Photo of Andy Arthur

Andy Arthur

With some warm weather this week, πŸ–οΈ and Memorial Day Weekend just around the corner, it seems like summer is just kicking off. Hard to think that next weekend will be June and weekends at the Potholers in nine-degree heat aren't that far off nor is summer vacation.

Why I’m dimming the lights earlier

Increasingly on clear nights I’ve been killing the lights earlier after dusk then the past in favor of being able to see the stars better and enjoying the laser lightening bug light show that I have that puts pretty ever shifting green dots on the trees.

 Lights

The truth is when I got the laser lightening bug show I was concerned about pointing it up towards the tree branches with all those sensational news stories about the laser Christmas lights blinding pilots. So I did some of my own fact based research on the topic and also tried shining the lights at distant hill tops and I found very little light traveled beyond 500 feet. Maybe problematic next to an airport but not to a plane thousands of feet in the air. I also tend to angle things no more than 30 to 40 degrees.

Artificial fireflies

With the stars up above and the lights elegantly illuminating the tree branches it really is nice. Both the natural beauty above and the artificial beauty looking ahead. It makes for some nice quiet time in the wilderness.

Troy

Where I turned around because it was getting close to six o'clock. 

Taken on Sunday May 29, 2022 at Kayak the Hudson.

Amsterdam Mall (Amsterdam Riverfront Center) – Raw & Real Retail

his is our walkthrough of the former Amsterdam Mall, now called the Amsterdam Riverfront Center in Amsterdam, NY from April 17, 2019. This is a vintage property that is stuck in time. It is a slice of what a local mall from the early 1970s looked like, complete with gaudy orange carpeting, dark tiled floors, big globe lights, vaulted ceilings, and wood-grain touches throughout. This space is not used as a retail mall anymore, rather it has been repurposed into a local business center with a few services and eateries sprinkled throughout.