Good evening! Partly clear and 55 degrees in Delmar, NY. 🌃 There is a west breeze at 8 mph. 🍃

It’s a fairly nice evening, I thought 💭 it was a good weekend. Saturday I went to Schodack Island and Sunday to the Albany Pine Bush Preserve and Five Rivers. Spent a lot of time looking at the birds 🐦 and wildlife. 🐸 🐰 Even common wildlife is fascinating to observe. 🔎 It’s so easy to walk by it in the woods and not observe all that is happening. I did see some fireflies 🐝 outside the other night, I’ve not spent as many evenings out back lately as another one of those camping chairs I got from Walmart is falling apart again. I should look for something of better quality.

Tonight will be partly cloudy 🌤, with a low of 43 degrees at 4am. Nine degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around May 3rd. West wind 5 to 8 mph becoming calm after midnight. In 2019, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 49 degrees. The record low of 35 occurred back in 1945.

Tonight will have a Waxing Gibbous 🌔 Moon with 73% illuminated. At 9 PM, the moon was in the south (182°) at an altitude of 49° from the horizon, some 226,344 miles away from where you are looking up from the earth. 🚀 At the state speed limit of 55 mph, you’ll make it there by November 19^th. Buckle up for safety! 💺 The Strawberry 🍓 Moon is on Friday, June 5. The darkest hour is at 12:54 am, followed by dawn at 4:47 am, and sun starting to rise at 5:22 am in the east-northeast (59°) and last for 3 minutes and 23 seconds. Sunrise is 31 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌄 The golden hour ends at 6:04 am with sun in the east-northeast (66°). Tonight will have 8 hours and 53 minutes of darkness, a decrease of one minute and 16 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 66 degrees at 3pm. Eight degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around May 5th. Light west wind becoming northwest 6 to 11 mph in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 24 mph. That said, it should be a pretty nice day for working outside. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 81 degrees. The record high of 94 was set in 1918.

I am still thinking about heading up to the Adirondacks on Thursday bright and early ☀ before work and spending Thursday and Friday working up north and Saturday and Sunday recreating. Its only three nights camping so I could stay all weekend in that campsite that has the good cellphone 📱 reception 📶 for working. I got my fishing license tag in the mail today. 🎣 Now if they check I won’t have to pull it up on my phone.

In four weeks on June 28 the sun will be setting in the west-northwest (303°) at 8:37 pm,🌄 which is 11 minutes and 15 seconds later then tonight. In 2019 on that day, we had hot, partly sunny, rain showers and temperatures between 91 and 60 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 81 and 60 degrees. The record high of 99 degrees was set back in 1901.

Looking ahead, Strawberry Moon 🍓 is in 1 week and Fathers Day 👨 is in 2 weeks.

Good morning! Where did May go? Still not June despite what I thought yesterday. May had 31 days. Next Sunday is Strawberry Moon 🍓. Mostly sunny and 51 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☀ There is a northwest breeze at 10 mph. 🍃.

Out hiking in the Albany Pine Bush Preserve and surrounding lands today. 🚶 Doing some bird watching 🐦 and plant identification 🌿 with some of my fellow citizen scientists, doing the kind of work that only people not affiliated with the government and governments and corporate grants can do. 💵 It’s not to say government workers are bad people but they have to put food 🍲 on the table like the rest of us. Definitely a beautiful day for sure. 😎 Lots of people in the Pine Bush 🌲👪 which is good for advocacy even if not as good for our research purposes. Not so many Karner Blue today due to the cold weather but lot of pretty blue lupine to look at and a fair number of grasslands birds although mostly common ones.

Today will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 64 degrees at 3pm. 10 degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 30th. Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 76 degrees. The record high of 92 was set in 2013.

Regardless a beautiful day. 🐸 I might go to Black Creek Marsh later for more wildlife observation although midday 🕛 might not be a very good time a dig might be better to wait for early tomorrow morning or around dusk tonight. I also didn’t pack much of a lunch so that’s a consideration too. 🍔 I probably should have packed a lunch but I stayed up too late last night 🌃 watching the protest, and was groggy 😴 and get a late start.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:54 pm with sun having an altitude of 69.4° from the due south horizon (-1.4° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.3 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:45 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (295°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (302°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:27 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 23 seconds with dusk around 9:00 pm, which is 48 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Gibbous 🌔 Moon in the south (182°) at an altitude of 49° from the horizon, 226,344 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:44 pm. At sunset, look for mostly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 56 degrees. There will be a west-northwest breeze at 11 mph. Going to be chilly, if I do decide to go to the Black Creek Marsh, I’ll want long sleeves. 👚 Today will have 15 hours and 5 minutes of daytime, an increase of one minute and 19 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be partly cloudy 🌤, with a low of 42 degrees at 5am. 10 degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 30th. Northwest wind 6 to 11 mph becoming light west after midnight. Going to be a chilly night. In 2019, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 49 degrees. The record low of 35 occurred back in 1945.

Been reading 📖 a book I got out about the practice of welding and metal work. 👷 Welding is very much a skill of practice and I might some day get a welder when I own my own land and have a shop. Welding is a good skill to fix broken farm machinery 🚜 or even fabricate something like a farm trash incinerator that I can use year round safely when I own land. 🔥 I’ve been doing a lot of reading 📚 about things besides politics, history and contemporary events because there is much in the natural and physical world I want to understand better. 🐮 Cows and tractors, birds and bees 🐝 are remarkably important parts of our world and I’m woefully ignorant. 🐛

As previously noted, next Sunday is Strawberry Moon 🍓 when the sun will be setting at 8:31 pm with dusk at 9:05 pm. Close to the latest sunset of the year. On that day in 2019, we had mostly sunny and temperatures between 82 and 53 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 76 degrees. We hit a record high of 95 back in 1999.

Good evening! Cloudy and 60 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☁ There is a west-northwest breeze at 10 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 53 degrees. The skies will clear tomorrow around noontime.

I thought today was a pleasant day. 💭 Warm but not too hot. While I stuck around home for a while this morning, the bird hike I took at Schodack Island was quite productive and full of wildlife. 🐦 🐰 🐍 Not too many crowds on the hiking trail 👪, I think people’s initial desire to get outdoors and be occupied with the little ones is kind of wearing off and most of that’s now happening on weekdays. ☁ Clouds pushed in at the end of the day.

Rained a bit while I was driving home but I stocked up on $50 worth of Aldi’s groceries. 🍏 I love 😍 how I can shop for a weeks worth of groceries and be out of the store in less than ten minutes. ⏰There are only four aisles so it’s quick in and out. One other customer when I was there. They’ve taken the arrows down from the aisles ➡ as nobody pays attention to them and with the way the store is laid out the arrows don’t work compared to a big box store. I don’t even bother to bring my shopping bags inside anymore, I just bag things in my truck. Keeps them cleaner and more Coronavirus free that way. 👾

I made chilli burgers 🍔 for lunch and they were good but I’ve sure been a bit gassy 😲 all afternoon. Chilli with beans on a burger might not be good combo for my stomach. I thought I was going to have to dig a cat hole 💩 a few times when I was out hiking.

I am happy with the haircut ✂ I gave myself. Definitely a lot shorter and nicer. I might still want to work on the back. 💈 I had the clippers so I might as well use them. Eventually I go back to the barber but I think I’ll just use the trimmers for now until things are normal enough that masks and specialty are no longer required. 💇

Tonight will have isolated showers before midnight. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 49 degrees at 6am. Three degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around May 23rd. Northwest wind 10 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. In 2019, we had mostly clear skies. It was somewhat humid. It got down to 55 degrees. The record low of 34 occurred back in 1961.

Tonight will have a First Quarter 🌓 Moon with 63% illuminated. At 11 PM, the moon was in the west-southwest (239°) at an altitude of 38° from the horizon, some 226,878 miles away from where you are looking up from the earth. 🚀 At the state speed limit of 55 mph, you’ll make it there by November 18^th. Buckle up for safety! 💺 The Strawberry 🍓 Moon is on Friday, June 5. The darkest hour is at 12:54 am, followed by dawn at 4:48 am, and sun starting to rise at 5:22 am in the east-northeast (59°) and last for 3 minutes and 23 seconds. Sunrise is 32 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌄 The golden hour ends at 6:04 am with sun in the east-northeast (66°). Tonight will have 8 hours and 55 minutes of darkness, a decrease of one minute and 21 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will be sunny 🌞, with a high of 64 degrees at 4pm. 10 degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 30th. Northwest wind 10 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 29 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 76 degrees. The record high of 92 was set in 2013.

Getting up early tomorrow for hiking in the Albany Pine Bush Preserve 🌲 to do some birding and socially distant citizens conservation study. The more time you spend in the woods the more you. 🐸 I’m really finding myself getting lost and loosing track of time when I spend afternoons studying the woods. It will be great fun with my colleagues.

Watching next weekends forecast ☀ but it looks sunny and hot for Thursday through Sunday. My office 🏢 will probably still be remote work only so I could work from my phone or the Speculator library if I wanted to take another long weekend of social distancing up north. I could use some more beach time at the Speculator Beach 🏊 and maybe come the weekend do some hiking, maybe somewhere different up that way.

In four weeks on June 27 the sun will be setting in the west-northwest (303°) at 8:37 pm,🌄 which is 12 minutes and 5 seconds later then tonight. In 2019 on that day, we had hot, mostly sunny, shallow fog and temperatures between 87 and 63 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 81 and 60 degrees. The record high of 97 degrees was set back in 1941.

While I know I probably shouldn’t be, 🚨💥I’ve been watching the unrest unfold in Albany on the Twitter. I heard a few pops earlier in the evening and a police siren but I doubt it’s related. 👮 Probably just a fender bender locally 🚙 on the road. Kind of scary when you watch it all on the Twitter. I hope my absentee ballot applications ❌ isn’t destroyed or lost in the chaos in the south end. I could always vote on the machine but voting at home is a lot more convenient, especially as I suspect there will be much fewer poll workers and polling places ✉ during the pandemic.

After all those people looking down at the apparently crowded beaches on the long angle lens and then those dismissing the lock 🔒 down protests as passing the virus around, 👾 you have to wonder about these mass rallies over policing across the country. I just don’t like double standards or the bias against conservatives 🏊 .

Of course, no single event is likely to make a mass spike in cases of Coronavirus 👾as single events are burried by statistical noise♒ but together they could set back progress at slowing the spread. You can say no mass gatherings of more than 10 people ✊ but it’s kind of hard to break up a protest that is criticizing public policy and clearly is first amendment guaranteed. 📃 So much for reopening the economy so quickly should there be an uptick in cases.

I guess there isn’t much I can do about it. 💭 My priority has to be to save money, 💵 enjoy life, protect myself from the government 🏫 and work for a better tomorrow and eventually my off-grid property. 🏡 I can’t save Albany or change the world 🌍 but I can make a better life for myself. What’s happening is kind of sad but there is only so much I can do about it.

Looking ahead, Summer ️⛱️ is in 3 weeks.

Good morning! Happy Saturday. Finally the weekend! Three weeks to Summer unless you are a metrologist then it’s tomorrow 🏛. May 2020 has come and gone. Facebook friends tell me Monday is actually June but what do I know. Partly cloudy and 63 degrees in Delmar, NY. ⛅ There is a west-northwest breeze at 10 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 56 degrees. Much cooler than yesterday.

I don’t think my do it myself hair cut 💈 was that bad, I mean at least it’s a lot shorter and cooler feeling. I just keep pounding away at it with the shaver and the 1/4 inch guide. I’ve also chopped away at some of the big sticking up parts with scissors ✂ and around the ears. 👂 I did cut it a bit short on my forehead and I’m sure its a mess in the back but it’s sure nice being a heck of a lot shorter. Side burns are gone, goatee is short too. Will I buzz it even shorter? Maybe, I just don’t want a lot of bald scalpe showing and I don’t want the blade to dig in but it’s possible. I just don’t see my old barber 💈 shop opening anytime soon. I’m sure my barber is going to throw in the towel and honestly I’m no fan of wearing a mask 🎭 to get my hair cut or having to schedule a set appointment. So buzz cut it will be for now. I was totally inspired Southern Onondaga County Dairyman Andy Hourrigan’s YouTube channel with his short hair. 🐮 I bet his 1,700 cows don’t care how pretty his hair is while he’s hauling manure and silage. 🌽

Today will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 78 degrees at 2pm. Five degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around June 14th. Maximum dew point of 56 at 7am. Northwest wind 8 to 10 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 72 degrees. The record high of 92 was set in 1987.

Today I have to shopping. 🍏 I can’t avoid it anymore. Maybe bird watching at Schodack Island and then Aldi. 🍏 One thing I discovered from my cutting and shaving adventures today is that I definitely need more razors.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:54 pm with sun having an altitude of 69.2° from the due south horizon (-1.6° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.3 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. Don’t cast a big shadow today at High Noon 🕛. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:44 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (295°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (301°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:26 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 23 seconds with dusk around 8:59 pm, which is 50 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Gibbous 🌔 Moon in the south-southwest (203°) at an altitude of 53° from the horizon, 226,954 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:43 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and temperatures around 68 degrees. The dew point will be 54 degrees. There will be a west-northwest breeze at 8 mph. Today will have 15 hours and 4 minutes of daytime, an increase of one minute and 22 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have a slight chance of showers before 11pm. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 48 degrees at 5am. Four degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around May 20th. West wind around 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. In 2019, we had mostly clear skies. It was somewhat humid. It got down to 55 degrees. The record low of 34 occurred back in 1961.

As previously noted, there are 3 weeks until the First Day of Summer 🏛 when the sun will be setting at 8:36 pm with dusk at 9:11 pm. On that day in 2019, we had humid, mostly cloudy, rain showers and temperatures between 79 and 66 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 79 degrees. We hit a record high of 97 back in 1953.

Good evening! Cloudy, damp and 72 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☁ There is a south breeze at 7 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 66 degrees. Kind of a muggy summer night. The skies will clear tomorrow around 9 am.

It Sasa hot and sometimes rainy and often steamy day. 💦 Some big rain drops from the storms. I did get my wash done but it was hot working in the truck. The fan and the reflective board made working in the truck quite bareable. There was a few projects that didn’t get done while I was at the library but I got a lot done that I had planned to do while I was down there.

With the humidity and general stickiness this evening I decided to get out my trimmer, set the blade to half inch and pretend to be a barber 💈 trimming my hair down. Is it straight? Is it perfect? Probably not but what do I care in the era of social distancing. It’s going to grow back but for now shorter if not a bit more uneven hair is fine and a heck of a lot more comfortable in the heat. If it’s not perfect we’ll, who cares, Zoom meetings are low resolution at any rate. After my hair cut 💇 I took a shower 🚿 because I was itchy from all the pieces of hair everywhere. Now I feel a lot cooler and my hats should fit well with less hair. I might touch it up further in the morning.

As I mentioned earlier, today was a busy one. 👚 I did get down to the laundromat but not to the store 🏬. I’ll have to do that tomorrow. Maybe Aldi in Rensselaer, I like their products and quick in and out which is good during the pandemic. I can always order most other things like personal care products from Walmart online. 🍏 Maybe I can combine that with hiking and bird watching at Schodack Island if I can figure out what to do for lunch. Or maybe kayaking in Schodack Creek and the Hudson River? 🚣 Intriguing possibility.

Tonight will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 64 degrees at 6am. 12 degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 66 at 11pm. South wind around 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. In 2019, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 59 degrees. The record low of 33 occurred back in 1967.

Tonight will have a First Quarter 🌓 Moon with 51% illuminated. At 11 PM, the moon was in the west-southwest (255°) at an altitude of 34° from the horizon, some 228,075 miles away from where you are looking up from the earth. 🚀 At the state speed limit of 55 mph, you’ll make it there by November 18^th. Buckle up for safety! 💺 The Strawberry 🍓 Moon is on Friday, June 5. The darkest hour is at 12:54 am, followed by dawn at 4:49 am, and sun starting to rise at 5:23 am in the east-northeast (59°) and last for 3 minutes and 22 seconds. Sunrise is 34 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌄 The golden hour ends at 6:05 am with sun in the east-northeast (66°). Tonight will have 8 hours and 56 minutes of darkness, a decrease of one minute and 22 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will have a slight chance of showers before 10am. Partly sunny 🌞, with a high of 77 degrees at 4pm. Four degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around June 10th. Maximum dew point of 59 at 6am. Northwest wind 8 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 72 degrees. The record high of 92 was set in 1987.

Definitely sounds like a nice day tomorrow once the rain pushes off and not as hot 🔥. I’m thinking a fairly quiet day tomorrow but my pantry is so bare I need to get shopping soon 🔜. Been kind of a busy week with camping in the Adirondacks and work picking up lately. Do I’m ready for a break.

I got in the mail the propane tree for the lantern 🏮 like we had at Boy Scouts allowing me to mount the lantern right on the tank without having to run a rope to hang the lantern. The reviews were mixed on these and they can be unstable when the tanks are empty but I needed one if I wanted to use the lantern in the screen house 🎪 or campsites where no trees are nearby for hanging a rope. I got the type with a metal male connector to the tank so hopefully it won’t crack and break off. While I have electric at camp the lantern uses very little propane and works even if I trip on a wire or there is an under voltage condition.

In four weeks on June 26 the sun will be setting in the west-northwest (303°) at 8:37 pm,🌄 which is 12 minutes and 55 seconds later then tonight. In 2019 on that day, we had hot, humid, mostly sunny, thunderstorm and temperatures between 87 and 61 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 81 and 59 degrees. The record high of 99 degrees was set back in 1952.

Looking ahead, 8:30 PM Sunset ️⛱️ is in 1 week.