Speculator, NY

Warning โš  Black Flies are in Waiting! ๐Ÿœ

Warning โš  Black Flies are in Waiting! ๐Ÿœ

Next weekend starts May. That means it won’t be a long before the black flies start swarming the woods. They can sure be nasty during their working hours – eight o’clock to sunset.

Not sure if I will come back to the Adirondacks again in May because even by next week they’ll be out, especially if things are as warm as expected by mid-week. Maybe not terrible next weekend but I’m sure there will be a few early ones out and bitting. I have the screen tent but I’m not interested in being a prisoner of the tent until dusk, so I might plan trips to other places the next few weeks.

I was annoyed to see a family with their children left an empty worm container down by the river ๐ŸŽฃ

I was annoyed to see a family with their children left an empty worm container down by the river ๐ŸŽฃ

What an obnoxious message to be teaching the children about being responsible about litter. Now it’s good that parents are getting their children outdoors but they should be a lot more responsible. I’m no preachy leave no trace actvist but you should minimize the impacts on the environment while using the land.

April 27, 2021 Morning

Good morning! Happy Pink Moon ๐ŸŒ• ! It was pretty brilliant last night, although I didn’t stay up too late or under the moonlight because it was too cold with breeze, and because I decided the fire risk was too high to have a fire. Next Tuesday is 8:30 PM Dusk ๐ŸŒ† . Partly cloudy and 42 degrees in Speculator, NY. โ›… There is a west breeze at 7 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. Maybe more sun for a while mid-day but I’m not expecting a real beautiful day for sure.

Today will be partly sunny ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 59 degrees at 5pm. Four degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 17th. West wind 5 to 7 mph becoming calm. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning, which became light rain by afternoon. The high last year was 46 degrees. Kind of like today, although I am sure it is warmer back in Albany. The skies will clear around 11 am.er back in Albany. The record high of 91 was set in 1962. Nothing like that today. There was a dusting of snow in 1946.โ„

Back up a the Spectulator Library, working remotely. ๐Ÿ’ป I have to head home this evening after work, as I have a meeting on Wednesday downtown, and truth be told the next few days are going to be quite rainy. But it’s nice to get away for a few days for sure. I wish we had more sun today, โ˜€๏ธ but I didn’t use the electric lights last night, for quick take down, so my battery bank is in good shape ๐Ÿ”‹ for today. I might work down by the lake after lunch, it depends on how mild it was.

Last night was nice, but a bit chilly. ๐Ÿ’จ While there was a lot of moonlight, the wind was whipping around although by the time I got back from my walk after dark along Old Route 8B, there wasn’t so much of a cold wind whipping around. ๐ŸŒŸ But with the dry grass and the wind, ๐ŸŒฑ I decided the night was best for sitting next to the propane heater, looking at the stars rather then starting a fire. ๐Ÿ”ฅ

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 12:56 pm with sun having an altitude of 60.4° from the due south horizon (-9.5° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 3.4 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ๐Ÿ… starts at 7:16 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (284°). ๐Ÿ“ธ The sunset is in the west-northwest (290°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:55 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 8 seconds with dusk around 8:25 pm, which is one minute and 10 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ The best time to look at the stars is after 9:04 pm. At sunset, look for rain showers ๐ŸŒง and temperatures around 56 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Today will have 13 hours and 59 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 39 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have a chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 2am. Mostly cloudy ๐ŸŒง, with a low of 42 degrees at 5am. Typical for tonight. Light and variable wind. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. In 2020, we had light rain in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 39 degrees. The record low of 25 occurred back in 1947.

Cool this weekend with temperatures running 11 degrees below normal but otherwise sunny. ๐Ÿ˜ƒ Saturday, partly sunny, with a high near 50. Sunday, partly sunny, with a high near 59. Typical average high for the weekend is 65 degrees. Actually, that isn’t too bad when you consider you are comparing Spectulator weather to Albany weather. Not sure if I have plans for the weekend — I’ve thought about maybe Madison County, as it’s been a while since I’ve been on the road, although maybe I want a weekend off after this weekend. I’ve really wanted to do some paddling along Nine Mile Swamp ๐Ÿšค and I could certainly work remotely one day up at Cherry Ridge Camping Area.

As previously noted, next Tuesday is 8 PM Sunset ๐ŸŒ‡ when the sun will be setting at 8:03 pm with dusk at 8:34 pm. On that day in 2020, we had partly sunny, rain showers and temperatures between 61 and 45 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 66 degrees. We hit a record high of 91 back in 1944.

Pond Loop Trail

Walking old Route 8B

Went for a walk last night under the full moon ๐ŸŒ• on Old Route 8B past Fly Creek Road and Robbs Creek. Did not run into any fugitives ๐Ÿšจwith hunting knives ๐Ÿ—ก, although I think I saw a bear ๐Ÿป in the woods.

Why Scientists Are Racing To Save Historical Sea Level Records

Why Scientists Are Racing To Save Historical Sea Level Records

4/16/21 by NPR

Web player: https://podcastaddict.com/episode/121855618
Episode: https://play.podtrac.com/npr-510351/edge1.pod.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/dailyscience/2021/04/20210415_dailyscience_sealevelrecords.mp3?awCollectionId=510351&awEpisodeId=987618283&orgId=1&topicId=1007&d=772&p=510351&story=987618283&t=podcast&e=987618283&size=12359098&ft=pod&f=510351

(Encore episode.) Archival records may help researchers figure out how fast the sea level is rising in certain places. Millions of people in coastal cities are vulnerable to rising sea levels and knowing exactly how fast the water is rising is really important. But it’s a tough scientific question. NPR climate correspondent Lauren Sommer explains how scientists are looking to historical records to help get at the answer.

April 26, 2021 10 AM Update

Good morning! Monday’s come back around again. Three weeks to Average High is 70 ๐Ÿฎ. Mostly sunny and 41 degrees in Speculator, NY. Breezy, ๏ธ18 mph breeze from the northwest ๐ŸŒฌ with gusts up to 30 mph ๐Ÿ’จ๐Ÿ’จ๐Ÿ’จ. Kind of a cold start to the day, although warming up fast, but that breeze is nasty to say the least. Started out with a walk along the Spectulator Community Walk, but I was quite happy to return to my truck and get things started working from inside my truck, with the sun keeping me warm and comfortable, out of the wind.

Today will be sunny ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 55 degrees at 4pm. Eight degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 9th. Breezy, with a northwest wind 18 to 21 mph, with gusts as high as 33 mph. A year ago, we had light rain in the morning, which became light rain by afternoon. The high last year was 57 degrees. The record high of 90 was set in 1990. 0.3 inches of snow fell back in 1993.โ„

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 12:56 pm with sun having an altitude of 60.1° from the due south horizon (-9.8° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 3.4 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ๐Ÿ… starts at 7:15 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (283°). ๐Ÿ“ธ The sunset is in the west-northwest (290°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:54 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 7 seconds with dusk around 8:24 pm, which is one minute and 11 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ At dusk you’ll see the Full ๐ŸŒ Moon in the east-southeast (114°) at an altitude of 9° from the horizon, 226,686 miles away. ๐Ÿš€ The best time to look at the stars is after 9:03 pm. At sunset, look for clear skies ๐ŸŒ„ and temperatures around 49 degrees. Breezy, 16 mph breeze โ›… from the west-northwest. Today will have 13 hours and 57 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 41 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be mostly clear ๐ŸŒƒ, with a low of 33 degrees at 5am. Eight degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 5th. Northwest wind 11 to 16 mph decreasing to 5 to 10 mph after midnight. In 2020, we had light rain in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 37 degrees. The record low of 26 occurred back in 1963.

Cool this weekend with temperatures running 6 degrees below normal but otherwise sunny. ๐Ÿ˜ƒ Saturday, partly sunny, with a high near 57. Sunday, mostly sunny, with a high near 62. Maximum dew point of 37 at 7pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 65 degrees.

As previously noted, there are 3 weeks until Pack Rat Day ๐Ÿ€ when the sun will be setting at 8:17 pm with dusk at 8:50 pm. On that day in 2020, we had mostly cloudy, rain showers and temperatures between 74 and 54 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 70 degrees. We hit a record high of 92 back in 2017.

Spring is coming

Weekend Update

I wanted to leave on Friday night ๐ŸŒƒ for the Adirondacks but that didn’t happen. My therapist appointment only lasted until a little after 5:30 PM but I still had things to pack and I hadn’t gotten groceries ๐Ÿช as I was too busy Friday to take a lunch break.

Saturday I hiked back to all three waterfall along Tenant Creek. ๐Ÿ’ฆ Not my original plan but I had never been to the upper falls and I wanted to see the new trail. While I could have walked back to Pine Orchard I was concerned about the wetness of the trail and the distance with my limited time – I wanted some time in the evening to lay back and set up camp. The upper falls were a good hike and relatively quiet and dry. Everything is quite dry up north.

I like starting off my summer camping and traveling season at this site on the East Branch Sacandaga River. โ›บ Mostly because it’s right on a main road so I don’t have to worry much about snow and ice. It’s open year round. At this point it’s become almost a tradition – sixth or seventh year in a row, usually the weekend after Earth Day but not always. While I don’t like the road noise, there is a lot to be seen just walking around ๐Ÿšถ๐Ÿป.

On Sunday, I spent several hours exploring Oregon and the old Rudolph Valentino camp on the East Branch Sacandaga River. While I’ve walked most of it before with it mix of fields and dense woods it’s always good place to spot tom and other field birds. Deer too. ๐Ÿฐ๐ŸฆŒ๐Ÿฆ Most of the day was kind of cold and so less wildlife than I would have hoped. ๐ŸŒฅ We had some sun later on and very little rain besides some morning sprinkles and for April standards in the Adirondacks really not that bad.

Sunday evening though was a bit chilly. โ„ No snow and indeed it cleared out but the breeze was whipping around. ๐Ÿ”‹ To be safe I started my truck and let it idle for 10 minutes as I needed to leave the next morning by a little after 8 AM and to be sure, it’s a bit of a cold morning. Didn’t want to get stranded and not be able to be to Spectulator by 9 AM for remote work.

Most of the weekend I kept my fires small ๐Ÿ”ฅ as despite the mist and rain โ˜” we got Sunday morning, things were quite dry. Fixed up the fire ring and cleaned out the fire pit well and made sure both nights before bed ๐Ÿ› things were well drowned. Cleaned around the fire pit, removing needles. It really annoys me to find a fire pit in the woods that is warm especially during this time of year.