Opinion: Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, and digits to nothing : NPR
Perkins Clearing
What is Sorghum? | MD F&H
For once and for all… I don’t think I’m sick or dying 😵
I am so fucking tired of people either asking me either directly to my face if I’m sick or dying, or even worse talking behind my back asking if I’m sick and dying – because I’ve decided to learn about food and nutrition – and been making healthier choices with my meals leading to net calorie reduction and therefore weight reduction.
I concede my face is more wrinkled then before as I’ve burned some fat. Skin doesn’t tighten up instantly as one looses weight, it has to be shed and regrown – and to a certain extent will never grow to be super tight again. I’m forty and wrinkles are just part of life, especially as a person who used to be a fair amount chubbier. My face and chest are much more angular without the thick layer of fat underneath. More importantly isn’t the visual fat that has disappeared but knowing the fat in my heart muscles and other organs are fading away, my cholesterol levels are excellent, my blood sugar is back in the normal range and my BMI is now slightly below 25 in the normal healthy range. I’ve changed, my body and mind has changed I’m not who I was in my twenties and thirties.
You know it would be terribly mean to ask every fat person on you see on the street, are you sick and dying? If you see somebody has put on some pounds during the holiday season, it would be cruel to call them out and say, sorry that you are sick and dying. The truth is though they are dying, killing their bodies and their minds through an unhealthy diet. Fat kills – not only do fat people get inferior health care – they’re literally poisoning every organ in their bodies. Excessive unrefined carbs, saturated fats, sugars not from whole fruits and salt will kill you just like cigarettes will. Maybe not today but certainly tomorrow.
By no means am I crash dieting, but instead using the best research I can find to discover healthy, filling meal options. I’m not afraid to consider vegan or vegetarian recipes and pair them with a healthy source of meat. Or any other recipe considering the pros and cons of the nutrition of each food and how it goes into the overall picture. I really try to avoid processed and prepared foods including refined (white) grains and added sugars.
I went to the doctor for a physical in late May. Based on their analysis my health is now excellent for a 40 year old. I might not be an athlete but my BMI has fallen to close to 25 at that point and probably is below now though I don’t own a scale. My cholesterol, blood pressure and sugar levels are excellent. I actually kind of celebrate my trimmer more angular and wrinkled face, often with a great big grin. And if you don’t like it too bad. I think if anything I’ve reduced my chances of dying and getting sick by my healthier lifestyle.
Do I still have some health concerns? Yes, I’m still trying to figure out what a sustainable diet looks like for the future. What luxuries can I afford while remaining healthy – like that occasional ice cream parlor, beer at camp or slice of locally farmed bacon or steak. I also have an issue at times with excessive urination though I think that’s more due to the higher quantity of wet vegetables and fruits in my diet. Eat a lot of zucchini and watermelon and you can expect to pee a lot. Lots of lentils and beans makes you gassy though that problem has been reduced as my gut tract adapted. And it’s clear that like most Americans I’m exposed to toxic chemicals every day, a fact I’m not in denial about, pretending to eat organic. I’m also in that age when health issues can pop up but just because I have a great big grin and my face has gotten wrinkled from weight loss doesn’t mean I’m dying.
Rain?! ☔
Go figure, going to rain tonight for the fire tower lighting. And I had planned to spend my evening in Spectulator to paddle, ride, watch the sunset, eat ice cream then drive to Mason Lake to see Snowy Mountain and Makotatis.
NPR
I find it hard to believe when the radio says, Good Morning it’s Saturday, September 2nd 📻
It was a beautiful sunrise but I didn’t capture any photos though I’ll have a chance in future mornings I expect based on the forecast. Another cool, basically perfect autumn day ahead.
Good morning! Happy Saturday on this Labor Day 🧑🏭 weekend! Partly sunny and 48 degrees at the Perkins Clearing. There is a southwest breeze at 5 mph. 🍃.
I still can’t believe it’s Labor Day Weekend 🌅 but it’s amazing weather all weekend. Need to maximize it but first eggs for breakfast 🍳 then a ride down to Hatch Brook Falls 🚲 and then lunch. In the afternoon into the evening I’m thinking 💭 of going up to Spectulator to see the fire tower lighting, maybe some kayaking 🛶 and then watch the sun set over Lake Pleasant. 📖 Plus some time to do some reading.
Today will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 73 degrees at 3pm. Six degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around September 19th. Maximum dew point of 55 at 5pm. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 80 degrees. The record high of 100 was set in 1953.
Had a nice fire 🔥 last night but didn’t stay up super late. ✨ It was a starry night until the full 🌕 moon filled the sky with moon light. The nights are so much longer now come September, nine o’clock seems so much later. Where did summer go so quickly I keep asking myself?
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:58 pm with sun having an altitude of 54.4° from the due south horizon (-15.5° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 4.3 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 6:56 pm with the sun in the west (275°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (282°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:34 pm after setting for 3 minutes with dusk around 8:01 pm, which is one minute and 46 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:38 pm. At sunset, look for partly cloudy skies 🌃 and temperatures around 67 degrees. The dew point will be 56 degrees. There will be a west-southwest breeze at 9 mph. Today will have 13 hours and 12 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 53 seconds over yesterday.
Tonight will have a slight chance of showers before 10pm. Partly cloudy 🌃, with a low of 56 degrees at 6am. One degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around September 6th. Maximum dew point of 57 at 9pm. Southwest wind 6 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 56 degrees. The record low of 39 occurred back in 1976.
Looking ahead, there are 9 weeks until Daylight Savings Time Ends 🛥️ when the sun will be setting at 5:46 pm with dusk at 6:15 pm. On that day in 2022, we had sunny, warm and temperatures between 71 and 46 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 54 degrees. We hit a record high of 76 back in 1994.
It was the best summer of my life ☺
That was the thought on my mind as I drove north to the Adirondacks to the usual campsite that I get here early on the Friday before Labor Day Weekend on Hardwood Hill to camp at. Being forty I’m much happier than ever before, some of its my diet, my professional success but I also just feel so much more confident in who I am even as I watch the world go further to shit. Absolutely beautiful day for sure.
Happy Labor Day Weekend! ⛺ Mostly clear and 70 degrees at the Perkins Clearing. There is a southwest breeze at 5 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 51 degrees.
Got up to camp ⛺ on Hardwood Hill, technically the hill next to it a little after ten and got the campsite I’ve been camping at each Labor Day Weekend 🇺🇸 since I think 2017 when I stopped here to overnight on my way to Moose River Plains and ended up deciding I really liked it and it was even more perfect 👌 once remote work became a thing. No remote work this time but I did enjoy a nice nap in the sun ☀ after setting up camp and having rice and squash for a late lunch. 😴 Then in the evening I rode down to Perkins Clearing and Jessup River, almost down to Sled Harbor – actually past the Miami River and also past campsite 9 to the swamp in the other direction. 🚲 Hardwood Hill is tough to bike up, I ended up just walking my bicycle up part of it.
Tonight will be mostly clear and moonlit 🌃, with a low of 45 degrees at 4am. 13 degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around October 4th. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. Always cool in the Adirondacks. Good night for sitting by the fire with the hoodie on. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 48 degrees. The record low of 38 occurred back in 2017. It is September after all.
As I slept for a while this afternoon 😴 going to try to stay up late, though in my experience that’s easier said than done but the moonlight will help along with a good podcast. Thinking tomorrow of staying up late to see the lit up fire towers 🗼, maybe after watching the sunset 🌇 at Lake Pleasant and the celebration there, get ice cream 🍦then drive past Mason Lake to see Snowy Mountain lit up. Just an idea 💡 for tomorrow. Not set in stone.
Tonight will have a Waining Gibbous 🌖 Moon with 95% illuminated. The moon will rise at 8:39 pm. The Harvest 🌽 Moon is on Saturday, September 16. The darkest hour is at 12:59 am, followed by dawn at 5:52 am, and sun starting to rise at 6:22 am in the east-northeast (78°) and last for 3 minutes Sunrise is one minute and 7 seconds later than yesterday. 🌄 The golden hour ends at 7:00 am with sun in the east (84°). Tonight will have 10 hours and 45 minutes of darkness, an increase of 2 minutes and 52 seconds over last night.
It always seems the early sunset 🌇 happens so quickly. I was out riding this evening 🚵 and knew I had to turn back a little after 7:30 pm knowing that it would get dark early. Always happens this way come September.
Tomorrow will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 73 degrees at 3pm. Six degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around September 19th. Maximum dew point of 54 at 10am. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning with more sun in the afternoon. The high last year was 80 degrees. The record high of 100 was set in 1953.
Cooler than I expected 🍂 but then it’s September and I’m in the Adirondacks. I had thought about paddling Indian Lake or Lewey Lake and doing a night hike up Watch Hill to see Snowy Mountain lit up but that would be a very late night by the time I was back to camp. Those lakes might be choppy with the wind too. Maybe an evening in Spectulator would be better after an afternoon paddling the Sacandaga River down to the Kunjamunk 🛶 then a bike ride along NY 8 over to Lake Pleasant.
In four weeks on September 29 the sun will be setting in the west (268°) at 6:44 pm,🌄 which is 50 minutes and 46 seconds earlier then today. In 2022 on that day, we had partly sunny and temperatures between 62 and 46 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 69 and 47 degrees. The record high of 86 degrees was set back in 1921.
Looking ahead, Autumn 🍂 is in 3 weeks, October 🎃 is a month away, Average High is 55 🍂 is in 2 months, November 🥧 is in 2 months, Buy Nothing Day 🛍️ is in 12 weeks, December 🎄 is in 3 months, Bill of Rights Day 📜 is in 15 weeks and Days are Getting Longer ☀️ is in 16 weeks.
