Actually kind of seasonable for National Bird Day, but we have been spoiled by the relatively warm days and especially nights of this winter. El Niño plus climate change has really stuck a fork in this winter. Going to get w good snowstorm come Saturday night into Sunday but it’s not expected to last with it warm enough that the roads should be clear for the Monday commute, and mostly melted away with rain and temperatures in the mid 50s by Wednesday into Thursday.

Good morning! Clear and 18 degrees at the Delmar, NY. There is a north-northwest breeze at 8 mph. 🍃. Things will start to thaw out at tomorrow around 1 pm. 🌡️ Before the snow comes Saturday night into Sunday then is washed away by the rain come Wednesday into Thursday.

Breakfast was eggs with onions, shredded broccoli and corn. 🍳 Reheated coffee with milk and vanilla. Up at five o’clock this morning, I never set an alarm ⏰ as my desire to go to the bathroom 🚽 gets me going in the morning. Continuing my Support Vector Machine Learning course this morning. 🤖 I always find I learn and think best early in the morning.

It’s going to be a cold ride in 🚲 but I’m going to do it because I like the ride and the sun will feel good. The sun angle is starting to increase even while the mercury normally drops this time of year as we approach the coldest on average week of the year – Martin Luther King Day Week. It saves a buck thirty and it’s a good exercise. Next week with session attire, likely moving to the suburban office, rain and snow just means it will be unlikely I ride to work much at all. I’ll keep my eyes 👀 out for birds 🐦 on my ride through the Norman’s Kill Gorge this morning.

Today will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 32 degrees at 3pm. One degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical Northwest wind around 8 mph. A year ago, we had patches of fog in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 49 degrees. The record high of 64 was set in 1950. 8.0 inches of snow fell back in 1891.❄

Ran to the office 🏢 last night to get my plants 🌿 and hopefully it won’t have been too much of a cold shock 🤯 for the plants. I’m most worried about the wandering jew, that plant struggles enough already with getting rooted. I did make sure my truck was good and warm for the trip home. I also brought home most of the other personal stuff in my office – and I’ll bring home my personal and work laptops 💻 today so I’m ready to move to my new office come Monday if so assigned. I’m certainly ready and excited to be taking on the roll of Director of Data Services as soon as possible. I’ve been working on training my replacement as Deputy Director in Research Services. 🔢 Data Services though is far more up my alley then Research though I found research work to often be quite interesting and benefited from my data science knowledge.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:01 pm with sun having an altitude of 24.7° from the due south horizon (-46.1° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 13 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 3:51 pm with the sun in the southwest (232°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (239°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 4:36 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 22 seconds with dusk around 5:07 pm, which is 57 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 5:43 pm. At sunset, look for partly cloudy skies 🌃 and temperatures around 32 degrees. There will be a west breeze at 7 mph. Tomorrow will have 9 hours and 14 minutes of daytime, an increase of one minute and 3 seconds over today.

Decided after coming home last night to make a quick pot of homemade chicken soup.🍲 You know just the essentials – water, salt, carrots, celery, spinach, whole wheat noodles, onions, garlic and some pepper and spices. Left over pork roast diced and a can of canned chicken 🐔. No, I don’t use broth. It’s good enough with the spices I have in the cabinet – I’d rather enjoy the natural, simple flavors.

Tonight will have increasing clouds ☁, with a low of 22 degrees at 6am. Five degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 1st. Light and variable wind. Reality check ☑ . In 2023, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became light rain by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 30 degrees. The record low of -19 occurred back in 1996.

Last night was remarkably cold for moving the plants 🌿 but I wanted to get the things out of my office before the snow came and have to deal with it next week. Plan to clean and continue to scrub down my office today. Then when whenver I need to move out, I’m good. Got about $40 in groceries last night, which doesn’t buy much but will keep my pantry somewhat full for a while, though Walmart didn’t have bananas. 🍌

Tomorrow will be cloudy ☁, with a high of 33 degrees at 2pm. Typical for Tomorrow. Calm wind becoming southeast 5 to 9 mph in the morning. A year ago, we had patches of fog in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 44 degrees. The record high of 71 was set in 2007. 12.7 inches of snow fell back in 2002.❄

Looking ahead to Sunday, snow, mainly before 4pm. 🌨 Winter finally arrives but should be cleaned up by the work week. High near 32. Northeast wind 6 to 11 mph becoming light north in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 90%. Typical average high for the weekend is 33 degrees.

Looking ahead, next Friday is Coldest Day Recorded in Albany 🌨 💨 when the sun will be setting at 4:44 pm with dusk at 5:14 pm. It was an unthinkable negative 26 degrees in Albany on January 11, 1968. I know those negative 17 degrees days we had a few years back we’re super cold. I can’t imagine that amount of cold. On that day in 2023, we had mostly cloudy, snow showers and but generally mild temperatures between 38 and 32 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 33 degrees. We hit a record high of 67 back in 2020.

It might be a fair bit warmer today but with the breeze and clouds it feels pretty cold. I’m taking down camp to head to Hamilton and ultimately Brookfield to camp and explore that forest through Christmas Day. Then maybe on Christmas I’ll head down to Cooperstown and then home. My parents have been sick with a bad cold so it seems likely Christmas will be remote. I’ll still probably head home on Christmas Day though I also have boxing day off.

Good morning! Cloudy and 31 degrees at the Stoney Pond State Forest. ☁ There is a south breeze at 9 mph. 🍃. Things will start to thaw out at around 9 am. 🌡️

Oatmeal pancakes 🥞 for breakfast though I wish I had more bananas 🍌 to use in the mix. They blacken in the cold quickly but they’re still good but I eat them all up yesterday. I’ll have to stop at the Price Chopper in Hamilton. 🚲 Thinking I might ride around the village a bit too though it depends on if it’s raining and the weather. Outdoor activities can be tough in December, the weather kind of sucks.

Dropped my phone 📱 this morning when I was stacking wood and couldn’t find it until I heard the hour chime. ⏰ I was lucky 🍀 I heard that otherwise it would be likely lost. Not that my phone 📞 is worth much – the touch screen is increasingly malfunctioning. But I’m glad I found it.

Today will have a chance of rain and snow showers before 5pm, then a chance of rain showers. Cloudy 🌦, with a high of 37 degrees at 1pm. One degree above normal, which is similar to a typical day around December 21st. South wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Little or no snow accumulation expected. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, which and some light snow in the afternoon. The high last year was 53 degrees. The record high of 64 was set in 1990. 8.8 inches of snow fell back in 1947.❄

Not a real nice day ahead 🌥 which is why I figured it would be a good day to move campsites then I can spend the bulk of Christmas Eve exploring Charles Baker State Forest 🐦 watching birds and hiking when hopefully it will be somewhat nicer. This weekend after looking beautiful has somewhat slid downhill unfortunately. 😔

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:02 pm with sun having an altitude of 23.7° from the due south horizon (-46.8° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 13.7 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 3:47 pm with the sun in the southwest (230°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (238°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 4:33 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 26 seconds with dusk around 5:04 pm, which is 32 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Full 🌝 Moon in the east (90°) at an altitude of 32° from the horizon, 234,965 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 5:41 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and snow 🌨 and temperatures around 36 degrees. There will be a south breeze at 9 mph. Today will have 9 hours and 4 minutes of daytime, an increase of 5 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have a chance of rain and snow showers before 1am, then rain showers likely. Cloudy 🌧, with a low of 34 degrees at 6am. 13 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around November 9th. South wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Little or no snow accumulation expected. In 2022, we had light snow in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 7 degrees. The record low of -15 occurred back in 1989.

Yesterday morning got kind of a late start 🥶 because it was so cold out. Plus I wanted to chop wood 🪵🪓 so I’d be ready when I got back to camp ⛺. Then I did a hike at Oxbow Falls County Park 🏞 and looked off the escarpment. A fairly clear day.

Rode 36 miles yesterday from Canastota to East Verona on the Old Erie Canal Trail then back via NY 46 to Oneida, then the Oneida Rail Trail to the Oneida Waterline Trail to Wampsville back to Canastota. 🚲 It was cold this morning so I got a late start, plus I visited Oxbow Falls in the morning, but I hit the trail at noon and returned back at four.

Drove back to camp before dark, made turkey soup 🦃🍅🍲 with lots of delicious vegetables. No bacon 🥓 this meal even though next Saturday is bacon day.

Looking ahead, next Saturday is Bacon Day 🥓 when the sun will be setting at 4:38 pm with dusk at 5:09 pm. On that day in 2022, we had mostly cloudy, mild and temperatures between 57 and 43 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 35 degrees. We hit a record high of 53 back in 1984.