Search Results for: Golden Hill State Forest

August 14, 2020 8 PM Update

Good evening! Mostly clear and 76 degrees at the Finger Lakes National Forest. ๐ŸŒŒThere is a north breeze at 6 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. The dew point is 60 degrees.

It was a nice day hiking the Catherine Valley Rail Trail ๐Ÿš‚. Not the most exciting trail ever but a nice walk through some well managed and scenic woods. A lot of it was timber country that is leased to a local hunting club. ๐ŸฆŒ๐Ÿฆƒ๐Ÿฆ† Some road noise from NY 14 but it ran pretty high above the valley on dirt viaducts cut into the mountainside.

In the afternoon I went for a swim at Watkins Glen State Park. ๐ŸŠ๐Ÿปโ€โ™‚๏ธ I thought the pool was too crowded for social distancing at four o’clock so I hopped out and by five it had thinned out so then I hopped in the pool. One thing nice about the Finger Lakes is the swimming areas are all open until 7 pm. โ˜บ

I thought about swimming at Enfield Gorge or at the Cayuga Lake beach ๐Ÿ– at Taughannock State Park but I feel like those bathrooms ๐Ÿšฟ are more cramped and less clean, and the natural water is not chlorinated so I’m hesitant. Plus the beach areas are smaller and cramped making social distancing more difficult.

I got ice cream one more time at Glen Dairy Bar ๐Ÿงthis time an apple sundae. ๐ŸI think this will be the last one for this trip, I’m kind of tired ๐Ÿ˜ด of eating so much ice cream. It’s been fun while it lasted during this trip. I told myself ice cream ๐Ÿฆnearly there would be my special little treat.

Watched the sunset ๐ŸŒ‡ from off Ball Diamond Road in the National Forest pasture again tonight. Another nice sunset, always pretty watching the sun set over the hills of the Finger Lakes and Seneca Lake.

Walked down to Foster Pond and watched the stars โœจ for a while. Saw four shooting stars ๐ŸŒ including one that was really bright and lit up the sky. Ended up falling asleep and was awoken by a bunch of drunk kids rafting in plastic blow up rafts on Foster Pond. ๐Ÿ›ฅ๏ธ One of them offered me a partially drink can of white claw, during the pandemic. ๐Ÿป I declined and walked back to camp.

Running low on drinking water ๐Ÿ’ฆ and wanting something sweet I packed apple ๐Ÿ juice for hiking today. That was fine until I cross threaded the canteen and it leaked over my backpack. Fortunately I decided to leave the binoculars and camera ๐Ÿ“ธ in the truck. A bee was attracted to the backpack got stung in the arm. ๐Ÿ That hurt. The backpack was washed in the shower ๐Ÿšฟ and is drying now. Drank too much apple juice today and now I have the runs a bit. ๐Ÿ’ฉ Hello bucket shitter! Getting full, going to emptied and buried โšฐ tomorrow when I break camp.

Tonight will be mostly clear ๐ŸŒƒ, with a low of 63 degrees at 5am. Three degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 62 at 9pm. North wind around 6 mph becoming calm after midnight. In 2019, we had mostly clear skies. It got down to 62 degrees. The record low of 48 occurred back in 1964.

Tonight will have a Waining Crescent ๐ŸŒ˜ Moon with 19% illuminated. The darkest hour is at 1:13 am, followed by dawn at 5:44 am, and sun starting to rise at 6:14 am in the east-northeast (70ยฐ) and last for 3 minutes and 4 seconds. Sunrise is one minute and 4 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ„ The golden hour ends at 6:53 am with sun in the east-northeast (76ยฐ). Tonight will have 10 hours and 5 minutes of darkness, an increase of 2 minutes and 31 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will be partly sunny ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 81 degrees at 2pm. Typical for Tomorrow. Maximum dew point of 63 at 7am. South wind 3 to 7 mph. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies. The high last year was 83 degrees. The record high of 96 was set in 1959. One thing to watch is clouds may push in fairly early tomorrow afternoon. โ˜๏ธ

I am going to take a wait and see approach tomorrow. โ›… I am afraid it might be quite choppy on Seneca Lake by afternoon to paddle. ๐Ÿ›ถ If it’s kind of gray and dark out I might stay at camp. Although there are some additional marsh trails in Watkins Glen that I was reading ๐Ÿ“– about I’m thinking ๐Ÿ’ญ about exploring.

In four weeks on September 11 the sun will be setting in the west (276ยฐ) at 7:23 pm,๐ŸŒ„ which is 46 minutes and 6 seconds earlier then tonight. In 2019 on that day, we had hot and humid weather that was partly sunny and temperatures between 87 and 66 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 74 and 54 degrees. The record high of 98 degrees was set back in 1931.

Looking ahead, Labor Day Weekend Begins ๐Ÿ‘จโ€๐Ÿญ in 3 weeks, September 11th ๐Ÿ‡ธ is in 4 weeks, 7 PM Sunset ๐ŸŒ† is in 5 weeks, Average High is 65 ๐Ÿ‚ is in 7 weeks, Average Night Below Freezing ๐ŸŒŒ is in 13 weeks, Buy Nothing Day ๐Ÿ›๏ธ is in 15 weeks, Average High is 40 ๐ŸŒจ is in 16 weeks, Bake Cookies Day ๐Ÿช is in 18 weeks, Christmas ๐ŸŽ… is in 19 weeks, New Years Day 2020 ๐ŸŽ‰ is in 20 weeks, Bubble Bath Day ๐Ÿงผ is in 21 weeks, Coldest Week of the Year ๐ŸŒฌ is in 5 months, my 38th Birthday ๐ŸŽ‰ is in 24 weeks and Valentines Day โค๏ธ is in 6 months.

Clouds Hanging Low

August 13, 2020 Evening

Good evening! Clear and 72 degrees at the Finger Lakes National Forest. ๐ŸŒƒ There is a north-northeast breeze at 5 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. The dew point is 58 degrees.

It was a nice day ๐Ÿ‘ to explore part of the Finger Lakes I had never been to before. The Kueka Outlet Trail is pretty darn neat winding through a gorge past numerous ruins of old mills. ๐Ÿค One thing that surprised me that there was enough water power to run all those mills – when I was there the water was flowing but hardly a torrent. It might be different in the spring or after a heavy rain storm โ˜” – it’s been a pretty dry summer in the Finger Lakes although nothing like 2015.

Hiked ๐Ÿšถ๐Ÿฝ from Penn Yan to Dresden a total of 13 miles round trip. While this is not a strenuous hike by any means – it’s a 200 feet ascent heading west over 6 1/2 miles it was still an all afternoon hike and I was tired ๐Ÿ˜ด with the heat. I did do a short walk around downtown Penn Yan ๐Ÿ™ which still has a fairly intact main street then visited the village park overlooking the lake. Ironically, when you are at one of the tips or Keuka Lake you really don’t get that scenic of a vista as all you see is the tine of the fork ๐Ÿดand big hill in the center.

Came back and got ice at Dandy Mart. Forgot to buy coffee โ˜• again for the morning. Spent a little time down at Clute Park but I was tired ๐Ÿ’ค and didn’t want to drive to camp in the dark so I left before sunset ๐ŸŒ‡. Came back and had hot dogs and beer ๐ŸŒญ๐Ÿบ, I’m definitely ready for bed now.

I thought about hiking to Foster Pond but after a few beers ๐Ÿป and all the walking ๐Ÿšถ๐Ÿฝ I did today, I decided it’s not advisable. I’m just super tired. I find it hard to get as good of night sleep in the woods as I do at home, especially if I stay up late and then wake up when the sun โ˜€ is pouring in my window. โฌœ

I have a bunch of pictures to upload ๐Ÿ—บ๏ธ but I’ll wait until tomorrow when I head into town. I wanted to process them a bit more on my phone before uploading. I also have some pictures I want to get off my dash cam to upload.

Tonight will be mostly clear ๐ŸŒƒ, with a low of 64 degrees at 5am. Four degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 60 at 1am. Northeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. In 2019, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It was somewhat humid. It got down to 66 degrees. The record low of 44 occurred back in 1941.

Tonight will have a Waining Crescent ๐ŸŒ˜ Moon with 28% illuminated. The darkest hour is at 1:13 am, followed by dawn at 5:43 am, and sun starting to rise at 6:14 am in the east-northeast (69ยฐ) and last for 3 minutes and 4 seconds. Sunrise is one minute and 4 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ„ The golden hour ends at 6:53 am with sun in the east-northeast (76ยฐ). Tonight will have 10 hours and 3 minutes of darkness, an increase of 2 minutes and 29 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will be mostly sunny ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 87 degrees at 3pm. Six degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 63 at 9am. Calm wind becoming northeast 5 to 8 mph in the afternoon. A year ago, we had light rain in the morning, which became thunderstorm by afternoon. It was sticky. The high last year was 84 degrees. The record high of 97 was set in 1988.

Going to be another hot and sunny day tomorrow. ๐ŸŠ๐Ÿปโ€โ™‚๏ธ I think it would be a good day to spend one more day at the Watkins Glen State Park pool on a relatively quiet weekday. and maybe hike more of the Catharine Valley Rail Trail, maybe south of Montour Falls this time. ๐Ÿš‚ And maybe one last ice cream cone at Glen Dairy Bar. ๐ŸฆSaturday I will probably stay in the National Forest for social distancing purposes but I’m thinking of doing some fishing ๐ŸŽฃ and swimming of Caywood Point and maybe if it seems like the water is calm, paddling from Watkins Glen to Hector Point. Sunday I probably will hang out at camp for a while then maybe go for a hike around the rim of Taughannock and then head home around 1 pm, probably via NY 23.๐Ÿ›ฃ๏ธ

It seems odd that this trip I haven’t visited the Taughannock Gorge so far ๐Ÿ•‹ or Enfield Glen. While I like those places a lot they tend to be crowded and I have little interest in visiting any crowded places during the pandemic. I am trying to keep this trip simple and relaxing plus visiting new places in the Finger Lakes that I’ve not spent a lot of time in the past. Gorges are great but I am really truly hard to maintain social distancing. ๐Ÿ‘จโ€๐Ÿ‘จโ€๐Ÿ‘ฆโ€๐Ÿ‘ฆWhile COVID-19 doesn’t have me hiding all the time in my home, I really try to avoid places where maintaining social distancing is impossible.๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ

Before hiking today I sprayed heavily my hammock with another coat of Martin’s Permethrin. ๐Ÿœ Bugs haven’t been bad camping but I figured it’s a nice low humidity, non windy day so it should soak in good as some time in the future might be buggy again. Permethrin has a bit of a funny smell at first but it dissappears after airing out. ๐Ÿ‘ƒ

In four weeks on September 10 the sun will be setting in the west (277ยฐ) at 7:25 pm,๐ŸŒ„ which is 45 minutes and 37 seconds earlier then today. In 2019 on that day, we had mostly sunny and temperatures between 77 and 52 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 75 and 54 degrees. The record high of 96 degrees was set back in 1931.

Looking ahead, 6:30 Sunrise ๐ŸŒ‡ is in 4 weeks, Constitution Day ๐Ÿ“œ is in 5 weeks, October ๐Ÿ›ฅ and Harvest Moon ๐ŸŒ• is in 7 weeks, Average High is 60 ๐Ÿ‚ is in 9 weeks, Average Night Below Freezing ๐ŸŒŒ is in 3 months, Thanksgiving ๐Ÿฆƒ is in 15 weeks, 7:15 AM Sunrise โŒ›๏ธ is in 17 weeks, Christmas Eve ๐ŸŽ… is in 19 weeks, New Years Eve ๐ŸŽ† is in 20 weeks, Make Your Dream Come True Day ๐Ÿก is in 5 months, Coldest Week of the Year ๐ŸŒฌ is in 22 weeks, Wolf Moon ๐ŸŒ• is in 24 weeks, Don’t Cry over Spilled Milk Day ๐Ÿฅ› is in 26 weeks and National Drink Wine Day ๐Ÿท is in 27 weeks.

Eli Navigates

August 10, 2020 Morning

Good morning! Monday’s come back around again. Hardly a bummer during summer vacation. I’m hiking the Finger Lakes Trail this morning ๐Ÿšถ๐Ÿฝ, getting nice and hot and sweaty before going to the swimming pool ๐ŸŠ๐Ÿปโ€โ™‚๏ธ later. Two weeks to until the Average High Falls To 79 ๏ธDegrees โ›ฑ๏ธ๏ธ๏ธ. But you won’t think that today. Partly sunny and 87 degrees at the Watkins Glen State Park. There is a southwest breeze at 5 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. The dew point is 69 degrees. The muggy weather ends Wednesday around 7 pm. ๐Ÿ˜“

Yeah, it doesn’t get much hotter in the Finger Lakes. ๐Ÿ’ฅ It’s a hot one for sure. But I’m enjoying my hike up past the Upper Reservoirs and Group Camp on Glen Falls and I might even hike as far west as Sugar Hill State Forest. One consideration with the heat though is I better not get to th pool too late lest thunderstorms โ›ˆ come rolling through and they close.

Absolutely stunningly beautiful day โ˜€ but it’s already hot.๐ŸŒก๏ธAlready quite hazy and the air conditioning in Big Red is pissing moisture like a cow pisses. ๐Ÿ„๐Ÿ’ฆBut it’s cool up here at the park ๐Ÿž and camping up on backbone. ๐Ÿ—ป Fixed my dash cam so hopefully I won’t be getting a ton of pictures of the sky today. ๐ŸŒž

Well I got a bit of a late start due to sleeping ๐Ÿ˜ด in as I as I ended up staying up late last night, laying back in the hammock after my walk to Foster Pond๐ŸŒŒ. Still can’t believe how many people were camping ๐Ÿ• up that way. Honestly, I don’t mind not having cell service at camp ๐Ÿ“ถ and having

Regardless, I made it to Watkins Glen by a little after 10am and was able to get parking by the pool ๐Ÿ…ฟ even during the pandemic.๐Ÿ‘พ I was worried they’d be limiting parking and it would be closed if I got there after 10. Pools open at eleven in the Finger Lakes. I have my bandana on and are flipping it up as necessary as a mask. ๐Ÿ˜ท I’m staying out of the gorge as I think that would more difficult to maintain social distancing there. ๐Ÿ‘จโ€๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐Ÿ‘งโ€๐Ÿ‘ฆโžก๏ธ๐Ÿ‘ฑ๐Ÿผโ€โ™‚๏ธBought some crackers and cheese ๐Ÿง€ to snack on for lunch.

I really wanted to get goggles as my old ones broke and needed to be replaced so my eyes ๐Ÿ‘€ don’t get irritated by the chlorine.๐Ÿ‘๏ธโ€๐Ÿ—จ๏ธ But after trying two stores they’re gone for the year. It might be 90 degrees out but all they’re selling is Halloween Candy ๐Ÿฌ and Thanksgiving Turkey. ๐Ÿฆƒ

Today will have scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 5pm. Mostly sunny ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 90 degrees at 3pm. Nine degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 69 at 10am. That’s a cooker for the Finger Lakes. ๐ŸŒก๏ธPeople must be roasting back in Albany. Southwest wind 5 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 76 degrees. The record high of 96 was set in 1949.

This afternoon I plan to spend most of my time at the pool ๐ŸŠ๐Ÿปโ€โ™‚๏ธ and then get ice cream ๐Ÿฆat Glen Dairy Bar and groceries at Tops. Then I’ll sit at Clute Park and fish ๐Ÿ  and watch as the sun starts to drop. ๐ŸŒ‡

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 1:14 pm with sun having an altitude of 63ยฐ from the due south horizon (-7.9ยฐ vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 3.1 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ๐Ÿ… starts at 7:38 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (285ยฐ). ๐Ÿ“ธ The sunset is in the west-northwest (292ยฐ) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:17 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 7 seconds with dusk around 8:45 pm, which is one minute and 21 seconds earlier than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ The best time to look at the stars is after 9:25 pm. Not sure if I’ll hike back to Foster Pond this evening ๐ŸŒƒ but I will probably spend some time at Clute Park fishing ๐ŸŽฃ before heading back to camp. At sunset, look for thunderstorms ๐ŸŒฉ and temperatures around 81 degrees. The dew point will be 68 degrees. There will be a south breeze at 5 mph. Today will have 14 hours and 5 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 25 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have isolated showers and thunderstorms before 9pm. Mostly clear ๐ŸŒƒ, with a low of 69 degrees at 6am. Eight degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 68 at 6pm. South wind around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. In 2019, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 54 degrees. The record low of 46 occurred back in 1941.

Saturday may not be the greatest day ever. ๐Ÿ˜ž Saturday, a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 83. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Maximum dew point of 67 at 8am. Sunday, a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 84. Chance of precipitation is 50%. Maximum dew point of 65 at 7am. Typical average high for the weekend is 81 degrees.

As previously noted, there are 2 weeks until Average High Falls To 79 ๏ธDegrees โ›ฑ๏ธ๏ธ๏ธ when the sun will be setting at 7:54 pm with dusk at 8:23 pm. On that day in 2019, we had partly sunny and temperatures between 75 and 53 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 79 degrees. We hit a record high of 95 back in 1947.

August 9, 2020 Morning

Good morning! Happy Sunday. Six weeks to Average High 70 ๐ŸŽ‘ . Sunny and 71 degrees at the Finger Lakes National Forest. Tree๐ŸŒฒ๐ŸŒž Calm wind. The dew point is 64 degrees.

Went for a walk ๐Ÿšถ again this morning on the Interlaken Trail and to Foster Pond. Definitely a nice morning, ๐ŸŒž lots of sun and wildflowers. ๐ŸŒปHad a nice pan of corned beef hash and cheese for breakfast. ๐Ÿณ Some eggs ๐Ÿฅš would be nice but I’ll have to get them today.

Wildflowers are definitely better this time of year ๐ŸŒป๐ŸŒผ๐Ÿฆ‹๐Ÿ compared to earlier in the summer when I often take my vacation. It just makes my vacation a little more enjoyable seeing the road sides in bloom, the butterflies and bees. And yes, all that field corn ๐ŸŒฝ is getting tall.

Been quite busy up here ๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐Ÿ‘ฆโ€๐Ÿ‘ฆ๐Ÿ‘จโ€๐Ÿ‘จโ€๐Ÿ‘ง, with so many things closed during the pandemic based on the number of cars ๐Ÿš˜ I’ve seen on the road. Fortunately, my campsite is quite remote and quiet ๐Ÿคซ so nobody is bothering me. Seen more equestrians ๐Ÿด than normal – in part because the Upper Assembly Area is closed at Sugar Hill. ๐Ÿ”

Today will be sunny ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 82 degrees at 4pm. Typical for today. Maximum dew point of 66 at 6pm. Light and variable wind becoming west 5 to 8 mph in the morning. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 81 degrees. The record high of 96 was set in 2001.

Kind of breezy up here on the backbone ๐Ÿ—ป but I’m hoping the breeze will die down later and I can get out on Seneca Lake and the Montour Canal later. ๐Ÿ›ถ I’m excited about all the wildlife I might see there. ๐Ÿฆ๐Ÿฆ†๐Ÿ•Š๏ธ๐Ÿธ๐Ÿข๐ŸฆŽ๐ŸŸ I just don’t want to go on Seneca Lake if it’s at all breezy ๐Ÿšฃ๐Ÿปโ€โ™‚๏ธ because it’s a big lake and can be very choppy. ๐ŸŒŠ

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 1:13 pm with sun having an altitude of 63.1ยฐ from the due south horizon (-7.6ยฐ vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 3 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ๐Ÿ… starts at 7:38 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (286ยฐ). ๐Ÿ“ธ The sunset is in the west-northwest (292ยฐ) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:17 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 8 seconds with dusk around 8:46 pm, which is one minute and 21 seconds earlier than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ The best time to look at the stars is after 9:26 pm. At sunset, look for partly cloudy skies ๐ŸŒƒ and temperatures around 77 degrees. The dew point will be 67 degrees. There will be a west breeze at 5 mph. Today will have 14 hours and 8 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 25 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be partly cloudy ๐ŸŒค, with a low of 68 degrees at 5am. Seven degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 67 at 7pm. Southwest wind 3 to 5 mph. In 2019, we had light rain in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 57 degrees. The record low of 48 occurred back in 1955.

Been reading ๐Ÿ“– more of the Real Goods Solar Living Handbook. Half marketing catalog, half pseudo green living for rich folk, it sure seems like it’s gotten real dated fast. ๐ŸŒŽ Still an interesting read even if it’s more ideological and about marketing over-priced organic crap and green products for the landfill ๐Ÿ—‘ then practical realities of providing for one’s self and obeying the laws of nature.

I was noticing how much of the forest along Potomac Road was ash trees. ๐ŸŒณIt’s only a matter of time before much of the forest is going to be dying than gone. I see they have an Emerald Ash Boerer trap on the road to detect the invaders but I doubt they’ll treat all of the trees. Already as little as 50 miles south of here in Wellsboro you can see the devestation of the forests from EAB. ๐Ÿ› Forests are always in a state of decline – thats entropy – but they’re always changing with the land and introduced species.

One week from now I’ll be taking down camp and heading back to Albany. ๐Ÿก Or at least heading closer to that direction. But there is a lot more reading ๐Ÿ“–, hiking ๐Ÿšถ and paddling to do before then. Vacation really is just beginning – today is my first full day in the Finger Lakes.

I am still thinking I want to go the way I came ๐Ÿค” although I would want to avoid that rough seasonal use only road. If it’s really nice a week from Sunday I might overnight at Cherry Ridge ๐Ÿ’ and then head back home through Madison County. I like seeing the rough dairy country. ๐Ÿฎ The hills, the cows, the rundown shacks and hollows. ๐Ÿ—ป

I really like the wild country ๐Ÿ and wish I could live out here full time. Somehow I like it even better than the Adirondacks. Redneck country life is fun, even if at times it’s dirty and smelly. ๐Ÿ’ฉ But alas I’m making good money at my job ๐Ÿ’ต and are able to save a lot of it for a better tomorrow. It’s nice having some professional success in life and knowing it will lead to a better tomorrow, especially as I try to live frugally as possible. Some days I’ll live in a small town, have land and be able to listen ๐Ÿ‘‚ to the moos of cattle full time. ๐Ÿ„

Looking ahead, there are 6 weeks until Average High 70 ๐ŸŽ‘ when the sun will be setting at 7:06 pm with dusk at 7:34 pm. On that day in 2019, we had partly sunny, patches of fog and temperatures between 79 and 42 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 71 degrees. We hit a record high of 90 back in 1946.

View from Former CC Camp on West Branch of the White River

August 8, 2020 Evening

Good evening! Partly cloudy and 74 degrees at the Finger Lakes National Forest. โ›… There is a north breeze at 5 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. The dew point is 63 degrees. Does feel a tad bit muggy after my walk ๐Ÿšถ to Foster Pond. It’s nice though now laying back in the hammock with the crocks on. ๐Ÿ‘ก

I enjoyed the drive out here via NY 23 ๐Ÿš— except for the very bone jarring ๐Ÿค• section when I ended up on a very steep seasonal use only dirt road down to Caroline. Traffic was bad in Ithaca but that is norm. It’s kind of hard to avoid Ithaca in my experience – there aren’t many good alternative routes. ๐Ÿšœ I really enjoyed the rural country and some of those small towns that the highway shuns and are super sleepy. It was surprisingly cool out – I didn’t use the air conditioning at all and drove with the windows down ๐Ÿ‘ƒ noticing the smells of farm country and the little towns I past by. While nobody is chopping silage yet, only going to be a few more weeks ๐ŸŒฝ before thousands of acres of silage start getting chopped across Upstate NY.

Some day I’ll live in a cute little rural town ๐Ÿ‘จโ€๐ŸŒพ like so many I passed by today. But not New York State – too expensive and too many restrictions on guns ๐Ÿ”ซ and my freedom to have fires ๐Ÿ”ฅ and burn things on my own land. Not to mention taxes ๐Ÿ’ธ and code restrictions ๐Ÿ“‹. I want to be able to farm ๐Ÿ and be left alone ๐Ÿค  on my off-grid ๐Ÿ“ด property. I’m not afraid of poop ๐Ÿ’ฉ, playing mud ๐Ÿ‘ข, managing my own waste ๐Ÿ—‘ or making a little smoke. ๐Ÿ’จ

Did a little hike down to one of the pastures ๐Ÿƒ and Foster Lake. ๐Ÿธ A lot of people there but its a nice weekend and a lot of campgrounds are closed during the pandemic. Lot of frogs in the lake. I bet if I go there Monday evening ๐ŸŒƒ virtually nobody will be there. I thought about a night hike there tonight but I’ve done quite a bit of hiking today and I didn’t want to be stumbling around a lot of people at night during the pandemic.

Did some reading ๐Ÿ“– for a while, mostly this very outdated book I got from the library about trendy wishy-washy green off-grid living ๐ŸŒŽ, not as much the nuts and bolts ๐Ÿ”ฉ of real life out in the sticks trying to make as much of a life in the woods as possible as the many rural folks in mobile homes with a few solar panels tied to them as is increasingly common in rural areas. ๐Ÿก

Tonight will be partly cloudy ๐ŸŒƒ , with a low of 62 degrees at 5am. One degree above normal. Maximum dew point of 63 at 6pm. Light and variable wind. In 2019, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 64 degrees. The record low of 46 occurred back in 1989.

A ready when the breeze picks up its a bit chilly. ๐ŸŒพBut then again it often is cool up here on the Backbone. Just kind of the nature of being so high above the lakes.

Had some trouble getting the lantern ๐Ÿฎ lit again and it was burning slow and dim. Tapped it a bit to free up some stuck carbon and now that it’s been burning for a while now it’s quite bright. ๐Ÿ”† It will be good for reading by the fire later in the week. ๐Ÿ“™ But I’m too tired to read tonight.

Definitely a nice sunset ๐ŸŒ‡ from the pasture in the Finger Lakes National Forest. It was a different view than I had taken a pictures of from years before. This place I could walk to from camp which was nice. ๐Ÿ“ธ One thing that was weird that while I was in the pasture I started to smell cigarettes smoke pretty strong ๐Ÿšฌ but I think it was just the farmer letting the cows back out in the pasture after milking. ๐Ÿฎ Smoke sometimes carries a ways.

As much as I didn’t like this campsite as first ๐Ÿ™„ my mind has changed a bit as I like the quiet and being further off the road. ๐ŸŒ„ Solar power is good here in the morning for charging the batteries ๐Ÿ”‹. And the lack of cell service means less playing on the phone. ๐Ÿ“ฑ I’m not sure though if I’m going to stay at this campsite or move somewhere else later this week. That said, it’s vacation and not a work trip so it’s good to be off the grid. ๐Ÿ”•

Tonight will have a Waining Gibbous ๐ŸŒ– Moon with 75% illuminated. The moon will rise at 11:04 pm. The darkest hour is at 1:14 am, followed by dawn at 5:37 am, and sun starting to rise at 6:08 am in the east-northeast (67ยฐ) and last for 3 minutes and 8 seconds. Sunrise is one minute and 3 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ„ The golden hour ends at 6:47 am with sun in the east-northeast (74ยฐ). Tonight will have 9 hours and 50 minutes of darkness, an increase of 2 minutes and 23 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will be mostly sunny ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 82 degrees at 3pm. Typical for Tomorrow. Maximum dew point of 61 at 7am. Southwest wind 3 to 8 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, which became thunderstorm by afternoon. It was somewhat humid. The high last year was 81 degrees. The record high of 96 was set in 2001.

I was originally thinking about hanging out at camp tomorrow ๐Ÿ›ถ but the weather seems so nice that I think I will try some kayaking from that new Seneca Lake Boat Launch ๐Ÿ›ฅ and maybe paddle a bit on the shoreline and then do the Montour Canal and possibly some of the paddlable parts of Bad Indian Marsh. I also should get food for camping ๐Ÿ” and maybe a good dinner at Glen Dairy Bar. ๐Ÿฆ

Monday I’ll get up fairly early and head to the Watkins Glen pool. ๐ŸŠ Get there really fast early for parking o but hike the Upper Glen Trail up past the reservoirs which never get much hiker traffic ๐Ÿšถ then swim in the afternoon. ๐Ÿ– I’m sure when I’m on the deck I’m the chairs I won’t have to wear a mask. ๐Ÿ’บ I’m sure they’ll be well spread out for social distancing.

In four weeks on September 5 the sun will be setting in the west (279ยฐ) at 7:34 pm,๐ŸŒ„ which is 43 minutes and 59 seconds earlier then today. In 2019 on that day, we had partly sunny, patches of fog and temperatures between 72 and 52 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 76 and 56 degrees. The record high of 92 degrees was set back in 2018.

Looking ahead, Northern Zone Regular Season ๐ŸฆŒ is in 10 weeks, Halloween ๐Ÿ›ฅ๏ธ and the Blue Moon ๐ŸŒ• is in 12 weeks, Small Business Saturday ๐Ÿ›๏ธ is in 16 weeks, Repeal of Prohibition Day ๐Ÿบ is in 17 weeks, Boxing Day ๐ŸฅŠ is in 20 weeks, Bubble Bath Day ๐Ÿงผ is in 5 months, Static Electric Shock Day ๐Ÿงผ is in 22 weeks, National Cheese Lovers Day ๐Ÿง€ is in 24 weeks, Save the Pine Bush Turns 43 ๐Ÿฆ‹ is in 26 weeks, 5:30 PM Sunset ๐ŸŒ† is in 28 weeks and Snow Moon ๐ŸŒ• is in 29 weeks.

August 6, 2020 Night

Good evening! Partly clear and 70 degrees in Delmar, NY. Calm wind. The dew point is 58 degrees. ๐ŸŒƒ Another quite pleasant mid summer evening with the crickets ๐Ÿฆ— singing their song. ๐ŸŽถ

Called the forest service today ๐ŸŒฒ to confirm that camping ๐Ÿ• was still open after the earlier Coronavirus closure. It is.. Did some packing but the first half of the day I was super groggy for unknown reasons. ๐Ÿ˜ด Didn’t do the laundry ๐Ÿ‘š as I figured do it all on Friday while I work before heading out in the evening. Assuming tomorrow evening isn’t a complete washout.

I discovered I had accidentally deleted the code that allows me to display charts ๐Ÿ“Š and history comparisons today but if you hit refresh ๐Ÿ”„ that should be good now. Also uploaded a few other new things. Then it was a busy afternoon at work, getting things lined up before vacation. ๐Ÿ– Went to the Town Park and worked on the blog for a bit.

Tonight will be partly cloudy ๐ŸŒƒ , with a low of 58 degrees at 3am. Three degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around August 27th. Maximum dew point of 58 at 9pm. Light north wind. In 2019, we had partly cloudy skies. It was sticky. It got down to 69 degrees. The record low of 46 occurred back in 1994.

Tonight will have a Waining Gibbous ๐ŸŒ– Moon with 88% illuminated. The moon will rise at 10:08 pm. The darkest hour is at 1:02 am, followed by dawn at 5:22 am, and sun starting to rise at 5:54 am in the east-northeast (66ยฐ) and last for 3 minutes and 9 seconds. Sunrise is one minute and 3 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ„ The golden hour ends at 6:33 am with sun in the east-northeast (73ยฐ). Tonight will have 9 hours and 45 minutes of darkness, an increase of 2 minutes and 20 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will have isolated showers, then scattered showers and thunderstorms after noon. Partly sunny ๐ŸŒฆ, with a high of 76 degrees at 3pm. Six degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around September 5th. Maximum dew point of 63 at 6pm. Light and variable wind becoming east around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, which became rain by afternoon. It was very sticky. The high last year was 84 degrees. The record high of 102 was set in 1918.

I started packing this evening and doing some cleaning during the downtime today. ๐Ÿงน The beer ๐Ÿป is in the fridge being chilled, I started packing clothes ๐Ÿ‘– and the water containers are loaded in the truck. I’ll do the kayak ๐Ÿ›ถ and propane tomorrow.

I am thinking of leaving tomorrow after work for Madison County ๐Ÿฎ but I might not leave until Saturday morning early if Friday night is going to be a real washout. While I’d rather be farther west and break the trip up going out there not if it means camping the first night in the pouring rain. โ›ˆ๏ธ I don’t want to get soaked my first night of camping. Still thinking about the mid state route via NY 13 and Cortland.

Weather looks pretty good for next week ๐Ÿ‘Œbased on the at least some forecast models but others show more clouds ๐ŸŒฅ and rain. It’s summer and it’s a crap shoot but if the weather is too bad I’ll just stay in camp and read ๐Ÿ“–. Nice thing about the National Forest is you can camp for up to two weeks, no permit needed.

Been drinking a lot more water ๐Ÿฅค with lemon juice in it. ๐Ÿ‹ Much healthier than all that apple ๐Ÿ juice I’ve been drinking lately. No sugar in it although I’m sure the acid ain’t great for the teeth but I still drink plenty of milk. ๐Ÿฅ›Plus a whole lot less plastic trash. โ™ป

In four weeks on September 3 the sun will be setting in the west (281ยฐ) at 7:25 pm,๐ŸŒ„ which is 43 minutes and 17 seconds earlier then tonight. In 2019 on that day, we had mostly sunny, shallow fog and temperatures between 79 and 55 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 77 and 56 degrees. The record high of 100 degrees was set back in 1953.

Looking ahead, 6:30 Sunrise ๐ŸŒ‡ is in 5 weeks, Constitution Day ๐Ÿ“œ is in 6 weeks, October ๐Ÿ›ฅ and Harvest Moon ๐ŸŒ• is in 8 weeks, Average High is 60 ๐Ÿ‚ is in 10 weeks, Thanksgiving ๐Ÿฆƒ is in 16 weeks, First Sunday of Advent โœ๏ธ is in 4 months, Saint Nicholas Day ๐ŸŽ… is in 4 months, 7:15 AM Sunrise โŒ›๏ธ is in 18 weeks, Christmas Eve ๐ŸŽ… is in 20 weeks, New Years Eve ๐ŸŽ† is in 21 weeks, Coldest Week of the Year ๐ŸŒฌ is in 23 weeks, Wolf Moon ๐ŸŒ• is in 25 weeks, Save the Pine Bush Turns 43 ๐Ÿฆ‹ is in 6 months, Don’t Cry over Spilled Milk Day ๐Ÿฅ› is in 27 weeks and National Drink Wine Day ๐Ÿท is in 28 weeks.

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August 3, 2020 Morning

Good morning! Monday’s come back around again. Partly sunny and 72 degrees at the Swift Wetland Preserve. There is a west-southwest breeze at 9 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. The dew point is 65 degrees. The muggy weather ends Wednesday around 7 pm. ๐Ÿ˜“

It certainly is a real muggy day. ๐Ÿ˜ฐ Last night was much worse, especially before dinner time. I ended up going to Tractor Supply and getting my propane tank filled, along with washing Big Red and getting groceries and two flash drives ๐Ÿ’พ to replace the one that I lost that had all my music ๐ŸŽถ on for listening in the truck and was using to move files ๐Ÿ“‚ between my personal and work laptop.

I thought yesterday was going to be a lot cooler and rainy โ˜” then it turned out to be. After packing up hammock camp on Irish Hill I fished at White Birch Pond. ๐ŸŽฃ It was cloudy to start out the morning but it cleared and got hot and sunny. Caught two rock bass, one was big enough it would have filled a large frying ๐Ÿณ pan but I tossed it back in because they’re all bones. I saw a red tailed hawk overhead a couple of times then I looked up and noticed one of the hawks had a white head and some white tail feathers and realized it was a Bald Eagle. Neat!

Today will be mostly sunny ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 86 degrees at 3pm. Four degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 65 at 8am. West wind 7 to 9 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with a few breaks of sun the afternoon. It was humid. The high last year was 85 degrees. The record high of 97 was set in 1975.

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 1:02 pm with sun having an altitude of 64.7ยฐ from the due south horizon (-6.1ยฐ 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 ๐Ÿ… starts at 7:34 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (288ยฐ). ๐Ÿ“ธ The sunset is in the west-northwest (295ยฐ) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:14 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 11 seconds with dusk around 8:44 pm, which is one minute and 13 seconds earlier than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ At dusk you’ll see the Waining Gibbous ๐ŸŒ– Moon in the east-southeast (117ยฐ) at an altitude of 0ยฐ from the horizon, 243,864 miles away. ๐Ÿš€ The best time to look at the stars is after 9:25 pm. At sunset, watch out thunderstorms ๐ŸŒฉ and temperatures around 80 degrees. The dew point will be 66 degrees. Another super muggy evening There will be a west-southwest breeze at 5 mph. Today will have 14 hours and 22 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 15 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 4am. Increasing clouds ๐ŸŒง, with a low of 69 degrees at 4am. Eight degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 67 at 4am. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. In 2019, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It was humid. It got down to 62 degrees. The record low of 46 occurred back in 1966.

I got my new cellphone in the mail โœ‰ yesterday. ๐Ÿ“ฑ I was surprised it came on a Saturday. I have yet to activate it but my old phone is barely holding a charge and once I get the case today I’ll switch over to it. ๐Ÿ”‹ The new phone is charging now and once I get the case today I’ll move the SIM card ๐Ÿ’ณ and SD card over to the new phone and download apps that I normally use at the library ๐Ÿ“š this afternoon.

Going to be a nice, hot summer weekend. ๐ŸŠ Saturday, mostly sunny, with a high near 84. Maximum dew point of 63 at 9am. Sunday, sunny, with a high near 87. Maximum dew point of 65 at 11am. Typical average high for the weekend is 82 degrees.

I am going to request next week off for vacation. โ›บ Not totally sure if I will get it but maybe I can work remotely part of the week if necessary. I think I’m going to my old standby of the Finger Lakes National Forest. Not going to spend a lot of time at the state parks but maybe a day or two I’ll go to the pool and swim but I’m sure parking ๐Ÿ…ฟ will be severely limited so I’ll have to get up early to swim ๐ŸŠ. My oil change is tomorrow and after that I should be good to go.

There are 3 months until Election Day 2020 ๐Ÿ—ณ๏ธ when the sun will be setting at 4:45 pm with dusk at 5:14 pm (Standard Time).

Pines Along Cedar River Flow