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Happy Lupine Festival Day! ๐Ÿฆ‹

Out walking this morning right at six o’clock and then there are more Committee Agendas and legislation to review for work while eating breakfast and sipping coffee out back before tabling a good portion of the day the Lupine Festival for Save the Pine Bush. Going to try to find time to walk 8 miles today in between the rain drops, though I doubt I’ll melt.

Good morning! Happy Saturday. Finally the weekend! But the work never stops until some time after June 10th or so I tell myself. Cloudy and 54 degrees in Delmar, NY. โ˜ There is a south-southeast breeze at 8 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. Not so cold this morning for the walk ๐Ÿšถ. The dew point is 49 degrees. The skies will clear tomorrow around 3 am.

I was up pretty early this morning ๐ŸŒ… but then again this time of year the sun rise is early. Stumbled around a bit but now I’m going again and out walking ๐Ÿšถ. I figured walk first then breakfast ๐Ÿณ which will be eggs, a shit ton of spinach along with orange and red peppers and onions and probably tomatoes ๐Ÿ… as you can’t forget them.

Today will have showers likely, mainly after 5pm. Cloudy ๐ŸŒฆ, with a high of 69 degrees at 1pm. Four degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around May 9th. Maximum dew point of 59 at 6pm. South wind 8 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Okay, New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with a few breaks of sun the afternoon. The high last year was 79 degrees. The record high of 91 was set in 1962.

So yes a busy Saturday ahead. ๐Ÿ˜ƒ Lots of things to do. One thing I can ๐Ÿฅซ check off my list โ˜‘ is I ended up grocery shopping ๐Ÿ›’ last night rather than Sunday. I wanted to get some more apples ๐Ÿ and I noticed the store was freshly stocked so I figured get it done. That way I’ll be down by the end of the week next week and can go shopping again if I decide to head out of town to camp โ›บ. I don’t know though with the best campsites likely taken and the black flies. ๐Ÿœ Plus I told John whose wife is sick this weekend I would probably come up next weekend. Still waiting on parts for my bicycle ๐Ÿšฒ, I don’t see myself wrenching it this weekend.

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 12:53 pm with sun having an altitude of 67.3ยฐ from the due south horizon (-3.5ยฐ vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.5 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ๐Ÿ… starts at 7:35 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (292ยฐ). ๐Ÿ“ธ

I got cranberry beans soaking in the refrigerator today, ๐ŸฒI plan to cook them either tonight or tomorrow to add to meals throughout the week. Salmon with rice, kale, onions and peppers for dinner tonight. ๐Ÿ 

The sunset is in the west-northwest (299ยฐ) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:16 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 17 seconds with dusk around 8:48 pm, which is one minute later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Crescent ๐ŸŒ’ Moon in the west-northwest (296ยฐ) at an altitude of 10ยฐ from the horizon, 245,175 miles away. ๐Ÿš€ The best time to look at the stars is after 9:30 pm. At sunset, look for rain ๐ŸŒง and temperatures around 65 degrees. The dew point will be 60 degrees. There will be a south-southeast breeze at 7 mph. Today will have 14 hours and 50 minutes of daytime, an increase of one minute and 53 seconds over yesterday.

Last night twice the express bus ๐Ÿšhad to pull over on the shoulder of the road because the battery box door kept opening up. Both on Interstate 787 and the Delmar bypass. Poor driver had to get out on the shoulder with racing traffic going by and try to secure it. The second time, a CDTA supervisor in his personal vehicle saw the breakdown and stopped by. One of the passengers joked with only three passengers he could have just given us a ride home ๐Ÿก. Friday usually is very light on the bus, a lot of people work from home or like me often head out of town.

I think the Voorheesville bus hasn’t rebuilt it’s ridership enough, I bet come mid June it will be back to starting and ending at the Park and Ride. ๐Ÿš It’s tough in the era of hybrid work and work from home. I’m okay with that, as I like the walk especially on non session days and it will be more timely โŒš as the driver for the 7:30 run will dead head back and do the 8:30 run downtown and the same with me 4 pm and 5 pm route. While drivers can always hit traffic on Southern Boulevard or 787, with that dead head the layover is long enough to avoid most delays unlike running a city route before. โ˜บ

Tonight will have showers, mainly before 2am. ๐ŸŒง Low of 50 degrees at 5am. One degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around May 19th. South wind around 7 mph becoming west after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. In 2022, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It became sticky as the night progressed. It got down to 65 degrees. The record low of 32 occurred back in 1949.

I keep watching as the forecast for Memorial Day Weekend ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ gets warmer and sunnier but I’m afraid I’ll have to work. Maybe my best plan remains to hammock camp โ›บ a night or two quite primatively locally. I’ll figure it out as those days get closer. I’m just really hoping for a nice Juneteenth Weekend at the Potholers and House Pond Campsite. It could rain though. Summer is not done yet! Though only 105 days remain until the Labor Day Weekend.

One month ๐Ÿ“… from now will be Primary Day ๐Ÿ—ณ๏ธ when the sun will be setting at 8:38 pm with dusk at 9:11 pm. I’m not sure whose on the ballot locally but I could check at the county board of elections website. I will want to Early Vote because they moved my Election Day site to the Town Park which isn’t convenient for me when I’m busy on Election Day.

 Towards Utsayathana

May 8, 2023 6 AM Update

Good morning! Monday’s come back around again. โ˜€

Yes it has but it’s going to be a nice week for sure. Lots of sun, mild but not super hot.

Partly cloudy and 52 degrees in Delmar, NY. โ›… There is a northwest breeze at 5 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. The dew point is 49 degrees.

You might say it’s a pleasant start to the work week. โ˜บ Can’t the weekends be more like that. I’m going a bit slower than I should but I’m out for the morning walk ๐Ÿšถ. Early enough not too many smoldering cars by the High School ๐Ÿšธ so far. After hiking Meads Lane and Five Rivers Environmental Education Center ๐Ÿธ it was 8.8 miles for Sunday.

Today will be sunny ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 71 degrees at 2pm. Two degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around May 13th. Maximum dew point of 48 at 6am. Northwest wind 7 to 11 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 65 degrees. The record high of 91 was set in 1936. There was a dusting of snow in 2020.โ„ Now that’s obnoxious.

I’m starting to wonder how long that nail has been in the tire. โšซ After airing that tire back up in Gilboa it looks like it hasn’t lost any air. Still I should have it pulled and plugged if possible. I’m thinking the rough roads could have lead to a little bit of air leaking out. I don’t want to mess with a tire plug myself, I’ll see if my shop can do it this week week. But in the meantime I should good with the full sized spare on.

I also need to get to the laundromat ๐Ÿ‘š to do a quick load of clothes this evening and get a few groceries to replace the ones consumed this weekend. I eat a lot of good food this weekend ๐Ÿ˜‹ but I don’t feel fat because it was healthy, good quality foods and I made sure to get in a lot of steps. ๐Ÿ‘ฃ Over 3/4 lb of kale plus lots of fresh blueberries. And the usual tomatoes, mushrooms and onions.

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 12:53 pm with sun having an altitude of 64.4ยฐ from the due south horizon (-6.4ยฐ 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 ๐Ÿ… starts at 7:23 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (288ยฐ). ๐Ÿ“ธ

Back to fruit and oatmeal this morning. ๐Ÿฅฃ When I’m in the office ๐Ÿข all day I try to scale back the calories and boost fiber and maintain my healthy sugar levels by pulling from my fruit bowl at work.

The sunset is in the west-northwest (295ยฐ) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:03 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 10 seconds with dusk around 8:34 pm, which is one minute and 6 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ The best time to look at the stars is after 9:14 pm. At sunset, look for mostly clear skies ๐ŸŒ„ and temperatures around 60 degrees. There will be a northwest breeze at 9 mph. Today will have 14 hours and 25 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 19 seconds over yesterday.

I’ve been having trouble getting the bicycle ๐Ÿšฒ spokes in but I’m hopeful to make more progress on the bicycle come this weekend. I really would like to get the bicycle back on the road by June at this point.

Tonight will be partly cloudy ๐ŸŒค, with a low of 42 degrees at 6am. Four degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 29th. Northwest wind 5 to 9 mph becoming calm after midnight. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies. It got down to 35 degrees. The record low of 27 occurred back in 1956.

Another perfect spring weekend on tap for Mothers Day. ๐Ÿ’ Saturday, mostly sunny, with a high near 76. Maximum dew point of 53 at 8am. Sunday, a chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 73. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Maximum dew point of 47 at 8pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 71 degrees.

Looking ahead, there are 4 weeks until 8:30 PM Sunset ๏ธโ›ฑ๏ธ when the sun will be setting at 8:30 pm with dusk at 9:03 pm. On that day in 2022, we had mostly sunny and temperatures between 77 and 47 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 77 degrees. We hit a record high of 97 back in 1925.

Thomas Cole from Camel's Hump

June 26, 2021 10 AM Update

Good morning! Happy Saturday. Finally the weekend! Four weeks to Strugeon Moon ๐ŸŒ• . Partly cloudy and 74 degrees at the Five Rivers Environmental Education Center. ๐ŸŒฅ There is a south breeze at 15 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. The dew point is 67 degrees. The skies will clear around 8 pm.

Hot day with the humidity ๐Ÿ˜ฐ although truth be told, tomorrow will be even hotter. Waiting for the bus ๐Ÿš up to Thacher Park after walking ๐Ÿšถ๐Ÿป out to Five Rivers. ๐Ÿฆ. ๐Ÿ˜ท Not wearing the mask much lately, I forgot it and had to run home. I can’t believe how hot it is out already.

Today will be mostly cloudy ๐ŸŒฅ, with a high of 84 degrees at 3pm. Two degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 67 at 10am. South wind 15 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 85 degrees. The record high of 99 was set in 1952.

The plan is to catch the next bus ๐Ÿš to Thacher Park ๐Ÿž and then go for a, walk ๐Ÿšถ๐Ÿป up to Thompsons Lake, swim and cool off ๐ŸŠ๐Ÿปโ€โ™‚๏ธ – already getting hot. Then back to Thacher Park and lay back in the hammock. A lot of people already at Five Rivers, I like the quiet – maybe it will be quieter ๐Ÿคซ in the evening when all the kids ๐Ÿ‘ง๐Ÿป go home for dinner. Probably do an evening walk there too.

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 12:59 pm with sun having an altitude of 70.7ยฐ from the due south horizon (-0.1ยฐ vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.1 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ๐Ÿ… starts at 7:55 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (297ยฐ). ๐Ÿ“ธ The sunset is in the west-northwest (304ยฐ) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:38 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 28 seconds with dusk around 9:12 pm, which is 2 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ The best time to look at the stars is after 9:58 pm. At sunset, look for partly cloudy skies ๐ŸŒƒ and temperatures around 77 degrees. The dew point will be 67 degrees. There will be a south breeze at 13 mph. Today will have 15 hours and 17 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 21 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be mostly cloudy ๐ŸŒฅ, with a low of 71 degrees at 4am. 10 degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 68 at 11pm. South wind 10 to 13 mph. In 2020, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became light rain by the early hours of the morning. It became somewhat humid as the night progressed. It got down to 61 degrees. The record low of 45 occurred back in 1970.

I suspect that this will be a tough night for sleeping ๐Ÿ˜ด so I’ll have to use the fan although Sunday and Monday will worse. I might end up going to the office ๐Ÿข the first half of the week just to beat the heat and get more in person hours in to keep the other directors happy ๐Ÿ˜Š. So much pressure to get people back in the office now that COVID is over ๐Ÿ˜ท ๐Ÿ‘พ ๐Ÿ’‰ but the thing is everybody likes remote work ๐Ÿ’ป and things are getting done whether it’s from camp or a bedroom. ๐Ÿ‘‚๐Ÿป It falls on deaf ears.

Last night was cooler ๐Ÿ˜Ž but I still needed the fan. โš› I was out at the Town Park last night watching the wildlife and noticing that the deer ๐ŸฆŒ already starting to get good sized numbs as their antlers grow in. Autumn is rapidly approaching. All the farms are cutting hay ๐ŸŒพ, you can smell the manure being applied to the fields now as the first cutting get racked and baled.

On this day in 1963, U.S. President John F. Kennedy gave his “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech, ๐ŸŽค underlining the support of the United States for democratic West Germany shortly after Soviet-supported East Germany erected the Berlin Wall. ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ช Also, The Universal Product Code is scanned for the first time in 1974 to sell a package of Wrigley’s chewing gum at the Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio. ๐Ÿฌ

Yesterday was my counseling session and it went well, ๐Ÿ‘จ๐Ÿปโ€โš•๏ธand I was feeling great after it until I realized how it was kind of a bummer. I really don’t like how my counselor keeps telling me that my problems are silly, and that because I’m not doing anything likely to cause significant harm โš  I shouldn’t worry so much about my pyromanania. ๐Ÿ”ฅ You want to move out to the country, have a burn barrel ๐Ÿ›ข, livestock ๐Ÿฎ, four wheelers ๐Ÿ๏ธand lots of guns ๐Ÿ”ซ more power to you. Liking fire or being a conservative doesn’t make you mentally ill. Not harming any one, if your safe and not smoking out your neighbors.

I guess he’s right but I wanted to be pressured to have my views challenged and change. ๐Ÿ’ญ I guess ethically he can’t tell me to be an urban liberal Democrat who drives a Prisus, ๐Ÿš˜ doesn’t eat meat ๐Ÿฅฉ, advocates for gun control ๐Ÿ”ซ, and recycles rather than burns his garbage โ™ป. I so wanted to be told I was terribly wrong, but I guess that’s not what a he can do. But I wish he would listen to me more and talk less. ๐Ÿ”• While I get that I’m paying for his advice I also feel that he should listen more and talk less.

He seems to want to move on to discussing my sometimes contrarian attitude ๐Ÿ™„ but at this point I don’t know how much farther I want to continue. I’m $125 in the hole ๐Ÿ•ณ with co-pay now, and I feel like I’ve discussed all my deepist secrets. ๐Ÿคซ I’ve learned some things, reevaluated parts of my life. ๐Ÿ‘ฉ๐Ÿปโ€๐ŸŒพ Started to think about girl friends and settling down a bit. I’ve learned additional techniques to deal with my anxiety ๐Ÿ˜ฏ and as winter became summer. ๐Ÿ– I think I want to cancel my next session and reevaluate come autumn although I’ve scheduled an appointment a week from Friday but I could cancel as I’d rather be in the Adirondacks.

Looking ahead, there are 4 weeks until Strugeon Moon ๐ŸŒ• when the sun will be setting at 8:24 pm with dusk at 8:56 pm. On that day in 2020, we had humid, partly sunny and temperatures between 82 and 65 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 84 degrees. We hit a record high of 96 back in 1941.

Branch Pond Road

June 11, 2021 1 PM Update

Good afternoon! Partly cloudy and 68 degrees in Delmar, NY. โ›… There is a south-southeast breeze at 7 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. The dew point is 48 degrees. The skies will clear tomorrow around 11 am.

I worked 21 hours yesterday into this morning ๐Ÿ˜ด so my sleep patterns are super messed up especially after my decision to get up early on Thursday to see the eclipse. ๐ŸŒ™The 5 am eclipse made me end up getting like 4 hours of sleep broken into two hour time periods before working 21 hours which was just awful. These late night legislative sessions are tough as I get older ๐Ÿ‘ด๐Ÿผ. I totally get why people retire early in my industry.

This afternoon will be mostly cloudy ๐ŸŒฅ, with a high of 71 degrees at 2pm. Seven degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around May 16th. Maximum dew point of 53 at 6pm. South wind around 7 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. It was somewhat humid. The high last year was 88 degrees. The record high of 94 was set in 1947.

This afternoon I have my counselor appointment. ๐Ÿ‘จ๐Ÿปโ€โš•๏ธI did my homework, I’m prepared. I’m learning a lot, taking action steps to make my life better. I’m not really sure how beneficial this all is but you don’t have to totally nuts ๐Ÿคช to benefit from some talk therapy – the pandemic has been tough – I’m turning 40 and I need to reevaluate a lot of things in my life especially as I’m now a mid level professional with a good salary. Plus I really need to spend more time discussing my pyromania ๐Ÿ”ฅ and bouncing off ideas on how to make my future better. I want to build on my successes and become a stronger individual. ๐Ÿ’ช๐Ÿป

Tonight will have a New ๐ŸŒš Moon with 1% illuminated. At 1 PM, the moon was in the southeast (141ยฐ) at an altitude of 70ยฐ from the horizon, some 248,827 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 December 17th. Buckle up for safety! ๐Ÿ’บ The moon will set in the borthwest (306ยฐ) at 9:59 pm. The Strawberry ๐Ÿ“ Moon is on Thursday, June 24. The darkest hour is at 12:56 am, followed by dawn at 4:43 am, and sun starting to rise at 5:18 am in the east-northeast (57ยฐ) and last for 3 minutes and 27 seconds. Sunrise is 7 seconds earlier than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ„ The golden hour ends at 6:01 am with sun in the east-northeast (64ยฐ). Tonight will have 8 hours and 43 minutes of darkness, a decrease of 38 seconds over last night.

We will see, I might do my evening walk ๐Ÿšถโ€โ™‚๏ธas I haven’t done that in a few days although I did do a morning walk earlier. I also need to do some cleaning ๐Ÿงผ as I’ve noticed some mildew popping up and things didn’t get well cleaned after I got back late from the Adirondacks on Tuesday and worked those marathon hours at work on both Wednesday and Thursday.

Tonight will be scattered showers, mainly after 11pm. Mostly cloudy ๐ŸŒง, with a low of 56 degrees at 4am. One degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around June 10th. Maximum dew point of 55 at 4am. Southeast wind 3 to 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. In 2020, we had mostly clear skies. It got down to 55 degrees. The record low of 38 occurred back in 1972.

In four weeks on July 9 the sun will be setting in the west-northwest (302ยฐ) at 8:34 pm,๐ŸŒ„ which is one minute and 26 seconds later then today. In 2020 on that day, we had hot, humid, partly sunny and temperatures between 94 and 73 degrees. I think last time I was up at Piseco-Powley Road at the Potholers. It was hot. I was that Vermont? Typically, you have temperatures between 84 and 62 degrees. The record high of 103 degrees was set back in 1936.

Looking ahead, World Population Day ๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐Ÿ‘งโ€๐Ÿ‘ง is a month away, Last Sunset After 8:30 PM ๐ŸŒ† is in 5 weeks, Labor Day Weekend Begins ๐Ÿ‘จโ€๐Ÿญ is in 12 weeks, 6:30 Sunrise ๐ŸŒ‡ is in 13 weeks, September 11th ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ is in 3 months, Constitution Day ๐Ÿ“œ is in 14 weeks, October ๐ŸŽƒ is in 16 weeks, Average High is 65 ๐Ÿ‚ is in 17 weeks, Harvest Moon ๐ŸŒ• is in 19 weeks, Veterans Day ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ is in 5 months, Full Moon ๐ŸŒ• is in 23 weeks, Buy Nothing Day ๐Ÿ›๏ธ is in 24 weeks, 7:15 AM Sunrise โŒ›๏ธ is in 26 weeks and Christmas Eve ๐ŸŽ… is in 28 weeks.

November 21, 2020 11 PM Update

Good evening! Partly clear and 39 degrees in Delmar, NY. There is a north-northwest breeze at 7 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. Temperatures will drop below freezing at tomorrow around 1 am. โ˜ƒ๏ธ

It turned out to be a nice starry night. After my evening ๐Ÿšถ๐Ÿป I sat out back for a while. Its only about forty degrees out but with a coat it’s not too bad. I kind of wish I had gone up to the Adirondacks for the weekend.

Lots of friends and colleagues are posting pictures of the deer ๐ŸฆŒ they harvested on the first day of rifle season. Basically that one day accounts for 2/3rds of the state’s deer harvest. I’ve always just done small game although this year I didn’t get a license as I was busy with work and then it was so hot that one weekend I was up in the woods. Eventually when I own my own land. I’ll also hire a guide and really learn what I’m doing first and then invest serious time in a tree stand. Folks who have harvest a nice buck on opening day often spend weeks if not months studying and observing the land from their stand, zeroing in their rifles, looking at aerial photos and maps. That said, having your own land to hunt is a big benefit – public lands hunting sucks when your looking off a ridge and can spot two other hunters from your vantage point.

Hiking the Pine Bush was nice but it was so busy. ๐Ÿฆ‹ I probably should have hiked after the press conference after dark but I wanted to do some hiking. Almost every parking ๐Ÿ…ฟ spot at the Discovery Center was packed. So many people on the trails. ๐Ÿšถ๐Ÿป The only place more packed then the Discovery Center Trails was the mall. Yucky. A crowded Crossgates Maul during the pandemic. ๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐Ÿ‘งโ€๐Ÿ‘ง๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐Ÿ‘งโ€๐Ÿ‘ฆ๐Ÿคง๐Ÿ‘พ Saw two bow hunters there. ๐Ÿน I was kind of surprised as I thought most bow hunters would put their bow away for the first day of rifle in other parts of the county but maybe they figured the orange army ๐Ÿ”ซ would drive the deer into the Pine Bush.

Save the Pine Bush got a big victory by that judge โš–๏ธ ruling over the neighbors case over the SEQRA process over the Costco and apartment complex in the Pine Bush. ๐Ÿฆ‹ While I’m sure the ruling will be appealed and Save the Pine Bush must continue on its fight it buys the area time from being developed. ๐ŸŒฒ

Tonight will be partly clear ๐ŸŒƒ , with a low of 27 degrees at 6am. Three degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around November 30th. North wind 5 to 7 mph. In 2019, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 33 degrees. The record low of 8 occurred back in 2018.

This weekend turned out nicer than I expected and I kind of wish I could have rounded out this calendar ๐Ÿ—“ year of camping with 60 nights but I’ll make it there God willing before 2021. Still five more weekends left in the year. With the pandemic and remote work ๐Ÿ’ป I’ve spent more time camping ๐Ÿ• and nights in the woods then ever before. Some places got overused and there was some abuse of some places but there is still a lot of great wild country out there.

Tonight will have a First Quarter ๐ŸŒ“ Moon with 49% illuminated. At 10 PM, the moon was in the west-southwest (237ยฐ) at an altitude of 9ยฐ from the horizon, some 243,515 miles away from where you are looking up from the earth. ๐Ÿš€ Quite a nice moon under star lit skies. At the state speed limit of 55 mph, you’ll make it there by May 25th. Buckle up for safety! ๐Ÿ’บ The moon will set in the west-southwest (248ยฐ) at 10:59 pm. The Full ๐ŸŒ• Moon is on Monday, November 30. The darkest hour is at 11:42 pm, followed by dawn at 6:25 am, and sun starting to rise at 6:56 am in the east-southeast (117ยฐ) and last for 3 minutes and 16 seconds. Sunrise is one minute and 12 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ„ The golden hour ends at 7:39 am with sun in the southeast (125ยฐ). Tonight will have 14 hours and 28 minutes of darkness, an increase of one minute and 54 seconds over last night.

No sleeping pills ๐Ÿ’Š left for tonight but with the red light in my bedroom ๐Ÿ’ก and sitting out back earlier I hope I’ll sleep okay. ๐Ÿ‘Œ๐Ÿป I’m going to buy more pills the next time I’m at Walmart – get the big jar that will last a long time.

Tomorrow will have a chance of rain, mainly after 4pm. Increasing clouds ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 39 degrees at 1pm. Six degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around December 6th. North wind 5 to 8 mph becoming south in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning, which became mostly clear by afternoon. The high last year was 48 degrees. The record high of 70 was set in 1931. 9.1 inches of snow fell back in 1943.โ„

In four weeks on December 19 the sun will be setting in the west-southwest (238ยฐ) at 4:24 pm,๐ŸŒ„ which is 3 minutes and 33 seconds earlier then tonight. In 2019 on that day, we had cold weather with mostly sunny skies and temperatures between 18 and 6 degrees. I remember going out for a walk on that cold winter day. Typically, you have temperatures between 35 and 20 degrees. The record high of 54 degrees was set back in 1895.

Tree Line

August 14, 2020 8 PM Update

Good evening! Mostly clear and 76 degrees at the Finger Lakes National Forest. ๐ŸŒŒThere is a north breeze at 6 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. The dew point is 60 degrees.

It was a nice day hiking the Catherine Valley Rail Trail ๐Ÿš‚. Not the most exciting trail ever but a nice walk through some well managed and scenic woods. A lot of it was timber country that is leased to a local hunting club. ๐ŸฆŒ๐Ÿฆƒ๐Ÿฆ† Some road noise from NY 14 but it ran pretty high above the valley on dirt viaducts cut into the mountainside.

In the afternoon I went for a swim at Watkins Glen State Park. ๐ŸŠ๐Ÿปโ€โ™‚๏ธ I thought the pool was too crowded for social distancing at four o’clock so I hopped out and by five it had thinned out so then I hopped in the pool. One thing nice about the Finger Lakes is the swimming areas are all open until 7 pm. โ˜บ

I thought about swimming at Enfield Gorge or at the Cayuga Lake beach ๐Ÿ– at Taughannock State Park but I feel like those bathrooms ๐Ÿšฟ are more cramped and less clean, and the natural water is not chlorinated so I’m hesitant. Plus the beach areas are smaller and cramped making social distancing more difficult.

I got ice cream one more time at Glen Dairy Bar ๐Ÿงthis time an apple sundae. ๐ŸI think this will be the last one for this trip, I’m kind of tired ๐Ÿ˜ด of eating so much ice cream. It’s been fun while it lasted during this trip. I told myself ice cream ๐Ÿฆnearly there would be my special little treat.

Watched the sunset ๐ŸŒ‡ from off Ball Diamond Road in the National Forest pasture again tonight. Another nice sunset, always pretty watching the sun set over the hills of the Finger Lakes and Seneca Lake.

Walked down to Foster Pond and watched the stars โœจ for a while. Saw four shooting stars ๐ŸŒ including one that was really bright and lit up the sky. Ended up falling asleep and was awoken by a bunch of drunk kids rafting in plastic blow up rafts on Foster Pond. ๐Ÿ›ฅ๏ธ One of them offered me a partially drink can of white claw, during the pandemic. ๐Ÿป I declined and walked back to camp.

Running low on drinking water ๐Ÿ’ฆ and wanting something sweet I packed apple ๐Ÿ juice for hiking today. That was fine until I cross threaded the canteen and it leaked over my backpack. Fortunately I decided to leave the binoculars and camera ๐Ÿ“ธ in the truck. A bee was attracted to the backpack got stung in the arm. ๐Ÿ That hurt. The backpack was washed in the shower ๐Ÿšฟ and is drying now. Drank too much apple juice today and now I have the runs a bit. ๐Ÿ’ฉ Hello bucket shitter! Getting full, going to emptied and buried โšฐ tomorrow when I break camp.

Tonight will be mostly clear ๐ŸŒƒ, with a low of 63 degrees at 5am. Three degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 62 at 9pm. North wind around 6 mph becoming calm after midnight. In 2019, we had mostly clear skies. It got down to 62 degrees. The record low of 48 occurred back in 1964.

Tonight will have a Waining Crescent ๐ŸŒ˜ Moon with 19% illuminated. The darkest hour is at 1:13 am, followed by dawn at 5:44 am, and sun starting to rise at 6:14 am in the east-northeast (70ยฐ) and last for 3 minutes and 4 seconds. Sunrise is one minute and 4 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ„ The golden hour ends at 6:53 am with sun in the east-northeast (76ยฐ). Tonight will have 10 hours and 5 minutes of darkness, an increase of 2 minutes and 31 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will be partly sunny ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 81 degrees at 2pm. Typical for Tomorrow. Maximum dew point of 63 at 7am. South wind 3 to 7 mph. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies. The high last year was 83 degrees. The record high of 96 was set in 1959. One thing to watch is clouds may push in fairly early tomorrow afternoon. โ˜๏ธ

I am going to take a wait and see approach tomorrow. โ›… I am afraid it might be quite choppy on Seneca Lake by afternoon to paddle. ๐Ÿ›ถ If it’s kind of gray and dark out I might stay at camp. Although there are some additional marsh trails in Watkins Glen that I was reading ๐Ÿ“– about I’m thinking ๐Ÿ’ญ about exploring.

In four weeks on September 11 the sun will be setting in the west (276ยฐ) at 7:23 pm,๐ŸŒ„ which is 46 minutes and 6 seconds earlier then tonight. In 2019 on that day, we had hot and humid weather that was partly sunny and temperatures between 87 and 66 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 74 and 54 degrees. The record high of 98 degrees was set back in 1931.

Looking ahead, Labor Day Weekend Begins ๐Ÿ‘จโ€๐Ÿญ in 3 weeks, September 11th ๐Ÿ‡ธ is in 4 weeks, 7 PM Sunset ๐ŸŒ† is in 5 weeks, Average High is 65 ๐Ÿ‚ is in 7 weeks, Average Night Below Freezing ๐ŸŒŒ is in 13 weeks, Buy Nothing Day ๐Ÿ›๏ธ is in 15 weeks, Average High is 40 ๐ŸŒจ is in 16 weeks, Bake Cookies Day ๐Ÿช is in 18 weeks, Christmas ๐ŸŽ… is in 19 weeks, New Years Day 2020 ๐ŸŽ‰ is in 20 weeks, Bubble Bath Day ๐Ÿงผ is in 21 weeks, Coldest Week of the Year ๐ŸŒฌ is in 5 months, my 38th Birthday ๐ŸŽ‰ is in 24 weeks and Valentines Day โค๏ธ is in 6 months.

Clouds Hanging Low

June 15, 2020 10 PM Update

Good evening! Mostly clear and 69 degrees in Delmar, NY. Calm wind. The dew point is 49 degrees. Not a half bad evening not really hot.

Today was a long day at work ๐Ÿ’ผ but I got two hours of overtime so I can’t complain too much. Working late though meant I couldn’t walk out to Five Rivers after work but I did get down to the park โ›ฒ and walked some of the trails in the ravine. A found a tick on my neck which I pulled. ๐Ÿœ It was a butch to remove. I got podcasts so I was happy about that. ๐ŸŽง I kind of wish I could have been on the wifi today as sometimes watching a movie picture in pictures can pass the time when I work, especially the more boring ๐Ÿ’ค parts of the day.

Tonight will have patchy fog after 5am. Otherwise, mostly clear ๐ŸŒƒ, with a low of 51 degrees at 5am. Six degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around May 29th. Maximum dew point of 49 at 8pm. Light northwest wind. In 2019, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became light rain by the early hours of the morning. It became somewhat humid as the night progressed. It got down to 63 degrees. The record low of 40 occurred back in 1961.

Tonight will have a Waining Crescent ๐ŸŒ˜ Moon with 24% illuminated. The darkest hour is at 12:57 am, followed by dawn at 4:43 am, and sun starting to rise at 5:18 am in the east-northeast (57ยฐ) and last for 3 minutes and 27 seconds. Sunrise is one second later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ„ The golden hour ends at 6:01 am with sun in the east-northeast (64ยฐ). Tonight will have 8 hours and 41 minutes of darkness, a decrease of 21 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will be sunny ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 81 degrees at 4pm. Three degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around June 26th. Maximum dew point of 52 at 10am. Calm wind. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, which became light rain by afternoon. The high last year was 68 degrees. The record high of 96 was set in 1967.

I couldn’t sit out back because Big Red ๐Ÿš˜ is still at the shop with my lawn chair out back. As usually is the case when you have alignment issues and tire wear, the tie rods and ball joints needed replacement to do the alignment but I’d rather replace them then have them break on the trail or road. When they snap sometimes they do body damage or cause the truck to roll depending on the speed they snap. And the internet is full of Chevy pictures with snapped tie rods, it’s a meme. ๐Ÿ˜ญ

Those Chevy’s have notoriously weak tie rods and with the lift kit they’re do for replacement at 90k miles. ๐Ÿ”ง But hopefully this will even out the tire wear and things will last at least through the inspection in November. โšซ It was noticeable just looking at the front wheels over the past year – they’ve been looking fairly messed up for a while. Cheaper than new tires or renting a car when the wheel fell off. Not a lot of tire wear up front but it’s obvious looking at them they were a bit messed up and the classic popping noise of the ball joints could be heard at times.โšช A little less than $1,200 later I’ll have the truck back tomorrow. But so be it – I’ve already budgeted for it when I bought the lift kit six years ago – figured $5,000 for the lift kit then $5,000 for repairs thereafter.

I did plan for this week as I knew I would work late several nights ๐Ÿ’ต and earn some overtime which adds up at time and a half. This will be a good week for billable hours at my job. I’ll retire the debt tomorrow from savings and hopefully the rest of the summer will be trouble free with the trugk.

I want to get two more summers out of it and I’ll make a decision next year at the end of 2021 if I want to retire Big Red and go carless for a few years. ๐Ÿšฒ I think it would be fun to have a bicycle and ride around town, do more things in town, maybe get a drink somewhere or even have internet at home and just rent a car a few times a year for road trips. I’m ready for not having to deal with the automotive industry or car insurance for a few years. Even with Uber fees and car rentals it really is a big savings. A lot of my colleagues have gone carless – they rent a car, take a bus or train, or Uber everywhere. I know the reaction I get from people is I’m nuts.

That said, at least I shouldn’t have to worry so much about either of those things failing anytime soon ๐Ÿš˜ or saving miles at this point. I’ve been a bit concerned about the tie rods for a while, I knew they were getting bad. I’m probably still considering going north for the second half of the week โ›บ as even if I do work long days as long as I have power and cell service I can log the hours โณ and get the work done that needs to happen from my screen tent ๐ŸŽช it hammock or even by the campfire. ๐Ÿ”ฅ

I run a tight budget and I’m always saving where I can ๐Ÿ’ธbut I love ๐Ÿ˜ being in the woods and I give up plenty of other things my colleagues enjoy like nicer apartments, air conditioning, wireless internet, cable television, haul my own trash to the transfer station and I take the bus to work. ๐Ÿš˜ Big Red is kind of my guilty pleasure but I paid cash for it so I’ve never paid any financing fees for it. And I’m investing a lot of money and saving for retirement. But I’m not perfect.

And while land and implements is expensive ๐Ÿšœ I do expect by then to have more money and when you own land you don’t pay rent. ๐Ÿก And if I live off grid there won’t be electric and gas bills, especially if I can harvest wood for heat. ๐Ÿ”Œ I doubt I’ll ever have cable or wireless internet and I expect my trash will go up in smoke – that is besides the cans and glass for recycling โ™ป .

In four weeks on July 13 the sun will be setting in the west-northwest (301ยฐ) at 8:32 pm,๐ŸŒ„ which is 2 minutes and 42 seconds earlier then tonight. In 2019 on that day, we had hot, partly sunny and temperatures between 88 and 65 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 83 and 62 degrees. The record high of 96 degrees was set back in 1894.

Looking ahead, Average High is 80 ๐Ÿ– is in 1 week.

Settles Hill