Good evening! Mostly clear and 55 degrees at the Green Mountain National Forest. 🌌 There is a south breeze at 5 mph. 🍃. While not super cool tonight it was cool enough I got my hoodie, vest and cowboy 🤠 hat and sat by the fire 🔥 for a while.

Summer is basically done at this point. 🍂 Already the evenings are cool and the sun is setting early with mid day sun almost twenty degrees lower in the sky. I noticed that there are hints of autumn colors in the trees after the cool nights lately. Labor Day, ten weeks after the summer solstice means it’s done. I bet in two or three weeks it will be peak color at Moose River Plains.

It was a nice day, with a delightful afternoon walk 🚶🏻 along the Deerfield River. Not a lot of exciting birds 🐦 but a few small song birds. The nice thing about a road hike is that it was free or crowds and offered several chances to bushwhack to infrequently places along the river.

I’m glad I finally cleaned out the bed 🛏 of my truck. It was getting kind of dirty and disorganized. While there isn’t much evidence of a mouse nest or mouse damage 🐁it was good to do an inspection and wash down the area where the synthetic PMD spilled. I’m hoping not to find any mice in my truck cap tonight and that I sleep soundly.

Tonight will be partly cloudy 🌃 , with a low of 54 degrees at 11pm. It will start warming up as Labor Day progresses. One degree below normal, which is similar to a typical night around September 9th. Maximum dew point of 52 at 2am. South wind 5 to 14 mph. In 2019, we had partly cloudy skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 52 degrees. The record low of 36 occurred back in 1962.

Tonight will have a Waining Gibbous 🌖 Moon with 79% illuminated. The Harvest 🌽 Moon is on Monday, September 21. The darkest hour is at 12:51 am, followed by dawn at 5:54 am, and sun starting to rise at 6:23 am in the east (81°) and last for 2 minutes and 57 seconds. Sunrise is one minute and 5 seconds later than yesterday. 🌄 The golden hour ends at 7:01 am with sun in the east (87°). Tonight will have 11 hours and 6 minutes of darkness, an increase of 2 minutes and 51 seconds over last night.

Labor Day will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 70 degrees at 3pm. Six degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around September 21st. Maximum dew point of 53 at 6pm. Breezy, with a south wind 16 to 21 mph, with gusts as high as 36 mph. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning with a few breaks of sun the afternoon. The high last year was 73 degrees. The record high of 96 was set in 1945.

Actually going to be fairly cool tomorrow. 🍂 I am going to take down camp ⛺ and head home in the afternoon although it’s not a rush. I haven’t decided if I’m going to visit the folks on Sunday although I don’t have a lot planned for tomorrow.

I saw a nice bike 🚲 for sale on Facebook for $40 and I probably should have snapped it up but I’m sure it’s gone. Used bicycles are remarkably cheap – they have little residual value. I don’t know maybe I should contact the seller but it was a nice simple vintage three speed urban commuter bike with a rack on the back. But I’m still researching and learning. ⚙ Perfect for getting around the city quickly with minimal fuss or adjustment. Still not sure if I’m going to go carless next autumn or just look at getting something simpler and smaller.

I bought a Black Lives Matters flag ✊🏿to add to my collection. I figured it would be timely to add a new flag, been a few years now and it’s good to support a that community in their fight for justice. ⚖

In four weeks on October 4 the sun will be setting in the west (264°) at 6:27 pm,🌄 which is 50 minutes and 10 seconds earlier then tonight. In 2019 on that day, we had partly sunny and temperatures between 59 and 41 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 65 and 44 degrees. The record high of 86 degrees was set back in 1891.

Looking ahead, Average High 70 🎑 is in 2 weeks, More Night then Day 🌌 is in 3 weeks, Last Sunset After 6:30 PM 🌆 is in 4 weeks, November 🥧 is in 8 weeks, First Sunday of Advent ✝️ is in 3 months, Saint Nicholas Day 🎅 is in 3 months, Latest Sunrise of the Winter 🌄️ is in 17 weeks, Save the Pine Bush Turns 43 🦋 is in 5 months and Valentines Day ❤️ is in 23 weeks.

Good evening! Clear and 56 degrees at the Green Mountain National Forest. 🌃 There is a west breeze at 8 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 48 degrees. The skies will clear around 10 pm.

It was a nice day but pretty quiet. 😴 This morning was pretty darn cold for sure. Having the heater was nice to warm the hands 👐🏻 up. Did some number crunching 🔢 this morning for work and then laid back in the hammock listening to music. 🔊 Somebody moved into the campsite across the street so I have to be careful how loud the music is especially as I think they have a toddler. 👶🏻 Not sure if they could hear the podcast about butchering and processing livestock 🐮 but its Vermont and an educational experience. Kid will probably be quartering a deer 🦌 in a year or two. 🔪

Those campsites on Forest Road 83 are nice but somewhat poorly spaced in my opinion so on a busy summer weekend you might have neighbors. ⛺ Pretty areas down there but no cell service for remote work. But I enjoyed my walk and sitting down by the Deerfield River.

Not a lot of sun this morning 🌥️ when this campsite is best for solar ⬛ and because the starting battery voltage had sagged, I started my truck and moved it to where the sun is better, idling it for a while to charge ⚡ but honestly my battery bank is a bit low. I should be fine until Monday but I could start the truck up tomorrow or go for a drive to top things off tomorrow if it’s really cloudy. It’s been less sunny than I expected this weekend from the forecast.

This evening has a brief rain shower 💧but it really didn’t add up to much but it made things dark early. But then again sunset is quite early in the autumn months. 🍂 Lantern 🏮 is burning quite bright tonight but I still think it could benefit from a good cleaning. But thats going to require carburetor cleaner and probably new mantles. I’ve still not figured out how to get things good and working well in the lantern, I should research more on the internet.

Finished off the sausage paddies 🍔 I bought with provolone cheese 🧀 and ketchup. They’re always so good washed down with a bunch of beer 🍻 and cookies. 🍪 I don’t do much day drinking but it was fun this afternoon getting a little drunk in the hammock after my walk. Been so busy in recent weeks, I feel like I deserve a quiet afternoon off 📴.

Tonight will have a slight chance of showers before 11pm, then a slight chance of showers after midnight. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 50 degrees at 4am. Five degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around September 19th. West wind 8 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. In 2019, we had partly cloudy skies in the evening, which became cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 52 degrees. The record low of 38 occurred back in 1938.

Tonight will have a Waining Gibbous 🌖 Moon with 86% illuminated. The Harvest 🌽 Moon is on Sunday, September 20. The darkest hour is at 12:52 am, followed by dawn at 5:53 am, and sun starting to rise at 6:22 am in the east (80°) and last for 2 minutes and 58 seconds. Sunrise is one minute and 6 seconds later than yesterday. 🌄 The golden hour ends at 7:00 am with sun in the east (87°). Tonight will have 11 hours and 3 minutes of darkness, an increase of 2 minutes and 50 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will be sunny 🌞, with a high of 64 degrees at 3pm. 12 degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around October 5th. Maximum dew point of 49 at 6am. West wind around 8 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 72 degrees. The record high of 91 was set in 2018.

That will be my last full day 🀼/strong>󐰠as I’m going to drive home in the afternoon Labor Day. While it will be sunny next week with the shorter days maintaining enough solar power for the laptop is a challenge, ☀ and I’m sure there will be multiple hours of Zoom Meetings on Tuesday that I best do from the library Wi-Fi to save bandwidth. 📶 With it starting to get dark in the woods at 7 pm, by the time you work until 5, there ain’t a lot of time to enjoy things after work. Plus I’ll need ice by then and I’m a long drive from town on dirt roads so I don’t want to make that big long trip and then have to head back. ❄ But four nights camping ain’t bad. I plan to do at least a few more trips before winter including at least one more weekend plus trip before the end of September. Maybe the Spectulator area so I can go to the library there for the obnoxiously long Zoom Meetings.

In four weeks on October 3 the sun will be setting in the west (265°) at 6:29 pm,🌄 which is 50 minutes and 10 seconds earlier then tonight. In 2019 on that day, we had rain showers, mostly cloudy and temperatures between 52 and 46 degrees. Chilly day. Typically, you have temperatures between 65 and 44 degrees. The record high of 83 degrees was set back in 1967.

Did some digging around in the truck cap and looking around under the truck 🔦 and I didn’t see any evidence of a mouse nest or eceb mice droppings. 🐁 My guess was it just a random field mouse that crawled in smelling the granola bar. Mice have been bad all summer in the woods – they’re always being found in the camp garbage rustling around after dark, under the camp stove and running around in the woods. This summer my truck has been driven nearly every day or two as I’ve been remote working either from the woods or going down to the library or park. 🚘 With the rough roads I drive I can’t imagine a nest would stay intact for long. The truck cap can’t be too air tight as I have a lead acid battery 🔋 in the bed which vents out explosive hydrogen has – I have large rubber grommets around the battery pulled for extra air flow.

It looked like a wrecker was towing away a Chevy Silverado like mine 🚙 that rolled on one of dirt roads up here when the tie rod broke – one of the wheels was pointed the wrong way on the wreck. I’m glad I replaced the tie rods on my truck – they were causing alignment issues causing uneven tire wear ⚫ and are notorious on snapping and sometimes causing the vehicle to roll as that truck did. I’m sure that’s off to the scrap yard at this point – although I guess it is drivable of they replaced the mirror and tie rod a bit totally smashed up on the driver side. Also passed somebody with a flat tire that they were changing after what appeared to be a rock or root they put through it going to a rough campsite. ⛺ I try to stay away from those sites and always check for glass 🍸 or nails 🔩before backing into the site. I also find myself driving a lot slower and being cautious and easy on my trucks suspension on the dirt roads.

Looking ahead, Northern Zone Regular Season 🦌 is in 6 weeks, Halloween 🦇 and the Blue Moon 🌕 is in 8 weeks, Small Business Saturday 🛍️ is in 12 weeks, Repeal of Prohibition Day 🍺 is in 3 months, Boxing Day 🥊 is in 16 weeks, National Bird Day 🐧 is in 4 months, Static Electric Shock Day 🧼 is in 18 weeks, National Cheese Lovers Day 🧀 is in 20 weeks, Save the Pine Bush Turns 43 🦋 is in 22 weeks, 5:30 PM Sunset 🌆 is in 24 weeks, and Snow Moon 🌕 is in 25 weeks.