Good evening! I guess July will be over in less than an hour, as I sit back relaxing. Soon it will be August. Cloudy and 71 degrees at the Finger Lakes National Forest in Hector. ☁ There is a south breeze at 9 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 65 degrees.

Laying back in the hammock, the breeze actually makes it feel fairly cool despite the mugginess. 💨While the rain is holding off, at some point though it will come and I’ll retire to bed.

I thought it was a pretty good day, even though I wasn’t planning on going back to Ithaca, but I thought I needed propane. Hiking at Buttermilk Falls State Park was fun, as it’s been a few years since I’ve been there as parking the big truck there is tough, and I especially enjoyed exploring Lake Treman, which was quiet.🐸 The dam and the trail with stone stairs around it was quite impressive. You don’t realize how many projects were built by the CCC workers across the Finger Lakes.🚧 Robert Treman swimming area seemed warmer today and I got chance to get cleaned up and got water. 🏊

Tonight will have a chance of showers, mainly after 5am. Cloudy ☁, with a low of 69 degrees at 3am. Seven degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 67 at 2am. South wind 9 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. In 2017, we had mostly clear skies. It was somewhat humid. It got down to 62 degrees. The record low of 46 occurred back in 1964.

Tonight will have a Waning Gibbous Moon 🌖 with 83% illuminated. The moon will set at 10:15 am. The Last Quarter Moon is on Friday night with t-storms is likely then showers is likely. The Strugeon Moon 🌝 is on Saturday, August 25th. The sun will rise at 5:59 am with the first light at 5:27 am, which is one minute and one second later than yesterday. 🌄 Tonight will have 9 hours and 32 minutes of darkness, an increase of 2 minutes and 10 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms before 3pm, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm between 3pm and 4pm, then showers and thunderstorms likely after 4pm. Cloudy ☁, with a high of 79 degrees at 4pm. Three degrees below normal. Maximum dew point of 70 at 12pm. South wind 13 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. It was humid. The high last year was 87 degrees. The record high of 101 was set in 1933.

I’m going to take it hour by hour tomorrow, figuring out what to do with the weather. 🕔 I may go to Watkins Glen and swim in the pool if it’s not too wet. Might also hike on some of the trails in the National Forest too. 🚶🐄

In four weeks on August 28 the sun will be setting at 7:47 pm,🌄 which is 40 minutes and 24 seconds earlier then tonight. In 2017 on that day, we had patches of fog, mostly cloudy skies and temperatures between 75 and 50 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 78 and 58 degrees. The record high of 98 degrees was set back in 1948.

Looking ahead, Labor Day Weekend Begins 👨‍🏭 in a month away, More Night then Day 🌌 is in 8 weeks, Halloween 🛥️ is in 3 months, Election Day 2018 🗳️ is in 14 weeks, Average Night Below Freezing 🌌 is in 15 weeks, Christmas 🎅 is in 21 weeks, New Years Eve 🎆 is in 5 months, New Years Day 2019 🎉 is in 22 weeks, 36th Birthday 🎉 is in 26 weeks and Election Day 2020 🗳️ is in 118 weeks.

Good evening! Partly cloudy and 63 degrees at the Finger Lakes National Forest in Hector. ⛅ Calm wind. The dew point is 55 degrees. When you are sitting back it’s a bit chilly.

Third night of vacation but there still six more left but not likely to be as nice as tonight. Could certainly be a bit warmer and clearer though, 🌌 as many of the stars are blocked by the clouds. The moon rise was pretty and hopefully later in the week more chances to view the stars will avail themselves.

Tonight will be partly cloudy ☁, with a low of 60 degrees at 3am. Two degrees below normal. Maximum dew point of 57 at 2am. South wind 3 to 5 mph. In 2017, we had partly cloudy skies, clearing in the early hours of the next day. It got down to 52 degrees. The record low of 44 occurred back in 1968.

Tomorrow will have a slight chance of showers before 11am, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between 11am and 4pm, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 4pm. Increasing clouds ⛅, with a high of 76 degrees at 2pm. Six degrees below normal. Maximum dew point of 63 at 6pm. South wind around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. A year ago, we had cloudy skies with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 81 degrees. The record high of 100 was set in 1933.

Tomorrow night will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy ⚡, with a low of 63 degrees at 5am. One degree above normal. Maximum dew point of 63 at 6pm. Southeast wind 5 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. In 2017, we had partly cloudy skies, clearing in the early hours of the next day. It got down to 56 degrees. The record low of 49 occurred back in 1978.

So far its been a pretty good vacation, maybe not perfect but I’m really happy with getting the campsite I really like, and now being able to hike back to Foster Pond and look up at stars. I had a neighbor to my campsite but it looks like he left after a while. ⛺ Not only does the campsite have many nice things nearby, it’s well drained for the rain we may get later in the week, has sun for the solar panel, and is quite quiet. A few cars pass by from time to time but not a lot of traffic.

As I noted earlier on the blog, I hiked back about four or five miles along the Finger Lakes Trail from Watkins Glen to Sugar Hill State Forest. Not a lot of great views but still a pleasant hike, in many cases on old carriage roads. 🏃Then I went for a swim and relaxed at the Adirondack Chairs at the pool. Listening to the Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me podcast with Jim Comey was hillarious especially with the news these days.

Tomorrow I’m leaning towards Robert Treman State Park if the swimming area is open. It’s always frigid and muddy, but I want to visit it at least once this year and it may close later in the week due to the thunderstorms which could make the water turbid again. 😎Tuesday and Wednesday don’t look like complete wash outs but I expect I will just hang out at camp those days under a tarp, maybe do a little fishing and relaxing. 🎣

In four weeks on August 26 the sun will be setting here in the Finger Lakes at 7:50 pm,🌄 which is 39 minutes and 19 seconds earlier then tonight. In 2017 on that day, we had patches of fog, partly cloudy skies and temperatures between 73 and 49 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 79 and 59 degrees. The record high of 98 degrees was set back in 1948.

Looking ahead, Last Sunset After 8 Pm in Albany 🌆 is in 2 weeks, Daylight Savings Time Ends 🛥️ is in 14 weeks, Veterans Day (Sunday) 🇺🇸 is in 15 weeks, First Sunday of Advent ✝️ is in 18 weeks and 36th Birthday 🎉 is in 6 months.

Gond evening! Mostly clear and 72 degrees in Burdett. Calm wind. The dew point is 60 degrees. Back at Foster Pond looking at the stars on my final night at the Finger Lakes National Forest. I was going to do some fishing but it got late, and decided to just sit down by the lake on my back. Even at ten pm, it’s really not that dark in the west for looking at the stars. In a little bit, I’ll wander back to camp and start a small fire and stay up for a while before retiring for the night. 

Tonight will be mostly clear, with a low of 67 degrees at 5am. Three degrees above normal. Light and variable wind becoming northwest around 5 mph after midnight. Maximum dew point of 60 at 10pm. The record low of 44 occurred back in 1971. Waning Crescent Moon tonight with 40% illuminated. The moon will rise around 1:20 am. The New Moon Moon is on Tuesday with partly cloudy skies expected. The Full “Strugeon” Moon is on Thursday, August 18th.

It was a fun day, swimming at Robert H Treman State Park then going to Watkins Glen for ice cream and swimming in the Watkins Glen pool. I stopped at the Watkins Glen library and checked my email and did some work on my laptop. Cooked some bratwurst for dinner. 

Tomorrow will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 3pm. Partly sunny, with a high of 83 degrees at 2pm. One degrees above normal. West wind 3 to 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Maximum dew point of 61 at 7am. The record high of 99 was set in 1929. The sun will rise at 5:55 am with the first light at 5:23 am, which is 1 minutes and 0 seconds later then yesterday.
0.2 inch of rain expected between Thursday 2pm and Friday 7pm. 0.1 inch of rain expected between Saturday 8pm and Sunday 7am. Within the next four days, a total of 0.3 inches of rain is expected.

Tomorrow I’m taking down camp, will hit the Watkins Glen State Park Pool briefly before heading down to Pennsylvania. Going to camp the next three nights in the Allegheny National Forest. I will miss the Finger Lakes but it’s time to move on. Plan to visit Allegany State Park and Quaker Lake for some swimming and possibly Erie PA and Presque Isle State Park on Saturday. We’ll see. 

Looking ahead, National Smores Day is in 2 weeks, Thrift Shop Day is in 3 weeks, Day When It Got Below Freezing in Albany is in 7 weeks, Yom Kippur is in 11 weeks and First Day with Temperatures Recorded Below Zero is in 18 weeks.
Thursday Night. Chance of T-storms and 65 degrees, 62 max dew point, 5:57 sunrise.
Friday. Chance of T-storms and 78 degrees, 63 max dew point, 8:29 sunset.
Friday Night. Partly Cloudy and 61 degrees, 60 max dew point, 5:58 sunrise.
Saturday. Mostly Sunny and 78 degrees, 58 max dew point, 8:28 sunset.
Saturday Night. Chance of Showers and 61 degrees, 57 max dew point, 5:59 sunrise.
Sunday. Chance of T-storms and 77 degrees, 62 max dew point, 8:27 sunset.
Sunday Night. Chance of T-storms and 61 degrees, 62 max dew point, 6:00 sunrise.
Monday. Mostly Sunny and 80 degrees, 61 max dew point, 8:26 sunset.
Monday Night. Partly Cloudy and 62 degrees, 61 max dew point, 6:01 sunrise.
Tuesday. Mostly Sunny and 84 degrees, 61 max dew point, 8:24 sunset.