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Places I Camped in 2023

While this year was a rainy one, and it rained during many of my trips, I was able to get out for 53 nights in the wilderness — mostly fairly close to home but I also did a trip down to West Virginia in late October with several trips to the Adirondacks, Central New York and summer vacation in the Finger Lakes.

Places I Camped in 2023

Martin Luther Kings Day โ€“ January 14-16 (2 nights)

To start out my camping adventures in 2023, I drove out to Charles Baker State Forest and Brookfield Horse Camp. There wasn’t a lot of snow — just a dusting but it was a fun weekend, topped off by a beautiful sun-full glittery hike up Tassell Hill after a hoar frost. Explored Lost Pond and several of the trails in the middle of state forest.

Home for the weekend

40th Birthday โ€“ January 27-29 (2 nights)

For my fortieth birthday, I took off the Friday leading up to my 40th birthday to cross country ski and winter camp at Rensselaerville State Forest. It was a beautiful weekend with lots of blue skies, sufficient snow for skiing but not so much that was a ton of snowmobiles out on the trails.

Beautiful Day of Skiing

Presidents Day โ€“ February 17-19 (2 nights)

I decided for Presidents Day Weekend to do another trip out to Charles Baker State Forest and Brookfield Horse Camp. Slightly more snow then last time but again largely a snow-less winter, with some nice days for hikes through the various truck and horse trails. I hiked around much of state forest, especially the more southern part of the forest.

Evening on Truck Trail 13

Easter Weekend โ€“ April 7-9 (2 nights)

On Good Friday through Easter I camped at at Rensselaerville State Forest. The snow was gone and it was fairly mild though at times it was a bit cool. Spent a fair amount of time walking around and exploring the new OSI Parcel that has been recently added to state forest and is still largely open fields with sweeping views of the Catskill Mountains.

Hillcross Farm Pond

Duck Pond Trip โ€“ May 5-7 (2 nights)

The first Friday in May I took a half day from work and headed out to Schoharie County to camp at Duck Pond at Burnt-Rossman Hills State Forest. Originally the plan was to camp two nights at Duck Pond, hiking along the Long Path and exploring the state forest and then on Sunday hiking the Catskill Scenic Trail. That part of the trip changed when driving along Duck Pond Road the low tire pressure light came on I found a pallet nail in my truck tire. I was able to top off the truck tire and then change the tire when I got home and got the nail pulled and plugged. But it wasn’t the best way ever to end a trip early.

Spring

Overnight at Cole Hill – May 13-14 (1 night)

After visiting the folks on Mother’s Day Weekend, I decided to do a quick overnight hammock camp on Cole Hill State Forest in Berne. Nothing fancy or formal, it was as much a way to test out sleeping in my hammock with the bug screen. Kind of a chilly night, I took camp down fairly and headed home early in the morning.

Hammock Camping on Cole Hill

Memorial Day Weekend at Cole Hill โ€“ May 20-22 (2 nights)

This year I decided to eschew the Adirondacks and Greene Mountains for Memorial Day Weekend due to the black flies, my desire to look at bicycles, and work I had to do on the Saturday morning leading up to the holiday weekend. I decided to hammock camp again Cole Hill State Forest in Berne. This was a three-day two night trip, so it it gave me a chance to bring more gear up the mountain, set up a more formal camp. Cooked on the fire, hiked around the forest. It was a warm weekend, but I enjoy the solitude, along with having good cell service for listening to podcasts and watching videos.

Cooking down dinner

Juneteenth Weekend on Piseco-Powley โ€“ June 15-20 (4 nights)

To kick off summer, I did my usual Juneteenth weekend camping trip, tacking on some days on the Juneteenth Holiday Weekend. It was a bit of a cool and rainy weekend to kick off summer, one that would actually be followed by many cool and rainy weekends where I would stay home. Camped at House Pond for the first three nights, spending time down floating in the tube on East Branch while the final night I camped up at Powley Bridge site and kayaked along the East Branch. Really, like often is the case, the best weather was the day I took down camp.

Evening on East Canada Creek

Catskill Scenic Trail Trip โ€“ July 22-24 (3 nights)

After several months of researching and visiting various bike shops, I finally got a mountain bike. I decided it would be fun to do as much of the Catskill Scenic Trail as I could before my summer vacation got underway. Actually did quite a bit of riding and hiking that weekend — started out hiking Pratts Rock’s then riding from Grand George to Hobart. Sunday, I rode from Fultonham to Middleburgh on NY 30, doing a quick climb up Vromans Nose, then stopping at the farm market then going to Mine Kill State Park to swim. Monday I rode from Hobart down to Bloomville, getting caught in a major thunderstorm and downpour a few miles north of Bloomville with no shelter in sight. The trail became super boggy, then I went to Mine Kill State Park for one more swim, and then out to folks house for Sunday dinner a day later then usual.

After the rain showers

Finger Lakes National Forest โ€“ July 28 โ€“ August 6 (9 nights)

Every year for nearly a decade and a half I’ve been doing summer vacation out in the Finger Lakes — camping in the National Forest and exploring as much as possible during my days there. The past few years I’ve been driving there on a Friday, to get a better campsite before they’re taken by the weekend campers. This year was no exception. With Blackie, my mountain bike, I did nearly all of the bike trails in the near vicinity, from the Black Diamond Trail to the Cayuta Valley Trail to Dresden – Penn Yan Canal Trail. Kayaked on both Cayuga and Scenic Lakes, swam many days at Watkins Glen State Park and Taughannock State Park, explored the Cornell Campus and Botanical Gardens on my bike. Got some good ice cream at the Spotted Duck, explored the Geneva Waterfront along with the Cayuga-Seneca Canalway. Some rain but compared to the wet summer that was, this was a pretty good week.

Morning on Searsburg Road

Piseco-Powley โ€“ House Pond Campsite โ€“ August 18-20 (3 nights)

The next few weeks for rainy and by the time I got away for one more long weekend, it promised to be fairly nice weekend but turned out to be fairly cool and cloudy with some rain. Back at the House Pond Campsite, did some swimming in East Branch, but with the mercury in the 60s most of the weekend, I didn’t spend a lot of time in the water. Hardly what I had dreamed when the I planned the weekend. Rode Blackie up to Goldmine Stream Falls and relaxed down by the falls for a bit, also sat down by the swimming hole off of the Old Edick Road Snowmobile Trail, watching the rain fall, bemoaning the wet and cold weather. Still it was good to get away for a bit, and I did do a fair amount of reading in hammock, under the protection of the bug net, as the bugs were bad after such a wet summer.

Gentle Drop Into A Golden Pool

Labor Day at Perkins Clearing – September 1-4 (3 nights)

I took the Friday off before Labor Day to get a jump on the holiday season travel, and set up camp at the site I really enjoy up at Perkins Clearing overlooking the mountains. Did a fair amount of riding along the various dirt roads of Perkins Clearing, including over to Mason Lake and on Sunday rode most of the way to the Spruce Lake Trailhead, though didn’t make it there in time as I got a bit of a late start as I spent the balance of the day reading and swimming in the Jessup River Bridge swimming hole. Labor Day, I rode around the Spectulator Tree Farm, doing a large loop, through the tree farm, past the north end of Elm Lake, then down to Austin Falls and Old Route 8B. I had hoped to get ice cream, but by the time I got to the ice cream shop they were out of soft-ice cream, and there was a long line. Summer was dragging to a close.

Kunjamunk River from Long Level Bridge

September Trip to Rensselearville State Forest โ€“ September 15-17 (2 nights)

With time being fairly tight and the weather only so-so I decided to do a two night trip close to home out in Rennselearville to ride some of the gravel trails, explore the OSI Parcel further and just enjoy an early autumn weekend camping.

Evening

Columbus Day at Rensselearville State Forest โ€“ October 8-9 (1 night)

Columbus Day Weekend was cold and rainy for the first half of the weekend, but the Sunday heading into Columbus Day was nice, so I decided to head out to Rensselaerville for a quick overnight at the campsite on CCC Road. Leaves were late this year, so not a lot of color, but it still was nice to get away for a night and ride some of the trails around.

Leonard Hill

West Virginia Trip โ€“ October 21-29 (8 nights)

The banner trip of the year was my trip down to West Virigina. While it started and ended in rain, it was a very enjoyable trip with lots of new adventures this year. Camped the balance of the week — 6 nights in Canaan Heights — doing day trips from that area. Overnighted one night driving down at County Bridge Campground in Pennsylvania, and a on the way back camped overnight at Long Pond State Forest in New York. Adventures in West Virginia included hiking at Dolly Sods, mountain biking at night in the sods of Canaan Heights, riding up and hiking to Table Rock, exploring Blackwater Falls State Park on the mountain bike, MonPower Mountain Bike Park, Thomas Rail Grade and the Olson Firetower. Rode part of the Great Allegheny Trail through the Cumberland Passage, and the two sections of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canalway, including the Paw Paw Tunnel.

Sunrise

Stoney Pond โ€“ November 4-7 (3 nights)

A little over a week back from West Virginia, I headed out to Madison County to ride the Tassel Hill Mountain Bike Trails at Alfred Woodford, the Chenango Canal Trail in Hamilton and Erie Canalway from Chittenango to Green Lakes State Park and then to Canastota and Wampsville. The first night was cold at Stoney Pond but the subsequent nights were quite pleasant and mild.

Old Canal Warehouse in Chittenango  [Expires November 19 2023]

Prospect Mountain – East Branch Sacanadaga โ€“ Buttermilk Falls/Hudson Special Management Area โ€“ November 24-28 (3 nights)

Strangely enough, I had never been up Prospect Mountain. So I decided the day after Thanksgiving (Black Friday) to hike up Prospect Mountain, and then spend the next two nights camping on East Branch of the Sacandaga River. The Saturday and Sunday was fairly cold, so I ended up spending the bulk of day hanging around camp, doing a bit of hiking around Fox Lair. Sunday, evening around 8 PM it started to sleet, then snow, then rain, Monday morning, it turned into a white globby snow, and I ended up taking down camp fairly early after discovering I was out of propane and then spent much of the day exploring the Hudson River Special Management Area – Buttermilk Falls.

Icy River Road

Stoney Pond – Charles Baker โ€“ December 21-26 (5 nights)

On the days leading up to Christmas I decided to take a second trip to Madison County. I was originally planning to camp two nights at Stoney Pond then two nights at the Charles Baker Horse Camp but my family’s holiday plans were cancelled due to illness in my family, so I ended up staying an extra night at the horse camp, through the day after Christmas. On Friday, I rode the Erie Canalway from Canastota to East Verona, nearly to Rome. On Christmas Day I rode around many of truck trails at Charles Baker with my mountain bike, leaving my face splattered with mud. Many of the days were fairly cold and cloudy, but that’s too be expected in late December. Still it was a special way to spend Christmas.

Camp on this cold but still morning ?

Final Day of 2023

Made it to the end of year. Kind of a cloudy, gray, cool day to end out the year — certainly not the best day to be out doing outdoor activities, especially with the breeze and gray skies. Maybe it’s best that my planed camping trip didn’t work out after all.

I was originally planning to be out camping today, but when I got up to camp ๐Ÿ• the campsite was taken and everything up at Rensselaerville State Forest was a complete mosh pit, after all the rain we’ve had and above normal temperatures. I poked around the state forest for a while, thought about pitching a tent, but I would be setting up in the mud, and the other campsite — Campsite 3 was a mess because they’ve been logging off CCC Road. I think that red clay is as slick and muddy as I can remember due to it being such a mild, ice free winter. Maybe that black powder guy parked in the campsite did me a favor. I don’t think he was camping, though it seemed like he swapped off that site with another person, which makes me think maybe he had his stand up there and wanted to reserve the site. I’m not that heart broken ๐Ÿ’” about not camping this weekend. I might be back for Martin Luther King Day Weekend, โ„๏ธ which believe it or not is only two weekend away this point. I’m hoping it will be cold enough at that point that I won’t be dealing with all that mud and slop. Some snow would be nice, and most of the big hunting seasons are done ๐Ÿ”ซ though trapping is open and as small game.

Back to the table format on the weather, as my blog’s weather template always seems to break for the last day of the year. ๐ŸŒ† There is a one-day-a-year bug which I should fix but it happens only once in 365 days. I didn’t blog yesterday, at least with a status update as I got a bit of a late start, and was planning to do it up by camp which didn’t happen. Instead, I came home, unpacked my gear ๐ŸŽ’ which didn’t take long as nothing was disorganized or dirty, made some lunch and spent the balance of the day reading and studying my machine learning course. ๐Ÿค– This morning I finished up the Udemy Neural Nwtworks for R course and started one on Support Vector Classification for R. ๐Ÿ’ญ I’ve been thinking I should also do some machine learning courses on Python so I get a full knowledge and various platforms. ๐Ÿ‘ฉ‍๐Ÿ’ป I’m not opposed to Python though I tend to use R more then Python.

Today for exercise ๐Ÿšฒ I think I’m going to ride out to Voorheesville ๐Ÿš‚ and maybe stop at Hannaford out there to get some baker’s vanilla which I like in my coffee and warm milk at the end of day, plus also some more apple cider vinger which I like in my glass of warm milk at the end of day.. That said, I’m still cringing after spending $200 at the grocery store on Friday, though fortunately I got paid early — I couldn’t believe I got my first 2024 pay check on Friday, when the official pay day is next Wednesday, January 3rd. Paychecks have been coming earlier and earlier, often on Monday mornings, and I know New Years Day or Monday is a holiday, but I just assumed the money would come in on Tuesday. ๐Ÿ’ต It’s good though as I paid rent on Friday, ๐Ÿ˜ and I’ve been concerned about having the minimum in bank account.

I guess this sort of makes December, rather then January a three paycheck month, but as long as I keep things coming in and out consistently, I’m good. I just ended up buying a lot groceries, in part for camping but also there was a lot of things I wanted to keep my pantry stocked. That said, it should cut back on what I need in future weeks, as most of the more expensive things I stocked up are the kind of things that should last for a while. I don’t waste food, if things start to go bad, I cut off the bad parts and eat that first. ๐ŸŽ But I generally prefer frozen and vegatables, and aren’t afraid to use my freezer.

My parents have continued to be sick on and off ๐Ÿ˜ฃ so I’ve not been able to visit them in the few weeks ๐Ÿ‘ช and I’m not totally sure if we are going to do a get together for New Years Day, ๐ŸŽ† though we’ve been talking about doing a holiday celebration ๐ŸŽ„ getting together next week for Mom’s birthday with my sister, niece and in-laws, assuming everybody is feeling better by then and the weather is good.

As you will note below, going to be a mild week to start out January, and we are definitely starting to pick up more daylight at end of each day.

This Afternoon.
Feels like …
December 18th.

Mostly Cloudy

Mostly cloudy.
Northwest wind around 8 mph. and
37 degrees , 4:33
sunset.
Tonight.
Feels like …
December 3rd.

Slight Chance of Snow Showers

A slight chance of snow showers between 10pm and 4am. Mostly cloudy.
Northwest wind 3 to 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. and
26 degrees , 7:23
sunrise.
New Year’s Day.
Feels like …
December 22nd.

Mostly Cloudy

Mostly cloudy.
North wind 3 to 6 mph.
and
36 degrees , 4:33
sunset.
Monday Night.
Feels like …
December 10th.

Mostly Clear

Mostly clear.
Northwest wind 6 to 8 mph.
and
24 degrees , 7:23
sunrise.
Tuesday.
Feels like …
December 9th.

Sunny

Sunny.
West wind 5 to 9 mph.
and
40 degrees , 4:34
sunset.
Tuesday Night.
Feels like …
November 30th.

Partly Cloudy

Partly cloudy.
 
and
27 degrees , 7:23
sunrise.
Wednesday.
Feels like …
December 6th.

Mostly Cloudy

Mostly cloudy.
 
and
41 degrees , 4:35
sunset.
Wednesday Night.
Feels like …
November 23rd.

Mostly Cloudy

Mostly cloudy.
 
and
29 degrees , 7:23
sunrise.
Thursday.
Feels like …
December 18th.

Chance of Rain/Snow

A chance of snow before 10am, then a chance of rain and snow between 10am and 4pm, then a chance of snow after 4pm. Mostly cloudy.
Chance of precipitation is 30%.
and
37 degrees , 4:36
sunset.
Thursday Night.
Feels like …
December 21st.

Mostly Cloudy

Mostly cloudy.
 
and
21 degrees , 9 max wind chill, 7:23
sunrise.
Friday.
Feels like …
January 5th.

Mostly Sunny

Mostly sunny.
 
and
33 degrees , 9 max wind chill, 4:37
sunset.
Friday Night.
Feels like …
December 17th.

Partly Cloudy

Partly cloudy.
 
and
22 degrees , 11 max wind chill, 7:23
sunrise.
Saturday.
Feels like …
December 31st.

Partly Sunny

Partly sunny.
 
and
34 degrees , 11 max wind chill, 4:38
sunset.

Escarpment Fence

Final Friday of 2023 โ˜บ

The year is coming to a close. I decided to work from home today so I can run to the store midday to get the supplies and food I need for the New Years Eve trip and probably because we’ll get released early and frankly because I don’t expect a busy day today at work today. If I have downtime, might as well work from home. But first a quick ride out to Voorheesville to get some exercise before work starts.

Good morning! Yeah, it’s Friday! Clouds and 42 degrees in Delmar, NY. โ˜” Calm wind. Temperatures will drop below freezing at tomorrow night around 10 pm. โ˜ƒ๏ธ But first quite mild.

I was pleasantly surprised โ˜บ that there is no showers around this morning ๐Ÿšฒ and I can do a morning bike ride before work for some exercise and working at home. Some things to do today but should be a generally slow day. At lunch time I want to get propane ๐Ÿฎ so my tank is full for camping ๐Ÿ• along with toothpaste and other things on my list at Walmart. ๐Ÿ“ƒ

Today will have a chance of showers. Patchy fog before noon. Otherwise, cloudy ๐ŸŒฆ, with a high of 47 degrees at 1pm. 12 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around November 22nd. Calm wind becoming southwest around 6 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 48 degrees. The record high of 71 was set in 1984. 6.0 inches of snow fell back in 1915.โ„

I managed to set off the smoke alarm twice this morning while cooking. ๐Ÿง‘โ€๐Ÿš’ I I’m sure my neighbor loves me for that fortunately he works the early shift. ๐Ÿณ Shredded onions and spinach with eggs ๐Ÿฅš made into a cake with mushrooms and peppers. Pretty good, fiber rich breakfast. I’ve also been enjoying that carrot ๐Ÿฅ• bread I made – the vital wheat gluten really helps improve the consistency ๐Ÿž and between the shredded carrots and the baking soda it baked to a nice deep color, almost like pumpernickel bread moist with the consistency almost of cake. And this time it wasn’t so tough on my stomach. ๐Ÿคฐ๐Ÿฝ

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 11:58 am with sun having an altitude of 24.1ยฐ from the due south horizon (-46.7ยฐ vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 13.4 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ๐Ÿ… starts at 3:45 pm with the sun in the southwest (231ยฐ). ๐Ÿ“ธ The sunset is in the west-southwest (239ยฐ) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 4:30 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 25 seconds with dusk around 5:01 pm, which is 44 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ The best time to look at the stars is after 5:38 pm. At sunset, look for rain ๐ŸŒง and temperatures around 46 degrees. There will be a west-southwest breeze at 6 mph. Tomorrow will have 9 hours and 8 minutes of daytime, an increase of 36 seconds over today.

Tonight will have a chance of showers. Cloudy ๐ŸŒง, with a low of 38 degrees at 6am. 19 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around October 27th. West wind around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 43 degrees. The record low of -21 occurred back in 1933.

Tomorrow will have a chance of rain showers before 4pm, then a slight chance of rain and snow showers. Mostly cloudy ๐ŸŒฆ, with a high of 43 degrees at 12pm. Eight degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around December 2nd. West wind 5 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Little or no snow accumulation expected. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 57 degrees. The record high of 53 was set in 1984. 10.9 inches of snow fell back in 2000.โ„

I think I’ll probably head up to camp โ›บ mid-morning tomorrow for the New Years Holiday. ๐ŸŽŠ Not planning anything too fancy just two nights in the wilderness with a fire ๐Ÿ”ฅ and some sparklers ๐ŸŽ‡ and try to stay up until midnight on NYE and toast in 2024. Maybe fry up some walnuts and cranberries. Listen to podcasts ๐Ÿ“ป and enjoy the mild weather and probably mud. I’m going to ride some trails and roads ๐Ÿšฒ though probably a lot will be muddy.

Looking ahead to Sunday, New Years Eve, partly sunny, โ˜€ with a high near 38. Northwest wind 8 to 11 mph. Typical average high for the weekend is 35 degrees.

Christmas Eve Sunset

A better Thursday closing out 2023 โ˜บ

The days go by so quickly it seems, though in the case of yesterday maybe not quick enough. Things just got off on the wrong start with the smoke alarm yesterday, compared to today with warm fresh carrot bread and banana oatmeal pancakes.

Good morning! From here on out the sun will be setting after 4:30 PM ๐ŸŒ† . Slowly but surely the days are getting longer out, step by step. Rain and 44 degrees at the Elm Ave Park and Ride. โ˜” There is a north breeze at 5 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. Temperatures will drop below freezing at Saturday around 11 pm. โ˜ƒ๏ธ

After slamming my way through the morning yesterday, ๐Ÿ’ฅ it turned out to be a pretty decent day and things went fairly smoothly. I caught the express bus ๐Ÿš home and between the lunch time and an evening walk ๐Ÿšถ got my steps in for the day. Made up a bunch of whole wheat bread ๐Ÿž๐Ÿฅ– – one loaf with rye and the other with carrots ๐Ÿฅ• and was in bed by nine ๐Ÿ› and got a good night’s sleep.

Today will have a chance of showers. Patchy fog before noon. Otherwise, cloudy ๐ŸŒฆ, with a high of 47 degrees at 2pm. 12 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around November 22nd. North wind 3 to 5 mph. Another mild day ahead. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter 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 41 degrees. The record high of 61 was set in 1982. 7.0 inches of snow fell back in 1967.โ„

Another dreary day on tap ๐ŸŒจ๏ธ but we could be slip sliding our way through it but it’s too warm and I’m not paying for the heat. ๐Ÿ‘ฃ It’s not a bad day for walking laps around the Plaza before work and I’ll turn on that brass lamp that I like a little too much when I get to my office ๐Ÿข. I wonder if my new office will have a brass table lamp. After all that is what is truly important in the world these days. I just like shinny things that don’t harbor viruses and bacteria. ๐Ÿ›‹๏ธ

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 11:57 am with sun having an altitude of 24.1ยฐ from the due south horizon (-46.7ยฐ vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 13.4 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ๐Ÿ… starts at 3:44 pm with the sun in the southwest (231ยฐ). ๐Ÿ“ธ The sunset is in the west-southwest (239ยฐ) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 4:30 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 25 seconds with dusk around 5:01 pm, which is 43 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ The best time to look at the stars is after 5:37 pm. At sunset, look for rain ๐ŸŒง and temperatures around 47 degrees. There will be a north breeze at 5 mph. Today will have 9 hours and 7 minutes of daytime, an increase of 27 seconds over yesterday.

I have to admit it just was difficult to shift gears from Madison County ๐Ÿฎ back to work. It was just so much fun spending Christmas at the horse camp. ๐ŸŽ… Yes, it was damp and cold at times, with that tangy taste of manure on the air ๐Ÿ’ฉ but it seemed so far away from Albany. The mornings were so dark that I slept in pretty late. I was fortunate that I was able to get away for six days.

Tonight will have a chance of showers. Cloudy ๐ŸŒง, with a low of 41 degrees at 5am. 22 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around October 17th. Light northwest wind. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 22 degrees. The record low of -18 occurred back in 1933.

I haven’t decided if I will work from home tomorrow, ๐Ÿ’ป I have those end of the month reports to run and it would be easier to do from the office though I have bandwidth on my phone ๐Ÿ“ฑ to do it if I wanted. I would kind of like to get propane at lunch time ๐Ÿฎ and food and supplies for camping ๐Ÿ• this weekend. ๐Ÿชฅ In particular, I need toothpaste, I forgot to get that last time I was shopping on Tuesday ๐Ÿ›’ along with all important tumeric.

Mild and less wet weather to close out the 2023.๐ŸŒค๏ธ Saturday, a chance of showers, mainly before 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 42. West wind 7 to 14 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. New Years Eve, partly sunny, with a high near 39. New Years Day 2024 looking at 40 degrees with more sun as the day progresses. Typical average high for the weekend is 35 degrees.

I think I’ll head up to camp โ›บ early on Saturday morning as Friday looks kind of wet. Two more nights is plenty to close out the year. ๐ŸŽ† Use up some of those sparklers and toast away the year as there is much to look forward to both good and bad in the 2024. And make sure to start dating things correctly. ๐Ÿ—“

Adirondacks

And so this is… Merry Christmas 2023 ๐ŸŽ…

After a rather misty, wet but mild Christmas Eve the sun is starting to peak through the clouds. It’s good, I decided I’ll stay an extra night as my family’s holiday party was canceled or more like postponed a week due to the cold that is going around. It’s fine, it’s going to be a fairly nice day to enjoy Christmas walking through the woods, enjoying the birds, wildlife and silence.

Good morning! Mostly cloudy and 37 degrees at the Moscow Hill Camping Area. โ˜ There is a south-southeast breeze at 6 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. Temperatures will drop below freezing at Friday around 5 pm. โ˜ƒ๏ธ

I’m enjoying the sun โ˜€ as it’s peaking through the clouds. My Christmas camping trip has been extended by another night after the family Christmas party was postponed. I’m not that disappointed with the nice weather expected today. Even the breeze will be good as it should help dry things out after the misty and muddy mess that was yesterday.

Christmas Day will be partly sunny ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 45 degrees at 2pm. Nine degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around November 27th. South wind 6 to 10 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 27 degrees. The record high of 66 was set in 1889. 19.2 inches of snow fell back in 2002.โ„

It should be a great day for Christmas ๐Ÿคถ even if the snow is largely gone. I haven’t decided if I will ride some of the truck trails or just hike, the horse ๐Ÿด trails are closed to mountain bikes for the season ๐Ÿšต but the signs are fairly clear that the hardened roads are fine though might be a bit icy. That said, I can always lock up the bike if I want to head off the truck trails.

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 12:02 pm with sun having an altitude of 23.8ยฐ from the due south horizon (-46.8ยฐ vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 13.6 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ๐Ÿ… starts at 3:47 pm with the sun in the southwest (230ยฐ). ๐Ÿ“ธ The sunset is in the west-southwest (238ยฐ) 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 37 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ At dusk you’ll see the Full ๐ŸŒ Moon in the east-northeast (68ยฐ) at an altitude of 17ยฐ from the horizon, 240,803 miles away. ๐Ÿš€ The best time to look at the stars is after 5:41 pm. At sunset, look for partly cloudy skies ๐ŸŒƒ and temperatures around 43 degrees. There will be a south breeze at 9 mph. Today will have 9 hours and 5 minutes of daytime, an increase of 14 seconds over yesterday.

Breakfast is done ๐Ÿฅš and I’m feeling better after the Charlie Horse I had on my leg earlier in the morning. I might have been dehydrated, I drank a bunch of water. ๐Ÿ’ฆ Gathered firewood for the night ๐Ÿชต, mostly smaller stuff stacked high in hope the sun and breeze will help to dry things out. Last night the fire ๐Ÿ”ฅ was really smokey due to the wood being so wet. I actually retired to bed ๐Ÿ› on Christmas Eve a little after 8 pm as the fire was struggling and I was just kind of tired. Yesterday’s weather was a bit of a let down.

Tonight will be mostly cloudy ๐ŸŒƒ , with a low of 34 degrees at 3am. 14 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around November 9th. South wind 8 to 10 mph. In 2022, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 16 degrees. The record low of -17 occurred back in 1914.

Looking ahead to New Years Weekend 2024. ๐ŸŽ‡ Saturday, a chance of snow showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 32. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Sunday, partly sunny, with a high near 34. New Years Day, 35 degrees and sunny. Typical average high for the weekend is 35 degrees.

Cattails

That rye bread I made this morning was pretty good ๐Ÿฅ–

Mom picked me up some rye flower and dill weed and adding some wheat flour, yeast, water, salt and some vital wheat gluten made some good bread. Wish I had more rise though, I could try more yeast next time or a higher portion of vital wheat gluten and less wheat flour. Wheat flour is difficult as it is very low in gluten and is heavy with all that healthy protein and fiber.

Good morning! Happy Thursday. Mostly sunny and 30 degrees in Albany, NY. There is a west breeze at 5 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. There are 0.3 inches of snow on the ground. โ˜ƒ ๏ธCold start to the morning, though warming up quickly, it will be above freezing by 9 AM.

Rode my bike in again to work today. ๐Ÿšฒ Like I do most days, while the weather is decent. Today is share cookies day in the office ๐Ÿช so I had to be careful riding in with my bike box full with my laptop, lunch, snacks, and a large glass pyrex container full of cookies I baked. ๐Ÿ“ฆ ๐Ÿช ๐Ÿ’ป ๐ŸŽ’ But with careful ride in on the somewhat snowy and icy bike trail I made it in safely. I did make sure my basket was good and tight to the panier rack, and things bungeed down, and easy on the bumps.

Today will be sunny ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 37 degrees at 1pm. Two degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around December 18th. West wind 5 to 7 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 31 degrees. The record high of 63 was set in 1901. 12.5 inches of snow fell back in 1956.โ„

Working back downtown again today. ๐Ÿ“ƒ I wouldn’t want to miss the exchange cookies day this afternoon, ๐Ÿช plus I like the

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 11:50 am with sun having an altitude of 24.1° from the due south horizon (-46.6° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 13.4 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ๐Ÿ… starts at 3:37 pm with the sun in the southwest (231°). ๐Ÿ“ธ The sunset is in the west-southwest (239°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 4:23 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 24 seconds with dusk around 4:53 pm, which is 11 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Crescent ๐ŸŒ’ Moon in the southwest (223°) at an altitude of 6° from the horizon, 230,431 miles away. ๐Ÿš€ The best time to look at the stars is after 5:30 pm. At sunset, look for mostly clear skies ๐ŸŒ„ and temperatures around 36 degrees. There will be a south-southwest breeze at 5 mph. Today will have 9 hours and 7 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 34 seconds over yesterday.

Big Red passed his inspection with no issues, ๐Ÿ”Ž๐Ÿ›ป the oil changed and tires rotated. Prices have gone up a bit in the shop, I think it was about $94 bucks for all three things but I should be good until next summer except should random things break or need repair before then. Makes me want to go back to changing my own oil, lol. ๐Ÿ›ข I want to get another year out of Big Red if at all possible, so I’ll feed it parts beyond engine or transmission tear-down type repairs. ๐Ÿ‘ฉ‍๐Ÿ”ง Rust continues to be an issue but I’ve been painting it with red primer, and some point maybe in the spring I’ll cover with duplicate color match. ๐Ÿ‘จ‍๐ŸŽจ I haven’t put the hub caps back on, will do this weekend after I do a quick check of the torque of the wheel nuts, lest the shop mess that up. ๐Ÿ”ง Can’t happen twice, right?

Tonight will be mostly clear ๐ŸŒƒ, with a low of 28 degrees at 3am. Five degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around November 29th. South wind around 8 mph. In 2022, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 16 degrees. The record low of -8 occurred back in 1874.

Today in 1994, started construction begins on the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze river. The Three Gorges Dam has been the world’s largest power station in terms of installed capacity (22,500 MW) since 2012. In 2014, the dam generated 98.8 terawatt-hours (TWh) and had the world record, but was surpassed by the Itaipú Dam, which set the new world record in 2016, producing 103.1 TWh. ๐Ÿž Also, today was a notable date in civil rights history, with the release of the Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States, 379 U.S. 241 (1964), a landmark United States Supreme Court case holding that the Commerce Clause gave the U.S. Congress power to force private businesses to abide by Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination in public accommodations.

Mild and pretty nice for the weekend. ๐Ÿ˜€ Friday is going to be in the fifties. And Saturday, partly sunny, with a high near 45. North wind around 6 mph. Sunday, more clouds push in especially late, with a high near 47. Typical average high for the weekend is 38 degrees.

Looking ahead, next Thursday is First Day of Winter โ˜ƒ๏ธ when the sun will be setting at 4:26 pm with dusk at 4:56 pm. On that day in 2022, we had mostly sunny and temperatures between 34 and 16 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 37 degrees. We hit a record high of 62 back in 2018.

Took The Skis Off

Tuesday, Tuesday. Four weeks and it’s back to work for the New Year 2024.

I saw that the new legislative session calendar was released for next year. Heavy weighted for January and February but that’s to be expected with the early primaries.

Good morning! Partly cloudy and 33 degrees at the Delmar, NY. โ›… There is a northwest breeze at 11 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. Temperatures will drop below freezing at around 6 pm. โ˜ƒ๏ธ Much cooler than yesterday.

Decided to do cream of wheat topped with shredded apples ๐Ÿ and homemade this morning cranberry sauce. Coffee โ˜• with lots of ginger and cinnamon. Plus some water with apple cider vinegar and ginger to smooth digestion, had a bit of an upset stomach ๐Ÿ˜ฒ after the pea soup last night. I really now understand why people add ham to pea soup – it’s for the fats which ease digestion by buffering the highly basic peas. ๐Ÿฒ Not the taste per se, despite what folks claim. It would help too if I added more water to the soup to make it liquid before reheating for buffering plus adding more aciditic balsamic vinegar when serving and possibly adding a healthy fat like maybe mashed avocado ๐Ÿฅ‘ or some olive oil to the mix. Ham isn’t required especially if you are adding salt to the pea soup for taste. ๐Ÿท

I think it will be nice enough to ride to work. ๐Ÿšฒ Wear gloves ๐Ÿงค and embrace the cold it won’t be much longer for riding to work until spring or at least a February thaw. โ˜ƒ I figure with the new office ๐Ÿข I’ll be able to ride in when there is enough daylight to ride back to the express bus in the evening. ๐Ÿš Which isn’t the case in January.

Today will be mostly cloudy ๐ŸŒฅ, with a high of 37 degrees at 11am. Five degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around December 18th. Northwest wind 5 to 11 mph becoming northeast in the afternoon. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning with more sun in the afternoon. The high last year was 44 degrees. The record high of 65 was set in 2001. 9.0 inches of snow fell back in 1902.โ„

Stayed in the office late last night to watch the fireworks ๐ŸŽ†. Honestly I would have gotten a better view from the Plaza as the agency buildings blocked the view of lower firing fireworks. I figured view the fireworks from my office before I move on. It wasn’t that late and I just caught the 6:45 bus home. ๐ŸšŒ Already had dinner in the office, and I thought about going for a walk but my stomach was kind of upset after the pea soup.

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 11:47 am with sun having an altitude of 25° from the due south horizon (-45.8° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 12.8 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ๐Ÿ… starts at 3:38 pm with the sun in the southwest (232°). ๐Ÿ“ธ The sunset is in the west-southwest (240°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 4:23 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 21 seconds with dusk around 4:53 pm, which is 10 seconds earlier than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ The best time to look at the stars is after 5:30 pm. At sunset, look for mostly cloudy skies โ˜ and temperatures around 36 degrees. There will be a north-northeast breeze at 5 mph. Tomorrow will have 9 hours and 14 minutes of daytime, a decrease of one minute and 7 seconds over today.

I got home ๐Ÿก last night and with my upset stomach ๐Ÿคฐ๐Ÿผ decided it best not to do an evening walk ๐Ÿšถ plus I was tired ๐Ÿ˜ด and lazy being a Monday. Heated up a glass of milk ๐Ÿฅ› with lots of cinnamon and ginger and that was good, retired to bed ๐Ÿ› and watched some more of that class on machine learning ๐Ÿค–. I think even more than a so called smoothie which adds natural sugars in the form of fruit and or yogurt I’m just as good with plain fat free milk loaded up with cinnamon and ginger nice and warm. Supposed to help with sleep ๐Ÿ˜ด besides warming you up.

Tonight will be cloudy โ˜, with a low of 27 degrees at 5am. One degree above normal, which is similar to a typical night around December 2nd. North wind around 6 mph. 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 39 degrees. The record low of -5 occurred back in 1901.

Another rainy but mild weekend ahead. ๐ŸŒง๏ธ Saturday, mostly cloudy, with a high near 49. Sunday, showers likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 56. Breezy. Chance of precipitation is 70%. Typical average high for the weekend is 40 degrees. No snow in the immediate future ๐Ÿ”ฎ but definitely cloudy and gray. And rain for the weekends, which seems like we are stuck on the pattern of rainy weekends.

Looking ahead, there are 3 weeks until Boxing Day ๐ŸฅŠ when the sun will be setting at 4:29 pm with dusk at 4:59 pm. A good day for burning up all those boxes and wrapping paper from Christmas. ๐Ÿ“ฆ ๐Ÿ”ฅ On that day in 2022, we had partly sunny and temperatures between 30 and 16 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 35 degrees. We hit a record high of 59 back in 1895.

Tonight