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 day work week with Election Day and Veterans Day all in one week. That rarely happens. And a lunar eclipse in the morning tomorrow. Fun times.
Fog and 62 degrees in Delmar, NY. 🌫 There is a southwest breeze at 5 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 61 degrees. Temperatures will drop below freezing at Tuesday around 10 pm. ☃️
It’s nice with the time change 🕒 to have enough light to walk 🚶 at six o’clock although I’m sure that will only last a few more weeks as we continue to loose daylight. Tomorrow though I will have to get up early to see the lunar eclipse 🌒.
It was such a nice day yesterday 🐦 that after walking 🚶 out to Five Rivers Environmental Education Center I went out to my parents house and had burgers 🍔 then to the cat wash 🛻 and got groceries for the week. I forgot a few things on my list 📃 but I may run to the store again if I decide to head out of town for the long weekend.
Tomorrow is Election Day. 🗳 I was going to vote in the evening 🌃 but I’m thinking the morning would be better with me being up early the eclipse. I am one of the rare undecided voters this year but over time I’ve been researching the candidates and issues. The second amendment and gun rights 🔫 is important as is fracking to help rural communities but I also am concerned about climate change 🌎 and social justice issues 👊 and candidate quality. 👭 As such I’ll probably split the ticket and mostly vote on the Conservative and Working Families lines. Change is good, without term limits politicians stop caring and it just becomes a game for them, especially as they get elderly. I am still undecided on the Bethlehem Proposition, though I totally get where the farm bureau is coming down on that there.
But other then that, I’m tired of elections ✅ and will be ready once they stop talking about them on the news. 📻 I know, it will be another week of analysis after the Elections but that’s different then people being all contentious about who to vote for and all the political ads.
I would like to head out of town next weekend 🏵 for Veterans Day Weekend but I am not sure about the weather. Still looks like rain for Saturday and then very cold on Sunday. And then cold the following week. This would be the week to get out of town 🏕 but I would rather save some of my limited time, and use the long weekend if possible. Maybe the next time I can do is a vacation type trip is after the Thanksgiving Holiday. 🦃 I might also do a December trip during Black Powder season, depending on how cold and snowy it is in that month.
Still generally mild even after the heat breaks tomorrow as cooler weather pushes in 🌥️
The forecast for Veterans Day Weekend still looks cloudy and relatively mild but the rain shower risk gives me pause. With the time change the mornings are brighter but the evening commute will be do dark.
Today. Feels like …
September 17th.
A slight chance of showers before 2pm, then a slight chance of showers after 5pm. Cloudy.
South wind 11 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
and
74 degrees
,62 max dew point,
4:43
sunset.
Tonight. Feels like …
July 31st.
A chance of showers, mainly between 7pm and 5am. Mostly cloudy.
South wind 9 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
and
62 degrees
,63 max dew point,
6:35
sunrise.
Monday. Feels like …
September 24th.
Sunny.
West wind 7 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph.
and
71 degrees
,60 max dew point,
4:42
sunset.
Monday Night. Feels like …
October 24th.
Mostly clear.
Northwest wind 9 to 11 mph.
and
38 degrees
,
6:36
sunrise.
Tuesday. Feels like …
November 6th.
Sunny.
Northwest wind 8 to 11 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph.
I hope you remember the set your clock back from 18 weeks.
Cloudy and 67 degrees at the Elm Ave Town Park. ☁ There is a south breeze at 15 mph. 🍃 with gusts up to 25 mph 💨💨💨. The dew point is 61 degrees. Temperatures will drop below freezing at Wednesday around noontime. ☃️
Seems werid being so warm in November🍂 Seems just werid to be sweating with the humidity in the air and temperatures in the 60s and low 70s but also cloudy with a good breeze. The air has the tanginess from manure as farmers 🚜 spread with the ground unfrozen but crops long harvested and pickup trucks are stacked full of firewood but nobody is heating with wood in this weather.
Out walking out to the Van Dyke Preserve then Five Rivers for the morning. 🐦 Out pretty early this morning, with the birds out singing and the time change. Super mild almost hot though with the humidity. Kind of cloudy though. 🌥 Tomorrow will be sunny again, but cooler with the wind expected to increase as the day goes on. 🌬
Heading out to Mom and Dad’s house for lunch. 👪 We are doing lunch now as I don’t like to drive after dark out in the country, especially with deer and my big jacked up truck with the somewhat marginal headlights, 😱 even though they are better now that they’ve been adjusted.
Been reading 📖 up on Bethlehem Proposition 2. I’m a bit confused about it all though the Albany County Farm Bureau 🐮 does make some good points in its memo of opposition like the impact of removal of the acres from the tax rolls on other farmers and simply the fact that the site isn’t great for development. It’s outside of the sewer district, although certainly many of the commercial neighbors down that way want to have that as an option. 🚙 Plus traffic concerns are a big issue as widing 9W would be a costly proposition there due to the emenent domain and demolitions of local businesses required. The current owner, Milltown Plaza Inc would do good on the proposed deal as do the farmer who leases that land, at least in theory.
To be clear, I like the idea of conserving open space 👩🌾 and protecting farming but it seems like it’s both a bad location to conserve open space — it’s located on a major highway — and it doesn’t seem to provide for sustainable farming, as it’s surrounded by suburban tract housing which isn’t the most compatible with agriculture which involves the use of chemicals, heavy noisy machinery and smelly manure and livestock. 🐮 I think it would be better to create an urban growth boundary, and support land protection further on the outskirts of town.
Remarkably warm and nice for November. But alas I’ve been busy with work, but I have been trying to work outdoors as much as possible and will go down to the town park before dark.
Partly cloudy and 73 degrees in Delmar. ⛅ There is a south breeze at 11 mph. 🍃 with gusts up to 22 mph 💨💨💨. The dew point is 58 degrees. Temperatures will drop below freezing at Wednesday around 3 am. ☃️
Been kind of a busy day with work leading up to Tuesday, 👨💻 but I’ve been able to either work from home or the library and automate things a bit to help out a bit. In the evening I will probably walk down to the park for a little while until dusk. I might also early vote today, although I’m thinking at this point I’ll probably just wait until Election Day. Probably be up really early on Election Day to see the Lunar Eclipse 🌒 and as such might be a good thing to vote in the morning.
If not for the rain on Sunday 🌦 this would have been the weekend to remote work on Friday and then had gone camping today, though truth be told I’d probably buy having to do a million work things like I have. Plus the library isn’t nearby where I camp so I’d be using more mobile bandwidth. 🤳 I’ll still probably end up burning up a lot of hot spot data but I’m not that concerned as it resets next weekend, and most evenings I just use my phone and leave my laptop in the office.
More clouds push in especially late on Saturday, but we trade that in for weather in the 70s and a low temperature of only 62 for the night. Right now it looks like we might have good weather for the lunar eclipse.
Saturday I probably will have to work part of the day — down at the library — but I also want to head out to Five Rivers before dark and go shopping and maybe wash my truck as it needs to be washed from last week. Been so busy, haven’t really had time for that. Sunday going out to the folks house for Sunday lunch, so I don’t have to drive home int the dark.
The real long range for Veterans Day Weekend doesn’t look real nice, but it’s my last time to get out camping before rifle season in the southern zone. Maybe I’ll do a trip in December but it depends how well my truck is working and whether or not I have to serve on a jury any particular week. I am on-call throughout the month of December for Jury duty after deferring both my state and federal jury until January and December respectively. I figure one way or another I’ll end up serving. I guess it’s my one chance to vote no and stand up to government abuse.
Today. Feels like … September 28th.
Sunny.
South wind 5 to 9 mph.
and
69 degrees
,51 max dew point,
5:46 sunset.
Tonight. Feels like … September 12th.
Mostly cloudy.
South wind around 8 mph.
and
54 degrees
,
7:32 sunrise.
Saturday. Feels like … September 19th.
Partly sunny.
South wind 8 to 14 mph.
and
73 degrees
,60 max dew point,
5:44 sunset.
Saturday Night. Feels like … July 31st.
A slight chance of showers after 2am. Mostly cloudy.
South wind around 13 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
and
62 degrees
,59 max dew point,
6:34 sunrise.
Sunday. Feels like … September 19th.
A chance of showers, mainly after 8am. Mostly cloudy.
South wind 10 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
and
73 degrees
,62 max dew point,
4:43 sunset.
Sunday Night. Feels like … August 26th.
A chance of showers, mainly after 11pm. Mostly cloudy.
Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
It looks like another nice weekend ahead, at least quite mild. Maybe though some rain showers and clouds come Sunday.
Sunny and 42 degrees at the Elm Ave Park and Ride. 🌞 There is a south-southeast breeze at 5 mph. 🍃. Temperatures will drop below freezing at Wednesday around 5 am. ☃️
