Hoping for a smoother Tuesday today 🧑‍🚒🧯

I did not appreciate missing the express bus home yesterday or the smoke alarm repeatedly tripping off after cooking dinner. Or repeatedly hitting the wrong keys in VIM at work yesterday, half awake on a Monday. But the salmon and frozen asparagus was good for dinner as was the larger paycheck with my new job.

Good morning! Happy Tuesday. Clouds and 28 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☁ Calm wind.There are 3 inches of snow on the ground. ☃ ️Things will start to thaw out at around 1 pm. 🌡️

Made it through my birthday 🎂 without anybody saying anything besides my mom= and a few people at work. I keep my birthday locked down on Facebook as I get tired of all the fake happy birthdays you get on Facebook. I really don’t appreciate all the unwarranted attention to myself and my age, I’d rather tell my story but otherwise he ignored. Maybe that’s why I don’t do the social media.

Yesterday was a Monday and kind of a shitty one but it was always silly stuff. 💩 The kind of things that you can hit escape and then u in vim and undo. I just wasn’t feeling Monday, even if was my forty first time around the sun ☀. The smoke detector that kept going off time and time again from cooking smoke and moisture 🧑‍🚒 really set me off as did having to ride the local home. 🏡 Then I had to piss and crap so badly that I barely made the toilet 🚽 and had to clean up the seat but fortunately not my pants 👖 this time. 🤯 All that fiber and water from eating lots of fruits and vegetables can be tough at times. Especially spaghetti squash 🍆 which I find hard not to overeat but can he very lubricating of the gut and everything connected. Gawd, I’m getting old 👴🏼.

I got this enormous glass 🍸 at work as a Christmas gift that I love and when it’s full of water 💦 and ice 🧊 it’s so easy to overdo it and I was busy at the end of the day with work 📄 and didn’t have time to run to the bathroom before catching the shuttle 🚀 back to the Plaza. And then missing the express bus 🚍. Yeap. Forgot my fork 🍽 at lunch yesterday and didn’t have a spare one in my new office 🏢 so the cooked part of lunch with peas, corn, peppers and tofu got skipped for lunch as that ain’t finger 🖕 food. The milk 🥛 I had in the mason jar for my coffee ☕ at work went rancid. That was a Monday, my birthday. 🎂

I’m thinking today won’t be such a shit show 🤔 or so I tell myself. 🥞 Woke up at five o’clock like usual with no alarm ⏰ and made some good oatmeal banana 🍌 pancakes. I’ve finally mastered a good recipe that is absolutely delicious 😋 topped with mango and blueberries with real maple 🍁 syrup. The real stuff is so much better even if it’s slightly more calories. It’s not like I eat much meat or milk high in saturated fats these days or processed foods or added sugars so I figured I can use a little bit of natural sweetness occasionally like honey 🍯 or pure maple syrup.

Went for a five mile bike ride this morning after breakfast before showering and catching the express bus downtown. 🚲 Not so cold this morning for a change. My hands 👐 weren’t cold nor was my face. The cows 🐮 on Meads Road were up and around chewing their cud not all huddled together. 🚜 It was nice for a change. I probably would have gone for a longer ride, but time was tight as it was close to 6:50 AM when I got out riding. One thing is nice is that the mornings are a lot brighter then they were.

Today will have patchy freezing drizzle before 10am. Mostly cloudy 🌥, with a high of 33 degrees at 2pm. Typical for today. Calm wind becoming south 5 to 7 mph in the afternoon. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, which became light snow by afternoon. The high last year was 41 degrees. The record high of 56 was set in 2013. 11.0 inches of snow fell back in 1966.❄

After all of it, dinner last night was good, 🐟 even if the fire alarm problem was annoying. 👩‍🚒 I am not sure why it’s been such a problem with the smoke detectors this winter. I got a new smoke detector hoping it would stop false alarms, 🔕 without much luck. Fresh asparagus are hard to get this time of year, but the frozen ones weren’t bad. 🎍 Looking forward to spring 🐰 when the fresh ones are more available for a reasonable price, like around Easter. 👣 Evening walk was good too. I need to get back in the habit, if my fingers are cold all of the time, 🧤 I should learn to toughen up and get better gloves. It’s not like I have as much of an opportunity to get steps in working in the suburban office, though come nicer weather when I don’t have to dress up as much, I’ll probably be back to riding back in and home from the office. I figure after President’s Day, there will be enough daylight in the evening to ride home, and that’s where the real calorie burning takes place. 🌧 With the rain and cold, I’ve really gotten out of the habit, and my stomach and face are starting to show it.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:09 pm with sun having an altitude of 29.6° from the due south horizon (-41.2° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 10.6 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 4:24 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (239°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (247°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 5:06 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 10 seconds with dusk around 5:35 pm, which is one minute and 18 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 6:10 pm. At sunset, look for mostly cloudy skies ☁ and temperatures around 32 degrees. There will be a south-southeast breeze at 7 mph. Tomorrow will have 9 hours and 59 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 18 seconds over today.

Maybe I’ve been overly cranky, but the smoke detector thing in particularly really set me off yesterday, 👩‍🚒 especially after such a long and difficult birthday. I am so done with winter, ready for nicer weather and longer days. At least the mornings and evenings aren’t as dark we move into February. I have a lot to look forward to once we get over the hump of winter. ⛄ I think what I really need is just more time in the wilderness. 🏕 Maybe this weekend.

Tonight will be mostly cloudy 🌥, with a low of 25 degrees at 4am. 10 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 11th. South wind around 7 mph. In 2023, we had light snow in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 18 degrees. The record low of -26 occurred back in 1948.

It’s always nice to see a bit of money in bank account 💰 before the money goes into retirement, investments, and my landlord’s slice. 🏘 My apartment is a dump but it’s affordable.

A picture perfect weekend on tap. 😎 Saturday, sunny, with a high near 35. Sunday, sunny, with a high near 35. Typical average high for the weekend is 33 degrees. I am thinking of doing an overnight in the woods this weekend, though I wish I had skis ⛷ but I should be able to ride roads if the trails have too much which they might. Kind of a birthday weekend camping adventure. ⛺ But a week late. Probably won’t head too far out of town for that. President’s Day Weekend, depending on how much snow there is, I might head up to the Adirondacks or Madison County.

As previously noted, next Tuesday is Save the Pine Bush Turns 43 🦋 when the sun will be setting at 5:16 pm with dusk at 5:44 pm. On that day in 2023, we had partly sunny and temperatures between 41 and 21 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 34 degrees. We hit a record high of 55 back in 1991.

Before the real cold kicks in ❄

Winter’s going to kick like a mule come next week but we’re only like 68 days away from spring and being an El Niño year it’s not going to remain cold for all that long.

Good morning! Happy Thursday. Mostly cloudy at the freezing point in Delmar. ☁ There is a west-southwest breeze at 9 mph. 🍃. There are some remaining snow banks on the ground. ☃ But not for long. ️Things will start to thaw out at around 7 am. 🌡️

Cornbread this morning with onions, garlic, spinach and lots of spices.🥧 Came out such a deep rich color and fluffy thanks to the baking soda. Do wish I had added some salt. 🍊 Then I ran a full orange, peel and all through the food processor for a fiber rich treat. 🧡 Fiber fills you up and blunts the impact of all those sugars and the inevitable insulin spike. I do poop 💩 a lot on the morning especially after all that coffee ☕ rich with cinnamon and ginger.

Today will have a slight chance of rain and snow showers after 1pm. Cloudy 🌧, with a high of 38 degrees at 2pm. Five degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around February 21st. West wind 6 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 33 degrees. The record high of 67 was set in 2020. 8.0 inches of snow fell back in 1922.❄

Riding to work again today, 🚲 this time taking my preferred route through the Norman’s Kill Gorge as the snow and ice should be mostly gone. ☺ I really don’t love riding Delaware, I’d much rather do the rail trail. That said not sure how much I’ll be riding next week, going to be cold plus Tuesday and Wednesday are session days. Do think it’s likely I’ll be finally moving out to the burbs for work but I have a schedule ready for the shuttle 🚀. Okay, maybe not that kind of shuttle. I don’t think the cold will be that prolonged being an El Niño year, or so I tell myself.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:04 pm with sun having an altitude of 25.5° from the due south horizon (-45.3° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 12.6 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 3:58 pm with the sun in the southwest (233°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (241°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 4:42 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 21 seconds with dusk around 5:13 pm, which is one minute and 5 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 5:49 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and snow 🌨 and temperatures around 38 degrees. There will be a south-southwest breeze at 6 mph. Tomorrow will have 9 hours and 22 minutes of daytime, an increase of one minute and 27 seconds over today.

Yesterday on my way out ran into the landlord and we got chatting 🗣️ and guess what I forgot to lock 🔒 my door 🚪 or even shut it tightly. It was a mild day and the heat probably didn’t kick on, and it’s not like I have much worth stealing. 👮 Today I’ll be more careful. Going to try to leave a bit earlier today so I’m not as rushed plus I have a morning meeting to get down to. 👥

Tonight will have a slight chance of snow showers before 10pm. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 27 degrees at 4am. 11 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 18th. South wind around 6 mph becoming west after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 20%. In 2023, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became light snow by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 32 degrees. The record low of -26 occurred back in 1968.

15 bean soup 🍲 last night was delicious 😋 though it made the last of my carrots 🥕 dissappear and a lot of spinach and celery. I should have bought the five pound bag of carrots last week. Rye bread with lots of red onions in it for a rich flavor. Then a shredded apple run through the food processor with lots of cinnamon and ginger with a touch of peanut 🥜 butter powder after my evening walk. Not quite a slurry, I mean smoothie but good. Not so cold for the evening walk. 🌧️ Rained on the bus 🚍 ride home but stopped by the time I was filled up with that delicious soup and bread. I was in bed 🛏 by eight and up by five this morning.

Weekend continues to look rainy after first then get cold. 🌦️🤜🌬️🤜🧊Saturday, rain before noon, then showers likely, mainly between noon and 1pm. High near 48. Southeast wind 14 to 17 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. Sunday, a chance of snow showers after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 32. Breezy. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Typical average high for the weekend is 33 degrees. I’m still thinking about at least one night up in the woods but I concede with the wind, going to be a cold weekend.

Looking ahead, next Thursday is Winnie the Pooh Day 🍯 when the sun will be setting at 4:51 pm with dusk at 5:21 pm. On that day in 2023, we had cloudy, mild, freezing rain showers and temperatures between 44 and 32 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 32 degrees. We hit a record high of 59 back in 1973. Last week I bought honey 🛒 but I haven’t opened it yet. I’ve decided to include more natural sugars sparingly in my diet for flavor but only occasionally as a treat. That and real maple 🍁 syrup. Yum. But it’s not going to be an everyday thing and will always be paired with fiber rich foods and whole grains be it milled corn, milled oats or whole wheat foot.

To ride the Erie Canalway in Madison County today 🚲

For many the extra hours is a chance to sleep in but I look at it as another hour to ride and explore the Erie Canalway today.

Good morning! Happy Sunday. Cloudy and 44 degrees at the Stoney Pond State Forest. ☔ Calm wind. Nice morning now that the rain showers have pulled away.

Started my morning with frying 🍳 onions, spinach, garlic and peppers. And making eggs, dumping cinnamon rather than chipotle on them but actually I kind of liked the warm note the cinnamon gave to the eggs 🥚. Experimenting isn’t a bad thing even if it’s driven by your half awake body. Coffee ☕ is good, with the intended cinnamon and ginger in it, lol 😂.

Bit cooler this morning then last night with the breeze picking up 🌬️ after that little clipper front came through delivering rain showers early on keeping me mostly in the truck bed 🛏 until closer to six though around five I got up and visited the bucket shitter 🚽. Eating breakfast this morning I watched a gray squirrel 🐿️ run up the tree across the way and wonder why I wasn’t sitting next to my 22. Probably shouldn’t be shooting in a campground at any rate, especially as there are people camping down the way by the lake, but we used to shoot up here back in the day with the boys when I was working down in Nelson. Those were the days. 🔫 I was surprised that others are camping but they’re a ½ mile away and out of ear shot. 👂 Except maybe from a gun.

Today will have a chance of showers, mainly before 8am. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny 🌥 👉 🌞, with a high of 46 degrees at 1pm. Eight degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around November 23rd. Light west wind becoming northwest 5 to 9 mph in the morning. Chantce of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies. The high last year was 76 degrees. The record high of 75 was set in 1994. 3.0 inches of snow fell back in 1894.❄

Heading down to Chittenango to explore the Chittenango Landing Musuem, 🚣 and ride the Erie Canalway west to Green Lakes area and then go west to Canastota. I was originally going to park in Canastota as I thought it was closer but I think I’d rather explore the other part of the trail as it seems more interesting. 🚲 The Oneida – Canastota section pretty much just runs along the road that I’ve driven a million times when I was working up this way.

I could stop at the Aldi’s in Canastota this afternoon but I think I’m fairly set on overpriced groceries after visiting the Richmond Springs Price Chopper. 💵 It actually wasn’t that bad but I skipped getting peppers and broccoli 🥦 there as they were absurdly expensive. I skipped getting gas in Sharon Springs for $3.54 a gallon and was raked over the coals for gas at $3.79 in Richfield Springs ⛽ but I wasn’t messing around this time as I almost ran out of gas driving down to Binghamton two weeks ago. ⛽ Figured better just get r dun. It’s stupid to stress over $4 when your putting $80 in your truck. I got black sweet grapes 🍇 at Price Chopper hoping to capture some of that sweet flavor of the concord grapes I got last week at Annuto’s. Lol. 😂 Nope, maybe 20%, of the sweetness. Tomorrow I’ll probably check out the fancy Caz Aldi’s though.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 11:47 am with sun having an altitude of 31.5° from the due south horizon (-39° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 9.8 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 4:11 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (242°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (249°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 4:52 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 7 seconds with dusk around 5:20 pm, which is one minute and 13 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 5:55 pm. Time change gets you! At sunset, look for partly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 42 degrees. There will be a northwest breeze at 9 mph. Tomorrow will have 10 hours and 9 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 28 seconds over today.

Night is going to come quickly that’s why I am getting an early start 🌅 and have gathered firewood up for later. 🪵🪓 This way it will have time to dry ☀ and I fully expect tonight I’ll be rolling back to camp about sunset 🌇 after riding the bulk of the day. Should be more sun later plus I get an extra hour with the time change. Need to shave, change and load my bike up but for now it’s nice by the heater. ♨

Tonight will be mostly cloudy 🌃, with a low of 33 degrees at 6am. Two degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around November 10th. Northwest wind around 6 mph becoming calm. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It became somewhat humid as the night progressed. It got down to 67 degrees. Very mild night for November last year. I think I was in West Virginia then. The record low of 15 occurred back in 1951.

Yesterday was a fun day, 🚵 especially riding back down Tassel Hill once I found the trail. Some of those drops on the single track trail with the hairpin switchbacks were a blast on the mountain bike. Nothing technical or jumps just a lot of fun. That said parts of the lower trail weren’t well marked leading me to have to stop 🛑 and sear he for the trail a few times. 🔎 🗺

Then I rode along the old Chenango Canal Towpath trail 🚲 to the northern end or at least as far as I could go before downed trees blocked the northern end a bit past the substation. The northern end isn’t that impressive, 🐸 it’s a ditch and a towpath along the County Highway known as Canal Road. Kind of rough and slow going on the grass, took the county highway back. I then rode down to Woodman Pond 🦆 where there was a ton of geese. Nice section of the trail there though they resurfaced the old towpath there with fairly course gravel which made for more difficult riding.

Got to Stoney Pond by around 4:15 pm and I was disappointed to arrive to the campsite I like ⛺ and find a construction bag full of garbage and more garbage dumped in the woods. 🌲🌳🗑️ Got the mess picked upand seperated out the deposit cans, ♻ and gathered firewood 🪵🪓 for the night. 🔥 It was a beautiful night but dark, came so quickly by though. Very mild in the low fifties with a calm wind. This morning is cooler. Really wasn’t much garbage left by the time that rip roaring fire was done, the scraps of aluminum and cans I’ll take home crushed and recycle ♻.

One month 📅 from now will be Repeal of Prohibition Day 🍺 when the sun will be setting at 4:30 pm with dusk at 5:00 pm. I don’t drink the way I used to due to health reasons but an occasional drink isn’t a bad thing, especially a real high quality brew.

May 13, 2023 Morning

Good morning! Happy Saturday. 🌷

A most beautiful spring weekend! Mostly sunny ☀ and 65 degrees at the Five Rivers Environmental Education Center. There is a north breeze at 8 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 48 degrees.

Got a bright and early start, 💻 doing the work I needed to get done starting at six o’clock this morning with a cup of coffee ☕ until a little after 8 am, sitting out back. I need the comp time so I can use it this summer for work, but also because the Committee Agendas are always a rush project and I didn’t want to work on them late into the evening on Friday. I’d rather go to bed 🛏 early and get up early. I’m kind of werid like that but I believe in early to bed early to rise.

Today will be sunny 🌞, with a high of 75 degrees at 2pm. Four degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around May 28th. Maximum dew point of 48 at 9am. Northwest wind 8 to 13 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. It was somewhat humid. The high last year was 84 degrees. The record high of 86 was set in 2004. There was a dusting of snow in 1953.❄

Walked out to Five Rivers Environmental Education Center 🐦 to start out my day, which was proceeded by a hike out along Meads Lane. There was an abandoned dead calf out there in the pasture but part of having livestock 🐮 is sometimes dead stock. It’s nature. 🏞 Later on this afternoon going to hike Bennett Hill and go out to see the folks. Not sure if I’m going to spend a night in the woods in the hammock, going to be fairly cold by morning.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:53 pm with sun having an altitude of 65.7° from the due south horizon (-5.1° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.7 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:28 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (290°). 📸

The sunset is in the west-northwest (296°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:09 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 14 seconds with dusk around 8:40 pm, which is one minute and 4 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:21 pm. At sunset, look for mostly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 66 degrees. There will be a northwest breeze at 10 mph. Today will have 14 hours and 36 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 9 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be mostly clear 🌃, with a low of 46 degrees at 6am. Two degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around May 10th. North wind 6 to 10 mph. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It was somewhat humid. It got down to 66 degrees. The record low of 30 occurred back in 1996.

Looking ahead, there are 6 weeks until Latest Sunset 🌆 when the sun will be setting at 8:38 pm with dusk at 9:12 pm. On that day in 2022, we had partly cloudy and temperatures between 86 and 61 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 82 degrees. We hit a record high of 96 back in 1943.

May 7, 2023 Morning

The somewhat accidental campfire breakfast 🍳

I knew I would be low on propane by the end of the weekend but I decided to not get propane on Thursday when I shopped. Come this morning I ran out and cooked breakfast over a bed of coals. It was pretty good, especially now that I’ve been learning to cook and was full of delicious spinach, tofu, peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes and onions topped with feta. No more kids meals for me with greasy sausage and cheddar cheese. Everything tastes better with the smoke of a fire. Plus it gave me a chance to warm by the fire, cooked up the remaining chicken and rice with onions and peppers to make a lunchtime wrap which I will bring on my Catskill Scenic Trail walk from Grand Gorge to Stamford this afternoon.

Good morning! Happy Sunday. ⛪ Mostly sunny and 43 degrees at the Burnt-Rossman State Forest. There is a west-southwest breeze at 5 mph. 🍃.

Today is warming up quickly as I lay back in the hammock. 😴 It’s not nearly as breezy as yesterday morning so that helps. Plus it’s a nice sunny morning though I’m not sure how long that will last. I guess it’s a good excuse to hike the Catskill Scenic Trail earlier rather than later. 👣 I’ve done most of it in the autumn, it would be interesting to see how much different it is in the spring. 🌺

Today will have increasing clouds ☀ 👉 ☁, with a high of 66 degrees at 3pm. Three degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around May 1st. West wind 5 to 8 mph. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 59 degrees. The record high of 92 was set in 1930. 0.2 inches of snow fell back in 1967.❄

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:55 pm with sun having an altitude of 64.3° from the due south horizon (-6.7° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.9 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:25 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (287°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (294°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:04 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 10 seconds with dusk around 8:35 pm, which is one minute and 6 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:14 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and temperatures around 58 degrees. There will be a west breeze at 5 mph. Today will have 14 hours and 21 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 20 seconds over yesterday.

Yesterday I hiked 10.7 miles. Kind of a big loop from Burnt Hill Road to the Long Path, past the waterfalls I uploaded the photo 📸 from yesterday, around Looking Glass Pond 🎣 down to Betty Brook, out to CCC Road 2 snowmobile trail 🚶 back up Burnt Hill then back to camp. I didn’t get a real early start yesterday as I wanted to stay out of the woods until after Spring Turkey 🦃 closed for the day at noontime. Plus climbing some of those hills around here can be tiring.

Tonight will rain, mainly between 10pm and 5am. Cloudy 🌧, with a low of 45 degrees at 6am. One degree below normal, which is similar to a typical night around May 6th. West wind around 5 mph becoming light and variable. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. Alas it’s probably best I’m heading home after hiking. In 2022, we had partly cloudy skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 41 degrees. The record low of 26 occurred back in 1968.

Looking ahead, next Sunday is Mothers Day 👩‍ when the sun will be setting at 8:12 pm with dusk at 8:43 pm. On that day in 2022, we had partly cloudy, warm, rain showers and temperatures between 84 and 66 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 71 degrees. We hit a record high of 93 back in 1900.

May 6, 2023 Morning

Good morning! Happy Saturday. ⛺

Made it to the May camping trip, the first quote unquote summer camping season. The black flies are swarming but as far as I can tell they aren’t biting. I’m glad I’m not getting eaten alive in the Adirondacks and truth be told it’s a lot quieter than camping on NY 8 East Branch Sacandaga River with all the road traffic.

Kind of a chilly start to the weekend, especially with the wind. Mostly sunny and 47 degrees at the Burnt-Rossman State Forest. There is a northwest breeze at 6 mph. 🍃.

I kind of played hookie and snuck out of work at 1 pm on Friday, that is with the big directors permission, ⛺ I wanted to get up to camp early so I could ensure I could get the Duck Pond campsite which sometimes is taken, and then have time to do some hiking before dark. Plus I had the time I would otherwise loose come next Wednesday so I made the leap.

I managed to forget my day pack 🎒 at home. I realized it yesterday when I was in Middleburgh. What to use for hiking to have food and carrying water? 💦 I figured out a chair bag would work for that slung over my shoulder. It looks a bit odd but works okay. I think I need to update my packing list – things have changed but my packing list hasn’t kept up with the changes. 📃

Today will be sunny 🌞, with a high of 63 degrees at 5pm. Five degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 24th. Northwest wind 6 to 11 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 63 degrees. The record high of 89 was set in 1930. There was a dusting of snow in 1994.❄

Black flies are out and swarming 🐜 but they aren’t biting. If it’s anything like yesterday, get into the darker parts of the woods away from water or come dusk they’ll be gone. I’m sure it would be worse in the Adirondacks.

But regardless it’s a nice morning. 🌅 I woke up at six o’clock like usual but decided after peeing to get some more sleep. Then it was coffee ☕ and oatmeal – banana pancake 🥞 mix topped with blueberries. Going to read 📖 and listen to a podcast until around 10:30 then start a road hike, heading back to the woods 🌲🌳 after spring turkey 🦃 closes at noontime. I want to check out the Rossman Hill Leanto and Looking Glass Pond 🎣 and then maybe head down to Panther Hollow along the Long Path.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:55 pm with sun having an altitude of 64° from the due south horizon (-6.9° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.9 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:24 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (287°). 📸

Hsd a loose connection on the inverter last night 🔋 which kept it tripping out due to under voltage. Tightened it up and now it seems great. After all these years I’m really figuring out the system working out all the bugs. 🐛 That said, I’m already considering what I might do different on a future truck. 🛻 I was thinking about how much I miss having the little truck for navigating the back roads – I’m always careful about where I take Big Red as he’s tough to navigate on the narrow roads and sways a lot on the rough roads which I don’t want to break my big expensive truck on.

The sunset is in the west-northwest (294°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:03 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 9 seconds with dusk around 8:34 pm, which is one minute and 6 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:13 pm. At sunset, look for mostly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 55 degrees. There will be a west-northwest breeze at 7 mph. Today will have 14 hours and 19 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 21 seconds over yesterday.

When I get back I want to do a wrap 🌯 with chicken 🐔 rice 🍚 tomato 🍅 and fresh spinach. Maybe include some tofu, mushrooms 🍄 and hot sauce. Already my mouth is watering. 😋 I was going to go that last night but I ended up doing fish with asparagus and tomato 🍅. Also good. Next time I might bring more beer 🍻 and I might get a small package of cookies. 🍪 I’m really trying to improve my diet but I think I can make exceptions in moderation especially if I’m planning a high activity day. 🦵That said in general I’m not going back on my now healthier and often more delicious eating habits.

Tonight will be mostly clear 🌃, with a low of 39 degrees at 5am. Six degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 21st. Southwest wind 3 to 7 mph. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 45 degrees. The record low of 29 occurred back in 1874.

Last night I did a nice hike 👣 down into Cole Hollow along the Long Path. Strangely enough I had never done much hiking down there. That Cole Hollow campsite ⛺ is pretty nice, I should keep it in mind especially if I’m going to Mine Kill Pool or planning to bicycle 🚲 ride in the Schoharie Valley. I feel like I could potentially ride right from there as the elevation is relatively low. Deep hollow though, no cell service or likely much radio service. Kind of like Betty Brook.

Too bad it was so cloudy yesterday night for the full 🌕 moon. It cleared out late but not until very late when I was in bed for the night. Maybe I can enjoy the moonlight tonight. I do enjoy how much quieter it is up here compared to what it would be on NY 8. Plus far less black flies, or maybe not they were really swarming last night when the sun was still up. It’s May everywhere.

Trying to upload some pictures this morning 📸 but the internet up here is a bit temperamental though at least I now have a card reader that allows me to upload photos taken by my good camera on the phone. 📱 But even that is a bit tricky as my phone doesn’t like the uppercase JPG extensions which force me to rename the files 📂 before I can even preview them on my phone.

Looking ahead, there are 7 weeks until Latest Sunset 🌆 when the sun will be setting at 8:40 pm with dusk at 9:13 pm. On that day in 2022, we had partly cloudy and temperatures between 86 and 61 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 82 degrees. We hit a record high of 96 back in 1943.

May 1, 2023 Morning

Happy May Day! 🌷

I guess it’s May so they stopped the rain showers for like two minutes. It’s only a few minutes before they crank the outdoors thermostat to 95. My neighbor already has his air conditioner installed. Me, I’ll open my windows and get the fan out as needed and make plans to head to the Potholers.

Good morning! Clouds 🌥 the rain has pulled off and 48 degrees in Delmar for the morning walk. There is a west breeze at 11 mph. 🍃 with gusts up to 22 mph 💨💨💨

Kind of a chilly morning 🍃 to start off the month with the breeze and dampness making it feel a bit cool. I’m out walking 🚶 like usual, last months total worked out to be 320 miles walked. Probably that contributed to some of my weight loss plus my general reduction in calorie intake.

Today will have a chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 2pm. Mostly cloudy 🌦, with a high of 60 degrees at 2pm. Six degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 17th. Southwest wind 11 to 14 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 69 degrees. The record high of 86 was set in 2001. There was a dusting of snow in 1978.❄ It’s funny, I turned off the internal snow depth monitoring system on the blog on May 1st and there was that one year I awoke to a ton of snow at Moose River Plains. Okay maybe just a dusting but that’s a ton by May standards.

Last night got a good night’s sleep 🛏 by getting to bed by 8. If I’m going to get going early each morning I should at least plan to get to bed early. Rained and rained last night but it was good for my sleep. 😴

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:53 pm with sun having an altitude of 62.4° from the due south horizon (-8.4° 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 🏅 starts at 7:16 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (285°). 📸

Need to get milk 🥛 this morning for the coffee ☕ as over the weekend the milk in the fridge got kind of rancid. I might just get a half gallon of skim just because I’m not drinking as much milk these days. 🐮 Mostly just for coffee. It will probably last longer than the gallons of milk I used to get and take less room in the cooler this weekend. Plus the paper carton is probably greener when it gets burnt and makes an excellent fire starter. 🔥

Thought about pancakes 🥞 or eggs 🥚 this morning but decided for the lighter fare of oatmeal 🥣 as last night at the folks house I had quiche. Mom insisted it was healthy, but I took a small slice of it which was good because the healthy portion with spinach was small the greasy sausage in it part was large. 🥧 I’ve gotten so sensetive about unhealthy food after reading how much damage it does to your body. 🤮 Maybe tomorrow I’ll do “oatmeal – banana – egg” pancakes or cut my remaining unhealthy sqpancake mix with old fashioned whole oats and banana.

The sunset is in the west-northwest (292°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:55 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 7 seconds with dusk around 8:25 pm, which is one minute and 8 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Gibbous 🌔 Moon in the southeast (142°) at an altitude of 45° from the horizon, 247,882 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:04 pm.

I am not sure how late I’ll get home today 🏢, it could a late night or maybe not. I could use some comp time, especially as I don’t currently have much and I’d kind of like to use a get out of jail free card 🎫 to leave early on Friday.

At sunset, look out for rain showers 🌧 and thunderstorms 🌩 and temperatures around 52 degrees. There will be a south breeze at 10 mph. Today will have 14 hours and 8 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 30 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have scattered showers and thunderstorms. ⛈ Mostly cloudy, with a low around 44. South wind 7 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Tomorrow we will have showers 🌧️ before 11am, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm between 11am and 5pm, then showers likely after 5pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 54. South wind 8 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Almost picture perfect spring weekend on tap. 😎 Finally. I mean really the past two weeks have been real bummers. Things should be real green but the black flies 🐜 will be out in mass, at least up north. Saturday, mostly sunny, with a high near 67. Maximum dew point of 44 at 8pm. Sunday, mostly sunny, with a high near 72. Maximum dew point of 46 at 7pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 68 degrees.

I was thinking about either Old Route 8B or East Branch Sacandaga River for the weekend ⛺ but now I’m leaning towards Schoharie and maybe hiking from Grand Gorge to Stamford on Sunday. 🚶 Might be a nice hike with everything greening up that way. Spring turkey 🦃 starts today, well regular spring turkey, youth season started a few days ago so I will want to stay out of the woods before noon but I could fish or do road hikes on Saturday before then.

One month 📅 from now will be 9 PM Dusk 🌆 when the sun will be setting at 8:27 pm with dusk at 9:00 pm. The average high temperature is 34 degrees, with a record high of 61 in 1895.

Andy Arthur.org

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