Maybe I’m young and crazy, but walking back one mile to Foster Pond with my flashlight off, no moonlight or stars, just by the ambient light of nautical twilight and light pollution is a spiritual journey, listening to the muskrat dive into the pond, the bull frogs and peepers sing their songs, the wind, the occasional splash of the lake. Even on the darkest of nights the woods is never truly completely dark, and it’s certainly not devoid of life, even if I’m the only person for miles around.

Good morning! Happy Thursday. How fast those days of vacation are passing by. Maybe if I didn’t stay up so late and didn’t spend so much time sleeping in the hammock there would be more time.😎

Mostly cloudy, with the sun peaking out and 69 degrees at the Finger Lakes National Forest in Hector. ☔ There is a south-southwest breeze at 5 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 67 degrees. With the breeze and the sun peaking out at times, it is a pretty nice morning.

Today I am thinking about going to Taughannock State Park in Trumansburg.🏃 Probably will hike around the rim than visit the falls and then if the weather holds up go for a swim in Cayuga Lake. 🏊 Probably still a lot of water going over those falls.

So far this week, despite the cloudy skies,☁ we’ve been largely rain free with some exceptions in the evenings. More sun and warmer temperatures might be better for swimming but so be it.

Yesterday I spent the morning in the hammock reading about the changes to the Facebook API along with reading a new book I got out about the history of electricity.📕 It was another cool and cloudy day, hard to get inspired to do much of anything.

Later on yesterday, I went down to Watkins Glen and down to the library, 💻working to update my blog to adapt to the new rules relating to the Facebook API. I should have made the changes months ago, but honestly I’m not that up on the technology, and the API is complicated to use and constantly changing. I guess automated posts from blogs is impossible with the new API but at least I can still pull my personal profile posts and use them on the blog automatically. I thought that was broken too but it turns out that still works with the changed API.

After that I power walked the Watkins Glen Gorge which proved difficult with all the tourists. 📷 Grabbed a few quick pictures then went to the pool for a swim. 🏊 Ordered a large Maple Walnut sundae from the Glen Dairy Bar. It was so big. 🍧

Got back to camp and decided to skip dinner as I wasn’t at all hungry after that sundae. 🔥Replaced the mantel in the lantern. At first I thought it would be a nice night to look at the stars at Foster Lake but it clouded up. I started a fire to burn up the camp garbage I had including some rancid meat that had spoiled in the cooler. Built a nice fire but it was a muggy evening and wood was still wet and the fire smokey.

Sat by the fire under the lantern reading until nine thirty when it started to rain. 💦Unfortunately my tarp is not where the lantern is so I decided to throw a tarp over the truck and read in there until around eleven when the rain stopped. I went back outside to read some more and then it started to rain again.:idea: Ended up heading back into the truck with my USB reading lamp and reading until quarter until two AM. 📚Between drinking coffee earlier in the day, reading a book I was totally engrossed in, and the blue light from the reading lamp I was wide awake until early the next morning. ☕Heck, I’m on vacation. 💤I’ll do whatever I please and between driving to Watkins Glen and the sun hitting the solar panel on had ample power for the night. Plus I snooze a lot in the hammock.

Today will have a chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after noon. Cloudy ☁, with a high of 78 degrees at 3pm. Four degrees below normal. Maximum dew point of 68 at 4pm. South wind around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies. It was somewhat humid. The high last year was 85 degrees. The record high of 97 was set in 1975. Pretty much a broken record.

The sun will set at 8:25 pm with dusk around 8:56 pm, which is one minute and 10 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 At sunset, look for cloudy skies with possible thunderstorms ☁ and 74 degrees. The dew point will be 68 degrees. There will be a south breeze at 5 mph. Today will have 14 hours and 23 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 12 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms before 7pm, then a slight chance of showers between 7pm and 8pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 8pm. Cloudy ☁, with a low of 66 degrees at 5am. Five degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 68 at 6pm. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. In 2017, we had mostly clear skies with more clouds in the early hours of the next day. It was somewhat humid. It got down to 65 degrees. The record low of 44 occurred back in 1976.

In the rain lately, I’ve been throwing a tarp over the truck as the cap has a small window leak when there is heavy rain. 💧Looking around I’ve found the source of the leak – the window frame in part has a small gap from the cap. I think I can probably seal it quite easily with some fine clear caulk of some sort when I get home. That said, a tarp over the truck cap also works fine in heavy rain and lets me keep the windows open for some ventilation.

Looking ahead, there are 6 weeks until State Primary Day 🗳️ when the sun will be setting at 7:19 pm with dusk at 7:48 pm in the Finger Lakes. On that day in 2017, we had rain, fog, shallow fog, patches of fog, mist, mostly cloudy skies and temperatures between 79 and 50 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 73 degrees. We hit a record high of 92 back in 1948.

Good morning. I can’t believe it’s Thursday already. 😮

Good morning! It’s already August 🌻. Two weeks to Altamont Fair Opens 🎡. Yeap. Summer is rapidly coming to a close. I don’t mind that much, I like hunting season and November camping. There is nothing quite as beautiful as the stark blue skies on the land and in the woods in November.

Cloudy and 68 degrees in Hector, as I lay back at the hammock, listening to the local country music station, thinking about my mid point of the vacation. ☁ It’s humid but with the breeze and relatively low temperatures as I lay in the hammock doesn’t feel half bad. There is a south breeze at 10 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 67 degrees. There was some sun for a while this morning, but it’s come and gone, and without the sun the low voltage disconnect has killed the light strings.🐄 There is the light smell of cattle in the air, but then again I’m camping across from a cow pasture. Haven’t seen the cows yet this morning though.

It’s the hump of the vacation but at least for this morning it looks like the rain will hold off. 💦At some point I’m going to get a book out of my truck📘 and read for a while then I may go fishing at Foster Pond. 🎣 I’m not convinced we are going to get much rain today but without the sun I’m probably going to have to start the truck or go for a drive as the UV filtering through isn’t going to be enough to charge the battery.🔋 Plus I think I would like to go to the Watkins Glen library to get the latest podcasts and catch on the news and alike using my laptop. 💻 I also want to visit a winery that I met at Finger Lakes Wine Day at the Capitol which is nearby but maybe not today.

Today will have a chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 11am. Cloudy 💦, with a high of 78 degrees at 2pm. Four degrees below normal. Maximum dew point of 69 at 11am. South wind 10 to 14 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. It was somewhat humid. The high last year was 87 degrees. The record high of 101 was set in 1933.

I don’t know how much rain we are going to get, but I tell you I’m prepared should it rain later. I collected up firewood for tonight and it’s under the tarp. 💦 I will probably head into town then and see if I can get on the internet at the library. 💻

The sun will set at 8:26 pm with dusk around 8:58 pm, which is one minute and 10 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 At sunset, look for clouds ☁ and thunderstorms ⚡ and 74 degrees. The dew point will be 67 degrees. There will be a south-southwest breeze at 10 mph. Today will have 14 hours and 26 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 12 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 9pm. Some storms could be severe, with hail, damaging winds, and heavy rain. Cloudy ☁, with a low of 67 degrees at 5am. Six degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 68 at 6pm. Southwest wind 8 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. In 2017, we had mostly clear skies. It was somewhat humid. It got down to 64 degrees. The record low of 45 occurred back in 1976.

Already starting to think about my November trip. 🚗 Probably for that one I may stay one night in the Finger Lakes National Forest then head west to the Western Finger Lakes and Southern Tier. I think I would camp at some of the state forests in Allegany County for a few nights, do some small game hunting. I might also want to visit the Zoar Valley and maybe Letchworth State Park. I might do an overnight at Stoney Pond and then visit Montezuma when the birds are migrating.

As previously noted, there are 2 weeks until Altamont Fair Opens 🀼/strong>󸐠when the sun will be setting at 8:07 pm with dusk at 8:38 pm in the Finger Lakes. Before eight back in Albany. On that day in 2017, we had rain, mostly cloudy skies and temperatures between 79 and 64 degrees. Temperatures start dropping as we head into August. Typically, the high temperature is 81 degrees. We hit a record high of 96 back in 1959.