Good evening! Partly clear and 62 degrees in Dormansville, NY. There is a north breeze at 8 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 49 degrees. Sleeping in the truck once again tonight at my parents house. 😴 Enjoy this beautiful evening while it lasts, we might be in for a period of unstable weather once again for the week.☁ Clouds and rain tomorrow, once again.

It was a pretty decent weekend up in the Green Mountains, bar my hammock ripping into two, the black flies, and forgetting to pack extra socks. 🧦 I was sure I had the socks with me, and I started to paw through my pack on Thursday night, and I just assumed they were burred in my pack. Frustrating through. I’ve started to use a packing list before camping, but i didn’t have a printed copy of the list to check off when I started packing on Wednesday night, as Thursday was busy with the Pine Bush event.✍ So be it. The black flies weren’t truly bad until it got really sunny and nice this morning, but I had a nice drive down Forest Road 71 on this sunny morning, and I got home relatively early to unpack.💼

Hiking the Stratton Mountain, Stratton Pond loop sure was exhausting but well worth it in my opinion.🚶 It got my goal of doing something new and different at camp and the change was special even if the 12 or 13 mile walk caused by me missing Winhall River trail made it exhausting. I got to see some new and different trails,⛰ the other side of Stratton Pond and even the summit of Stratton was enjoyable as it’s the first time I’ve hiked it in six years. Been kind of achy and sore all day today, but I’m sure in a few day I’ll be feeling better or I should go to the doctor prior to June 1st when the Health Insurance deductibles go up. 😷 We need universal healthcare, ain’t that obvious.

Tonight will be mostly cloudy 🌥, with a low of 49 degrees at 5am. Two degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around May 23rd. North wind 5 to 8 mph. In 2018, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 53 degrees. The record low of 33 occurred back in 1994.

Tonight will have a Waning Crescent Moon 🌘 with 27% illuminated. The moon will rise at 2:44 am. The New Moon is on Sunday night with scattered showers. The Strawberry Moon 🌝 is on Sunday, June 16th. The sun will rise at 5:23 am with the first light at 4:49 am, which is 39 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌄 Tonight will have 9 hours of darkness, a decrease of one minute and 29 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will rain likely before 11am, then periods of rain and possibly a thunderstorm between 11am and 4pm, then occasional showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 4pm. 🌦 High of 58 degrees at 12pm. 15 degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 15th. Maximum dew point of 51 at 4pm. 🏖️ Southeast wind 5 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. A year ago, we had light rain in the morning, which became mostly sunny by afternoon. The high last year was 74 degrees. The record high of 93 was set in 2016. There was a dusting of snow in 1902.❄

Tomorrow I should pick up my dry cleaning, 👕 and maybe I should think about trying to get up to LL Bean to see if they will once again exchange my broken hammock. Well, if I paid a premium for the hammock, well with my card rewards, and they have a wonderful lifetime guarantee, they should replace it, because I don’t think I did anything to kill it besides flopping in it after being tired hiking. If they don’t replace it for free (again — the carbinaner snapped on the first one I got), I’ll get another brand, because I really want to do more hammock camping. I also want get the battery box and maybe the marine battery for my second battery I plan to install in the truck, in my cap, giving me extra storage for cloudy days up at camp. Then I should be able to be 100% solar for all my camp electrical needs.

Right now, next weekend looks cool but sunny. 😎 Saturday, mostly sunny, with a high near 72. Maximum dew point of 51 at 6pm. Sunny and low humidity. No complaints there. Sunday, a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 73. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Maximum dew point of 56 at 1pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 74 degrees. Things could definitely change by then.

I plan to stay in town next weekend, although things could change my mind.🤔 For example, if it looked like it was going to exceptionally hot out, I might consider going up to the Potholers, but not necessarily. Instead, I have a lot of projects I’d like to work on at home, including wiring up and mounting the second accessory battery in the cap of my truck.🔋 I don’t imagine that project will take more then about an hour, but who knows. I might also have some work stuff I have to do next weekend.

But maybe the following weekend I’ll get out of town — I’m hoping by then that Jessup River Road will be open, then I might camp on Hardwood Hill then hike back on Saturday on one of the trails into the West Canada Lake Wilderness back to Pillsbury Lake from Sled Harbor and then on Sunday paddle around Speculator. 🏕 If I camp up there, I’ll have good cellphone service for any work matters that come up. Plus I love the views from the campsite — assuming the road is open for the spring, and that campsite is not taken.

In four weeks on June 24 the sun will be setting at 8:37 pm,🌄 which is 14 minutes and 33 seconds later then tonight. Latest sunset of the year or pretty darn close to it. Almost all of the time — except for 2 minutes — we gain over the next few weeks will be in the evening, as earth wobble brings the transit of the sun closer to 1 PM. In 2018 on that day, we had rain and temperatures between 76 and 61 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 80 and 59 degrees. The record high of 96 degrees was set back in 1943.

Amazing to think in four weeks, we will be well into summer, but that’s what happens when Memorial Day Weekend comes to a close. Maybe that weekend I’ll be in Schoharie County, and can camp at Burnt Rossman after spending all day at the Mine Kill State Park pool.🏊🏿

Looking ahead, Latest Sunset 🌆 is in 4 weeks, July 🏊🏿 is in 5 weeks, Cow Appreciation Day 🐂 is in 7 weeks, Last Sunset After 8 PM 🌆 is in 11 weeks, Labor Day 👨‍🏭 is in 14 weeks and Columbus Day 🛥️ is in 19 weeks.

Good evening! Yup, still raining and 43 degrees ☔ in Delmar. Talk about a cold wet ending to the weekend.

But it was a nice weekend especially on Saturday up at Hildervandt Vly and the wilderness back country of the Southern Adirondacks. I’m thinking of doing more day hikes like that and some overnights when it warms up a bit more and the black fly season is done. A nice starry night in the wilderness in the hammock would be wonderful. ⛺

While it was interesting driving through Tribes Hill and Fort Hunter, the bridge 🌉 between the two is pretty narrow when two pickup trucks have to pass on it. Then I managed to make the wrong turn in Schenectady County and ended up in Mariaville and ended up taking the Thruway back home. At least traffic was light and the more rural parts of Schenectady County is remarkably scenic.

Sunday dinner at the folks house, Mother’s Day was meatballs riggis which was pretty good. 🍲 Always a fun ending to the weekend.

Tonight will have patchy drizzle with a slight chance of showers after 2am. When it’s not raining look for clouds 🌧, with a low of 40 degrees at 6am. Six degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 24th. Light northeast wind. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. In 2018, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 48 degrees. The record low of 30 occurred back in 2005.

Tonight will have a Waxing Gibbous Moon 🌔 with 73% illuminated. The moon will set at 3:03 am. The Flower Moon 🌕 is on Friday night with a chance of showers. The sun will rise at 5:35 am with the first light at 5:03 am, which is one minute and 6 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌄 Tonight will have 9 hours and 26 minutes of darkness, a decrease of 2 minutes and 9 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will have patchy drizzle with a chance of showers before 11am, then rain likely, mainly after 2pm. Cloudy 🌦, with a high of 55 degrees at 2pm. 14 degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 9th. East wind around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. A year ago, we had light rain in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 68 degrees. The record high of 86 was set in 2004. There was a dusting of snow in 1953.❄

I was a bit annoyed with the amount of litter 🚮 I saw in the woods over the weekend. You usually don’t see as much in more remote country as I saw up at the campsites at Stewart Landing and Rockwood Lake. Hiking along NY 8 was pretty bad too. I didn’t pick up everything I saw in Rockwood State Forest but I did pick up the multiple six pack rings that were along the road. I get it – not really the consumers fault but a society awash in oil and the byproducts of it – plastic but still how hard would have it been to at least burn it completely or pack it out?

The long range doesn’t look that great for next weekend but the Lupine Festival might be fun. 😞 Next Saturday, a chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 69. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Maximum dew point of 51 at 1pm. Next Sunday, a chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 69. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Maximum dew point of 54 at 1pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 70 degrees. At least by then the temperature will return close to normal.

In four weeks on June 9 the sun will be setting at 8:32 pm,🌄 which is 24 minutes and 15 seconds later then tonight. Almost the latest sunset of the year only gain about five minutes on that. In 2018 on that day, we had mostly sunny, shallow fog and temperatures between 80 and 52 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 76 and 55 degrees. The record high of 100 degrees was set back in 1933.

Looking ahead, Fathers Day 👨 is in 5 weeks, National Nude Day 👱 is in 9 weeks (skinny dipping?), Last Sunset After 8 PM 🌆 is in 3 months, Sunset Before 7:30 PM 🌆 is in 16 weeks, Autumn 🍂 is in 19 weeks and Average High is 60 🍂 is in 22 weeks.

55 degrees with partly sunny skies with another ten degrees to go before we max out today. Making good time downtown on the express bus but it’s chilly with the air conditioning blasting. TGIF. I’m just glad that summer is coming even if this weekend will be yet another rainy weekend.

The sun will set at 8:08 pm with dusk around 8:40 pm, which is one minute and 4 seconds later than yesterday. At sunset, look for partly cloudy conditions and 59 degrees. There will be a southeast breeze at 5 mph. Today will have 14 hours and 33 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 9 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be mostly cloudy, with a low of 47 degrees at 6am. One degree above normal. South wind 5 to 7 mph. In 2016, it got down to 52 degrees with rain and fog and patches of fog and mist and cloudy skies. The record low of 30 occurred back in 2005.

As previously noted, there are 2 weeks until Memorial Day Weekend when the sun will be setting at 8:22 pm with dusk at 8:55 pm. On that day in 2016, we had partly cloudy skies and temperatures between 88 and 58 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 72 degrees. We hit a record high of 94 back in 2010.

It was pretty nice evening down at the park then back home, watching the moon rise during my evening walk. With the halo of the clouds, if almost looked like a flower. Saw a bat flying around scooping up bugs. White Nose has wiped out a lot of cave dwelling bats but it seems like in Delmar you still see them around, probably surviving under the eves of houses. Bats are good, they eat a lot of bugs. 

Sat our back until around ten, watching the PBS Newshour on the tailgate of my truck. Got a bit chilly after a while but then again it’s still only mid May. A lot of road noise though as it seems everybody is out and about in the nice weather. 

Continued to look at vests and I found a place that has free shipping and a good price but I’m concerned it will be delivered while I’m downstate. I’ll have to think about what I will do, I might have it shipped to a friend’s apartment. Or I might hold off now. I always like to think about purchases before I buy them. My old one is really falling apart, that’s why I decided to skip it this morning. 

Two quick weeks from now I will be finishing packing my truck and heading to work then out to Vermont. I don’t have a Vermont fishing license but there is plenty of other things to do during my three day weekend. It’s not a big trip so if the weather goes bad, I can always head home. I don’t mind a thunderstorm but I don’t want a weekend of heavy rain while camping. 

Been starting to research heavier rear wheel to put on my bike. I’ve always liked riding from place to place and my bike is nice but I got to have something that doesn’t keep breaking spokes, leaving me broken down along the road. I am thinking of possibly riding through some of the Pine Creek Rail Trail Gorge on my summer vacation. With nearly 80 miles of bike trail, there is a lot to see. Nearly half of the trail is in Wilderness, all of it is quite rural, flat and in the deep Pine Creek Gorge.

That said, like years past I will spend the bulk of my summer in the Finger Lakes National Forest and spend my days swimming and I hiking in the cold gorges of the Finger Lakes. It’s just a fun and relaxing way to spend a summer. I have the Empire Passport again this summer, so I have unlimited park visitation, and then I can camp along old Chicken Coop Road, have a nice fire, cook some burgers on charcoal while I listen to the soft mooing of the cows across the way in the pasture.

I am feeling a bit achy this morning. Not sure why. I’ve felt like I’ve had a upset stomach for most of the week but I’m thinking it may be all the hot sauce. I really need to use it in moderation, maybe in a bottle that pours slower. And maybe get to bed earlier, so I get sufficient sleep. Often when I’m tired, I get achy and don’t feel great. With the nice evenings though, I’ve been sitting out back until 11 PM, which is much too late, especially with the sun coming up early and waking me before 6 AM.

Speaking of speed, they’ve put once of those temporary your speed signs on my road, and it’s amazing how fast people are blowing past it. People are often going 40-45 miles per hour in 30, around a fairly tight curve past pedestrians. In the era of cruise control and electronic throttles and eight speed transmissions this seems very non sensible. You reach the speed limit limit and hit a button on your steering wheel. How difficult can it be?