 degrees in Delmar, NY. ⛅ There is a northwest breeze at 6 mph. 🍃. The skies will clear around noontime.
I’m up and moving 😴 early enough to avoid the smoldering cars and the traffic around the High School 🏫 and I think I’ll make the morning work for me. I think I’ll reheat those pancakes 🥞 I made up this weekend. Then hurry into the shower, iron my clothes and run out to the bus. 🚌 That said, usually these days the bus is running late so I’ll probably be good on time.
Today will have a slight chance of showers after 1pm. Partly sunny 🌞, with a high of 54 degrees at 5pm. 10 degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 5th. Northwest wind around 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 69 degrees. The record high of 89 was set in 2009. 0.3 inches of snow fell back in 1928.❄ I think the winter season is almost done.
Monday was good, ☺ a somewhat busy day but I found a spec sheet 📄 for my bicycle 🚲 so I could order parts for it. I believe I’m getting closer to getting it back on the road. Walked 9.1 miles, mostly in the evening after work but I also stepped out of the office mid-day for while.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:54 pm with sun having an altitude of 60.5° from the due south horizon (-10.3° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 3.4 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:10 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (283°). 📸
Today is a pay day 💵 which is good as rent is due the end of the week with May just around the corner. My rent remains quite affordable and living in the city I don’t have to drive anywhere. And once I get my bike running my hope is to start saving on my bus 🚍 fare too.
The sunset is in the west-northwest (289°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:48 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 4 seconds with dusk around 8:18 pm, which is one minute and 9 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the First Quarter 🌓 Moon in the west-southwest (255°) at an altitude of 56° from the horizon, 250,541 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:55 pm. At sunset, look for partly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 51 degrees. There will be a northwest breeze at 6 mph. Today will have 13 hours and 52 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 38 seconds over yesterday.
The lock 🔒 on my door 🚪 has been acting up again but I found another key 🗝 and seemed to free it up. I’ll have to see if I have some lock grease around or I’ll have to call the landlord. I think things corroded up a bit from the heavy rain over the weekend.
Tonight will be partly cloudy 🌤, with a low of 35 degrees at 3am. Six degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 11th. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became light rain by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 46 degrees. The record low of 24 occurred back in 1972.
Weekend still looks cloudy, cool and wet. 🌧️ Saturday, a chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 60. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Sunday, showers likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 59. Chance of precipitation is 70%. Typical average high for the weekend is 66 degrees. Yes, I am sticking in town I think.
Looking ahead, there are 8 weeks until Primary Day 🗳️ when the sun will be setting at 8:38 pm with dusk at 9:11 pm. On that day in 2022, we had mostly sunny and temperatures between 82 and 47 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 81 degrees. We hit a record high of 97 back in 1953.
It’s actually a pretty damp morning and cloudy but I’m out walking and I do have the lyrics of that song reversed. But I’m going forward and that’s what is important.
Good morning! Monday’s come back around again. Cloudy and 42 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☁ There is a northwest breeze at 10 mph. 🍃. The skies will clear around 5 pm.
I’m moving forward on this Monday morning 🚶 though I have no idea where the week will lead. But come Friday if I walk 5 miles each day it will be 100 days of walking at least 5 miles a day. 💯
Today will have a slight chance of showers after noon. Mostly cloudy 🌦, with a high of 55 degrees at 4pm. Eight degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 7th. Northwest wind 7 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with a few breaks of sun the afternoon. The high last year was 72 degrees. The record high of 81 was set in 2001. 1.2 inches of snow fell back in 1967.❄
Oatmeal 🥣 this morning, then ironing my shirt and showering 🚿 and then the express bus 🚍 downtown 🏢. Session is at 10 am for the extender and the redistricting lines, and I expect to be heading back home at five 5⃣ on the express. Have dinner. Then walk down to the park 🏞 until dusk and try to get in 7-9 miles walked. And forward to Tuesday. Not sure how long of a week it will be with session.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:54 pm with sun having an altitude of 60.2° from the due south horizon (-10.6° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 3.4 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:09 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (282°). 📸
The sunset is in the west-northwest (289°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:47 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 3 seconds with dusk around 8:17 pm, which is one minute and 8 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the First Quarter 🌓 Moon in the west (266°) at an altitude of 48° from the horizon, 248,783 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:54 pm. At sunset, look for partly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 52 degrees. There will be a west-northwest breeze at 6 mph. Today will have 13 hours and 50 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 38 seconds over yesterday.
The next step on the bicycle 🚲 rebuilding process is confirming the spoke length and studying up on the truing process. Then rebuilding the wheel. Once I think the wheel is good, I’ll put the gears back on, reassemble the tire, redo the chain and ultimately replace the missing derailer cable. And ride.
Tonight will be partly cloudy 🌃, with a low of 36 degrees at 6am. Five degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 14th. Northwest wind around 6 mph. 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 49 degrees. The record low of 23 occurred back in 1965.
Cloudy andcool for the weekend. 🌥 Saturday, mostly cloudy, with a high near 62. Maximum dew point of 40 at 8pm. Sunday, a chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 59. Chance of precipitation is 50%. Typical average high for the weekend is 66 degrees.
I was hoping for a nice weekend ⛺ so I could get out of town before the black flies 🐜 were out in mass but it seems unlikely based on the current forecast. Plus I saw the governor announced a budget extender through Friday so probably not using a get out of jail free card 🆓 for Thursday and Friday this week. Maybe next, if I go to the Adirondacks I’ll bring bring DEET and the screen tent 🎪.
The long range looks cool 🌺 for closing out the month and heading to May. But will El Nino on its way I’m sure it will be cool until it’s not. 🏖 Somehow I expect the second half of the month to be ungodly hot.
That said, next Monday is May 🕊 when the sun will be setting at 7:56 pm with dusk at 8:25 pm. On that day in 2022, we had mostly sunny and temperatures between 69 and 35 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 66 degrees. We hit a record high of 86 back in 2001.
Turned out to be a beautiful ending to the weekend 🏞
It really is a beautiful evening with everything greening up. It was such a rainy dark start to the day but it left everything such a beautiful green.
Good evening! Partly clear and 50 degrees at the Bennett Hill Preserve. 🌇 There is a northwest breeze at 9 mph. 🍃. The skies will clear tomorrow around 9 pm.
It was nice seeing the folks. 👪 We had a nice afternoon, Dad helped me get the gears ⚙ off my bike 🚲 wheel. I’m still trying to determine the spoke length, I’m thinking 292 mm but struggling to confirm with the online calculators.
We had an interesting conversations 👥 and I played out back for a while with the dog. 🐶 I did my wash 👚 and we had dinner. Sausage and peppers, with bread with dipping sauce. I nibbled on some bread and a little bit of sauce but it’s pretty high on calories, sugars and carbohydrates so I didn’t partake like I might have years ago. 🍝 Once you quit that old way of eating that kind of food tastes overly sweet and fatty and it’d hard to really enjoy much of it. Still it was nice to sit around the table with my parents.
Tonight will have a chance of showers, mainly before 11pm. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 39 degrees at 6am. One degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 21st. Northwest wind 9 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. In 2022, we had light rain in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 45 degrees. The record low of 25 occurred back in 1965.
Tonight will have a Waxing Crescent 🌒 Moon with 16% illuminated. At 7 PM, the moon was in the west (259°) at an altitude of 51° from the horizon, some 246,401 miles away from where you are looking up from the earth. 🚀 At the state speed limit of 55 mph, you’ll make it there by October 27th. Buckle up for safety! 💺
The Flower 🌷 Moon is on Friday, May 5. The darkest hour is at 12:55 am, followed by dawn at 5:33 am, and sun starting to rise at 6:03 am in the east-northeast (72°) and last for 3 minutes and 2 seconds. Sunrise is one minute and 31 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌄 The golden hour ends at 6:42 am with sun in the east-northeast (79°).Tonight will have 10 hours and 11 minutes of darkness, a decrease of 2 minutes and 38 seconds over last night.
Tomorrow will be scattered showers, mainly after noon. Mostly cloudy 🌦, with a high of 53 degrees at 3pm. 10 degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 4th. Northwest wind 8 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 72 degrees. The record high of 81 was set in 2001. 1.2 inches of snow fell back in 1967.❄
In four weeks on May 21 the sun will be setting in the west-northwest (299°) at 8:18 pm,🌄 which is 30 minutes and 31 seconds later then today. In 2022 on that day, we had hot, humid, partly cloudy and temperatures between 91 and 65 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 73 and 50 degrees. The record high of 92 degrees was set back in 1941.
Looking ahead, tommorow is , 8 PM Sunset 🌇 is Next Sunday, Mothers Day 👩 is in 3 weeks, Fathers Day 👨 is in 7 weeks, Last Sunset After 8:30 PM 🌆 is in 12 weeks, 6:30 Sunrise 🌇 is in 20 weeks, Constitution Day 📜 is in 21 weeks, October 🎃 is in 23 weeks, Average High is 65 🍂 is in 24 weeks, Thanksgiving 🦃 is in 7 months, 7:15 AM Sunrise ⌛️ is in 33 weeks, Festivus 🍖 is in 8 months and Christmas Eve 🎅 is in 35 weeks.
For a while last night it really poured. I was only home from my walk out to Five Rivers a few minutes before the skies really opened up, I’m glad I left a bit early from Five Rivers, as all I felt was a few large drops before I got inside. But while I was cooking dinner around 8 PM, the skies opened up with some dramatic rumbles of thunder, a good crash of lightening and then lead to a night of heavy rain. It’s letting up now, I might soon put on my rain coat and go for a walk.
Good morning! Happy Sunday. Rain showers and 52 degrees in Delmar, NY. 🌧 There is a west-northwest breeze at 10 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 48 degrees. The skies will clear around 6 pm.
Believe it or not I slept into 6:30 AM this morning, 🛌 and didn’t start breakfast until 7. That’s super late for me these days. Had a good breakfast of barley, bananas and blueberries. 🍵 It’s a change from oatmeal and is still good and healthy, with a fair amount of fiber for staying power through the day. I will follow it up with some carrots 🥕 in a bit for more staying power today.
Today will have showers and possibly a thunderstorm before 11am, then showers likely. 🌦 High of 56 degrees at 4pm. Seven degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 9th. Maximum dew point of 48 at 8am. 🏖️ Northwest wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 57 degrees. The record high of 87 was set in 2007. 2.4 inches of snow fell back in 1956.❄
Still struggling to get the clip off the gears ⚙ on the cassette on my bicycle. 🚲 I am going to see if my dad has any ideas when I go out to visit the folks today. I do think using the breaker bar for lug nuts from my truck is the right tool but I may need to buy a better quality socket to get that cassette off. I really want to do the spoke repair myself if at all possible, because I know it’s a repair I’ll need in the future, and if I master the technique myself not only will it save money 🤑 but also downtime going forward, which will mean my bike will become a reliable commuting tool.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:54 pm with sun having an altitude of 59.9° from the due south horizon (-11° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 3.5 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:08 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (282°). 📸
I might hike Bennett Hill 🏔 mid-day and then head out to the folks house, but it depends on how rainy the mid-day is. Looks like rain again this evening, but I would like to get my steps in if at all possible. 👣 I don’t mind a little bit of rain, but I also don’t want to get totally soaked if I can all avoid it.
The sunset is in the west-northwest (288°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:46 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 2 seconds with dusk around 8:16 pm, which is one minute and 9 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Crescent 🌒 Moon in the west (273°) at an altitude of 38° from the horizon, 246,532 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:53 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and temperatures around 55 degrees. There will be a north-northwest breeze at 7 mph. Today will have 13 hours and 47 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 41 seconds over yesterday.
Tonight will have a slight chance of showers before midnight. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 42 degrees at 6am. Two degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 27th. Northwest wind 7 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. In 2022, we had light rain in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 45 degrees. The record low of 25 occurred back in 1965.
Rivers on fire, acid rain falling from the sky, species going extinct, oil spills, polluted air, and undrinkable water. For so long, we didn’t think of our planet as a place to preserve. And then in the 1960’s and 70’s that changed. Democrats and Republicans, with overwhelming public support, came together to pass a sweeping legislative agenda around environmental protection. In today’s episode, what led to Earth Day, and what Earth Day led to.
