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.
But warming up to start spring tomorrow. 🌸 Quite nice tomorrow, too bad I have to work in the office downtown 🏢 . Then rain for the second half of the week. I am thinking though after tonight, I may be able to turn off the heat. I am not sure what my gas and electric bill would be, but it’s been fairly cold, though I’ve kept the heat down but I’ve used the electric blanket quite a bit this past month, as it’s nice to at least be warm in bed. Regardless I expect my bill to drop next month, as the gas heat is done for the year.
Today. Cold !
A slight chance of snow showers between 2pm and 5pm, then a slight chance of snow after 5pm. Mostly cloudy.
Breezy, with a west wind 17 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 38 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
and
31 degrees
,9 max wind chill,
7:06 sunset.
Tonight. Feels like … March 4th.
Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly clear.
Northwest wind 6 to 16 mph becoming southwest after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 26 mph.
and
22 degrees
,14 max wind chill,
6:56 sunrise.
Monday. Feels like … March 30th.
Sunny.
Southwest wind 7 to 13 mph.
and
51 degrees
,
7:07 sunset.
Monday Night. Feels like … March 17th.
Mostly clear.
Southwest wind 3 to 5 mph.
and
26 degrees
,
6:54 sunrise.
Tuesday. Feels like … April 1st.
Mostly sunny.
Southwest wind 5 to 13 mph becoming west in the afternoon.
Good morning! Happy Sunday on this last day of winter which certainly will feel that way.
Partly sunny and 23 degrees ☀ at the Five Rivers Environmental Education Center. Breezy, ️17 mph breeze from the west 🌬 with gusts up to 28 mph 💨💨💨. The current wind chill is 9. There are 3.5 inches of snow on the ground. ☃ ️Things will start to thaw out at tomorrow around 9 am. 🌡️
I got out walking around 7 o’clock this morning, 🌅 which by my standards is pretty late. It was a nice morning but with the breeze picking up and clouds pushing in 🌥 its becoming more of a raw day.
So nothing really great to say about Saint Patrick’s Day though it looks like the rain won’t last into the evening. Then windy for the weekend. I bet the snow won’t be long in this world. I like those fifties in the day but not the lows in the evening which are probably too cold to turn the heat off for the season.
Today. Feels like …
March 21st.
Showers likely, mainly after 3pm. Cloudy.
Light south wind increasing to 6 to 11 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
and
47 degrees
,
7:05
sunset.
Tonight. Feels like …
April 4th.
A chance of showers, mainly before 1am. Cloudy, then gradually becoming partly cloudy.
South wind 8 to 13 mph becoming northwest after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
and
32 degrees
,
7:00
sunrise.
Saturday. Feels like …
March 5th.
Mostly sunny.
West wind around 9 mph.
and
41 degrees
,
7:06
sunset.
Saturday Night. Feels like …
March 7th.
A slight chance of rain and snow showers before 8pm, then a slight chance of snow between 8pm and 2am. Partly cloudy.
West wind 11 to 14 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
and
23 degrees
,11 max wind chill,
6:58
sunrise.
Sunday. Cold !
Partly sunny.
Breezy, with a west wind 17 to 23 mph, with gusts as high as 33 mph.
I better wear the green muzzle to work today, it being Saint Patrick’s Day. And remember, at least in cattle and sheep eating too much clover causes bloat.
Cloudy and dark around 33 degrees at 6:20 am for the morning walk in Delmar, NY. ☁ Calm wind. There are 3 inches of snow on the ground. ☃ ️
It’s a dark start to my Friday 🌃 but maybe it’s because it’s expected to rain this morning or maybe it’s because I got an early start this morning. Getting lighter as I walk 🚶, I didn’t turn on the porch light before leaving.
Not a real cold morning but I wouldn’t say it’s the nicest ever. The good news is the rain is expected to be tough on the snow, 🌧 and will hopefully send it packing for the weekend. And if that’s not enough, this weekend should be windy and sunny which should take a bite out of the snow. 😎 I’m just hoping I can start doing walks down to the park in the evening for additional steps.
Here is a crosswalk table for converting Onondaga County 2020 EDs to 2023 EDs.
In a nutshell, 87 EDs changed in Onondaga County, mostly in the city after redistricting, though also some changes in the town. Block-level VAP again was used estimating how much of the old ED is in the new ED. I’ll probably do Erie next.
So basically to use this table, like the one I posted for Albany County, you would do this kind of math:
Good morning! Happy Thursday. Mostly clear and 25 degrees 🌃 at the in Delmar, NY for morning walk. There is a northwest breeze at 10 mph. 🍃. There are 4 inches of snow on the ground. ☃ ️Things will start to thaw out at around 10 am. 🌡️
Out for the morning walk 🚶 before sunrise at 6:25. But already it’s not super dark or cold. At least in the evening there was some light for the walk then. I didn’t get out walking last night until 7:15 pm because session dragged a little beyond 5 pm and I ended up catching the local home at 5:45. But there was still daylight. Cold ❄ day yesterday with the wind but already this morning is much nicer. Ton of black ice on the sidewalks this morning, caught myself a few times starting to fall. Last night wasn’t so bad.
Today will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 45 degrees at 5pm. Seems warm and nice. Just typical for today. West wind 7 to 9 mph. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning with more sun in the afternoon. The high last year was 60 degrees. The record high of 82 was set in 1990. 13.4 inches of snow fell back in 1956.❄
While there is quite a bit of snow around ☺ it should be a good day. Probably won’t be able to go to the park this evening but I’m hoping to get out walking 🚶 in the daylight hours. Session day 🕴️but a get away day so hopefully they’ll bang through the budget reso and I’ll be able to take the express home. Then a quick dinner – I have several options I’ve frozen over the past few weeks. 🍲 I actually did a small bowl of pasta last night because I wanted to finish off the open container of pasta sauce that was getting old and I didn’t want to go bad.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:05 pm with sun having an altitude of 45.6° from the due south horizon (-25.2° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 5.9 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 6:26 pm with the sun in the west (262°). 📸 The sunset is in the west (269°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:03 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 54 seconds with dusk around 7:30 pm, which is one minute and 10 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:04 pm. At sunset, look for partly cloudy skies 🌃 and temperatures around 41 degrees. There will be a west breeze at 6 mph. Tomorrow will have 12 hours and 2 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 54 seconds over today.
Tonight will be mostly cloudy 🌥, with a low of 32 degrees at 2am. Six degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 2nd. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. In 2022, we had partly cloudy skies in the evening, which became cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 43 degrees. The record low of -1 occurred back in 1916.
On the bus ride home I overheard somebody say one of my clients had passed 👥, I was thinking not another one as I think half of my clients have come and gone over the years. He was one of the good ones not that I necessarily agree with his politics but he’s good for his district. The thing about it, it’s not true. 🤥The Republican who was talking had no idea what she was talking about. The buses 🚍 are good place to hear rumors in Albany but not all of them are true. 💭
Cool this weekend with temperatures running 9 degrees below normal but otherwise sunny. 😃 Saturday, mostly sunny, with a high near 41. West wind 10 to 13 mph. Sunday, partly sunny, with a high near 33. Breezy. Typical average high for the weekend is 46 degrees.
One month 📅 from now the Average High is 60 🌷 when the sun will be setting at 7:39 pm with dusk at 8:07 pm.
Good morning! Partly clear and 31 degrees🌄 in Delmar for the morning walk. 🚶 Breezy, ️18 mph breeze from the northwest 🌬 with gusts up to 40 mph 💨💨💨. The current wind chill is 19. There are 7 inches of snow on the ground. ☃ ️Things will start to thaw out at around noontime. 🌡️
It’s not as cold ❄ as I anticipated for the morning walk 🚶. At times the breeze is fairly slack and it’s not super cold. The sidewalks are mostly clear though they have some ice which will hopefully resolve itself with the sun and warmer temperatures. I’m not sure how much snow will be left come the weekend.
Today will have a slight chance of snow before 8am. Partly sunny 🌞, with a high of 35 degrees at 4pm. 10 degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around February 13th. Breezy, with a northwest wind 18 to 21 mph, with gusts as high as 45 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 53 degrees. The record high of 72 was set in 2019. 10.4 inches of snow fell back in 1916.❄
Oatmeal and fruit 🥣 for breakfast. It’s easy and with the darker mornings I’ve been doing breakfast first before the walk. Oatmeal is a somewhat of a refined grain 🌾 but it has a relatively low glycemic index and his high in fiber which means it keeps you full longer. Slow oats would be a better choice but not by that much.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:05 pm with sun having an altitude of 45.2° from the due south horizon (-25.6° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 6 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 6:24 pm with the sun in the west (262°). 📸 The sunset is in the west (268°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:02 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 54 seconds with dusk around 7:29 pm, which is one minute and 10 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:03 pm. At sunset, look for mostly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 32 degrees. The wind chill around sunset will be 21. ☃️ Breezy, 17 mph breeze ⛅ from the northwest with gusts up to 38mph. Tomorrow will have 11 hours and 59 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 54 seconds over today.
Tonight will be mostly clear 🌃, with a low of 25 degrees at 6am. One degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 14th. Maximum wind chill around 17 at 1am; Northwest wind 10 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 38 mph. In 2022, we had light rain in the evening, which became cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 32 degrees. The record low of 4 occurred back in 1980.
Today in 44 BC, Julius Caesar, Dictator of the Roman Republic, is stabbed to death by Marcus Junius Brutus, Gaius Cassius Longinus, Decimus Junius Brutus, and several other Roman senators 🗡 on the Ides of March. But nowadays it’s all about Friendly Strangers in the Black Sedans with candy 🍬 and pictures 🖼 and lovable stuff. Probably things that will kill you like processed sugar. That Ides of March song is awesome.
Right now, a split verdict on the weekend. 😕 Saturday, a chance of showers before 2pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 43. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Sunday, partly sunny, with a high near 34. Typical average high for the weekend is 46 degrees.
One month 📅 from now will be Tax Day 💰 when the sun will be setting at 7:38 pm with dusk at 8:06 pm. The average high temperature is 34 degrees, with a record high of 61 in 1895.
