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Made it to Saturday – what a week 😩

I tried to sleep well last night, but now I’m fried. I’m trying to get up and moving — but it’s tough. My head is just spinning from the week that was. Nothing serious, but it’s just so much to learn at my new job, more stupid little bull-sheet that’s just left me fried after the week that was.

Good morning! Partly sunny and 45 degrees in Delmar, NY. 😎 There is a south breeze at 6 mph. 🍃. Temperatures will drop below freezing at Monday around noontime. ☃️

Definitely enjoying not having the heat on this morning. ⏹ I opened up the kitchen window and the one in my bedroom that don’t require removing the storm windows. The fresh air was so refreshing. Tonight though will be cool enough, I’ll probably need to close the windows before bed, but I’m enjoying the fresh air as I can.

Breakfast this morning was a big pan of eggs 🍳 with lots of onions, broccoli, corn, and peas. Probably too much tumeric but that’s a given. I’ve been avoiding going to the store to get milk, ☕ and cutting back on my coffee consumption, so only one pot — I mean cup of coffee this morning as that is all that my milk supply would allow. This afternoon I’ll have to get more milk at Stewart’s. 🐮

Today will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 4pm. Some of the storms could produce small hail. Partly sunny 🌞, with a high of 63 degrees at 2pm. 28 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 22nd. South wind 6 to 9 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. If it gets that warm, it will blow through many previous records. A year ago, we had cloudy skies. The high last year was 51 degrees. Almost record breaking warmth. The record high of 53 was set in 1955. That said, during the second half of February we’ve had a few 70 degree records in the past. 4.0 inches of snow fell back in 1892. 🌨 Not much of a record for winter.

Today is going to be a nice day and I want to maximize it. 🛠 I’ve continued to tweak the derailer on my bike 🚲, a constant source of frustration but I have it working pretty smooth now. ⚙ I’m learning a lot about bike mechanics. I do need to get it to the mechanic for a good tune up before the spring rush. 📞 I should call about an appointment so it get serviced before the spring rush. Knowing how mechanics are these days, probably won’t get an appointment to late March.

I have a list 📃 of things to do today but heading out for a bike ride to Voorheesville 🚲 in the nice weather followed by maybe visiting Five Rivers Environmental Education Center for a walk is high on that list. The best weather is going to be earlier so I should get an early start. 🌥 More clouds and ultimately rain later.

High on my list for today is finishing up the draft of the map 🗺 I’m making for Save the Pine Bush as they’re looking for it but I’ve been busy and just so tired 😴 lately that I’ve not spent much time working on it. But it would be good to have a, draft presented of the map as they’ve been looking for it. Every revision it gets a little better. 🔍

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:11 pm with sun having an altitude of 32.9° from the due south horizon (-37.9° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 9.3 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 4:40 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (244°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (251°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 5:20 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 4 seconds with dusk around 5:49 pm, which is one minute and 19 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Crescent 🌒 Moon in the west-southwest (247°) at an altitude of 5° from the horizon, 226,440 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 6:23 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and thunderstorms 🌩 and temperatures around 53 degrees. There will be a west breeze at 8 mph with gusts up to 20mph. Today will have 10 hours and 23 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 35 seconds over yesterday.

I got to go to the post office 📬 to give them $3.52 to bail out the USB cable ⌨️ I bought that didn’t come with the USB keyboard switch I bought last week. Yes, a different seller scammed me again on EBay 🖱️ this time sending me the cable that I was supposed to come with USB keyboard switch I bought. This time they couldn’t be bothered to put sufficient payment on the package so my choice was to refuse the package 📦 and probably never get the cable or hand over the money to the post office. I’m only $17 in the hole for what should have been a $8.65 refurbished switch had Ebay not screwed me over twice. 😡 I was angry as duck 🦆 last night 🌃 but for $3.52 more I’ll have closure once I get to the post office later. I can be angry but it’s stupid, not that much money. I’m constantly broke these days with inflation but whatever, I’m also making good money.

Tonight will have a chance of showers, mainly before 9pm. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 35 degrees at 6am. 18 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 10th. Southwest wind 6 to 11 mph becoming northwest in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. In 2023, we had partly cloudy skies. It got down to 23 degrees. The record low of -18 occurred back in 1962.

Too bad it’s going to rain this evening 🌃, I’d love to sit out back with the mild weather. It’s fine I promised mom and dad to bake bread 🍞 this evening for Sunday dinner. Then I want to get to bed 🛏 early so I can be up and rising early to go grocery shopping 🛒 tomorrow. I tell myself my pantry is well enough stocked that I won’t have another big grocery bill but with inflation I know thats a lie. 🍏 It’s so hard to get ahead today even with what most people would consider to be a good job.

Looking ahead, next Saturday is 5:30 PM Sunset 🌇 when the sun with dusk at 5:57 pm. I’m excited about that as it means I can ride my bike home after work, once the snow is off the bike path. No bus fare for you, Mr. Bus Serivice. On that day in 2023, we had mostly cloudy, mild, rain showers and temperatures between 55 and 23 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 36 degrees. We hit a record high of 60 back in 1981.

I think I can ride in today, one last time in January 🌫🚴

I was a bit on the fence, but not being able to catch the earlier express in and walk the plaza due to riding late, I decided to ride to work. First time riding in to suburban North Albany, going to take the Delmar Bypass, then South Pearl Street to the bike path as I’m not sure how much snow is left on the bike path.

Good morning! Clouds, some fog and 40 degrees in Delmar. ☔ Calm wind. There is roughly an inch of snow on the ground. ☃ ️Warm weather is continued to be forecasted for the next few days. Temperatures will drop below freezing at Sunday around 8 pm. ☃️

This morning was eggs with a lot of onions, broccoli, and other delicious things. I also baked carrot bread and also a loaf of onion bread and sweet potatoes in the oven this morning. The onion bread is saved in the freezer for later in the week. Last night I took some well freezer-burnt pork roast, cooked up with a lot of chunks of apples, vegetables, mushrooms and onions in a frying pan, added it bunch of spices and called it a delicious dinner. I am continuing to work on cleaning out my freezer one meal at a time, while developing well balanced, nutritious fiber and vitamin-rich meals. Made a second pot of coffee up as I was running late, though I’ve been cutting back on the amount of coffee I’ve been drinking at home as I can get it a work too.

Today will have a chance of showers or drizzle, mainly before 8am. Patchy fog. Otherwise, cloudy 🌦, with a high of 45 degrees at 12pm. 13 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 15th. Calm wind becoming north around 6 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, which became light snow by afternoon. The high last year was 36 degrees. The record high of 61 was set in 1938. 9.5 inches of snow fell back in 2000.❄

Obviously it’s still too dark in the evening to ride all the way home, but my hope is to ride down to the old train station — Peter Kiernan Plaza — and catch the express bus home from there. I think after President’s Day, assuming the rail trail is free of snow, I’ll be able to ride both ways to work on nice days. We’ll see how often that happens in February, though so far the first half of the month looks fairly mild.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:08 pm with sun having an altitude of 28.3° from the due south horizon (-42.5° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 11.1 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 4:17 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (237°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (245°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 4:59 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 13 seconds with dusk around 5:29 pm, which is one minute and 17 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Full 🌝 Moon in the east-northeast (64°) at an altitude of 5° from the horizon, 249,514 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 6:04 pm. At sunset, look for cloudy skies ☁ and temperatures around 42 degrees. There will be a north breeze at 5 mph. Tomorrow will have 9 hours and 48 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 7 seconds over today.

Last night was cold and rainy, so I spent the evening cooking up the old pork roast I had in the freezer and then kneading bread for the morning. Then I went to bed a little after 8 PM, so I could enjoy the heated blanket. I wasn’t going to turn on/up the heat if it’s going to be above freezing. I have lots of good things to eat going forward the next few days, probably including more of the fabled pea soup that contains that old stewing beef. Hoping to finish much of that off tonight, and will freeze whatever remains. Then tomorrow night I’ll break out some old lasagna I had in the freezer, and fry that up with vegetables and seasoning. Probably use up the rest of the sweet potatoes that I baked up the other day. It comes out much better then reheated nasty, calorie dense mush from the microwave.

Tonight will rain, mainly after midnight. Patchy fog. 🌧 Low of 36 degrees at 3am. 20 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 10th. North wind around 6 mph becoming light and variable. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. In 2023, we had light drizzle in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 28 degrees. The record low of -17 occurred back in 1920.

Continued mild and cloudy this weekend. Saturday, mostly cloudy, with a high near 41. Northwest wind around 6 mph. Sunday, a chance of snow before 7am, then rain and snow likely. Cloudy, with a high near 37. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Typical average high for the weekend is 33 degrees.

Looking ahead, next Thursday is February 🌧 when the sun will be setting at 5:09 pm with dusk at 5:38 pm. Often February has some of the biggest snowstorms and cold bursts, even though on average things are starting to warm up. On that day in 2023, we had partly sunny and temperatures between 29 and 12 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 33 degrees. We hit a record high of 65 back in 1989.

Mild start to our Tuesday 🌫️

It’s a relative thing and indeed it’s going to cool off by afternoon and turn to snow and rain by evening. But I figure it should be a pleasant morning bike ride this morning, not so cold for a change. Makes up for the bone chilling ride yesterday.

Good morning! Mostly cloudy and 35 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☁ There is a west-southwest breeze at 6 mph. 🍃. Nice, saves on the heat. There are 2 inches of snow on the ground. ☃ ️Won’t be long before the bike path is free of snow again. Temperatures will drop below freezing at around 4 pm. ☃️

Johnnycakes this morning 🍳 with spinach and broccoli 🥦 topped with cottage cheese and nutritional yeast. No onions this time but jalapeños and turmeric in the mix. Lots of fiber and protein from the egg and cottage cheese. Then had with a grapefruit 🟠. I decided against kneading bread last night 🍞, been trying to cut back a bit on the carbs and I was tired 😴 aftera my evening walk 🚶.

Out riding this morning 🚲, not so cold. Recharged the bike lights up yesterday 🔦, they get a lot of use with the dark mornings though lately they’ve not been quite as dark as slowly but surely the days are getting longer even on cloudy days like today. Important to be seen on these dark winter mornings out riding early. 🌃

Today will have a chance of snow before 1pm, then snow, possibly mixed with rain. 🌧 High of 36 degrees at 11am. Four degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around February 14th. West wind 5 to 7 mph becoming north in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 80%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible. A year ago, we had light snow in the morning, which became light snow by afternoon. The high last year was 34 degrees. The record high of 64 was set in 1906. 10.6 inches of snow fell back in 1963.❄

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:08 pm with sun having an altitude of 27.8° from the due south horizon (-43° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 11.4 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. Midday sun is getting higher in the sky. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 4:14 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (237°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (244°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 4:57 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 14 seconds with dusk around 5:27 pm, which is one minute and 15 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Full 🌝 Moon in the east-northeast (75°) at an altitude of 25° from the horizon, 244,938 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 6:02 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and snow 🌨 and temperatures around 34 degrees. There will be a north-northwest breeze at 5 mph. Tomorrow will have 9 hours and 43 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 2 seconds over today.

Almost missed the express bus 🚍 home though maybe I could have caught it at the Capitol or had to take the 18 home. 🏡 If that happens occasionally it’s not the end of the world. Ron was driving the shuttle yesterday and he was running late and the express was running early and there was a school 🚸 bus and a lot of traffic on Erie Boulevard last night. The transfer is tight so I’m not surprised. 🤨 Still I prefer it to driving 🚘 especially in bad weather like tonight. But I’m looking forward to bike trail being snow free so I can bicycle 🚲 to work and not have to pay the bus fare.

Tonight will snow, possibly mixed with rain before 2am, then snow likely between 2am and 4am, then snow likely, possibly mixed with freezing rain after 4am. 🌨 Low of 30 degrees at 11pm. 15 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 27th. Light and variable wind becoming southeast around 6 mph after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 80%. Little or no ice accumulation expected. New snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible. Kind of a mixed bag. In 2023, we had light snow in the evening, which became cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 31 degrees. The record low of -17 occurred back in 1948.

I guess it depends on how cold ❄ it is when I get home if I do an evening walk 🚶 though I would like to keep up that habit. I don’t want to walk in the rain ☔ but I’ll walk in the snow 🌨. After such a lazy weekend I’m trying to boost my exercise program but it’s tough especially to do the cardio without the stairs of the office downtown. Friday I have training downtown so I can do the stairs then as I plan to spend the balance of the day in offices downtown.

Mild but rainy later ☔ this weekend. Saturday, mostly cloudy, with a high near 44. Could be a nice day for a ride on my bike out in the country. Sunday, rain likely. Cloudy, with a high near 40. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Typical average high for the weekend is 33 degrees.

Looking ahead, there are 2 weeks until Save the Pine Bush Turns 46 🦋 when the sun will be setting at 5:16 pm with dusk at 5:44 pm. Gaining quite a bit of light in the evening. On that day in 2023, we had partly sunny and temperatures between 41 and 21 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 34 degrees. We hit a record high of 55 back in 1991.

Happy Snowman Day ☃

At least that’s what the internet tells me to be the case. And unlike me, the internet doesn’t just make up shit.

Good morning! Happy Snowman ☃ Day. 15 degrees and partly cloudy this morning as I await the dawn 6:50 🌅 and head out for a morning bike ride. Roughly three inches of snow on the ground ☃, which could probably be turned into a snowman that will last until Monday at 2 pm, the next time it’s likely to be above freezing again.

Last night I was bed 🛏 by 7 pm and asleep shortly thereafter as with the nights so cold and dark I can’t imagine staying up much later. I mean I probably should have gone for an evening walk 🚶 but I was tired. Cooked up some of mom’s lasagna with Butternut squash and the last of the frozen peas and corn I had. Salmon and broccoli 🥦 🐟 for dinner tonight.

Pancakes 🥞 this morning with the remaining fresh blueberries 🫐 and mango that I had. Getting low on fresh fruit but with the snow coming tomorrow I’ll probably wait until Saturday morning to shop. 🛒 Even the veggies are almost out but I have several cans 🥫 of low sodium vegetables I got for camping that I can crack open. I’ll stock up on several large bags when I go Wally World. Bulk frozen vegetables is something I really like. Plus no cans to wash and recycle ♻. The plastic makes a good fire 🔥 starter, lol. 😂

For our snowman ☃ day, slight chance of snow showers after 3pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 29. 🌥 South wind 7 to 10 mph. 3 degrees below the normal high of 33, closer to the typical normal before the climate warmed in Albany. Chance of precipitation is 20%. Kind of a cool day ahead but it is mid January.

I started my morning bike ride 🚲 out to Meads Lane but my face 😔 and hands 👐 were really cold, ❄ so I decided after about 4 miles of riding to head back home, have a warm shower 🚿 and then take the earlier express bus 🚍 in an walk in the Concourse where it will be warm. I prefer the calorie burn of riding but lately I’ve been riding back along Cherry Avenue at 7:30 am and it’s really congested. 🚶 I guess I could have done a walk in Delmar instead this morning but the Concourse will be warm.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:06 pm with sun having an altitude of 26.8° from the due south horizon (-44.1° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 11.9 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 4:07 pm with the sun in the southwest (235°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (242°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 4:50 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 17 seconds with dusk around 5:21 pm, which is one minute and 12 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Gibbous 🌔 Moon in the south-southeast (150°) at an altitude of 59° from the horizon, 231,005 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 5:56 pm. At sunset, look for skies and temperatures around degrees. There will be a calm wind. Tomorrow will have 9 hours and 34 minutes of daytime, an increase of one minute and 49 seconds over today.

The shuttle bus to the suburban office 🏢 works well with the 519 schedule though I admit the evening transfer is very tight and there will be times I inevitably will miss the express at the bus turn around but if I hurry to the Capitol I can likely catch it there or the 18 home. Worse comes to worse, I catch the later 18 home and just walk laps in the Plaza. 👣 I’m getting used to the change, though I miss the heart pumping 💓 of climbing all those stairs. When the weather gets nicer out, I’ll be riding to work, that is once the bike path is free of snow 🚲 and can visit the Corning Preserve at lunch time or explore the bike trail, especially the nicer section near Menands. 🏞 Might be nice to sit down by the river and eat lunch and ride. It’s a big change to working out in the suburbs, but it really isn’t that bad but I do miss the sweeping views from the old downtown office, and just the experience, but I’m young and can adapt.

This evening will have a slight chance of snow showers before 8pm. 🌨 Mostly cloudy, with a low around 18. Two degrees above normal. South wind around 6 mph becoming light and variable after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

I have been trying to dial back the calories and big meals this week, 🤰 as I haven’t been riding into work with the weather, and don’t have the stairs to climb in the suburban office building. There are some halls to make laps, but nothing like being connected with Capitol Complex and Concourse. It’s just been cold and icy, and it’s hard to get in as many steps as I would like to do each day. 👣 Plus I’ve been having a lot of carbs lately with all the bread I’ve been baking 🍞. Of course now the challenge is with the pantry getting low, but as noting before, if I dip into the canned vegetable reserve I have I should be able to make it to Saturday.

Then when we finally reach Friday, ☺ we will have snow 🌨️ mainly between 8am and 5pm. Cloudy and cool, with a high near 26, which is six degrees below normal. North wind 6 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible. Then really cold for the weekend. Saturday will be cloudy, with a high near 18. Northwest wind 14 to 18 mph. That just sounds cold, even without considering the windchill. Then Sunday it will be sunny, with a high near 23. 😎 Still cold. But then again, the high temperature for this week of the year is typically around 32 degrees, which used to be only 30 before the planet warmed. Probably staying home, except for maybe going out to shop and if we do the filming of the Rezin documentary, I’ll probably head out.

Looking ahead, next Thursday is 5 PM Sunset 🌇 with dusk at 5:29 pm. On that day in 2023, we had snow, mostly cloudy and temperatures between 36 and 28 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 32 degrees. We hit a record high of 61 back in 1938.

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.

Martin Luther Kings Day – 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.

40th Birthday – 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.

Presidents Day – 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.

Easter Weekend – 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.

Duck Pond Trip – 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.

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.

Memorial Day Weekend at Cole Hill – 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.

Juneteenth Weekend on Piseco-Powley – 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.

Catskill Scenic Trail Trip – 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.

Finger Lakes National Forest – July 28 – 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.

Piseco-Powley – House Pond Campsite – 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.

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.

September Trip to Rensselearville State Forest – 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.

Columbus Day at Rensselearville State Forest – 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.

West Virginia Trip – 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.

Stoney Pond – 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.

Prospect Mountain – East Branch Sacanadaga – Buttermilk Falls/Hudson Special Management Area – 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.

Stoney Pond – Charles Baker – 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.

Well, I Didn’t Expect that Rain this Morning 🌧

After cooking the rice-beans-lentils, along with the sweet potatoes and the acorn squash, I stuck them outside to cool down. Then I heard the rain starting to pound down the roof. Not a problem as the dishes were in sealed containers but it was a surprise. By the time I put the pea soup out I had been cooking, the rain had let up and by the time I took out the overflowing compost inside to dump into the biggest bucket, it wasn’t raining at all. And despite being a little bit damp, and having some sprinkles when I was riding in along the South End Railyards, it turned out to be a super nice day for a ride in.

Good morning! Mostly cloudy and 41 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☁ There is a southwest breeze at 7 mph. 🍃. Temperatures will drop below freezing at tomorrow around 5 am. ☃️

Despite the rain, it’s a super mild day. 😀 I noticed how warm it truly was when I got up during the night to go to the bathroom 🚽 and started cooking a little before 5 AM. Started out by rinsing the peas that had been soaking overnight and cooking them, and then went back to bed for a little more R&R 🛌 after which about 5:20 I got up and got a jump on the day, tossing the bread and acorn squash 🍞 🎃 into the oven to cook, chopping up the carrots 🥕 and onions 🧅 for the soup 🍲, starting up a pot of rice, lentils and beans 🍚 for lunch and frying up onions, spinach, mushrooms and other vegetables 🍳 for breakfast.

I really wanted to ride in today, 🚲 and was glad that the rain stopped before it was time to leave after my shower. 🚿 Running kind of late after all that cooking, but it’s fine, it’s going to be a quiet day in the office to at least start out the morning, but depending which projects come in things could pick up. Kind of in an transitory time now, things are winding down a bit at my current position but I haven’t moved on to my new position. Just trying to get loose ends cleaned up. 🎀 I figure once I move to the new office, at least until late January or early February I’m not going to be able to ride in as it will be too dark to ride from the office to Peter Kiernan Plaza to catch the express home 🚌 so I’m going to have to take the shuttle which lacks a rack for my bike. But not riding in January probably isn’t a big loss as probably much of the month the bike path will be snow covered, and not to mention it will be cold. ⛄

Had a nice Sunday dinner with the folks 🍲 which was turkey soup 🦃 left over from Thanksgiving. It was pretty good with dinner rolls and lots of egg noodles. Maybe less vegetables and fiber then what I would have at a meal at home, along with more fat 🤰 but it was still good and had a good big bowl of soup. I figure there is only a few more chances to have mom’s home cooking while it’s still good, as she’s getting up there in the years. I can eat healthy the rest of the week, and indeed for lunch, I had red lentil soup with spinach, mushrooms, broccoli and lots of spices. I’ve been noticing lately that my gut has been adjusting to the higher fiber loads, and things have been good though I do try to break up meals so not every night is loaded with beans and lentils, which can be particularly hard a times. 😤 I didn’t get many steps in yesterday, as it rained so much 🌧 so I was glad to ride to work today, and take the 17 flights of stairs up to my office.

Today will have a slight chance of showers after 9am. Mostly cloudy 🌦, with a high of 47 degrees at 12pm. Five degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around November 22nd. Southwest wind 7 to 11 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 20%. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 38 degrees. The record high of 63 was set in 1998. 6.0 inches of snow fell back in 1901.❄

On my list of things to get done today is called the shop about getting my truck state inspected 🔎 🛻, tires rotated and oil changed. It’s been nearly 8 months since the last oil change, but with synthetic oil, the fact my truck quit it’s oil burning habit, and the general lack of miles driven over the past few months — especially the early summer when I was looking at mountain bikes 🚵‍♀️ I still have plenty of time left on the oil, but I figure get it all done at one shot. Truck’s been running good, all the tail lights are working fine, so I expect the state inspection should go smoothly.

Last Monday when I was driving to the laundromat, 👕 and to wash my truck, the relay that controls the CB radio and was clicking on and off. 🔘 Not sure what the issue was but I ended up knocking the over-ride switch connector off, fiddling around with it in the dark. Strangely enough, when I was driving the truck on Sunday I didn’t have any more problems. I do need to replace that crimp connector I broke but I’m not sure where the loose wire was or why the relay was acting up, switching on and off repeatably. ⚡ It’s not such a big deal right now, as I’m not doing too much driving, and the worse thing that can happen is the relay gets burnt up, and it’s not expensive relay — I can always turn off the CB radio 📻 manually if I continue to have problems.

Last weekend when I was camping, I accidentally left one of the library books 📕 in back of my truck on the shelf on that rainy, snowy wet morning, 🌧 and the book got kind of wet from snow falling on it. 😭 After some careful drying over the past week in the oven — using residual heat from cooking or pre-warming the oven, I got the book mostly dry, and now have it propped up between some other books, and weighted down under my bed 🛌 putting a lot of weight on to flatten it out, almost back to the original shape and size. I’m hopeful I can return the book in close to original condition and not get dinged for damaging the library book. Also warped the cover of another library book using it as a wait to dry out that book in the oven when the broiler had just been ton, so that cover has been taken off the book and is drying out.

I replaced the smoke detector battery 👩‍🚒 🔋in my apartment, and now it’s been working properly without so many false alarms from the shower 🚿 steam and cooking. I’ve gotten in the habit now of just taking it down off the wall before cooking in the morning, because inevitably cooking involves smoke, even if it’s just crap I’ve split on the stove. I’ve been thinking of upgrading to a photoelectric detector, because I’m getting really fed up with false alarms from cooking or even the shower. This time of year, especially as I keep the heat turned down in my apartment, the smoke detector is so easily triggered by both shower steam and stove cooking. And as my bedroom is upstairs were smoke detector resides, it’s so easy to set off accidentally. 🛎 It doesn’t do any good to have a smoke detector if I’m constantly resetting it or taking it off the wall for cooking or showering, and then accidentally forgetting it reset it before bed.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 11:47 am with sun having an altitude of 25.2° from the due south horizon (-45.7° 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 🏅 starts at 3:39 pm with the sun in the southwest (232°). 📸 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 13 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 5:30 pm. At sunset, look out for a chance of rain 🌧 and temperatures around 45 degrees. There will be a west-northwest breeze at 9 mph. Today will have 9 hours and 16 minutes of daytime, a decrease of one minute and 14 seconds over yesterday.

I am thinking of staying late today at work 🎆 to watch the fireworks and state “Empire Plaza” tree lighting 🎄 at 6:15 PM either from my office or down on the plaza. I think this would be my last chance to see the fireworks from my downtown office, 🏢 as I’m not going to be here that much longer. I packed a dinner so I can have it at the end of day. I’ll probably clock out a five, but we’ll see how things go and how much work there is to do.

After being so opposed to smoothies 🥤 I ended up discovering how much I like a warm glass of milk with some shredded fruit in it and lots of cinnamon, ginger or pumpkin pie spice to warm myself up as a healthier replacement for hot coca in the evening. I do think a lot of smoothie recipes you find on the internet or at your local health spa are still junk-food, but a warm glass of skim milk with cinnamon and ginger, along with shredded strawberries 🍓 or apples 🍎 with nothing additional added (i.e. no added sugar) really isn’t any worse then having a glass of milk with an apple. And it tastes good, and a good way to warm yourself up. ☕ I would do coffee, but in the evening, who wants to be up all night? Plus I like drinking milk 🐮 and supporting the dairy industry, plus all that good Vitamin A & D. I’ve become a lot less of an ideologue when it comes to eating healthy these days, but I still work to stay away from excessive fat and sugar, though I do give myself a break a times.

Tonight will be mostly cloudy 🌥, with a low of 31 degrees at 6am. Five degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around November 19th. Northwest wind 8 to 11 mph. In 2022, we had clear skies in the evening, which became cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 26 degrees. The record low of 2 occurred back in 1989.

Next weekend reminds me of the weekend that was. 🌧️ Saturday, mostly cloudy, with a high near 49. Sunday, showers likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 52. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Typical average high for the weekend is 40 degrees. Probably another stay home weekend, it’s the last weekend of regular deer season after which the woods should empty out for exploration. I am still thinking about those days leading up to Christmas to head out to Madison County 🎄 but the week before then I am planning on attending a family Christmas event.

As previously noted, there are 2 weeks until Bake Cookies Day 🍪 when the sun will be setting at 4:25 pm with dusk at 4:55 pm. On that day in 2022, we had partly cloudy and temperatures between 35 and 25 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 37 degrees. We hit a record high of 60 back in 1921. I actually need to to think about what kind of cookies to bake or buy. Saw a good recipe for sugar cookies, I might try to implement using whole wheat flour and stevia, and maybe bananas or honey rather then sugar, though I’m not crazy about how much butter it uses, though butter is kind of necessary to provide shortening to break the gluten bonds and give that wonderful cookie taste. Maybe work in some oatmeal into recipe, for soluble fiber. Or just get some cookies at the grocery store, and the cookies they don’t eat leave for other people.

To ride the Erie Canalway in Madison County today 🚲

For many the extra hours is a chance to sleep in but I look at it as another hour to ride and explore the Erie Canalway today.

Good morning! Happy Sunday. Cloudy and 44 degrees at the Stoney Pond State Forest. ☔ Calm wind. Nice morning now that the rain showers have pulled away.

Started my morning with frying 🍳 onions, spinach, garlic and peppers. And making eggs, dumping cinnamon rather than chipotle on them but actually I kind of liked the warm note the cinnamon gave to the eggs 🥚. Experimenting isn’t a bad thing even if it’s driven by your half awake body. Coffee ☕ is good, with the intended cinnamon and ginger in it, lol 😂.

Bit cooler this morning then last night with the breeze picking up 🌬️ after that little clipper front came through delivering rain showers early on keeping me mostly in the truck bed 🛏 until closer to six though around five I got up and visited the bucket shitter 🚽. Eating breakfast this morning I watched a gray squirrel 🐿️ run up the tree across the way and wonder why I wasn’t sitting next to my 22. Probably shouldn’t be shooting in a campground at any rate, especially as there are people camping down the way by the lake, but we used to shoot up here back in the day with the boys when I was working down in Nelson. Those were the days. 🔫 I was surprised that others are camping but they’re a ½ mile away and out of ear shot. 👂 Except maybe from a gun.

Today will have a chance of showers, mainly before 8am. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny 🌥 👉 🌞, with a high of 46 degrees at 1pm. Eight degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around November 23rd. Light west wind becoming northwest 5 to 9 mph in the morning. Chantce of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies. The high last year was 76 degrees. The record high of 75 was set in 1994. 3.0 inches of snow fell back in 1894.❄

Heading down to Chittenango to explore the Chittenango Landing Musuem, 🚣 and ride the Erie Canalway west to Green Lakes area and then go west to Canastota. I was originally going to park in Canastota as I thought it was closer but I think I’d rather explore the other part of the trail as it seems more interesting. 🚲 The Oneida – Canastota section pretty much just runs along the road that I’ve driven a million times when I was working up this way.

I could stop at the Aldi’s in Canastota this afternoon but I think I’m fairly set on overpriced groceries after visiting the Richmond Springs Price Chopper. 💵 It actually wasn’t that bad but I skipped getting peppers and broccoli 🥦 there as they were absurdly expensive. I skipped getting gas in Sharon Springs for $3.54 a gallon and was raked over the coals for gas at $3.79 in Richfield Springs ⛽ but I wasn’t messing around this time as I almost ran out of gas driving down to Binghamton two weeks ago. ⛽ Figured better just get r dun. It’s stupid to stress over $4 when your putting $80 in your truck. I got black sweet grapes 🍇 at Price Chopper hoping to capture some of that sweet flavor of the concord grapes I got last week at Annuto’s. Lol. 😂 Nope, maybe 20%, of the sweetness. Tomorrow I’ll probably check out the fancy Caz Aldi’s though.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 11:47 am with sun having an altitude of 31.5° from the due south horizon (-39° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 9.8 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 4:11 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (242°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (249°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 4:52 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 7 seconds with dusk around 5:20 pm, which is one minute and 13 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 5:55 pm. Time change gets you! At sunset, look for partly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 42 degrees. There will be a northwest breeze at 9 mph. Tomorrow will have 10 hours and 9 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 28 seconds over today.

Night is going to come quickly that’s why I am getting an early start 🌅 and have gathered firewood up for later. 🪵🪓 This way it will have time to dry ☀ and I fully expect tonight I’ll be rolling back to camp about sunset 🌇 after riding the bulk of the day. Should be more sun later plus I get an extra hour with the time change. Need to shave, change and load my bike up but for now it’s nice by the heater. ♨

Tonight will be mostly cloudy 🌃, with a low of 33 degrees at 6am. Two degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around November 10th. Northwest wind around 6 mph becoming calm. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It became somewhat humid as the night progressed. It got down to 67 degrees. Very mild night for November last year. I think I was in West Virginia then. The record low of 15 occurred back in 1951.

Yesterday was a fun day, 🚵 especially riding back down Tassel Hill once I found the trail. Some of those drops on the single track trail with the hairpin switchbacks were a blast on the mountain bike. Nothing technical or jumps just a lot of fun. That said parts of the lower trail weren’t well marked leading me to have to stop 🛑 and sear he for the trail a few times. 🔎 🗺

Then I rode along the old Chenango Canal Towpath trail 🚲 to the northern end or at least as far as I could go before downed trees blocked the northern end a bit past the substation. The northern end isn’t that impressive, 🐸 it’s a ditch and a towpath along the County Highway known as Canal Road. Kind of rough and slow going on the grass, took the county highway back. I then rode down to Woodman Pond 🦆 where there was a ton of geese. Nice section of the trail there though they resurfaced the old towpath there with fairly course gravel which made for more difficult riding.

Got to Stoney Pond by around 4:15 pm and I was disappointed to arrive to the campsite I like ⛺ and find a construction bag full of garbage and more garbage dumped in the woods. 🌲🌳🗑️ Got the mess picked upand seperated out the deposit cans, ♻ and gathered firewood 🪵🪓 for the night. 🔥 It was a beautiful night but dark, came so quickly by though. Very mild in the low fifties with a calm wind. This morning is cooler. Really wasn’t much garbage left by the time that rip roaring fire was done, the scraps of aluminum and cans I’ll take home crushed and recycle ♻.

One month 📅 from now will be Repeal of Prohibition Day 🍺 when the sun will be setting at 4:30 pm with dusk at 5:00 pm. I don’t drink the way I used to due to health reasons but an occasional drink isn’t a bad thing, especially a real high quality brew.

Andy Arthur.org

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