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.
Break the Headphone Jack On Your Laptop?
Get an Inexpensive USB-to-Audio Dongle.
Last week I did something stupid — I left my headphones plugged into my laptop when I headed off to the office, breaking off the headphone jack in my less then two year old laptop. I found an inexpensive, plug-and-play alternative that works just a well as a headphone jack.
An USB-to-Audio dongle plugs into any USB port or hub and provides an analog headphone jack audio out. It’s a fairly tiny device with a male USB connector on one side and a headphone jack on the others. iPhone users often use a similar device to connect analog headphones to their phones.
The dongles are under $10 on Ebay and Amazon and can often be found on AliExpress direct from China for less then $5. The sound quality on the one I bought was basically the same as the laptop. The dongles works well, because USB-to-Audio standard is part of the USB standard and most software automatically supports it just like a conventional headphone jack.
Good morning! Survived another week, made it to Friday. 😲
I was going to work from home today or probably more like work from the woods but I have a meeting and backgrounds to review this morning in the legislative office.
Partly sunny and 56 degrees in Albany, NY. ⛅ There is a north-northwest breeze at 5 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 47 degrees.
Been just another long week. 🏢 The work never seems to stop, everything seems to be a shit show and I forget things. 📄 I’ve learned though not to respond to emails 📧 after hours and use schedule send not to bother others unless it’s urgent during the off hours.
The latest thing I’ve been studying is Selenium for extracting data from interactive websites. 🖥 There is a lot of data out there on the internet that really can only be extracted using a full web browser with clicking and interacting with the fully rendered page. Basic html is fewer and farther between. For example, state board of elections election night returns. But with selenium you can control the full Firefox or Chrome browser and extract the data just like you would with rvest on more basic sites but with scripted clicks and text entry. Having some trouble getting Selenium up and running but I’m excited about the possibilities.
I got my electric bill 🔌 and it’s back up but part of it after Labor Day I turned my hot water heater back on because cold showers 🛀 aren’t fun with it not being so warm out. I think it was like $68 which the days of $50 utilities off season seem to be long gone. ♨️ Before you know it winter heating season will be back but I’ll keep the heat off and turned down as long as possible in favor of the electric blanket and going to bed early and occasional use of the space heater. I make good money 💵 but I hate to incinerate cash 🔥 that can be invested towards owning my own land. 🐮
I might do an overnight tomorrow to Rennselearville State Forest ⛺. Not a big trip just a day trip for hiking and wildlife observation on the haul roads and then maybe up on Mount Pisgah 🗻 or Scutt Road to look at the Catskills. I should use my view scape models to make up some maps of the viewable area from the overlooks.
It’s not going to be long before it’s much cooler and rainy. The past few days should have been a wake up call for what is ahead.
Pleasant autumn afternoons always give way to cold winter days. But it will eventually come back around again to the spring time. But first months of high heating bills, snow and a shit ton of corrosive nasty road salt.
The moral of the story is get out an enjoy it while you still can. It’s going to be a nice weekend. I’m thinking Schoharie County and the Catskill Scenic Trail thought my mind could change.
Today. Feels like …
September 28th.
Sunny.
Northwest wind around 10 mph.
and
69 degrees
,46 max dew point,
7:06
sunset.
Tonight. Feels like …
October 4th.
Mostly clear.
Northwest wind 5 to 7 mph becoming calm after midnight.
and
45 degrees
,
6:34
sunrise.
Friday. Feels like …
September 26th.
Mostly sunny.
Northwest wind 3 to 8 mph.
and
70 degrees
,51 max dew point,
7:04
sunset.
Friday Night. Feels like …
September 17th.
Mostly cloudy.
Light and variable wind.
and
52 degrees
,
6:35
sunrise.
Saturday. Feels like …
September 11th.
Mostly sunny.
Calm wind becoming south around 6 mph in the afternoon.
The weekend doesn’t seem that far away. Should be a nice late summer / early fall weekend, depending on how you look at it. Not much color yet locally, but why rush it? I’ll take the warmer weather.
Mostly sunny and 54 degrees in Albany, NY. 😎 There is a north-northwest breeze at 9 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 46 degrees. This morning is fantastic with the dew points.
Yesterday I dun good with getting my steps in 👣 but today was so dark so I didn’t get out for a walk before work. Yesterday though I did 17,000 steps and today I’m at 3,500 so far but I doubt I’ll get in 10,000 steps today especially if I work late.
I am thinking about taking tomorrow as a work at home day 🖥 and then either working from Schoharie or driving out there mid day or after work and camping 🏕 while doing the Catskill Scenic Trail again. Although I’m not so set into that plan.
Today’s sunrise was at 6:33 am. The next time the sun will rise earlier then today 🌄 is in 166 days on Monday, February 27, 2023.
The average high for today is 75 degrees. 🌡 The next time it will be on average warmer then today is in 260 days on Thursday, June 1, 2023 when the average temperature will be 76 degrees.
The highest point for the sun today will be 50.8° from the horizon at 12:52 pm. 🌞 The next time the sun will be higher in the sky mid-day is in 197 days on Thursday, March 30.
Today has 12 hours and 46 minutes of daylight. ⏳ The next time the day will be longer then today is in 196 days on Wednesday, March 29.
Today’s sunset will be at 7:08 pm. The next time the sun will set later then today 🌆 is in 188 days on Tuesday, March 21, 2023.
The average low for today is 53 degrees. 🌡 The next night it will be on average warmer then tonight is in 261 days on Friday, June 2, 2023 when the average temperature will be 54 degrees.
