Search Results for: indian ladder farms

Not too bad of an afternoon … ๐Ÿšฒ ๐ŸŽ๐Ÿ›’ ๐Ÿž ๐Ÿฅ˜ ๐Ÿ‘จโ€๐Ÿณ

Do I wish I was in Pennsylvania tonight, over-nighting at County Bridge Campground on my way down to West Virginia tomorrow? Sort of yes, though it would be wet and miserable tonight in Penna., but I still made the most of the afternoon into the evening.

Most of the afternoon I was dragging my butt, showered and aired up the tires on my bike to 50 PSI as they had gone below 40 PSI. Boy, oh boy do they ride rougher at 50 PSI. And I wonder why my truck rides like shit running the tires at 42-45 PSI. I run them hard too, a lot of people run them closer to 35 PSI but I’d rather reduce fuel consumption and tire wear, though that doesn’t help with the natural toe out that those big tires have. At any rate, hard tires ride hard even if they are more efficient.

Sort of raced out to Indian Ladder Farms along the bike trail, though traffic was fairly light due to the cloudy and cool weather. I heard the 4 PM chime as I was heading into Font Grove so I knew time was tight. But when I got to Indian Ladder Farms, it didn’t seem like they were packing shop up at 5 PM it was packed, with a swinging rock band and crowds at the hard-cider place. Me on the bicycle just locked up my bike on the split-log fence next to the entrance and walked. Disappointed with the selection of apples, it seems like more and more of the store has been taken over by gifts and knick-knacks, and they only have a tiny selection of what-seemed like overpriced-apples and even less of vegetables.

I was so spoiled by Golden Harvest Orchards in Kinderhook what now was almost two weeks ago with their cheap prices and wide selection of fruits and vegetables. Excuse to ride the Albany Electric Trail and spend more time poking around that O-K town! Though I probably have to drive at least part of the way there. At any rate, I got my half-peck of apples for eleven bucks at Indian Ladder,, got in line and got out of there craziness. I had no interest in the cider doughnuts, in part because of the line but also because it’s just not my thing anymore. I’d much rather savor good apples, fresh, shredded with lots of cinnamon and ginger or fried in some olive oil with aforementioned spices and maybe a dash of stevia in the friyng pan. I want to enjoy my fruit, not have it bathed with so much sugar and saturated fats, even if occasionally a little sweetness doesn’t hurt. I think next time in a week I might just get apples that are on sale in bag at Hannaford rather then ride out to Indian Ladder, though it was a very scenic ride towards the end by the orchard, despite the gray skies, heavy traffic and piss poor leaf color this year. Good ride though, 17 miles round trip.

 Stopped at Hannaford on way back to stock up on brown rice and green lentils again as I’m almost out, and that’s an essential as the work week is coming up sooner then I want to admit. After I got back home, put the oatmeal-whole wheat bread in the oven, along with spaghetti squash, sweet potatoes, a couple of chopped up apples in a separate pan. Baked for 40 minutes to an hour, the bread was done first. I kneaded the bread this morning after breakfast — another good simple wholesome bread containing just whole-wheat flower, water, yeast, oatmeal (not ground) and some sea salt, topped with a bit of sea salt and several flakes of oatmeal — allowed to rise all day.

To serve over the spaghetti squash I made red lentil soup — probably the Indians would call it curry though not following any recipe in particular. It was made by boiling the heck out of a bad red lentils until they were basically mush, frying up some onions, tossing them in, along with a bunch of frozen spinach, and frozen stir fry vegetables. Added a bunch of turmeric and smoked paprika and cooked it down, it was amazing over that spaghetti squash with that oatmeal bread dipped in, some sweet potatoes on the side, and baked apple for dessert. I won’t say it was an instant TV dinner though I did have a Youtube streaming on my phone in the kitchen, but I doubt I spent an hour cooking and I was very happy with the results and have many more good meals to eat in the coming days just ready to be pulled out of the cupboard or the refrigerator.

Maybe it’s not real food or something normal people would call dinner without tons of sugar and saturated fat, but it filled me up quickly and was yummy by my weird sense of taste that goes for earthy, flavorful and healthy over sweet and fatty. I’m happy, even if your not!

Not the nicest day ever but it’s not raining. I say that a lot these days, lol. ๐Ÿ˜‚ โ˜

I was up at 5:30 this morning to make breakfast and get going, and then it was dark, sat down at my computer and finally figured out how to calculate mile points along roads and trails. Doesn’t seem like a major accomplishment but the code turned out to be something I’ve been racking my brain over the past year or so, though when I finally got it to work, it was fairly simple to implement in reality.

Good afternoon! Mostly cloudy and 55 degrees in Delmar, NY. โ˜ Calm wind. The dew point is 45 degrees. The skies will clear tomorrow around 4 am. Not a real beautiful day, did see a brief break of blue sky but it’s dull and overcast again now. Not heading down to Pennsylvania or West Virginia today but those days will come, or so I tell myself.

I was up early and it was dark. ๐ŸŒ‡ The pancakes I made up with ground oatmeal and some quinoa were good ๐Ÿฅž I added a banana to the mix for sweetness ๐ŸŒ and topped with lots of frozen blueberries ๐Ÿ’™ and sugar-free maple syrup. I might end up eventually switching back over to real maple syrup but the low calorie nature of the prior is good, and it’s much cheaper. Maybe come next spring, when it’s fresh. And maybe only as a treat. It’s good to use up the quinoa — it’s better now that I’ve started to wash it better and it cook it longer to get rid of the bitterness but it’s not my favorite breakfast food just in a mushy bowl. But it’s surprisingly good mixed into the oatmeal pancakes.

Also continuing on the oatmeal theme ๐Ÿต (I bought more oatmeal this week), I decided to make oatmeal bread up this morning with whole wheat flour, water, yeast and a bit of salt. Also included shredded carrots ๐Ÿฅ• in the mix to boost fiber levels and give it more texture along with the oatmeal. I keep trying to make healthy meals, while keeping things interesting through variety. The apple bread the other week I wasn’t pleased with due to the lack of salt and fat in it, but the garlic bread I made was delicious. I topped the oatmeal bread with oatmeal and a bit more sea salt for good measure. I plan to bake tonight with spaghetti squash and sweet potatoes at the same time in a very full oven, and then reheat more pea soup — though I’ve thought about making up soup with the red lentils, salt, turmeric and other spices. That might be good, especially after my bike ride. ๐Ÿšดโ€โ™€๏ธ

Been reading and studying map making ๐Ÿ—บ in the effort to get better at GIS and make better more useful maps for the blog, make more ad revenue and expand my skill set. One of the big things I’m trying to master is label placement in QGIS. Automatic label placement often sucks, but I’m not very good at manually working with labels in QGIS. In modern versions of QGIS manual label placement isn’t hard but I find it rather confusing as I’ve never used the manual label placement options much and they aren’t always super obvious how to use them. Like how do only show desired labels using manual label positioning, rather then suppressing them? You can change one of the override settings to do that but it’s non-obvious. Plus I’ve been learning all about pinning labels, a concept I didn’t know much about until I spent some time reading and experimenting. Labels are important for quality maps but I have to admit I was very ignorant on how they all worked in QGIS.

This afternoon will be cloudy โ˜, with a high of 58 degrees at 2pm. Four degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around October 24th. Maximum dew point of 46 at 4pm. Light north wind. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning with more sun in the afternoon. The high last year was 67 degrees. The record high of 81 was set in 1920.

The war on mice continues. ๐Ÿ I literally caught three more last night. I think one was that big fat sucker I tossed outside yesterday in my boxers and t shirt full of shaving cream like a girl ๐Ÿง’ yesterday. He got back inside and caught again. I haven’t set up the bucket trap this year but I did do both the spring traps and the sticky traps the later which I find works well with a big glob of peanut ๐Ÿฅœ butter which I won’t eat anymore but I’m find using it up catch mice. Lol, I haven’t heard anymore today in the walls but I envision there are hundreds ๐Ÿ’ฏ in my kitchen at night when I’m not looking. ๐Ÿ™€ I guess I need a barn cat for my apartment. I’m not into pets that I can’t eat ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ–๐Ÿ„ but I could see the utility of having a cat.

I am still thinking about going for a bike ride out to Indian Ladder Farms. ๐Ÿ ๐Ÿ‘ˆ ๐Ÿšฒ I’m just not motivated with the weather today, and I’ve been playing a lot around with maps and code this morning. I am so proud that I finally figured out how to Create Mile Points from a LINESTRING or MULTILINESTRING in R. While the final code I wrote was pretty trivial, it took me a long time to figure out my way around the details, and overcome some of my coding mistakes in earlier versions. It is quite a handy little piece of code, I should not. I plan to use it for a lot of projects in the future.

Tonight will have a New ๐ŸŒš Moon with 0% illuminated. At 12 PM, the moon was in the south-southeast (169ยฐ) at an altitude of 39ยฐ from the horizon, some 247,147 miles away from where you are looking up from the earth. ๐Ÿš€ At the state speed limit of 55 mph, you’ll make it there by April 19th. Buckle up for safety! ๐Ÿ’บ The moon will set in the west-southwest (258ยฐ) at 6:12 pm. The Hunter ๐Ÿน Moon is on Sunday, October 29. The darkest hour is at 12:42 am, followed by dawn at 6:39 am, and sun starting to rise at 7:08 am in the east (100ยฐ) and last for 2 minutes and 57 seconds. Sunrise is one minute and 10 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ„ The golden hour ends at 7:46 am with sun in the east-southeast (107ยฐ). Tonight will have 12 hours and 50 minutes of darkness, an increase of 2 minutes and 48 seconds over last night.

Tonight will be mostly cloudy โ˜๏ธ, with a low of 43 degrees at 6am. Two degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around October 11th. North wind 3 to 6 mph. In 2022, we had clear skies in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 38 degrees. The record low of 27 occurred back in 1978.

In four weeks on November 11 the sun will be setting in the west-southwest (247ยฐ) at 4:38 pm (Standard Time),๐ŸŒ„ which is one hour, 38 minutes and 20 seconds earlier then today. I won’t be able to ride the bike home from work at that point. In 2022 on that day, we had rain and temperatures between 69 and 48 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 51 and 33 degrees. The record high of 70 degrees was set back in 2002. Those days will be here before you know it.

Looking ahead, Daylight Savings Time Ends ๐Ÿ›ฅ๏ธ in 3 weeks, Veterans Day ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ is in 4 weeks, Average High is 50 ๐Ÿ‚ is a month away, Regular Deer Season in Southern Zone ๐ŸฆŒ is in 5 weeks, Small Business Saturday ๐Ÿ›๏ธ is in 6 weeks, Average High is 40 ๐ŸŒจ is in 8 weeks, Earliest Sunset of the Year โŒ›๏ธ is in 8 weeks, Tea Party Day ๐Ÿ is in 9 weeks, Festivus ๐Ÿ– is in 10 weeks, Bacon Day ๐Ÿฅ“ is in 11 weeks.

Along Salmon River Reservoir

Oh, woah, woah, woah, it’s Friday 13th ๐Ÿ‘ป

It’s a guess a spooky thing being October and Halloween in three weeks but whatever. Cold start to the morning but at least it’s clear and I’m out walking.

Good morning! Yeah, it’s Friday the 13th! Clear and 42 degrees in Delmar, NY. ๐ŸŒž There is a northwest breeze at 8 mph. ๐Ÿƒ.

Pumpkin – oatmeal pancakes ๐Ÿฅž for breakfast. I also have a pot of rice and lentils cooking down ๐Ÿฒ with lemon – pepper and garlic spice, I wanted a change from the split pea soup for lunch today. Yesterday dinner was tuna with spinach and whole wheat pasta. Haven’t had that in a while. ๐Ÿ  Always don’t like the carbs but the fatty fish with the healthy  omega-3 fats and vitamins and fiber from the spinach help balance that out. You need some fats to maximize fat-soluable vitamins. Also had a bit more kefir — it tastes like sour milk and is thick but it does help the stomach after all that pea soup I’ve been having the past few days.

Today will be sunny ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 61 degrees at 3pm. Two degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around October 17th. Northwest wind 8 to 10 mph. A year ago, we had rain in the morning, which became light rain by afternoon. The high last year was 70 degrees. The record high of 81 was set in 1930. There was a dusting of snow in 1934.โ„

Caught two mice this morning. ๐Ÿญ It’s been kind of bad this year though not uncommon as the cold weather approaches. Probably my kitchen is a good place with all the dropping I’ve missed from all the cooking I do plus all those yummie smells ๐Ÿ˜‹ from bread baking and food on the stove top full of spices. Eventually I’ll get all the mice and things will get better. Usually happens around November. ๐Ÿšซ Like a girl I ran outside with the second mouse I had with only a shirt and my boxers on, well oops. Not thinking, it’s cold! ๐Ÿ˜ฎ  That mouse got away, but outside. I should have crushed him, but I was half awake and my face full of shaving cream when I heard him get stuck. Big and fat sucker too. ๐Ÿ Maybe pregnant, which is why I wanted him gone before her babes got breaking into my food and chewing my wires and holes in the walls of my apartment. People are shocked I still stay in my dumpy apartment that I’ve had since I was a researcher 16 years ago, but it’s cheap and I like the location. Plus I’m home so rarely. I’ll put up with the mice and rotting door and all the broken shit I have.

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 12:42 pm with sun having an altitude of 39.7° from the due south horizon (-31.1° 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 ๐Ÿ… starts at 5:40 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (254°). ๐Ÿ“ธ The sunset is in the west (260°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 6:18 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 56 seconds with dusk around 6:45 pm, which is one minute and 39 seconds earlier than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ The best time to look at the stars is after 7:19 pm. At sunset, look for mostly clear skies ๐ŸŒ„ and temperatures around 56 degrees. There will be a west-northwest breeze at 10 mph. Tomorrow will have 11 hours and 11 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 48 seconds over today.

Tonight will have increasing clouds โ˜, with a low of 44 degrees at 4am. Two degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around October 8th. Northwest wind 5 to 8 mph. In 2022, we had rain in the evening, which became cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 42 degrees. The record low of 21 occurred back in 1958.

I was over at the dungeon yesterday, looking at all the snacks ๐Ÿฌ in the break room realizing that there was nothing I could eat over there now that I’ve gotten into healthy eating. I’ll have to make sure to bring my own food over there in the future especially next year when I’ll probably spend a lot more time over there. Also yesterday I rode the elevator down one time for the first time since June as I had a meeting to go with a colleague but I did the stairs up and down like usual the rest of the day. Ridden back and forth to work so far three days this week for a total of 45 miles. ๐Ÿšฒ Today I plan to ride in but may take the bus ๐Ÿš home in the evening.

Tomorrow will have a slight chance of rain after 2pm. Mostly cloudy ๐ŸŒง, with a high of 59 degrees at 2pm. Three degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around October 22nd. North wind around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. A year ago, we had rain in the morning, which became light rain by afternoon. The high last year was 67 degrees. The record high of 81 was set in 1920.

The weekend isn’t looking so bad at this point. ๐Ÿคท‍โ™‚๏ธ But next week is still going to be quite cloudy and rainy, and much worse in West Virginia. ๐ŸŒง I definitely will be doing some riding this weekend. ๐Ÿ I might ride out to Indian Ladder Farms and get some apples. I was thinking about going up to the Albany Pine Bush Preserve and then checking Salvation Army and Farmer India’s Market but I think I’m good for now. I might leave next week for West Virginia if the weather is good or possibly consider another trip, but I’m not going to take off time and get burned by the weather again this year. It’s the second time that this has happened in the past month, and it’s not fair to take off time then cancel it to the other director, lest she wants to take off time.

Looking ahead to Sunday, partly sunny, with a high near 57. โ˜€ North wind 9 to 13 mph. Typical average high for the weekend is 62 degrees. Maybe a bit cool with the breeze, but it’s October so I’ll take it. Where to go is the question? I don’t plan to camp this weekend as last weekend I did Rensselearville State Forest. Maybe somewhere closer to home. Not sure.

One month ๐Ÿ“… from now the be Average Night will be Below Freezing ๐ŸŒŒ when the sun will be setting at 4:36 pm with dusk at 5:05 pm (Standard Time). Average high will be 50 degrees with a low of 32. We loose one hour and 41 minutes of daylight over the next month.

 Bench

Zucchini spaghetti is pretty darn good! ๐Ÿ

How did I not know such a thing before today? I heard of spiralizers but never used one. I’m very happy with my decision to hop on my bike, ride and get a zucchini spiralizer at Walmart rather than go to Indian Ladder Farms for apples today. The store bought apples are fine – probably any of the ones Indian Ladder at this point has been stored in nitrogen for the past year and would quickly spoil. In two weekends I’ll likely bike out to Indian Ladder.

Good afternoon! Clouds and sun and 76 degrees at the Delmar. ๐ŸŒฅ Probably a thunderstorm will come through before this blog post is done. There is a west-northwest breeze at 7 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. The dew point is 67 degrees and getting muggier as the thunderstorm approaches. The muggy weather ends tomorrow around 1 am. ๐Ÿ˜“

Black is great for a quick run to the grocery store ๐Ÿ›’ like this morning when I ran to Wally World to get a spiralizer for the zucchini that I wanted to try making zucchini lasagna out of. ๐Ÿ With some of excess zucchini and tomatoes made an excellent lunch without all the carbohydrates to crash my blood sugar in a few hours. The spiralizer made excellent zucchini spaghetti, and used the food processor for the tomatoes plus some onions, jalapeños and Italian spices, a frying pan plus some parmesan up top. Good meal ๐Ÿด for lunch. I do want to try zucchini bread next, using whole wheat flour and oatmeal along with stevia, cinnamon and olive oil – also maybe some grapes or other fruit mixed in for flavor. ๐Ÿž

What can I say, Blackie ๐Ÿšต is such a slow dog ๐Ÿถ on the paved bike trails Erie Canal Trail but awesome on gravel and light mountain biking on horse and easy to moderate mountain bicycle trails. It gets blown by the road bicycles like your standing still on the paved bike trails, with a continuous pace and top gear. โš™ But then it’s so much fun on the gravel and even gated haul roads on the background where you’d shred road bike tires. Not so wonderful in deep mud or even in deeper sands like in parts of the Pine Bush but those crawl gears are awesome for crossing the rough terrain. Blackie on asphalt likes to go around 10 mph though on gently slopping terrain, it can easily do a constant 13-15 mph but road bikes blow by at 20-25 mph. It’s kind of the tractor on the interstate experience.

This afternoon will have isolated showers and thunderstorms. It’s summer. Mostly sunny ๐ŸŒฆ, with a high of 79 degrees at 2pm. Four degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around September 1st. Maximum dew point of 67 at 12pm. West wind 7 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. A year ago, we had cloudy skies. The high last year was 79 degrees. The record high of 98 was set in 1947.

Yesterday was a good day, checked off basically everything on my list besides the spiralizer which I got today. โ˜‘ Got a lot of groceries at the Stanton Farm Stand ๐Ÿ‘ though the Pennsylvania peaches they had where a bit disappointing. Their sweet corn ๐ŸŒฝ was excellent along with their tomatoes. ๐Ÿ… No good clothes at Goodwill but not unexpected. Mountain biking in the Albany Pine Bush Preserve, ๐Ÿฆ‹was great though some of the trails were rougher than I expected and the deep sand wasn’t great in spots though that’s partly my fault for not airing the tires down more but I didn’t want pinch flats. ๐Ÿšฒ I did find a nice pair of shorts and long sleeve shirts at Salvation Army for $20 which fit my smaller size nicely ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘• and I mentioned it to Linda when I was visiting John and she gave me some of his old shirts which fit well too. Going to need to buy smaller jeans ๐Ÿ‘– and in the fall should keep an eye on Salvation Army for dress clothes ๐Ÿ‘” and maybe some new ties but I’ll probably end up buying much of that new at JC Penny. For me it’s not a money ๐Ÿ’ต thing at this point but I’d rather keep good clothes out of the landfill and support needy people. ๐Ÿš๏ธ Plus there is some unique stuff there, especially their ties.

Visiting John was nice though he was largely out of it due to sedatives for pain he’s on. ๐Ÿง“ Rode some of the Erie Canalway which was crowded and the weather hot and sticky ๐Ÿ˜ฐ and the constant blow by of road bikes ๐Ÿšฒ was kind of obnoxious. I prefer more solitude and less spandex as I ride my slow as shit mountain bike. Got most of the supplies and food I needed at Walmart, had dinner – zucchini and onions again, followed by yogurt and frozen fruit with lemonade ๐Ÿ‹ and retired to bed ๐Ÿ›.

Tonight will have a Waning Crescent ๐ŸŒ˜ Moon with 6% illuminated. At 12 PM, the moon was in the southwest (221°) at an altitude of 70° from the horizon, some 249,616 miles away from where you are looking up from the earth. ๐Ÿš€ At the state speed limit of 55 mph, you’ll make it there by February 19th. Buckle up for safety! ๐Ÿ’บ The moon will set in the northwest (307°) at 7:04 pm. The Sturgeon ๐Ÿก Moon is on Tuesday, August 29.

The darkest hour is at 1:01 am, followed by dawn at 5:30 am, and sun starting to rise at 6:00 am in the east-northeast (69°) and last for 3 minutes and 6 seconds. Sunrise is one minute and 4 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ„ The golden hour ends at 6:39 am with sun in the east-northeast (76°). Tonight will have 9 hours and 57 minutes of darkness, an increase of 2 minutes and 30 seconds over last night.

Tonight will be partly cloudy ๐ŸŒƒ , with a low of 60 degrees at 4am. One degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around August 20th. Maximum dew point of 63 at 6pm. Northwest wind 5 to 7 mph becoming light and variable after midnight. In 2022, we had cloudy 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 44 occurred back in 1941.

I don’t think I’ll get to Indian Ladder today ๐Ÿ with rain storms around, and because I got a good ride doing a quick trip out of Walmart on Blackie. ๐Ÿšต‍โ™€๏ธ But soon in a bit I’ll head out to my parents house for Sunday dinner and to do my wash then do a quick hike up Bennett Hill. ๐Ÿ” Then get home, and unpacked. And ready for the upcoming week.

In four weeks on September 10 the sun will be setting in the west (278°) at 7:16 pm,๐ŸŒ„ which is 45 minutes and 46 seconds earlier then today. In 2022 on that day, we had mostly sunny, patches of fog and temperatures between 83 and 56 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 77 and 55 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 ๐ŸŽƒ is in 7 weeks, Average High is 65 ๐Ÿ‚ is in 8 weeks, Average Night Below Freezing ๐ŸŒŒ is in 3 months, 7:15 AM Sunrise โŒ›๏ธ is in 17 weeks and Christmas Eve ๐ŸŽ… is in 19 weeks.

Bridge

A busy Saturday ahead ๐Ÿซ‘๐Ÿšต ๐Ÿ›’๐Ÿง“

My day explained in emoji lol. There is much to do today though first I’m pausing at Five Rivers Environmental Education Center for a walk and nature observation until 8:30 when I head back home.

Good morning! Partly sunny ๐ŸŒž and 57 degrees at the Five Rivers Environmental Education Center. Calm wind. The dew point is 55 degrees.

I could have walked ๐Ÿšถ in the neighborhood this morning but I was thinking with Blackie ๐Ÿšต the ride to Five Rivers Environmental Education Center ๐Ÿธ is but twenty minutes away and it’s been a few weeks since I’ve been out here. Figured check out the cows ๐Ÿฎ and the farm landscape on Meads Lane and see what Meads has for sale. ๐Ÿ… Those heirloom tomatoes look good. It looked like they had some nice flowers ๐ŸŒป but I can’t eat that. And freezer beef ๐Ÿฅฉ something to keep in mind but not for today. ๐Ÿฆ Time is tight at Five Rivers though by 8:30 need to be back on the road to be home before nine 9โƒฃ to shower ๐Ÿšฟ.

Breakfast was oatmeal and banana pancakes ๐Ÿฅž topped with Maine blueberries ๐Ÿซ and sugar free syrup. Decided to experiment using night before oatmeal – I let the oatmeal soak in water overnight in the fridge to let it expand and soften before blending with the mixer today, and also added some stevia for sweetness (unneeded) and also some vanilla for a vanilla flavor (also probably not needed). Chia seeds for protein. Fresh coffee โ˜• with milk and I added a glob of fat free plain Greek yogurt. Good breakfast.

Lunch today is going to be good ol spike your blood sugar with couscous ๐Ÿš mixed with chia seeds, edamine and chopped red onions. On the whole not so bad as I included protein, fats and fiber as the edamine is unshelled and couscous cooks ๐Ÿง‘โ€๐Ÿณquickly unlike brown rice or anything whole grain. I treat chia seeds as a band aid for all wrong in my diet lol but they’re kind of fatty too. ๐Ÿฉน Time is tight and I’m out of cooked rice. ๐Ÿ•’ Looking at the label for couscous it really is junk food though at least it is fat and added sugar free. But all carbs no vitamins at all except a tiny amount of iron. But it’s done in five minutes after boiling water ๐Ÿ’ฆ which cooks the edamine.

Today will have showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm, mainly after 4pm. Otherwise, partly sunny ๐ŸŒฆ, with a high of 80 degrees at 2pm. Three degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around August 28th. Maximum dew point of 68 at 6pm. Light southeast wind becoming south 5 to 10 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 79 degrees. The record high of 99 was set in 1944.

At nine 9โƒฃ I plan to shower ๐Ÿšฟ and load Blackie into Big Red. ๐Ÿšฒ Gas up Big Red โ›ฝโžก ๐Ÿ›ป and at ten o’clock drive out to Stanton’s Farm Market in New Scotland ๐Ÿซ‘ to see what they have. Peaches, hot peppers more zucchini and sweet corn ๐ŸŒฝ are on the short list. Bringing a cooler with ice to keep things fresh. Then visit Goodwill in Guilderland to see what they have for clothes that might fit me well with my smaller size. ๐Ÿ‘•๐Ÿ‘– I’m not that hopeful, they’re small and I’ve heard their men’s section is tiny and they’re over priced – often no cheaper than new at Walmart. Then mountain biking in the Albany Pine Bush ๐Ÿšต which is allowed on preserve trails. Nothing crazy, no jumping steps or roaring through the preserve, just a nice easy ride for observing nature. ๐Ÿ”ญ

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 1:01 pm with sun having an altitude of 62.4ยฐ from the due south horizon (-8.4ยฐ 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 7:24 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 8:03 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 6 seconds with dusk around 8:32 pm, which is one minute and 24 seconds earlier than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ The best time to look at the stars is after 9:12 pm. At sunset, look for rain ๐ŸŒง and thunderstorms ๐ŸŒฉ and temperatures around 72 degrees. The dew point will be 67 degrees. There will be a south breeze at 7 mph. Today will have 14 hours and 6 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 28 seconds over yesterday.

After one o’clock I want to run up to Salvation Army in Schenectady off of Central Avenue. ๐Ÿ‘– They have a much bigger selection and are much more affordable. I used to go there when I was starting out my career for affordable dress clothing. ๐Ÿ•ด๐ŸปIf time doesn’t allow I’ll go there after visiting John Wolcott but it makes sense to go before due to the location and trip route, plus I saw online they often close early due to a lack of staff. ๐Ÿง“ Then visiting John Wolcott. He’s been home from the hospital for nearly two weeks but he’s not doing that great I’ve heard so time is precious. Then depending on time and the weather and the order I visit Salvation Army a possible bike ride from Five Mile Reservoir or the Erie Canal Trail in Niskayuna. ๐Ÿšฒ Might be raining โ˜” by then. Then Walmart or another grocery store in search of pearl onions and another big bag of sweet onions, plus frozen fruit, frozen spinach and kale.๐Ÿ›’

Tonight will have showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 10pm. Some of the storms could produce small hail, gusty winds, and heavy rain. Patchy fog before 1am, then patchy fog after 2am. ๐ŸŒง Low of 65 degrees at 5am. Three degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 68 at 6pm. ๐Ÿ–๏ธ South wind around 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. In 2022, we had cloudy skies. It got down to 59 degrees. The record low of 43 occurred back in 1957.

Yesterday rode to work ๐Ÿšฒ after riding to my dentist appointment ๐Ÿฆท. My teeth are in excellent shape for age forty, though I was worried ๐Ÿ˜ฏ after all that ice cream ๐Ÿฆ, lemons ๐Ÿ‹ and hot peppers ๐ŸŒถ๏ธ out in the Finger Lakes with reduced milk ๐Ÿฅ› consumption but more Greek yogurt. After work rode to Voorheesville for 32 miles ridden for the day. ๐Ÿšฒ Nice evening, beautiful out at the Voorheesville Park ๐Ÿž before heading out past the high school and library then back on the rail trail.

Tomorrow I’m thinking ๐Ÿ’ญ about riding out to Indian Ladder Farms to see what they have in stock ๐Ÿ, probably apples from last year but I wonder what else. Looking forward to fresh apples come the autumn from sure from Indian Ladder. Signed up for their newsletter ๐Ÿ“ฐ last night. Then out to the folks house ๐Ÿ‘ช though in Big Red and not on Blackie for that. ๐Ÿ›ป

As previously noted, there are 2 weeks until National Dog Day ๐Ÿฉ when the sun will be setting at 7:41 pm with dusk at 8:09 pm. On that day in 2022, we had humid, partly cloudy and temperatures between 83 and 62 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 81 degrees. We hit a record high of 98 back in 1948.

View

September 14, 2015 update

As we head to the middle of the 9 o’clock hour we are at 61 degrees with slowly parting skies. As I mentioned earlier a pleasant late summer day is on tap with highs around 70 degrees and clearing.

I guess four minutes away means… Well four minutes away from whatever time it currently is. Real-time bus info is great when it works which is less frequently then you expect. One of the other people at the bus stop said that the 8:53 blew by about 5 minutes early. I doubt it, I think just all the buses are all running 15-20 minutes late. I just wish they could show the buses on a map or tell you how many stops away rather than a bullshit time estimate. Moovit used to do that but they took away that feature, which sucks.

Friday I walked down to park until around 9:15 and played on my laptop with the WiFi they have down there. Later in evening, hung out by the campfire my neighbors had. I am getting around pretty good now. Saturday walked down to the library and Sunday with the remarkably nice weather mid-day I walked around Five Rivers Environmental Education Center for about an hour and a half. It really feels good to be out on my feet and getting around once again.

I got cider and doughnuts at Indian Ladder Farms yesterday. It was quite delicious and I have plenty left. I look forward to having those apples for lunch, doughnuts for desert, and apple cider whenever throughout this week. It was definitely worth going out there, and might try to stop by before the end of summer. I also want to get out Schoharie County at some point so I can stock up at the Shauls Farm Stand and maybe camp in Schoharie and enjoy the wonderful fall colors.

September 13, 2015 morning

Good morning on this rainy Sunday. We caught up on the rain deficit with some portions of the Catskills getting 3-6 inches of rain last night. No serious flooding due to recent dry weather The damp conditions hang on through Monday, with clouds and times of showers expected throughout the day with a high only around 70. Currently 64 degrees and cloudy but the clouds may part briefly this morning before clouding up again.

Today will be wet. That’s how NOAA would describe it with showers and thunderstorms likely before 2pm, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm between 2pm and 3pm, then scattered showers and thunderstorms after 3pm. Wunderground says thunderstorms may bring hail. But other than that, it’s damp outside.

Yesterday I went to the Barber Shop and got a haircut and walked down to the library. Thought about going to the park but decided with the impending rain not to walk down there. Did get somewhat wet walking back from the library the spent the evening listening to podcasts. Today I will probably go out to Indian Ladder Farms and get some cider and donuts. Too bad this weekend is such a washout but next week looks nice once we get past Monday.