Photo of Andy Arthur

Andy Arthur

Fifty years later I'm pondering the final words of the Zen of Motorcycle Maintenance. 🏍 In terms of this larger pattern the lines at the end of this book still stand. We have won it. Things are better now. You can sort of tell these things. 🪷 Maybe I'm just sunburnt and it was just a dream as I reached the end of the audiobook I was listening to watching the Red Winged Black birds teary eyed. 🐦 👀

It never rains in Upstate NY 🐮

Tell that to the people trying to turn winter wheat and early spring grasses into cow chow. Maybe it will grow intensely when it finally turns hot after all this rain as is most certain to happen the second half of the month.

Good morning! Happy Thursday. It’s not raining this morning, but the heavy rain returns for Friday. That might actually be the only day I don’t ride to work – – and that was the day I was planning to take off to head out to Schoharie. Mostly cloudy around 56 degrees here in Delmar. 🌥 Light breeze from the west.

It seems funny to be thinking about the second half of May already, 🗓 but I actually rain the label job for work for the second half of the month on Tuesday and sent it along to the print shop. I am trying to plan out the second half of the month now for weekends – – the first half as been shit with the rain each weekend, but things might improve come next weekend. Hell of it is Saturdays have been quite nice, ☀ it’s just by Sunday it turns to rain. Same thing this upcoming weekend.

Today will be mostly cloudy 🌥, with a high of 67 degrees at 6am. Two degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around May 3rd. North wind 9 to 11 mph. Not much rain expected though, which is good for a break before the rain comes back on Friday. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with sunny skies in the afternoon. The high last year was 75 degrees. The record high of 93 was set in 1979. 1.6 inches of snow fell back in 1977.❄

Breakfast this morning was home fries 🥔 with eggs 🥚 and lots of veggies. Including a big sweet onion, 🧅some garlic, broccoli 🥦 and spinach. I know that yellow potatoes are mostly a starch but they’re good for a treat. Plus I might ride in the long way to work to burn off some extra energy, 🚲 as it’s not a terrible morning and last night it poured and then rained on and and off so I didn’t get out after the Save the Pine Bush conference call.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:53 pm with sun having an altitude of 64.9° from the due south horizon (-5.9° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.8 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:25 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (289°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (295°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:05 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 11 seconds with dusk around 8:36 pm, which is one minute and 5 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Crescent 🌒 Moon in the west-northwest (290°) at an altitude of 18° from the horizon, 235,905 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:16 pm. There will be a calm wind. Today will have 14 hours and 29 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 15 seconds over yesterday.

Last night broke my record of getting out to Five Rivers each night 🐸 but I had that conference call, 📞 and despite the weather man’s promises of better weather for the evening, it actually started to rain shortly after I got home – – I had to run out during the conference call and grab my bike, lest it get soaked with my backpack and junk mail sitting into the back. 🔥 Now if the weather could only get nice enough to have a fire to burn that all up, lol. 😂

Tonight will have showers likely, mainly after 2am. Cloudy 🌧, with a low of 48 degrees at 6am. Two degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around May 14th. North wind around 9 mph becoming east after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. In 2023, we had mostly clear skies. It got down to 39 degrees. The record low of 28 occurred back in 1958.

Not a particularly nice weekend on tap. 😞 Saturday, a chance of showers, mainly after 2pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 61. Southeast wind around 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. Maximum dew point of at 6am. Sunday, a chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 59. Chance of precipitation is 50%. Typical average high for the weekend is 70 degrees.

Doesn’t seem like a complete wash out – – much like last weekend, ☔ but both ends of the weekend look like they will be touched by clouds, cold and rain. I think I will stay in town, I have some coding and other projects to work on at home. 🖥 Bike is running well, I could go out to Voorheesville and or Altamont on Saturday, especially if they are still banging at the unit next door. 🚪

One month 📅 from now will be the start of the Gas Up 🚜 when the sun will be setting at 8:33 pm with dusk at 9:06 pm. I will probably go one weekend with Dad, and possibly the other weekend hammock camp up in Schoharie and spend the day myself, when I can spend more time exploring and enjoying the festival myself. 🥕 Maybe stop by the Carrot Barn and get some fresh produce and carrots too.

Cheney Pond Outlet