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.
I think there is more wind downtown though. But certainly my walk in the woods this morning at Swift Preserve it’s not been real windy. But who knows later on. I probably should have gotten an earlier start and did the walk around the High School to get more steps in but I think I will be okay, as I did a fair number of steps just walking around the preserve and will try to walk more on the plaza later on this morning before work. Then go up to Washington Park for a stroll at lunch time.
I’m waiting for 6 PM tonight to find out whether or not I will have to serve on a jury next week. That will effect my plans for next week, but if not I am thinking of taking the second half of the week off to go up to the Adirondacks. Mostly just to get away for a few days.
Today. Feels like … December 9th.
Partly sunny.
Windy, with a west wind 21 to 26 mph, with gusts as high as 47 mph.
and
40 degrees
,
4:24 sunset.
Tonight. Feels like … December 7th.
Mostly cloudy.
West wind 8 to 13 mph becoming light after midnight.
and
25 degrees
,
7:05 sunrise.
Friday. Feels like … November 28th.
Mostly sunny.
Light south wind increasing to 5 to 9 mph in the morning.
and
44 degrees
,
4:24 sunset.
Friday Night. Feels like … November 10th.
A slight chance of rain and snow between 1am and 4am, then a chance of rain. Increasing clouds.
South wind 10 to 14 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.
and
33 degrees
,
7:06 sunrise.
Saturday. Feels like … November 3rd.
Rain, mainly after 7am. High near 54. South wind 13 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 29 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.
and
54 degrees
,
4:24 sunset.
Saturday Night. Feels like … November 20th.
A slight chance of showers before 1am. Partly cloudy.
The final month of the year is upon us. Soon we’ll have to start updating our calendars to 2023. And then a few months of winter before things start to warm up once again. Usually though the winter months are busier at work and I find ways to keep things moving forward as I wait for spring time to arrive.
Partly cloudy around the freezing point at the Swift Wetland Preserve. 🌤️ Calm wind.
I was running 🏃 a bit late this morning so I decided to go for a walk in Swift Wetland Preserve near my apartment rather than the super block around the High School 🚸 as there is less traffic 🚥 and carbon monoxide there and I have more control over the length of the hike there doing laps. I think I’ll still be able to get my steps in if I walk at lunch time and maybe a few more around the plaza.
Not as cold as I expected so things are a bit muddy 👢 at the preserve but that’s fine. It’s better when things are more frozen, though they have a lot of bridges and boards over the wettest part of the preserve. Even though the preserve is right next door, I haven’t been there in like in a year, because I normally do my bigger hike around the woods or the super block around the school
I am waiting to hear about jury duty service this afternoon 👨⚖️ as that will impact what my plans are for next week and which days I take off. It looks like when we get past Tuesday next week, we should have a good weather for a change, with quite a bit of sun but maybe seasonably cold. But I have a several days I should take off or I will loose them before at end of the year, and I can’t take off any of the last week because the other director is off.
That wind will make it feel cold tonight it seems, but at least it should hopefully limit the risk of a flash freeze and excessive salting on the roads. But I stocked up well at the grocery store so I shouldn’t have to go out right away, except maybe for the Save the Pine Bush hike on Saturday. But now that looks like rain. And I was hoping to get up to the Adirondacks after that. Doesn’t seem likely based on the most recent forecast.
Then next week is kind of up in the air as I might have jury duty or I might not have to report next week. I figure statistically the chance of having to report next week is low, as I could be called one of the four other weeks in December. Will know on Thursday evening. I do want to take off the second half of next week, assuming it’s decent and I’m not called to go up North or maybe to Cazenovia. A lot depends on how much snow is in both locations and the weather. But it’s been a long time since I’ve spent a night in the wilderness or had a nice big fire.
Today. Feels like … November 3rd.
Rain likely, mainly between noon and 1pm, then showers after 1pm. High near 54. South wind 10 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 40 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
and
54 degrees
,
4:25 sunset.
Tonight. Feels like … November 26th.
A chance of showers, mainly before 7pm. Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly clear.
West wind 7 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 31 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
and
28 degrees
,
7:04 sunrise.
Thursday. Feels like … December 6th.
Mostly sunny.
West wind 10 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 40 mph.
and
41 degrees
,
4:24 sunset.
Thursday Night. Feels like … December 7th.
Partly cloudy.
Northwest wind 5 to 9 mph becoming calm after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 24 mph.
and
25 degrees
,
7:05 sunrise.
Friday. Feels like … November 28th.
Mostly sunny.
Calm wind becoming south 5 to 8 mph in the morning.
and
44 degrees
,
4:24 sunset.
Friday Night. Feels like … November 10th.
A slight chance of rain after 1am. Mostly cloudy.
Chance of precipitation is 20%.
and
33 degrees
,
7:06 sunrise.
Saturday. Feels like … November 3rd.
Rain. High near 54. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
Kind of just like that 2022: fades away. Not that it ever was much of a year that I wanted to remember. I’m happy it’s almost done.
Cloudy and 36 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☁ There is a south-southeast breeze at 10 mph. 🍃. Temperatures will drop below freezing at tomorrow around 2 am. ☃️
November is expected to end itself in heavy rain ☔ though not until after the morning walk 🚶 and the express bus 🚍 downtown to work so if I walk at lunch in the Concourse with the muzzle on I’ll hopefully have my steps 👣 in for the day. Not 18k like yesterday but still the minimal 10k which is five miles.
I finally got to the grocery store 🏬 last night and stocked up. I’ve been buying extra groceries and more in bulk so I can go every two weeks. I freeze the bread 🥪 and then just run to Stewart’s for milk 🥛. I buy a lot of frozen things in the club and bulk size packages as y minimizes waste. 🗑 Those wrappers don’t take much room up in the g trash and can be saved for starting fires. 🔥 Pretty much zero waste.
Late last night the heat kicked on ♨️ and it got cold in my apartment, I had to turn on the electric blanket as I was cold. I was surprised. Of course I’m getting much too comfortable with the heated blanket, going to make winter camping 🏕 seem cold. I do want to do more winter camping this year, especially in Rennselearville State Forest and do a lot of cross country skiing 🎿.
Been continuing to work on the Free Code Camp dynamic web programming online class. 🖥 Most of the stuff is quite basic but it’s good to sharpen my skills. I’m more interested in the visualization courses but they recommend that you do them in order and I’m not fully up to date in the latest advances in web design over the past 25 years since I first learned. I like how the classes are hold your hand as the computer evaluates your code. And it’s free zero pressure.
I’m fundamentally a lazy person ⌨️ and being able to write some code and script can save a lot of time. At work I often see people doing things in unnecessarily complicated manual ways in Excel. Things that could be done in like a line of AWK. 📄 At the same time, I see a lot of people doing GIS stuff manually that could be done much quicker and easier in R, even if that means outputting to a shapefile and then finally loading into QGIS for pretty formatting. I’m thinking the dynamic HTML coding class will help me with web scraping for data processing among other things. Really can save time. 🕒
Even if the clouds break midday, going to be windy and cold. I’m watching the weekend I want to take a long weekend up north if not cold and wet after the Pine Bush Hike but I’ll take a wait and see approach. Or maybe the second half of next week into that weekend. But it all depends on whether or not I have jury duty.
Today. Feels like …
December 3rd.
Partly sunny.
Light and variable wind.
and
42 degrees
,
4:25
sunset.
Tonight. Feels like …
November 20th.
Mostly cloudy.
Calm wind becoming south 5 to 9 mph in the evening.
and
30 degrees
,
7:03
sunrise.
Wednesday. Feels like …
November 1st.
Rain before 11am, then showers between 11am and 2pm, then rain after 2pm. High near 55. South wind 10 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 40 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
and
55 degrees
,
4:25
sunset.
Wednesday Night. Feels like …
November 23rd.
Rain and snow showers before 2am, then a slight chance of snow showers between 2am and 4am. Low around 29. West wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 32 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.
and
29 degrees
,
7:04
sunrise.
Thursday. Feels like …
December 9th.
Mostly sunny.
West wind 10 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 41 mph.
Cloudy but not real cool this morning out for the morning walk. I decided to go into work today as I have a meeting and would rather save my time off for next week, when hopefully we can get a nice block of weather and I can get out of town. Depends though if I have jury duty next week. Rain and gusty tomorrow into Thursday.
Mostly cloudy and 32 degrees at the Elm Ave Town Park. ☁ Calm wind. The skies will clear around 1 pm.
I thought today was going to be fairly nice, ☁️ but it turned out to be a pretty cloudy start to the day, and while it may clear later, it’s not going to be a real nice day. I had a meeting so I decided to not take today off from work. 🏕 Next week though I want to take off probably about half of the week but first I have to see if I will need to report to jury duty next week or if I will be on call for a future week. 👨⚖️ It will only be one day, or selected for a trial up to week or the length of the trial. Kind of hope it is next week so I can get it done but I know that’s not likely. If it’s the last week of the month, it will be a bit more challenging as the other director is out but it should be a very quiet week I’m hoping. Or other people can sub in.
It was funny, I got a state survey about PFOAs 👩🔬 shortly after watching that video about PFOAs. They are doing a statewide survey to monitor what levels are like in people’s blood, and are looking for volunteers to participate. I will fill out the survey, and I guess get my blood drawn, if chosen. I’ll take $75 plus the knowledge I’m helping with important environmental research.
I should have gone shopping last night, 🏪 but I was tired and it was a decent night so instead I went for my evening walk then retired to bed early. 🛌 I’ve gotten to the point where I hate shopping so much with the depressing nature of inflation on everything I buy, that I try to only go every two weeks. Saves on gas too, plus forces me to be more thoughtful on what I buy.
Other then that I’m starting to work on one of those Free Coding Classes online. 👨🏫 I figure it’s good to sharpen up my skills and learn things in a more formal way. Often I’ve learned things over the years, but don’t necessarily know the theory behind such things. Plus using computers helps automate work, which allows me to do more with less time. At this point, I’m not thinking about a career in computers but it sure would be nice if I were a bit more fluent in their use so I could further automate the work I do, and better explore data.
It’s still too far out to know for sure, but if I don’t have jury service next weekend, I am thinking after the Pine Bush hike of taking a few days to head out of town to hike and camp, probably in the northern zone where rifle season is winding down. Then later on December I might go out to Brookfield or even Cazenovia depending on the weather and snow depth, or do some camping. Or if we get snow early, Rensselaerville State Forest with skis might be a lot of fun for an overnight or two as that road is plowed year round. Maybe New Years Eve?
Thinking about taking Tuesday off as a personal day, to go for a walk and do personal things, like get groceries. Plus I have a fair amount of time to use up before the end of the year.
Heat does need to go back on tonight as it’s going to be cold. But if it’s in the upper 40s out, I see no reason to heat an empty building when I’m at work. If it’s cold when I get home, I’ll turn the little electric space heater next to my bed on and lay on the heating pad. Tomorrow though, I can consider turning it off again. Probably doesn’t save a lot but every little bit helps, especially with inflation and energy prices being as high as they are. I’ve also tried to make sure my door is sealed for air leaks the best that can.
Today. Feels like … November 21st.
Partly sunny.
Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 31 mph.
and
47 degrees
,
4:25 sunset.
Tonight. Feels like … December 7th.
Partly cloudy.
Northwest wind 5 to 7 mph becoming calm after midnight.
and
25 degrees
,
7:02 sunrise.
Tuesday. Feels like … December 3rd.
Mostly sunny.
Calm wind becoming southeast around 6 mph in the afternoon.
and
42 degrees
,
4:25 sunset.
Tuesday Night. Feels like … November 10th.
Mostly cloudy.
South wind 5 to 9 mph.
and
33 degrees
,
7:03 sunrise.
Wednesday. Feels like … October 29th.
Showers. High near 56. South wind 10 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 38 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
and
56 degrees
,
4:25 sunset.
Wednesday Night. Feels like … November 17th.
A chance of showers before 1am. Mostly cloudy.
Chance of precipitation is 50%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.
and
31 degrees
,
7:04 sunrise.
Thursday. Feels like … December 12th.
Partly sunny.
Breezy.
and
39 degrees
,
4:24 sunset.
Thursday Night. Feels like … December 7th.
Partly cloudy.
and
25 degrees
,
7:05 sunrise.
Friday. Feels like … December 6th.
Mostly sunny.
and
41 degrees
,
4:24 sunset.
Friday Night. Feels like … November 13th.
A chance of snow showers after 1am. Mostly cloudy.
