Good morning! Happy Monday. Six more weeks until calendar spring 🗓. Probably best considered in relationship to a week before trout season. 🎣 Or as my dairy farming colleague from years ago told me he counted down the weeks until spring based on the loads of manure spread. 💩 Seems appropriate for a winter Monday where the ground is likely to be thawed out by afternoon.

Partly cloudy at the freezing point in Delmar for the morning walk. ⛅ Calm wind. The full 🌕 moon is pretty overhead. There are 2 inches of snow on the ground. ☃ ️Not a half bad morning for a walk. It’s February so the standards are pretty low. Things will start to thaw out at around 8 am. 🌡️

I accidentally made biscuits with pancake mix 🍪 which didn’t turn out that bad although I should have taken them out of the oven a bit sooner. 🥚 I thought about getting eggs yesterday when I got milk 🐮 at Stewart’s as their price wasn’t that bad relatively speaking but I always associate eggs with greasy camp breakfasts with sausage and lots of cheese and vegetables 🍳 and I’m trying to cut calories in my forties. I do like eggs when camping 🏕 and want a heavier breakfast before a busy day of chopping wood and hiking.

Today will be mostly cloudy 🌥, with a high of 40 degrees at 12pm. Six degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around February 28th. Light north wind increasing to 8 to 13 mph in the morning. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 36 degrees. Warmer than last year today. Makes up for Saturday. The record high of 55 was set in 1991. 10.8 inches of snow fell back in 1978.❄

I have a few projects on my desk 📄 and an afternoon meeting so it should be a busy day though I don’t anticipate working late, though I’ll be taking the local 🚍 as it’s a session day. My goal 🥅 is to get my steps done 👣 which if I head over to the Capitol or run some errands and then do my evening work I should be good.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:10 pm with sun having an altitude of 31.7° from the due south horizon (-39.1° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 9.7 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 4:35 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (242°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (249°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 5:15 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 6 seconds with dusk around 5:44 pm, which is one minute and 18 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 6:18 pm. At sunset, look for partly cloudy skies 🌃 and temperatures around 34 degrees. There will be a north breeze at 11 mph. Tomorrow will have 10 hours and 16 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 31 seconds over today.

Tonight will be partly cloudy 🌃 , with a low of 19 degrees at 5am. Three degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around February 19th. Maximum wind chill around 15 at 3am; North wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph. In 2022, we had clear skies in the evening, which became light snow by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 10 degrees. The record low of -18 occurred back in 1995.

Certainly a bit cooler tonight 🌕 but it’s February and I’m not complaining as I’ve backed down my heat and it’s not so cold. The moonlight should be nice for the evening walk 🚶 and then I’ll retire to bed 🛏 fairly early. When I go to bed early even if I do wake up during the night I usually feel well rested the next day.

Right now, a split verdict on the weekend. 😕 Still mild. Saturday, a chance of rain and snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 36. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Sunday, sunny, with a high near 36. Typical average high for the weekend is 35 degrees. No real plans for the weekend 🐦 though Five Rivers is always a nice walk 🚶 and I like seeing the cows 🐮 on Meads Road. Maybe a good weekend to observe the birds.

As previously noted, there are 2 weeks until Presidents Day 👴 when the sun will be setting at 5:34 pm with dusk at 6:01 pm. On that day in 2022, we had partly sunny and temperatures between 28 and 13 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 37 degrees. We hit a record high of 66 back in 1930. Maybe a good week to head out of town.