Search Results for “photo wet 4 ” | Page 16

A dark shower with no bread baking this morning 🍞🚿

I went to bed early last night noting the ice we were getting and not wanting to deal with the risk of losing power. The power did go out and is still out so I’m shaving and showering in the dark this morning. Fortunately it’s going to warm up by midday though most of the coming week will be a bit below average.

Good morning! Happy Palm Sunday. Sunny and 19 degrees in Delmar, NY. 🌞 🌴 I bet a lot of church halls are cold and not very well lit this morning ⛪ though the sunlight through the stain glass must be beautiful. There is a north breeze at 10 mph. 🍃. The current wind chill is 5. There are 5 inches of snow on the ground. ☃ ️Things will start to thaw out at around noontime. 🌡️

I am a bit surprised how much snow 🌨 and ice I we got as I was thinking this would be just a wet rainy ☔ Saturday. Actually the bulk of the day was just heavy rain but then around 4 pm the ground temperature dropped and it turned to ice then snow. For a while the tree branches were quite ice covered and things were quite pretty.

Today will be sunny 🌞, with a high of 39 degrees at 4pm. Nine degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around February 27th. North wind 6 to 10 mph. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning with more sun in the afternoon. The high last year was 51 degrees. The record high of 69 was set in 1976. 5.5 inches of snow fell back in 1956.❄

Laying in bed 🛏 not rushing this morning, because I don’t have coffee ☕ because my stove isn’t working nor do I have any way to cook breakfast 🍳 without power. I figure the more light ☀ with the sun in the sky the better for showering and shaving. 🚿🪒 I am not sure if they even have power 🔌 at the grocery store 🏬 so I’m thinking they may be closed though these days they probably have emergency generators. 🛻 Plus I got to scrape all that ice and snow off my truck.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:02 pm with sun having an altitude of 49° from the due south horizon (-21.8° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 5.2 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 6:36 pm with the sun in the west (267°). 📸 The sunset is in the west (273°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:13 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 54 seconds with dusk around 7:40 pm, which is one minute and 9 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Full 🌝 Moon in the east (98°) at an altitude of 10° from the horizon, 251,916 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:14 pm. At sunset, look for mostly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 33 degrees. There will be a north breeze at 5 mph. Today will have 12 hours and 25 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 54 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be mostly clear 🌃, with a low of 16 degrees at 6am. 13 degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around February 10th. Northwest wind around 6 mph. In 2023, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became light snow by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 29 degrees. The record low of 0 occurred back in 1875.

Looking ahead, there are 2 weeks until 7:30 PM Sunset 🌇 with dusk at 7:57 pm. On that day in 2023, we had mostly sunny skies and temperatures between 48 and 34 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 55 degrees. We hit a record high of 87 back in 2010.

Not the nicest Hump Day around ever to kick off spring 🌧️

March rain and snow showers bring mud and a lower fire risk and hopefully some green though it will need to warm up a bit. But I’m sure 80 degree days aren’t far off. I am just hoping for nice weather come Easter weekend.

Good morning! What day is it? Hump Day, of course. Rain and snow showers around and 34 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☔ There is a south breeze at 8 mph. 🍃. Temperatures will drop below freezing at around 8 pm. ☃️

While I concede that I probably will get wet, I am going to ride my bike to work today. 🚲 I am nuts 🤪 but hardly that’s a secret – I figure I’m kind of the Charlie Luce of Data Services. You know the former CEO of ConEd who used to ride his bicycle to work and to construction 🚧 sites to view projects in the 1960s. I think the bigger danger is getting soaked at five o’clock 💦 though if it happens I’ll throw my bike on the bus 🚍 and come home and get changed. I like the exercise and saving the bus fare. 🎫

Today will have a slight chance of rain and snow showers before 11am, then a chance of rain showers after noon. Mostly cloudy 🌦, with a high of 47 degrees at 2pm. Typical for today. South wind 8 to 10 mph becoming west in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 50%. Little or no snow accumulation expected. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with sunny skies in the afternoon. The high last year was 52 degrees. The record high of 78 was set in 2012. 7.0 inches of snow fell back in 1944.❄

Last night I got home and was somewhat chilled through from the evening bike ride. 🌬️ It was windy to say the least. Microwaved a sweet potato, chopped it up and fried it with onions and corn. 🍳 Not a half bad dinner, I was fully engulfed in the Power Broker audio book. 🎧️ You know the classic one by Robert Caro on Robert Moses. The politics are intensely fascinating. 🏗️ I was going to read and watch some videos about building green homes, but somehow I was cold so I retired to under my electric blanket and was asleep shortly after 7 PM. I had planned to get up really early — maybe at 4 AM to do more reading, 📚️ but somehow I didn’t get up until some point between 5:30 and 5:45 AM which is late for me. I guess I needed a bit of extra sleep last night. 🛏️

Probably the reason why my sleep is so fucked up 💤 is because I drink like 2-3 large cups of coffee in the morning, ☕️ then I come into the office in and drink two more cups of iced black coffee. 🧊 It keeps me awake, but as my doctor noted last year, it’s kind of excessive to say the least. I should drink more water in the morning, and try to be more in moderation so I’m not pissing all of the time. 🥛 But also by the time I get home I’m just warn out after all those hours of studying data records. Plus I’m spending so much time thinking what my future home would look like, and all the steps to implement it. But what I need the most is a good night in the wilderness with a big fire. 🏕️ 🔥 I’m really hoping next week.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:04 pm with sun having an altitude of 47.5° from the due south horizon (-23.4° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 5.5 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 6:31 pm with the sun in the west (265°). 📸 The sunset is in the west (271°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:08 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 54 seconds with dusk around 7:36 pm, which is one minute and 9 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Gibbous 🌔 Moon in the east-southeast (111°) at an altitude of 51° from the horizon, 249,398 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:09 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and snow 🌨 and temperatures around 35 degrees. There will be a west-northwest breeze at 15 mph. Tomorrow will have 12 hours and 16 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 54 seconds over today.

Tonight will have a slight chance of snow showers before 9pm, then a slight chance of snow showers after 5am. Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly clear 🌧, with a low of 22 degrees at 4am. Six degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 4th. West wind around 17 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. In 2023, we had clear skies in the evening, which became clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 24 degrees. The record low of -01 occurred back in 1956.

This weekend is a mixed bag but generally Saturday is wet and Sunday is sunny but cold again. 🌦️ Saturday, snow, possibly mixed with rain, becoming all rain after 8am. High near 42. Chance of precipitation is 80%. Sunday, partly sunny, with a high near 42. Typical average high for the weekend is 48 degrees.

I am potentially thinking about driving down to Catskill Mountain Cabins in Kingston to learn more 🛖 though I almost want to do more research first as I know as soon as a salesperson gets my phone and email 📱 📧 I will be harassed to buy now. And I’m not sure if that option is right for me. Already since I’ve mentioned to people that I’m interested in building a small solar powered home, I get people sending me pictures of tiny homes and off grid cabins in the wilderness – both which aren’t practical or realistic options for the life I want to live. I want to have good information in my hands 👐 and do what’s right for me before buying 💰 but also I don’t want to delay forever.

As previously noted, there are 3 weeks until 8 PM Dusk 🌆 when the sun will be setting at 7:33 pm. On that day in 2023, we had sunny and temperatures between 67 and 30 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 57 degrees. We hit a record high of 86 back in 1922.

The Bridges That Go Underwater 🌉

Nebraska Bridge

Nebraska Bridge is behind the Tionesta Storm Control Reservoir. Built before the reservoir. When water levels are high like in the spring, the bridge is submerged. As there is little current there, as it’s behind the dam, the bridge just gets wet and covered with branches sometimes. Water level drops, bridge reopens. Happened hundreds of times since dam built in 1940. Bridge built in 1933.

Upper Lisle Bridge

There is a similar bridge on Whitney Point Reservoir in New York. Under water part of the year above water in the summer and dry spells. The Whitney Point submerged bridge dates back to the 1880s. With little current, the bridge is unharmed by the slow rise and fall of water around it.

Happy Friday, on this Most Beautiful Day 🌞

Definitely won’t get so soaked riding in this morning. It feels almost spring like. I feel refreshed, even if it was a tough night with smoke detector problems again with my windows closed. Things are tough these days, but they’ll get better. I just got to keep pushing forward, I’ve worked hard to get where I am and have a lot of potential ahead.

Good morning! Yeah, it’s Friday! Sunny and 31 degrees in Delmar. 🌞 Calm wind.

Riding to work on this beautiful morning. 🚲 Oiled my chain well after yesterday’s very wet ride to work. It was starting to bind up and click from the rust. Been a while since I last lubricated it. It was so wet riding in yesterday. The ride home wasn’t bad, and I even stopped and got eggs at the supermarket 🥚 and rode the rest the way home, the long way via the bike trail through Slingerlands with still some light left by the time I got home. And no eggs were broken in the process. 😀

I’ve been complaining a lot lately, especially about my living situation, but there is hope. I love my new position as the Director of Data Services 👨‍💼 as it involves skills I’ve been using for a long time, and there is a lot of creativity and thinking involved in developing the queries and scripts to get the data outputted and delivered to clients. Plus, yesterday I got the official position description, and it somehow strokes my ego 💪 the way it’s written.

Today will be sunny 🌞, with a high of 53 degrees at 3pm. 11 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 2nd. Light and variable wind. A year ago, we had cloudy skies. The high last year was 39 degrees. The record high of 68 was set in 2012. 6.5 inches of snow fell back in 2013.❄

Continuing to read and research buying land to build a house. 🔍 To get a mortgage or pay cash is one of the big questions on my mind, but I’m trying to get hard facts on the costs of doing it both ways. I am determined to do it right, even if it takes time. ⏲ Spend the money that is necessary, pay the right professionals a fair amount. Everybody has a different opinion! But that’s good, I will weight what is right for my situation. I would like to close on land before the winter, and move out to the land and camp there 🏕 until my place is built next year if at all possible.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:07 pm with sun having an altitude of 42.7° from the due south horizon (-28.1° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 6.5 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 5:17 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (258°). 📸 The sunset is in the west (265°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 5:54 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 55 seconds with dusk around 6:22 pm, which is one minute and 12 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 6:55 pm. At sunset, look for mostly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 50 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Today will have 11 hours and 38 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 53 seconds over yesterday.

Closed my windows as it was cold last night and the damn smoke detector went off two or maybe three times from accumulated smoke, dust and humidity in my apartment. 👩‍🚒 This really is killing me, I only replaced the alarm a few months ago and I don’t want to go without a smoke detector in case of a real fire. Plus the air quality is so bad it’s hard to sleep with the windows closed, though I don’t have the visible mold problems my apartment once had since the landlord fixed all the leaks and I got serious with the bleach, but it’s still not good. Maybe I got to try to clean more though I’m not convinced that’s the problem.

I tell myself, I got to get out of this place. 🏡 That’s what I tell myself. Now is the time I can make that change but it’s going to take time ⌚ as moving is complicated especially if I want to live in my dream place out in the country off grid. At least soon it will be warm enough most days to have the windows open which will help with the moisture and air quality issues. 🔲 It would be nice if I could point to something that was wrong, but nothing obvious appears to be wrong. Maybe I got to try to clean better. I guess I should probably reach out to my new slumlord before the fire department shows up.

Tonight will have increasing clouds ☁, with a low of 33 degrees at 5am. Nine degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 5th. Calm wind becoming south 5 to 9 mph in the evening. In 2023, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 28 degrees. The record low of -14 occurred back in 1943.

In 1965, Thirty-five hundred United States Marines are the first American land combat forces committed during the Vietnam War. 🪖 After promises in 1964 of no escalation in the conflict in Vietnam 🇻🇳 one of the most decisive and arguably tragic wars underway.

Tomorrow will rain likely, mainly after 4pm. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a high of 49 degrees at 1pm. Six degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 25th. Breezy, with a south wind 10 to 15 mph increasing to 17 to 22 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 34 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. A year ago, we had cloudy skies. The high last year was 43 degrees. The record high of 81 was set in 2016. 6.9 inches of snow fell back in 1961.❄

Looking ahead to Sunday, rain likely before 4pm, then a chance of rain and snow showers. Mostly cloudy, 🌧️ with a high near 47. South wind 5 to 10 mph becoming west 13 to 18 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. Typical average high for the weekend is 43 degrees.

Friendly strangers in black sedans want you to know, next Friday is the Ides of March ✝ when the sun will be setting at 7:03 pm with dusk at 7:30 pm (Daylight Savings Time). On that day in 2023, we had mostly sunny and temperatures between 37 and 29 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 45 degrees. We hit a record high of 72 back in 2019.

Waiting on the rain 🌧️

No rain yet but it’s coming. The air feels damp but I’m hoping it will hold off until after I catch the bus downtown so I can bring my posters in without them getting wet or having to drive.

Good morning! Happy Tuesday. Clouds and 45 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☁️ There is a south-southeast breeze at 8 mph. 🍃. Temperatures will drop below freezing at Friday around 5 am. ☃️

I decided I definitely need some kind of air freshener or candle warmer 👃🕯 for my office as yesterday they got a fresh delivery of cardstock to the print shop 🖨 below my office and the HVAC sucked in the hydrogen sulfide rich air from the fresh paper delivered 📄 🚚 and I wanted to gag half the morning. I know enough about human noses and sulfur that over time people get used to the smell and can’t smell it, and may even grow fond of it but at least right now it stinks!

I may run to Walmart later in the week, I also need razors and eggs 🪒 🥚. I eat a lot more eggs these days as they’re cheap and fairly healthy protein 💪🏻and make an excellent binder in cornmeal and oatmeal pancakes 🥞. I actually had Johnny Cakes this morning with lots of onion, broccoli, chilli and cherry tomato. 🍅 🧅🌶 🥦 It was good but that like so many meals requires eggs, and I won’t have enough come Friday or Saturday.

Today will rain. 🌧 High of 46 degrees at 1pm. Five degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 18th. Southeast wind 5 to 8 mph becoming light and variable. Chance of precipitation is 90%. My windows are open but maybe I should shut them. 🔲 Not going to be super warm. New precipitation amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible. But wet! 💧A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 42 degrees. The record high of 71 was set in 1964. 8.6 inches of snow fell back in 1917.❄ If this was colder that would be a ton of snow. ☃ But truth be told we need rain to reduce fire risk. 🧑‍🚒

Bussing it in this morning. 🚌 I could drive but it’s much easier to catch the bus. It’s time I can work on my phone or catch up with folks. It’s relaxing to not have to deal with traffic. 🚘 I am sure I’ll have plenty of alone time in an automobile once I build my off-grid cabin, as that naturally has to be a ways from the city so I can have freedom. 🔥 🐷 🐐 Saves over the gas and no miles on my truck. People in my suburban office think it’s weird I ride my bike or bus it here, but it saves money and stress. Some ways I like the urban life, but I am also ready to get away.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:08 pm with sun having an altitude of 41.6° from the due south horizon (-29.3° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 6.8 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 5:13 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (257°). 📸 The sunset is in the west (263°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 5:51 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 56 seconds with dusk around 6:18 pm, which is one minute and 13 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 6:52 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and temperatures around 46 degrees. There will be a north-northeast breeze at 5 mph. Today will have 11 hours and 30 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 53 seconds over yesterday.

I found some a nice property on Zillow that I’m investigating further. 🔍 Not quite ready to buy at this point, and probably somebody else will get it first, but I’m not going to spend $100,000 on land that I don’t have a solid plan to make use of in coming years. But it’s worth it to develop my code and methodology to study the property 🗺 as even if I don’t end up living there, it gives me an idea of what I should look for and avoid. I also started reading How to plan, contract, and build your own home by Richard M. Scutella to try to understand more of the owner-builder process. Once I get further along, I might reach out to friends with questions, but I want to take my time and do it right.

Tonight will rain likely, mainly before 7pm. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 44 degrees at 1am. 21 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around May 3rd. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. In 2023, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 33 degrees. The record low of -21 occurred back in 1948.

Going to be a rainy night, so my plan is to do a lot more reading, 📚 and more work on my code to crank out vital information about a property that is listed. I have completed the LIDAR section that gives me total acreage by average slope and direction the slope faces, but also want to be able to calculate how much of the property is on DEC wetlands and/or 100 feet from waterway, what soils are on the land, and so forth. The more data I can obtain, the more leverage I have. While most sellers and real estate agents probably know topographic maps and have walked the property, I doubt many know how many acres are 5% slope, how many acres exactly are soil x, y, or z. Information is power. Or at least it’s interesting what I can crank out of a few lines of R code.

Today in 1970, Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty goes into effect after ratification by 43 nations. ⚛️ It was really bad when they were blowing up nuclear bombs in the air, making the milk and corn radioactive across the mid-west. 🐮 Some of it was willful ignorance by the federal government on how harmful such actions were. In 1933, during the height of the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declares a “bank holiday”, 🏦 closing all U.S. banks and freezing all financial transactions.

Gonna rain again this weekend. ☔ No camping 🏕 for me. 😞 Saturday, a chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 46. Chance of precipitation is 50%. Sunday, rain likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 46. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Daylight savings time starts Sunday. Typical average high for the weekend is 43 degrees.

Looking ahead, there are 2 weeks until Last Day of Winter 🏂 when the sun will be setting at 7:08 pm with dusk at 7:35 pm (Daylight Savings Time). On that day in 2023, we had partly sunny, snow showers and temperatures between 33 and 22 degrees.l Typically, the high temperature is 46 degrees. We hit a record high of 78 back in 2012.

Keeping moving forward 👣

One of my fears is that I will get stuck in the process of buying land and building a cabin on it. In many ways, it’s a much more complicated and drawn out process then simply looking at a house, going through a well established path of real estate agents, title searches, house inspection, and traditional mortgage but it also turns out not to be an impossible project without many construction skills or equipment.

In some ways buying raw or minimally developed land (such as an old trailer site or badly damaged home with some infrastructure), especially with cash is a much harder road to hoe. While I haven’t totally written off getting a mortgage — there are tax benefits, namely you can reduce your total income by the amount you pay in mortgage interest — the cost of money these days makes it seem like a waste. And I worry about getting ripped off, and regulatory issues more generally as all of this world is very new and complicated to me. I’ve always preferred to pay with cash, it’s generally cheaper though it will involve cashing out stocks and paying a shit ton of Capital Gains taxes.

Where I am today

Right now I am at the stage at studying parcels that are currently on the market and giving it some thought. What is out there without a home? What are the prices? How far from work? How close to neighbors or potential neighbors who could complain about things to the town? Since drafting my first draft of the homestead and cabin on Saturday, I think I have a better idea — the priority being having the right redneck kind of neighbors, general distance from neighbors, ability to homestead with livestock and have bonfires, ride an ATV around the property, heat with wood, compost, garden and use on-site solar to avoid being tied to growing expense of the dirty power of the electrical grid. Buy and build what I actually want, even if that’s somewhat more expensive then I’d like to spend and not what other people want from the property.

I’m teaching myself LibreCAD so I can draw my vision for the home and the property that I want in a way that is presentable to potential sellers or their real estate agents, town building officials, and architects. I am not a very good hand drawer, and knowing at least some CAD and floor plan design drawing techniques will be good to illustrate my vision to the appropriate people. While I am sure not all of my ideas can be implemented due to regulatory and cost reasons, being able to have a clear idea of what I want on paper, in an easily readable form will make it much easier to obtain what I want.

Maybe the best way to judge my progress is to have a rough time table :

Going forward

Late Winter 2024
- Apply for conventional mortgage to learn more about the process, see what credit resources are available and investigate conventional properties in rural areas sold by conventional realtors.
- Read library books on the process of buying a home
- Start the conversation with friends about what their experience is on buying rural land and homesteads, what resources they used, what contractors and banks they utilized
- Draft up on paper what I am thinking I want my “practical dream” homestead and house would like so I can present my idea to various friends, colleagues, realtors, and town officials.
- Change from buying additional stock to saving in an a high-interest savings account
Spring 2024
- Turn my paper draft of what my “practical dream” homestead into a CAD project that I can present to others to get feedback.
- Learn more about the process of building a home by reading and talking to people, specifically the process of working with an architect, getting town approval, selecting a quality, reliable contractor.
- Learn more about building materials and methods, including what is the latest in affordable off-grid solar.
- Continue to study properties on the market and tax records, write code to analyze the pros and cons of various properties.
- Grab the latest list of tax-delinquent properties from the county, match against county tax maps and records, and see if there are properties worth pursuing. Write owners listed on tax records via certified mail.
- Drive the back roads, looking for abandoned or vacant properties then pulling up their owners from the tax records, searching to the internet to see if the owner passed away or what the story is about the reasons for being abandoned. Write owners listed on tax records via certified mail.
Summer 2024
- Develop a list of properties that meet my desired criteria and have been preliminarily vetted using publicly available GIS data like tax maps, LiDAR, orthophotography — new and old. Run my analysis code on the slope and direction of the land, along with consulting DEC wetland maps, distance to other properties, especially other homes, and other potential nuisances such as junk yards, barnyards, dumping grounds.
- Reach out to property owners and realtors to confirm the property is still available and to get tours of the land, sharing my vision for the land.
- Work with an architect to draft plans for the cabin
- Develop a short list of contractors to build the home
- Develop a short list of companies to drill the well, put in the road/improve the road, put in the septic tank and leach field
- Meet with town officials to discuss my vision for the property, including showing a draft architectural drawing, or at least my own concept
Fall/Winter 2024
- Work to close the deal on the land after title searches, consulting with a real estate lawyer, getting the land perc tested for septic, speaking to neighbors about their experience with drilling wells and other potential nuisance concerns with the land, such as something they’ve heard about the land like dumped toxins or flooding that is non-obvious from public records and GIS data.
- Do not renew my certificate of deposit but keep those funds in a Savings Account, possibly start cashing out some of the stocks and bonds I have saved, reserving funds to cover Capital Gains taxes.
- Try to close the deal on property, paying with cash if possible. While I will have to pay a full year’s worth of taxes on the undeveloped property, having it on the bag with tentative approval for the cabin for plans would make it worth it.
- Potentially have some infrastructure work done on the property — improving the road, water well, septic, etc. Might make sense to wait until the new year due to delay Capital Gains tax hit.
Late Winter/Spring 2025
- End my lease for the rented apartment and move out onto the land, camping or using my truck camper (assuming this is allowed — it’s possible at that point that Big Red will be replaced but can be taken off the road, used for hauling gear around the site and camping out of).
- Live on the land, getting to know it well. Maybe get chickens and rabbits for eggs and mea, a shed to store things including the well pump and gasoline generator.
- Have finished the infrastructure improvements, especially the driveway/roadway to cabin, site foundation.
- Work on getting the septic and water put in.
- Work with contractor to get town permits secured to build the cabin.
Summer 2025
- Work with the contractor to have the cabin built to the point it’s habitable with water and septic and plumbing but not fully complete inside, work with building inspector to get certificate of occupancy based on minimal legal completion
- Get the cabin to the point where it’s waterproof and secure, start to move inside
Fall/Winter 2025
- Get woodstove and propane heaters professionally installed and up to code
- Have cabin fully insulated and ready for winter so pipes don’t freeze and I have a comfortable place to spend the winter
- While I don’t anticipate having the solar done at this point, I can string up extension cords from the gas generator, a few small solar panels and batteries, use small portable lighting through the winter — rather live “without electricity” for a winter to really get to know the land and spread out the tax costs
- Finalize the design of the solar equipment, inverter, and batteries
- Work on completing parts of the interior such as flooring and walls, working with an electrician to do the breaker box, while doing some of electrical wiring myself with review of the electrician and town building inspector.
2026
- Have internal electrical wiring and fixtures finished and approved by the electrician and building inspector.
- Obtain, mount and install solar panels, inverter, batteries.
- Work to complete inside walls and flooring
- Secure a full-size, energy efficient 120 volt refrigerator and full-size gas oven and range for the kitchen
2027
- Add additional solar panels to the system
- Add a chest freezer for storage of meat in unheated shed or building overhang
- Build a shed or small barn, start adding goats and/or maybe hogs to the homestead
- Various site improvements

We get an extra day of February this year with the Presidential Election 🌨

Somehow the politicians think it’s more likely we’ll vote for them if we extend the coldest, nastiest month of the year out a bit longer. Or maybe it’s just a distraction from what they are doing.

Good morning! February is almost done. Partly cloudy and 23 degrees in Delmar. 🌤 Light breeze from the northwest 🌬 . Things will start to thaw out at tomorrow around 9 am. 🌡️ I heard out in the hilltowns they’re getting snow squalls this morning. No so much in Delmar.

I turned the heat back on to 48 degrees for one more day, ♨️ as it’s cold enough out this morning that I don’t want to risk issues with the pipes. I can’t wait until I have a place with wood heat 🪵 so I’m not freezing my ass off while making the fossil fuel companies wealthy while cooking the planet in the process. 🌎 Once it’s above freezing, I’ll just embrace the cold, heck might even keep the windows open, as I like the fresh air and not breathing in so much mold.

I wasn’t going to ride in today, 🚲 but you know how that goes. I was like I’ll get up early, catch the early bus in, 🚌 and then walk laps on the plaza. But then I decided it really wasn’t that cold out, and I wouldn’t mind riding in. Saves onthe bus fare, you now that buck $1.30 that doesn’t really matter when you’re thinking of spending $250,000.00 or possibly more on a house. But I like the physical exercise and the feel of the cold on my skin. I don’t know if I will ride home but it’s early enough, I’ll take the long way into work via the Menands Exit for extra mileage. It’s going to be cold enough, tonight I don’t plan to necessarily ride all the way home, but will likely catch the express bus from the old train station home.

Today will have a chance of snow showers, mainly before 3pm. Mostly cloudy 🌦, with a high of 30 degrees at 2pm. 10 degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical Blustery, with a northwest wind 16 to 22 mph, with gusts as high as 32 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than one inch possible. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies. The high last year was 30 degrees. The record high of 54 was set in 1976. 4.0 inches of snow fell back in 2012.❄

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:09 pm with sun having an altitude of 39.6° from the due south horizon (-31.2° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 7.2 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 5:07 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (254°). 📸 The sunset is in the west (260°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 5:45 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 57 seconds with dusk around 6:12 pm, which is one minute and 14 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 6:46 pm. At sunset, look for snow 🌨 and temperatures around 28 degrees. The wind chill around sunset will be 15. ☃️ Breezy, 18 mph breeze ⛅ from the west-northwest with gusts up to 29mph. Today will have 11 hours and 15 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 51 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be partly cloudy 🌃 , with a low of 22 degrees at 1am. Typical for tonight. Maximum wind chill around 14 at 6pm; Blustery, with a northwest wind 15 to 20 mph becoming south 6 to 11 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph. In 2023, we had partly cloudy skies. It got down to 20 degrees. The record low of -09 occurred back in 1948.

Saturday now looks wet. 😕 Saturday, showers likely. Cloudy, with a high near 46. South wind 7 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. Sunday, partly sunny, with a high near 58. Typical average high for the weekend is 40 degrees.

As previously noted, there are 3 weeks until First Day of Spring 💮 when the sun will be setting at 7:10 pm with dusk at 7:37 pm (Daylight Savings Time). On that day in 2023, we had partly sunny and temperatures between 59 and 24 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 47 degrees. We hit a record high of 78 back in 1921.

Andy Arthur.org

Search Results for: photo wet 4