Speculator, NY

July 22, 2020 Morning

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Good morning! What day is it? A Speculator Hump Day, of course. Cloudy and 72 degrees this morning. ☁ That said, expected though this afternoon. ☔ There is a southeast breeze at 6 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 63 degrees. The skies will clear tomorrow around 5 pm.

Today will have a slight chance of showers before 11am, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between 11am and 4pm, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 4pm. Some of the storms could be severe. Mostly cloudy 🌩, with a high of 75 degrees at 5pm. Eight degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around September 8th. Maximum dew point of 63 at 11am. South wind 6 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning, which became light rain by afternoon. It was humid. The high last year was 74 degrees. I think we had better weather than when I was in the Finger Lakes. The record high of 102 was set in 1926.

Looking at the radar and not wanting to deal with wet camping gear 💦I took down camp this morning. Right now I’m still at camp watching for emails 📧 and text from work but I can be in Speculator in ten 🔟 minutes should I need full internet access 📶 for work.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:04 pm with sun having an altitude of 66.6° from the due south horizon (-3.3° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.6 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. Sun angle is already getting a fair bit weaker but I’m also farther north. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:49 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (292°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (299°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:31 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 21 seconds with dusk around 9:03 pm, which is 54 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Crescent 🌒 Moon in the west-northwest (282°) at an altitude of 11° from the horizon, 230,245 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:48 pm. At sunset, look for likely rain 🌧 with thunderstorms 🌩 and temperatures around 71 degrees. The dew point will be 64 degrees. There will be a south breeze at 7 mph. Today will have 14 hours and 52 minutes of daytime, a decrease of one minute and 53 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 10pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between 10pm and 2am, then a chance of showers after 2am. Some of the storms could be severe. Patchy fog after 3am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy 🌩, with a low of 64 degrees at 6am. Two degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 66 at 9pm. South wind around 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. In 2019, we had light rain in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It was somewhat humid. It got down to 65 degrees. The record low of 45 occurred back in 1981.

Today in 1991, Jeffrey Dahmer is arrested in Milwaukee after police discover human remains in his apartment.😛 Remember if you eat other humans, to take our the garbage regularly. 🚯 Most ag schools have things posted on their websites about composting animal carcasses in manure, hay and wood chips. Gotta tie down the nitrogen with carbon to reduce the smell. 👃 Good to return organic matter to the soil. Two years later, Great Flood of 1993: Levees near Kaskaskia, Illinois rupture, forcing the entire town to evacuate by barges operated by the Army Corps of Engineers.🚤 I bet some rednecks in hick towns had some wild bonfires after that, getting rid of all their moldy, flooded junk. 🔥 Small town life is fun.

A picture perfect weekend on tap. 😎 Saturday, mostly sunny, with a high near 83. Maximum dew point of 61 at 8am. Sunday, partly sunny, with a high near 83. Maximum dew point of 64 at 2pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 83 degrees.

It kind of would be fun to stay through the weekend ☀ and maybe do round two at Piseco Powley but tonight into tomorrow looks rather wet and I don’t have much extra for food 🍲 and clothes. 👚 I guess it depends on the weather later this afternoon. I got to have enough power to work and I don’t want to spent two days cooped 🐔 up in my truck with the windows up working there. If I do go home, I could do something fun around home like fishing at Patridge Run. 🎣 Or even tent or hammock camping at a local state forest.

Of the what the hell things this morning 💵 I got a odd text from my broker about them doing the regular deposit into my IRA. Not sure why they started sending me text alerts ⚠ today, but I signed up for them a while back for security purposes. I’ve been maximizing my IRA for a while now, because I want to avoid paying state taxes and make sure when I have land and off grid property I’ll have the money I need for implements and other consumables. Plus it’s nice knowing that money will be locked 🔒 away until I’m 60, growing quietly and off my books. I don’t have to pay taxes on interest or dividends like I do other regular investments.

Susquehanna River

July 21, 2020 Night

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Good evening! Mostly cloudy ☁and 70 degrees in Speculator, NY. Calm wind. The dew point is 57 degrees.

I decided to stay up here at least one more night 🌃 so I could look at the stars, ✨ but it seems like it clouded up. I’m going to take a wait and see approach to tomorrow – if it’s really wet I’ll work from my truck at the library and then head home. 💻 I have more cell service here so I might be able to work from camp but it depends on how much data I need for work.

Tonight will be partly cloudy 🌤, with a low of 58 degrees at 4am. Four degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around August 27th. Maximum dew point of 57 at 9pm. Light and variable wind. In 2019, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It became humid as the night progressed. It got down to 66 degrees. The record low of 47 occurred back in 1970.

Tonight will have a New 🌚 Moon with 2% illuminated. At 9 PM, the moon was in the west-northwest (292°) at an altitude of 6° from the horizon, some 232,599 miles away from where you are looking up from the earth. 🚀 At the state speed limit of 55 mph, you’ll make it there by January 14th. Buckle up for safety! 💺 The Strugeon 🐡 Moon is on Monday, August 3. The darkest hour is at 1:04 am, followed by dawn at 5:03 am, and sun starting to rise at 5:37 am in the east-northeast (61°) and last for 3 minutes and 22 seconds. Sunrise is 58 seconds later than yesterday. 🌄 The golden hour ends at 6:19 am with sun in the east-northeast (68°). Tonight will have 9 hours and 6 minutes of darkness, an increase of one minute and 51 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 4pm. Mostly cloudy 🌦, with a high of 77 degrees at 2pm. Six degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around September 1st. Maximum dew point of 64 at 5pm. South wind 3 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning with more sun in the afternoon. It was humid. The high last year was 74 degrees. The record high of 102 was set in 1926.

Well I’ll see how things play out tomorrow. 🔥 It’s nice laying back on the hammock and I had a small fire but I’m going to head to bed soon. 😴

In four weeks on August 18 the sun will be setting in the west-northwest (289°) at 7:55 pm,🌄 which is 35 minutes and 34 seconds earlier then tonight. In 2019 on that day, we had mist showers, hot, humid, mostly cloudy and temperatures between 87 and 67 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 80 and 60 degrees. The record high of 95 degrees was set back in 1913.

Looking ahead, Election Day 2020 🗳️ is in 15 weeks.

NY 414

O Albany

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“Misery, wretchedness, ennui and the devil — I’ve got to spend another evening in Albany. Of all the miserable, wretched, second-class, one-horse towns, this is the most miserable.”

~ H. H. Richardson, architect of Albany City Hall (as quoted in William Kennedy’s O Albany)

June 11, 2016 Night

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Good evening! Currently mostly sunny and 63 degrees at Mason Lake. There is a south breeze at 7 MPH with occasional gusts. The dew point is a humid 56. Definitely been a weird day weather wise.

This morning was only about 46 degrees when I woke up. Light rain started to come down, and a i scrambled to get the tarp up. Before the rain started the temperature rose to 52 then dropped back to 48 degrees after the front came through. The temperature remained constant as we had about two hours of extremely heavy rain, but I was fine under the tarp, sitting next to the heater. It would have been hypothermia conditions in the woods without my comfortable hoodie and the heater, I am glad I packed it. Got through a lot of William Kennedy’s O Albany. I forgot what a truly great read it is, especially if you’re interested in politics.

Went fishing and out paddling on Mason Lake. Nice to be out on that lake, I haven’t paddled it since 2011. Pretty little lake, not far from NY 30, so there is some road noise. I was up here last November after Thanksgiving but I didn’t bring my kayak as it was virtually winter. Caught a decent size small mouth but I had to toss it back as its a week too early, and I didn’t want to have to bother cleaning it.

By the time I got out of the lake, it had warmed up quite a bit.
 It’s now 63 degrees under clear skies and pretty decent. It took a while to get the wet wood roaring in the campfire but now it’s super hot. And it doesn’t need to be so hot. The heater is ready to be switched on, but I don’t envision using it before morning, if at all. Earlier today was a much different story. At least it didn’t snow and despite the heavy rain, we didn’t have any thunderstorms or severe weather.

Generally a seasonable night in the Adirondacks with clearing skies. We will have a slight chance of showers after midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 52. West wind around 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. The normal low for tonight in Albany is 56, so it will be about normal for this time of year. The record low of 38 occured back in 1972.

Tonight we have a First Quarter Moon with 50% illuminated. It’s quite pretty tonight and right around the half way point for sure. The moon will set around 1:52 am. June’s Strawberry Moon is a week from Monday on the first day of summer.

Tomorrow will be cool and cloudy. Good fishing weather. I plan to hit up the Jessup River in the morning. Just bridge fishing, no kayaking with the expected wind. If I snag trout, they’ll put in the cooler and be coming home with me. We will have a chance of showers, mainly after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 54. Northwest wind 16 to 18 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. The normal high for Sunday is 77 in Albany, so it will be quite cool for this time of year. The record high in Albany of 94 happened back in 1949.

Honestly, I wanted to explore Lewey Lake and the Miami River or possibly the Jessup River. The weather didn’t cooperate. Well there still is a lot of summer left. With the forecast, this weather could have gone either way. Still I was prepared and made the most of it.

I’m going to read more O Albany before bed, then retire for the night. Sleep well.

June 11, 2016 Afternoon

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Good afternoon! Currently light rain and 53 degrees at Mason Lake. There is a southwest breeze at 9 mph.

We will have light showers and thunderstorms this afternoon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 63. Southwest wind around 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. The normal high for this afternoon is 77, so it will be about normal for this time of year. The record high of 94 happened back in 1949.

Tonight the sun will set at 8:38 pm with dusk around 9:14 pm, which is 32 seconds later than yesterday in Speculator. Tonight we have a First Quarter Moon with 50% illuminated. Not sure how much of that will be visible with the clouds and rain
The moon will rise around 11:22 am and will set around 1:52 am. June’s Strawberry Moon is on Monday, June 20th.

Near constant temperatures and continued dampness tonight. We will have a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 52. West wind 11 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. The normal low for tonight is 56, so it will be about normal for this time of year. The record low in Albany of 38 occured back in 1972.

In four weeks on July 9 the sun will be setting at 8:39 pm, which is the same time then tonight. The average high is 82 degrees, and the record for that date is 103 degrees was set back in 1936.

I was surprised to run into Ranger John Ploss who lives in that off grid cabin in Pisceo and is most often seen at Pisceo Powley Road. I guess Forest Rangers cover a big territory. The truck he was driving had big rust holes and the bed was falling off it, as is the case with many of those old F250s. Somehow I suspect they won’t be reselling that truck after retirement.

Shore fishing at Mason Lake. Thinking about getting the kayak out, but I don’t want to get soaked on the lake. But this shore fishing so far sucks. We will see. It’s pretty cold sitting out in the rain.

June 11, 2016 morning

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47 degrees this morning at Perkins Clearing. I knew rain from thunderstorms was a possibility this afternoon but really wasn’t expecting it in the morning — especially not pouring rain. But I got the tarp up this morning before the sky opened up, with good drainage and I have the heater on low below my chair so I’m comfortable. If it clears out this afternoon, I’ll head over to Mason Lake and do some fishing from the kayak there. I may end up driving to Speculator this afternoon to buy some firewood if everything continues to get soaked in the woods. I have some dry wood but not a lot.

Started to read William Kennedy’s O Albany. I’m sure I’ve read it years ago, but it’s good to refresh one’s memory. No black flies with the cold wet weather  so that’s nice. The campsite I’m at is steeply sloped so it should drain well.

State game warden drove by last night but didn’t stop by. I know they’re busy and usually don’t stop by except during hunting season – the few times they are scene in the woods at all. They patrol enormous areas, when they’re not stuck in the office doing paperwork. I was hoping to learn more about the Jessup River and maybe some good fishing spots from him. Still they tend to be quite knowledge about the land as many spend years in a specific area.

Last night was nice but cool. Lots of stars and the moon for a while. But chilly. Temperatures dropped to the mid 40s by 11 o’clock. Had a decent fire although burning the existing wood at the campsite was difficult because some of it was still fairly green. I was tired from a long week at work, so I retired to bed a half hour before midnight.