Stewart’s

April 28, 2023 Morning

100 days of walking Five Miles or more a day 🚶

Probably by midday it will mark 100 days of walking a minimum of 5 miles a day or 10,000 steps. 👣 That said, lately I’ve been doing a lot more. Yesterday that worked out to be more like 11 1/2 miles. Feeling great, except for my lack of sleep last night!

Good morning! Yeah, it’s Friday! Partly cloudy with fog around and 41 degrees in Delmar for the morning walk. ⛅ Calm wind.

For the first time in a long time I did not sleep well 🛏 last night. Part of it was I didn’t get to bed until later then usual as I walked until 7:45 then went to the grocery store. By the time I was in bed and lights off it was closer to quarter before ten. Then I woke up at 2 am and struggled to get back to sleep. 😴

Worse thing about waking up during the night 🌃 is all the podcast ads magically become for Better Help, sleeping medications and mattress commercials. 💊 Can’t sleep at night, our online therapists can help you 24-7. Talking to a shrink is exactly what I need in this middle of the night when I can’t sleep. Really, lol. No I just need to get up, take a piss and get back to bed listening to some boring 💤 lecture of podcast.

Today will have increasing clouds 🌥 👉 ☁, with a high of 65 degrees at 3pm. Typical for today. Light and variable wind becoming southeast 5 to 10 mph in the morning. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 54 degrees. The record high of 92 was set in 1990. There was a dusting of snow in 1966.❄

Yesterday was a crickets day at work 🦗 it was dead quiet until it wasn’t. But then the project got sent back to the researcher and it was dead. I’ve been continuing to update R studio packages, and working on some interesting new maps. I like the quality of the simple maps I’m getting out of ggplot these days. Accidentally scheduled too many posts yesterday evening, but I’m moving them around and getting that fixed.

Got out walking after a quick dinner 🏃 managing to get in 11 1/2 miles for the day. Then I went grocery shopping. 🛒 When I got done ringing up my items from shopping, I had a bit of sticker shock after shopping — my bill rang up to $113. 😮 I know, but then again I needed coffee, salmon, and some other more expensive things that will likely last a month or two as a dole out the servings over time. I buy in bulk, and these days bulk buying is expensive. ☕ I expect my grocery bills to much closer to normal in coming weeks, but also I do expect they’ll run about $10-20 a week more then what they were before I started eating healthy. While in some ways healthy foods bought in bulk are less expensive, all the ingredients and variety just adds up. 👨‍⚕️ And it’s worth it if it keeps me healthy, as I noted last night.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:54 pm with sun having an altitude of 61.5° from the due south horizon (-9.3° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 3.3 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:13 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (284°). 📸

The sunset is in the west-northwest (290°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:52 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 5 seconds with dusk around 8:22 pm, which is one minute and 8 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Gibbous 🌔 Moon in the south (188°) at an altitude of 66° from the horizon, 252,101 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:00 pm. At sunset, look for cloudy skies ☁ and temperatures around 59 degrees. There will be a south breeze at 9 mph. Today will have 14 hours of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 34 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have a chance of showers, mainly after 1am. Cloudy 🌧, with a low of 45 degrees at 6am. Three degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around May 5th. Southeast wind 6 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies. It got down to 33 degrees. The record low of 27 occurred back in 1947.

Tomorrow will have showers. 🌦 High of 50 degrees at 2pm. 15 degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 30th. Maximum dew point of 43 at 1pm. 🏖️ Southeast wind 9 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 61 degrees. The record high of 88 was set in 1888. 1 inches of snow fell back in 1885.❄

This weekend I want to work on the bicycle 🚲 rebuilding the wheel now that I have the gears off and spokes here. Once the wheel is trued, I will reinstall the tube. I’m not sure if I need a new rear tube, seems like it has a slow leak, I have rubber cement and rubber patches to fix it. Then I’ll order the remaining parts I need — a rear derailer cable and screw/adjuster plate. 👩‍🔧

Looking ahead to Sunday, showers, mainly after 2pm. High near 62. Southeast wind 6 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. Maximum dew point of 51 at 7pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 66 degrees.

Looking ahead, next Friday is Cinco de Mayo 🤠 when the sun will be setting at 8:01 pm with dusk at 8:30 pm. On that day in 2022, we had partly sunny and temperatures between 68 and 49 degrees. Right on target. Typically, the high temperature is 68 degrees. We hit a record high of 91 back in 1944. I am hoping to get out of town next week, maybe to the Adirondacks so I can get eaten alive by black flies. But a lot depends on the weather. Some forecasts call for sun, others for rain, but it’s 7 days out and that’s always a wild card. I guess the alternative could be going out to Schoharie or Rensselaerville.

 Across the Lake To Balm of Gilead

Catskill Park Towns – Summer 201

Aerial photos of Catskill Park from the summer of 2019, showing the high peaks labeled.

Honk

Geese honking at Black Creek Marsh Wetland.

April 27, 2023 Morning

Miles from nowhere 🗻

Lately I’ve gotten into Cat Stevens record lately. I think it’s because I have a lot more energy these days and feel great.

Good morning! Happy Arbor Day. 🎄 Trees are great. They keep it cool in the summer, are nice and warm when you burn them, great places to hang stuff off of and create good healthy oxygen.

Fog and 41 degrees in Delmar for the morning walk. 🌫 Calm wind. More sun later with skies clearing around 8 am as the fog burns off.

Finally got up and walking 🚶 closer to six 6⃣ this morning. Little achy from the dampness but it’s good to be alive. Barley and blueberries for breakfast 🥣 when I get home. This evening after the walk I’ll refill my pantry so I have a wider variety of healthy choices in my pantry for next weekend going into next week. Variety is important for a good diet. 🍏 🥦

Today will have isolated showers between 10am and noon. Mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 61 degrees at 5pm. Four degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 19th. Calm wind becoming northwest around 6 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 20%. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 51 degrees. The record high of 91 was set in 1962. There was a dusting of snow in 2020.❄

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:54 pm with sun having an altitude of 61.2° from the due south horizon (-9.7° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 3.3 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:12 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (283°). 📸

Yesterday I got in 10.1 miles walked 🚶 for the day which is good. The heavy rain held off until 8 pm, it was pouring by the time I was heading home from the park. Got dark quickly too. Tomorrow marks 100 days walking five miles or more a day some days far more. I can’t complain, I feel great.

The sunset is in the west-northwest (290°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:51 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 4 seconds with dusk around 8:20 pm, which is one minute and 8 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the First Quarter 🌓 Moon in the southwest (215°) at an altitude of 67° from the horizon, 252,244 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:58 pm. At sunset, look for mostly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 57 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Today will have 13 hours and 58 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 35 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be partly cloudy 🌤, with a low of 37 degrees at 5am. Five degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 16th. Light south wind. In 2022, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 37 degrees. The record low of 25 occurred back in 1947.

Not a particularly nice weekend on tap. 😞 Saturday, showers, mainly after 8am. High near 54. Southeast wind 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. Sunday, showers likely, mainly after 2pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 65. Chance of precipitation is 70%. Maximum dew point of 51 at 1pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 66 degrees.

As previously noted, next Thursday is 8:30 PM Dusk 🌆 when the sun will be setting at 7:59 pm with dusk at 8:29 pm. On that day in 2022, we had rain showers, mostly cloudy and temperatures between 57 and 50 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 68 degrees. We hit a record high of 91 back in 1944.

Yellow Tulip

Smoothie Culture 🧉

One thing that seems popular in the healthy eating culture –– but I’m not convinced is healthy — is drinking smoothies and eating yogurt with fruit in it. Sometimes people will blend in kale to make it seem healthier. It seems like a lot of cooking these days is about making food as easy as possible to pour down one’s throat as possible, like a person with a breathing tube or traumatic brain injury might require. But is that healthy, making food as easy as possible to consume?

All the evidence I can find suggests that fiber is key to a healthy diet. Moreover, chewing food slows the speed you can eat it at, the fiber binds to the sugar and slows the rate it is absorbed into your blood stream, helping to avoid the blood sugar level crash later on and further cravings for food. You should eat fruits and vegetables with as much of their original fibrous material as possible. Less cooked and less pulverized is better. Chewy, so you chew more and enjoy the flavor for a longer time in your mouth. I don’t drink my food, except for caffeine in coffee, I try to chew it and enjoy it slowly in my mouth. Drinking is for water, not nutrition.

I like frozen fruit as a dessert before bed every couple of nights especially after walking. Frozen means it’s cold and refreshing, plus provides more to chew. Blueberries are delicious but they do really spike my blood sugar so I prefer more moderated fruit like strawberries, blackberries, cherries or even pineapple the later which is sugary but has a lot of fiber to moderate the blood sugar spike. And I will drizzle some fat free vanilla yogurt over it, but not a lot – more like you might use chocolate syrup on a sundae. Adds a nice flavor. But I don’t eat yogurt like the dairymen might like and is popularly sold as a large cup of sugary yogurt. Nope, that’s way too much sugar and calories for me, plus I’m not that much of a yogurt fan. I’d rather have something I can chew.

Really if you want to enjoy food, it needs to be chewy. Your not getting much out of food psychologically if your just pouring it down your throat. Maybe some minerals or calories and a lot of fat and sugar that way, but not much lasting enjoyment. Food shouldn’t be about bypassing your taste buds and force feeding yourself a liquid unless you are on a breathing tube or have traumatic brain injury.