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 probably should have gone for a walk this morning but it was dark and I have trouble getting going in the dark.
Partly cloudy and 48 degrees in Delmar, NY. ⛅ There is a south breeze at 5 mph. 🍃.
Made it to Tuesday. 🌄 Yesterday wasn’t too bad, I have my truck appointment for next Monday and in the meantime I’m not driving 🚘 Red lest I loose a wheel. I hate to keep dumping money into it but I don’t see an alternative with prices what they are with cars. And I don’t want a break down in remote country. 🐮 Plus I want to get at least another winter out of it with the deicing salt on the road before I throw it away.
The appointment is on Monday so I should be able to get away for Columbus Day Weekend 🍂. Autumn has been late this year so maybe there is a chance to get up to the Adirondacks one more time before the leaves have dropped or maybe I’m better off to do Burnt Rossman and the Western Catskills or Stoney Pond and Caz. ⛺ Not sure. Fuel prices ⛽ are coming down a lot and probably inflation is slowing with the hiking fed rate and stronger US dollar 💵.
It really is a good reason to plan more trips 🌲🌳assuming that we don’t get a ton of snow 🌨 too early in the autumn. That said, I am thinking increasingly about doing more winter trips to Rennselearville State Forest just because that road is plowed year round and there are good opportunities for winter camping and skiing 🎿 up there.
Pretty much typical for this time of year. Not too wet although showers are possible the next few days. The weekend doesn’t look too bad although I’m not planning on any major trips until I can get my truck looked at which I doubt will be before the weekend.
Today. Feels like …
September 26th.
A chance of showers.
Light south wind increasing to 6 to 11 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
and
70 degrees
,57 max dew point,
6:47
sunset.
Tonight. Feels like …
September 27th.
Partly cloudy.
South wind around 6 mph.
and
48 degrees
,
6:47
sunrise.
Tuesday. Feels like …
September 30th.
A slight chance of showers after 1pm. Mostly sunny.
South wind 5 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
and
68 degrees
,51 max dew point,
6:45
sunset.
Tuesday Night. Feels like …
September 24th.
Partly cloudy.
Light southwest wind.
and
49 degrees
,
6:48
sunrise.
Wednesday. Feels like …
October 7th.
A chance of showers, mainly after 2pm. Partly sunny.
Calm wind becoming northwest 5 to 7 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
and
65 degrees
,51 max dew point,
6:43
sunset.
Wednesday Night. Feels like …
October 1st.
A chance of showers before 8pm. Partly cloudy.
Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Kind of a gray and foggy day out today. Very quiet around the High School this morning as it’s closed for Yon Kippur. I don’t know much about that holiday except for it being the start of the 1973 fuel crisis which changed everything in America until it didn’t.
Mostly cloudy and 55 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☁ Calm wind. The dew point is 54 degrees. The skies will clear around 6 pm.
Last week I didn’t do a very good job at getting my steps 👣 in. The mornings are so dark now and it was gray and rainy and I’ve been working late in the office 🏢 that is full of candy 🍬 and unhealthy stuff. Taking the earlier express bus 🚍 for walking 🚶 doesn’t work because it’s late so often and walking the Plaza is gross with all the homeless people who are kind of taking over the Plaza.
I am going to call this morning 🛠 about having an appointment made for Big Red to be repaired. 🛻 I’ve been noticing that something is loose in the suspension and I don’t want to find out what it is when I’m somehere in the wilderness 🌲 or a wheel falls off driving down the road at highway speed. Red turns eleven in two weeks but I don’t want to get a new vehicle before winter or until prices come down. Plus I don’t really know what I want to do after Red. Electric? Small sedan or truck?
My pantry is well stocked 🛒 so I’m good on that for now and I’m not sure if it’s going to be a nice weekend with the hurricane 🌀 heading up this way. I can always go for a walk to Five Rivers. I was kind of hoping to get north for the fall foliage 🍁 but it’s so late so I may wait. The best foliage locally is still a few weeks off.
I watch the stock market and bond market and just have to sigh. 📉 The truth is that both lower stock prices and bonds are to be expected with the fed rate rising. It means I’m getting a better price on new investments and growth will be steeper after the recession. Inflation will slow, gas prices will drop.
Not as much rain this evening as I thought from the forecast but still today has been a rather dreary day. The first half of the week doesn’t look much better but maybe things will improve as the weekend approaches. Only time will tell. But I figure I will be busy with work, so the rain is what it is.
This Afternoon. Feels like … October 14th.
A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy.
South wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
and
62 degrees
,56 max dew point,
6:47 sunset.
Tonight. Feels like … September 14th.
A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy.
Southwest wind 5 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
and
53 degrees
,
6:46 sunrise.
Monday. Feels like … October 3rd.
Isolated showers, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. Partly sunny.
South wind 6 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
and
67 degrees
,54 max dew point,
6:47 sunset.
Monday Night. Feels like … September 24th.
Scattered showers, mainly before 7pm. Partly cloudy.
South wind around 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
and
49 degrees
,
6:47 sunrise.
Tuesday. Feels like … October 7th.
Scattered showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Partly sunny.
South wind 6 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
and
65 degrees
,49 max dew point,
6:46 sunset.
Tuesday Night. Feels like … September 24th.
Scattered showers and thunderstorms before 8pm. Partly cloudy.
Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Time goes by so quickly these days it seems. I’m trying to learn and make good use my time for I know it’s not going to be around forever.
Rain and 61 degrees in Delmar. ☔ There is a south breeze at 10 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 56 degrees. The skies will clear tomorrow around 6 am.
Somehow I was reading 📖 and listening to Vince Guaraldi’s Charlie Brown Autumn album 🎶 and was devastated to learn he died at age 47 from a massive heart ♥ attack with basically no warning. Makes you think a lot about time. ⏳ It really is something you think about more, especially when your pushing forty and time goes by so quickly.
Yesterday, though was a enjoyable day. 👪 I spent it with Mom and Dad on the gondola ride up to the top of Bellayare. I haven’t ridden a gondola since I was a little kid. 🚠 We drove through the Western Catskills then up to through the Northern Catskills. It was a very clear, blue sky day but not a lot of color except a few of trees along the north-facing slope towards the top of Bellayare. 🌄 Maybe not the greatest views ever, but it was a nice trip. I enjoy spending time with my parents, as I’m well aware it won’t be forever. The days are going by so quickly.
I really should get down to the Catskills more ⛰ but with my big jacked up truck, it’s kind of a pain to park and uses a lot of fuel. I more prefer these days to go places where I can set up camp, park for several days and hike and do activities from my base camp. Plus I keep hearing how popular hiking and the trails are these days 🚵♀️ compared to days of yore when you could hike, especially on weekdays, and never see another person.
I also hiked up Bennett Hill in the afternoon yesterday. 🚶♀️ It was remarkably crowded but then again Bennett Hill is always popular. 🏙 Remarkably clear though today, you could see the Adirondacks and Green Mountains and the city like it was next door. Much nicer then today which is quite gloomy to say the least.
Today I’ve been doing a lot of study of algorithms to classify map data, 🗺 into roughly equal population sections. I don’t know what fascinates me about this, often trying to do this forces data into ways it shouldn’t be. I’ve tried both the GAN approach by the redist library and the SKATER algorithm. I don’t love the results either produces. Maybe it’s silly to try to aggregate and group together diverse populations, like this but I always find those maps you see on Reddit and other sites where they show how a small portion of the land represents most of the people to be so interesting. 👨💻 Lately, I’ve grown much more into the analysis side of GIS since I’ve been doing more R work.
Next weekend I might go up to the Adirondacks 🏕 which was my original plan for this weekend, but I am not sure with a hurricane heading up this way. Initial forecasts look good for the weekend but I’m not convinced of that being the fact. Plus I am thinking I want to get the suspension looked over on my truck — I’ve noticed that is wandering a lot on the curves and I think lower ball joints may be ready to kick the bucket.
Today’s sunrise was at 6:43 am. The next time the sun will rise earlier then today 🌄 is in 43 days on Sunday, November 6.
The average high for today is 71 degrees. 🌡 The next time it will be on average warmer then today is in 235 days on Wednesday, May 17, 2023 when the average temperature will be 72 degrees.
The highest point for the sun today will be 46.9° from the horizon at 12:48 pm. 🌞 The next time the sun will be higher in the sky mid-day is in 177 days on Monday, March 20.
Today has 12 hours and 10 minutes of daylight. ⏳ The next time the day will be longer then today is in 176 days on Sunday, March 19.
Today’s sunset will be at 6:50 pm. The next time the sun will set later then today 🌆 is in 169 days on Sunday, March 12, 2023.
The average low for today is 49 degrees. 🌡 The next night it will be on average warmer then tonight is in 238 days on Saturday, May 20, 2023 when the average temperature will be 50 degrees.
West wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
and
44 degrees
,
6:44
sunrise.
Sunday. Feels like …
September 30th.
Showers likely, mainly after 2pm. Mostly cloudy.
South wind 5 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
and
68 degrees
,56 max dew point,
6:49
sunset.
Sunday Night. Feels like …
September 12th.
Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 2am, then a chance of showers. Mostly cloudy.
South wind around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
and
54 degrees
,
6:45
sunrise.
Monday. Feels like …
September 30th.
A chance of showers. Partly sunny.
South wind 6 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
