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Zucchini spaghetti is pretty darn good! 🍝

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. πŸŒ₯ Probably a thunderstorm will come through before this blog post is done. There is a west-northwest breeze at 7 mph. πŸƒ. The dew point is 67 degrees and getting muggier as the thunderstorm approaches. The muggy weather ends tomorrow around 1 am. πŸ˜“

Black is great for a quick run to the grocery store πŸ›’ 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. 🍝 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 🍴 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. 🍞

What can I say, Blackie 🚡 is such a slow dog 🐢 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. βš™ 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 🌦, 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. β˜‘ Got a lot of groceries at the Stanton Farm Stand πŸ‘ though the Pennsylvania peaches they had where a bit disappointing. Their sweet corn 🌽 was excellent along with their tomatoes. πŸ… No good clothes at Goodwill but not unexpected. Mountain biking in the Albany Pine Bush Preserve, πŸ¦‹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. 🚲 I did find a nice pair of shorts and long sleeve shirts at Salvation Army for $20 which fit my smaller size nicely πŸ‘πŸ‘• 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 πŸ‘– and in the fall should keep an eye on Salvation Army for dress clothes πŸ‘” 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 πŸ’΅ thing at this point but I’d rather keep good clothes out of the landfill and support needy people. 🏚️ 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. πŸ§“ Rode some of the Erie Canalway which was crowded and the weather hot and sticky 😰 and the constant blow by of road bikes 🚲 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 πŸ‹ and retired to bed πŸ›.

Tonight will have a Waning Crescent 🌘 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. πŸš€ At the state speed limit of 55 mph, you’ll make it there by February 19th. Buckle up for safety! πŸ’Ί The moon will set in the northwest (307°) at 7:04 pm. The Sturgeon 🐑 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. πŸŒ„ 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 πŸŒƒ , 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 🍏 with rain storms around, and because I got a good ride doing a quick trip out of Walmart on Blackie. 🚡‍♀️ 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. πŸ” 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,πŸŒ„ 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 πŸŒ‡ is in 4 weeks, Constitution Day πŸ“œ is in 5 weeks, October πŸŽƒ is in 7 weeks, Average High is 65 πŸ‚ is in 8 weeks, Average Night Below Freezing 🌌 is in 3 months, 7:15 AM Sunrise βŒ›οΈ is in 17 weeks and Christmas Eve πŸŽ… is in 19 weeks.

Bridge

Monday, Monday

Good morning! Monday’s come back around again. So it has. Mostly cloudy with haze and 65 degrees in Delmar, NY. β›… There is a south-southeast breeze at 6 mph. πŸƒ. The dew point is 65 degrees. The air quality index is a healthy 33. The muggy weather ends Thursday around 2 am. πŸ˜“

I’m out walking 🚢 though not as early as I would like as I have a bad case of the Monday’s plus there isn’t the smoldering cars around the High School 🚸 and I don’t have to iron my clothes before work. Decided to give my eyes πŸ‘€ a break for now and wear glasses πŸ‘“ for my morning walk 🚢 Plus I find the humidity to be kind of a demotivator to getting moving plus the eye issues I had over the weekend.

I started out this morning with a hard-boiled egg πŸ₯š to get some protein before the morning walk. πŸƒ I am been having too much sugar lately, and I besides boosting the fiber in my diet I am coming around the way of the keto folks on having more protein and fiber from eggs and other lower-calorie sources like certain beans and meats. Then for breakfast, I am going to pulverize some white beans and mix them in the cream of wheat with strawberries and blueberries. 🍡 While I don’t like overusing my food chopper, as I think food should be chewed not drunk, it does work good for hiding things like beans in your breakfast.

Today will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 9am. Mostly cloudy 🌩, with a high of 81 degrees at 2pm. One degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around June 23rd. Maximum dew point of 71 at 12pm. South wind 6 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. It was somewhat humid. The high last year was 93 degrees. The record high of 99 was set in 1952.

We are stuck in that rather hot, humid unstable weather pattern β›ˆοΈ that is common this time of year. Could get soaked any minute type deal. Sucks for people that have this week off from work – used to be my usual choice though not in recent years as I like to break my summer up more. πŸ˜… Won’t make the evening walk fun but if it’s not raining, I might go down to the park and read for a while then do some steps as darkness approaches and it’s not as hot. πŸ“š As  At least the air quality is relatively good today, though we need to watch how much the Canadian wildfire smoke pushes in later in the day.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:59 pm with sun having an altitude of 70.7° from the due south horizon (-0.1° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.1 foot shadow today at noon time. The golden hour πŸ… starts at 7:55 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (297°). πŸ“Έ The sunset is in the west-northwest (304°) 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 3 seconds later than yesterday. πŸŒ‡ At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Gibbous πŸŒ” Moon in the south-southwest (213°) at an altitude of 37° from the horizon, 245,656 miles away. πŸš€ The best time to look at the stars is after 9:58 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and thunderstorms 🌩 and temperatures around 75 degrees. The dew point will be 69 degrees. There will be a south-southeast breeze at 10 mph. Today will have 15 hours and 21 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 19 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 11pm. Mostly cloudy , with a low of 66 degrees at 5am. Five degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 70 at 6pm. South wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies. It was humid. It got down to 61 degrees. The record low of 45 occurred back in 1970.

On this day in 1963, U.S. President John F. Kennedy gave his “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech, underlining the support of the United States for democratic West Germany shortly after Soviet-supported East Germany erected the Berlin Wall. 🍩 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.πŸ›’

Cloudy and rain showers for Independence Day Weekend πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ Saturday, a chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 82. Chance of precipitation is 50%. Maximum dew point of 66 at 12pm. Sunday, showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 80. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Maximum dew point of 67 at 12pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 83 degrees.

I’d like to get out of town this weekend 🚲 but finding a bicycle is a higher priority and it depends on the weather. I might look at bicycles at a few places on Saturday then camp β›Ί maybe in Schoharie and do the Mine Kill Pool 🏊‍♂️ maybe hammock camping. Depends on whether or not I get Monday off as a holiday. Actually I’m thinking the following weekend might be quieter and better for some lazy floating in the Adirondacks along Piseco-Powley Road. A lot depends on the weather. I might due Betty Brook but I worry I can get that campsite, though the little one is rarely taken as most people either go for the big lower site or the field site. Not sure. If it looks wet and I have a bike to ride, I might stay close to home and see what I can explore on the bicycle.

Looking ahead, there are 8 weeks until World Mosquito Day 🐞 when the sun will be setting at 7:50 pm with dusk at 8:18 pm. On that day in 2022, we had hot, partly sunny and temperatures between 88 and 70 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 82 degrees. We hit a record high of 98 back in 1916.

Kelley Stand Road

Second day of summer πŸ–

Honest I’m up and going this morning, though I’m still in still in quite a haze this morning despite making sure to be in bed by nine o’clock last night.

Good morning! Happy Thursday. Partly sunny 🌞 and 54 degrees in Delmar, NY. β›… Calm wind. The dew point is 52 degrees.

Out for the morning walk 🚢 and I’m not feeling it today. 7 ¾ miles yesterday. I got to bed πŸ› on tike last night but I think I’m still half asleep despite sleeping in to six. The sun β˜€ in sky helps a lot.

Hoping to walk down to the Park and Ride this morning, 🚍 as I’m running close to on time this morning and I have an extra lunch in the office 🏒 as I got home early enough last night to eat at home. Not a session day, they’re gone, so no shirts to iron.

Today will be partly sunny 🌞, with a high of 75 degrees at 2pm. Six degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around May 31st. Maximum dew point of 56 at 6pm. Calm wind becoming southeast 5 to 7 mph in the morning. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with a few breaks of sun the afternoon. The high last year was 67 degrees. The record high of 95 was set in 1954.

I think I’m good on groceries 🍏 through Friday night though I think tomorrow in the evening I’ll go shopping πŸ›’ after the store is restocked. I think I want to get more shorts and especially boxers and under shirts as my current ones are much too large and my boxers at times are slipping off. With warmer weather coming I should continue to think about quick cold meals that don’t require much cooking. Beans and rice are a once a week thing so they don’t require too much heat and can be eaten cold. πŸ₯˜

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:58 pm with sun having an altitude of 70.8° from the due south horizon (-0° vs. 6/21). The golden hour πŸ… starts at 7:55 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (297°). πŸ“Έ The sunset is in the borthwest (304°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:38 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 28 seconds with dusk around 9:11 pm, which is 12 seconds later than yesterday. πŸŒ‡ At dusk you’ll see the First Quarter πŸŒ“ Moon in the west (266°) at an altitude of 30° from the horizon, 252,135 miles away. πŸš€ The best time to look at the stars is after 9:58 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and temperatures around 68 degrees. The dew point will be 57 degrees. There will be a south-southeast breeze at 5 mph. Today will have 15 hours and 22 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 seconds over yesterday.

Looking at my pay stub 🎫 person it looks like I didn’t get my federal deduction quite right so I’m going to have to talk to the pay roll office about fixing that today. State taxes are good. So I guess that’s a step forward. πŸ‘£ I’ll have to talk to the Payroll office to get that straightened out.

Tonight will be scattered showers, mainly between 11pm and 3am. Cloudy 🌧, with a low of 60 degrees at 6am. Typical for tonight. Maximum dew point of 60 at 6am. Southeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became light rain by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 60 degrees. The record low of 44 occurred back in 1940.

Humid with thunderstorms this weekend. 🌩 Saturday, a chance of showers before 11am, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between 11am and 2pm, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 2pm. High near 82. South wind 6 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Maximum dew point of 71 at 1pm. Sunday, showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm, mainly after 2pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 83. Chance of precipitation is 70%. Maximum dew point of 70 at 10am. Typical average high for the weekend is 82 degrees.

This weekend, I still want to look at bicycles. 🚲 I would really like to be able to start commuting to work as soon as next week on a bicycle. I am going to part out my existing bicycle, but I’ve come to the conclusion that it would be better to start out fresh with a good used or new bicycle, something more designed for road riding then a hybrid bicycle. Then keep it in good maintance, especially keeping that back tire well inflated. Bicycle tires should be checked weekly for pressure based on the bicycle repair manual I’ve been reading. Every day I delay, it’s costing me a bus fare πŸš’ to say nothing of the health benefits of riding back and forth to work. Or how handy it would be able to set up camp and then ride to trail heads, especially in more spread out areas like Piseco-Powley Road or even Moose River Plains. 🚡‍♀️

I am also thinking about going to visit John Wolcott on Saturday and then do an afternoon hike in the Pine Bush. πŸŒ²πŸŒ²πŸ¦‹ I doubt I’ll see as many Karner Blues at this point, as we are a few weeks past the lupine bloom but it’s always a nice hike in the Albany Pine Bush, especially as dusk approaches. Plus I am sure I will end up forgetting to get groceries at the store on Friday and will end up stopping at Market32 in Guilderland, although based on the affordable surprisingly affordable prices at Hannaford in Voorheesville 🏬 maybe that’s where I should be going.

I am hoping the following weekend — Independence Day Weekend πŸŽ† to get out of town. A lot depends if they give us that Monday July 3rd off as a state holiday. It could happen. The issue is camping four nights straight — I’ll need a permit or have to move mid-weekend. I worry about things filling up, especially if it’s nice. I could do the Green Mountain National Forest, though I guess your not supposed to be lighting off fireworks in the National Forest, though I doubt locally they do much enforcement on the 4th of July unless it’s very dry. Plus, I want to get fireworks on my way out there. Piseco-Powley would be fun again that weekend, but I don’t know if I will be able to get a campsite, though maybe I could leave early on Friday.  

Looking ahead, there are 4 weeks until Ugly Truck Day 🚚 when the sun will be setting at 8:29 pm with dusk at 9:01 pm. On that day in 2022, we had hot and humid weather, mostly sunny skies and the inevitable  thunderstorm and temperatures between 97 and 72 degrees. I think I was out camping in Finger Lakes National Forest that week. Or 4 weeks, was that week before and I was in the office? I don’t remember. I should think about summer vacation and what week I want to take off. Typically, the high temperature is 84 degrees. We hit a record high of 97 back in 1991.

 Yesterday On Lake Pleasant

Upon Further Thought and Reflection ….

 

Upon Further Thought and Reflection …. πŸ’­

I decided to stay in town this weekend. Why? It looks like I will be on call if not remote working this weekend, and while I could go out to Madison County and the Cherry Ridge Camping Area and get good cell reception up there for remote work, the truth is working while camping isn’t that much fun as you spend most of the day doing work stuff and evenings are relatively short. Plus the road is likely to be icy up there, and there may be a fair amount of snow up there after the most recent storm. While it looks like the rain may be winding down, tomorrow is going to be cold and the weather is only going to get nicer as spring approaches. And honestly, I’d much rather be in the remote country of the Adirondacks then a campground.

Active and Inactive Landfills in New York - State Heat Map

 

Cotton Hill Lean-To in Late Winter

For the first day of spring it was around 65 degrees and sunny. The forecast promised only to get down into the upper 50s. The snow was gone in Albany, but in the mountains there was several feet. A top Cotton Hill, there was about two feet of snow.

Looking Down Long Path

Amazingly enough when I got up there, I was the only person who had been up to the lean-to since the last snow storm, probably two weeks ago now. It was very quiet except for the sounds of nature, from the snowy owl to the churbing robins.

Reaching the lean-to, with gear all set up for the the night.

Cotton Hill Lean To

My backpack, and flannel shirts.

Backpack and Flannel Shirts

Sitting in the lean-to, looking at the setting sun. At the front of the lean-to, snow had melted off the roof, and was piling up in the front, creating a snow berm, keeping cool drafts away. Ironically, at this point due to the warm weather, I was sitting in a t-shirt and no jacket on.

Looking Out the Lean-To

As I enjoy a nice a fire.

 Warmth from Campfire

And night rapidly approaches.

Lean To at Setting Sun

At times it was a bit smokey in the lean-to, as I played on my cellphone, jotted down some notes, read some books, and just enjoyed the first night of spring.

Smokey Lean-To

It was a nice night. When I woke up, it was a gray cloudy morning and I made up some breakfast and got cleaned up.

Lean To on Cloudy Morning

And I packed my bags…

All Packed Up in the Morning

Burned my garbage from the past night…

Camping Trash

And off I went, down to the truck, then off to Middleburgh Cliff. Here is a map of where the lean-to is.


View Cotton Hill Lean To in a larger map