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February 28, 2023 Morning

Good morning! It’s the dire winter emergency according to the morning news. I mean there is some snow and ice on the secondary roads but the sidewalks are clear and I’m out for my morning walk on this Tuesday. 🚶

Overcast and 27 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☁️There is a east-southeast breeze at 10 mph. 🍃. There is maybe 4 inches of snow on the ground. ☃ ️Things will start to thaw out at around 1 pm. 🌡️

So I was worried about the snow interfering with my morning walk 👣 but it stopped early and the sidewalks and roads are pretty much clear locally. Maybe it’s the valley snow shadow they were talking about. Truth is it’s a pretty nice morning, not real cold. But then again the average high for this time of year is 40. Depending on how much more snow we get later and how warm it gets today I could see wet sidewalks by evening and bare by tomorrow morning.

Maybe the express bus 🚍 from Voorheesville will be a bit late 🚏but I will get ready and watch it on the map 🗺 from inside and head out when it gets to Slingerlands. I live in the city, what do I care?

Today will snow, mainly before 4pm. 🌨 High of 33 degrees at 2pm. Six degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around February 8th. East wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light and variable in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 90%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning, which became mostly sunny by afternoon. The high last year was 41 degrees. The record high of 63 was set in 1903. 9.7 inches of snow fell back in 1948.❄

I had a slice of the corn bread I made up Sunday and some coffee ☕. Iron my shirt 👚 and shower 🚿 and head off to work. 🏢 And do the usual game. Yesterday I made hash browns in the oven from the farmers market potatoes 🥔 with an egg 🥚, some corn 🌽 and cheese 🧀.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:09 pm with sun having an altitude of 39.4° from the due south horizon (-31.5° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 7.3 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 5:06 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (254°). 📸

The sunset is in the west (260°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 5:44 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 57 seconds with dusk around 6:11 pm, which is one minute and 14 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Gibbous 🌔 Moon in the southeast (136°) at an altitude of 70° from the horizon, 248,911 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 6:45 pm. At sunset, look for snow 🌨 and temperatures around 33 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Tomorrow will have 11 hours and 16 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 51 seconds over today.

Tonight will have a slight chance of snow before 8pm. Mostly cloudy 🌨, with a low of 20 degrees at 6am. Two degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around February 25th. South wind 5 to 10 mph becoming northwest in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 20%. In 2022, we had light rain in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 17 degrees. The record low of -09 occurred back in 1948.

Not a particularly nice weekend on tap. 😞 Saturday, snow likely before 1pm, then a chance of rain showers. Cloudy, with a high near 39. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Sunday, mostly cloudy, with a high near 37. Typical average high for the zzzweekend is 41 degrees.

As previously noted, there are 3 weeks until First Day of Spring 💮 when the sun will be setting at 7:09 pm with dusk at 7:36 pm (Daylight Savings Time). On that day in 2022, we had sunny and temperatures between 63 and 25 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 47 degrees. We hit a record high of 78 back in 1921.

High noon

January 3, 2023 Night

Good evening! Rain showers and 41 degrees on my evening walk in Delmar. ☔ Calm wind. Temperatures will drop below freezing at Saturday around 4 am. ☃️ It’s January the fun must end some day, it’s January even as our planet warms.

I didn’t think my evening walk would happen but it did. 🥾 Rain stopped for a while this evening. Breaking in my new boots which are quite a improvement over what was wearing but they still need some more breaking in to be comfortable. Tomorrow is a swanky dressing day at work so I won’t be wearing my work boots to work. Yeah, I’m white collared despite the kind of YouTube I like to watch with tractors and shit. 🥽

Tonight will rain, mainly before midnight, then a chance of showers after midnight. Patchy fog after 9pm. 🌧 Low of 40 degrees at 9pm. 21 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 20th. Light northwest wind. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. In 2022, we had light snow in the evening, which became cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 10 degrees. The record low of -15 occurred back in 1904.

Facebook has decided that I want to buy a farm tractor 🚜 and been showing me what is available locally. They’re more affordable than you’d think if your looking at the compact to mid-size and not the big monster tractors many of the dairies use. But the hell of it is that I don’t even own any dirt or livestock yet. But like looking at land it’s just for fun. Not this year. Maybe though it’s part of Mission Fifty I’m working on.

Tonight will have a Waxing Gibbous 🌔 Moon with 92% illuminated. At 8 PM, the moon was in the east-southeast (122°) at an altitude of 62° from the horizon, some 247,131 miles away from where you are looking up from the earth. 🚀 At the state speed limit of 55 mph, you’ll make it there by July 10th. Buckle up for safety! 💺 The Wolf 🐺 Moon is on Friday, January 6. The darkest hour is at 12:00 am, followed by dawn at 6:54 am, and sun starting to rise at 7:26 am in the east-southeast (121°) and last for 3 minutes and 23 seconds. Sunrise is one second later than yesterday. 🌄 The golden hour ends at 8:12 am with sun in the southeast (129°). Tonight will have 14 hours and 47 minutes of darkness, a decrease of 55 seconds over last night.

Been giving a lot of thought 💭 to what I’m calling my Mission Fifty Plan. I decided that I was dissatisfied with 2022, I’m living my life too much like a 25 year old and I really need to change. 👴🏻 I need to figure out in more detail what I want my life to look like in ten years when I’m fifty, and build more concrete goals beyond save a lot of money so someday I can own my own land 🚜.

It really needs to be a number 🔢 driven plan, and it shouldn’t be the same thing I’ve been doing all along. I’m making progress on my goals 🥅 although I’m not sure I fully understand what my goals are. 🧮 At the same time I don’t want to back slide on all the progress I’ve gotten done so far.

Tomorrow will rain likely, mainly after 5pm. Cloudy 🌧, with a high of 41 degrees at 6am. Seven degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 3rd. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning, which became light snow by afternoon. The high last year was 29 degrees. The record high of 64 was set in 1950. 8.8 inches of snow fell back in 2003.❄

I think I will be able to walk 🚶 in the morning. Which is nice. Will be dark again though but I will be once again able to get in my steps. 👣 I will be dressing up 👨🏻‍💼 so I will be taking the local bus 🚍 in so that gives me a little more time in the morning which is nice.

In four weeks on January 31 the sun will be setting in the west-southwest (247°) at 5:08 pm,🌄 which is 32 minutes and 46 seconds later then tonight. In 2021 on that day, we had cold, partly sunny and temperatures between 17 and 7 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 33 and 15 degrees. The record high of 58 degrees was set back in 1913.

Looking ahead Valentines Day ❤️ is in 6 weeks, Average High is 40 ☀️ is in 8 weeks, First Day of Spring 💮 is in 11 weeks, Average High is 50 🌸 is in 12 weeks, Primary Day 🗳️ is in 24 weeks, Independence Day 🇺🇸 is in 26 weeks, World Population Day 👩‍👩‍👧‍👧 is in 27 weeks, August 🌻 is in 30 weeks, Campfire Day 🔥 is in 7 months, Halloween 🎃 is in 43 weeks, Average High is 50 🍂 is in 45 weeks, Election Day 🗳️ is in 45 weeks, Repeal of Prohibition Day 🍺 is in 48 weeks and Boxing Day 🥊 is in 51 weeks.

Hyde Hall Road

This past year I spent 37 nights camping in the wilderness 🏕

This past year I spent 37 nights camping in the wilderness 🏕

Places I Camped in 2021

While this was less then the 63 nights I did in 2020, with remote work winding down and more in-person meetings and events happening in Albany, I ended up not getting out as much as I did the previous year. Still 37 nights camping is still a lot of time in wilderness.

It was a lot rainier then some summers, so that also made it harder to get out of town for long weekends. When I did go camping, and I wasn’t remote working, I tried to make it a priority to find more-remote areas without cell service, so I could get solitude without the constant buzz of the phone. Plus I tended to stay in one campsite for two or three days, to avoid the hassles of taking down and setting up camp.

Saturday/Sunday April 24-25: Two Nights on East Branch

I started out my travels in late April on the East Branch Sacandaga River along NY 8, near Fox Lair. On Saturday, before arriving to camp, I hiked along Hope Falls Road and back to lower and upper Tenant Creek Falls. Sunday, I hiked around Fox Lair, sat down by the river for a while, did some fishing. Had a big ol’ fire. It was cold but also kind of spring-like.

Sunday was kind of cloudy but not to wet

Monday April 26: One Night on Sacandaga River/Speculator Tree Farm

Monday I drove up to Speculator to do remote work at the library and the town park/beach with my laptop. I set up camp at Campsite 17 and in the evening after work, I hiked along Old NY Route 8B, spending some time along Austin Falls and heading back to camp before it got too dark. Tuesday I worked up in Speculator, before heading home. Things were still very brown and gray in the Adirondacks, although I ended up stopping along the Mohawk River in Rotterdam and hiking on the bike trail before dark, and it was much greener down there.

Thursday to Saturday May 13-15: Three Nights on Sacandaga River/Speculator Tree Farm

Thursday morning I got up early and drove up to Speculator before 9 AM to work remotely. I worked until lunch time in Spectulator when I drove down to Campsite 17 and set up camp and worked from there. Worked all day on Friday from camp, mostly sending emails from the hammock although I also edited a report I was working on with my laptop at the table, and grabbed some files a colleague needed off the server over the VPN. Knocked over the lantern, smashing the glass and breaking the the neck on it. On Saturday I hiked back along Robb Mill Road and some of the side trails in the Conservation Easement. Sunday, I drove up to Watch Hill on Indian Lake, hiked that, while there was a constant threat of thunderstorms, so I did it fairly quickly.

Sacandaga River below Austin Falls

Sunday May 16: One Night Camping Near Mason Lake

After hiking Watch Hill I ended up camping at Mason Lake. I also spent some time walking around the Indian Lake/Lewey Campground, just seeing what was there I was hoping being a Sunday I could get a campsite near Mason Lakke, but no such luck. Ended up camping at Campsite 5, a ways from the lake, although in the evening I did walk down to the lake. I did have cell service where I was camping, but it was spotty, so come Monday morning, I headed back to Speculator for work. The black flies were bad camping there, until well after dark I spent most of the afternoon hiding under the screen tent. In the morning, once the sun was up and the tent was down, I was booking out there because the black flies were intense.

Thursday, Friday, Saturday June 17-19: Three nights Camping at House Pond Campsite

Junteenth Weekend, a new state holiday. Piseco-Powley Road was rebuilt, and I spent a lot of time down at the swimming hole there. I was working remote on Thursday, but I left home after work and drove north before dusk. Spent a lot of time cooling off in East Branch by the campsite, laying in the hammock and relaxing. Saturday I spent kayaking at Lily Lake, but none of the lilies were out. Sunday I spent the balance of the day the potholers.

Reading ?

Friday, Saturday, Sunday July 8-10: Three nights camping on Hope Falls Road

After quite a run of rainy weather, we had part of weekend that wasn’t super wet. Also, many weeks in the summer, I preferred to just stay close to home, and catch the Nature Bus and spend Saturdays exploring Thacher Park for free. Friday was a personal day – I had a eye doctors appointment. Then I went north and set up camp at Hope Falls Road. Saturday, I hiked back to Ferris Lake and Tenant Creek Falls. Sunday, partially in the rain, I hiked back to both lower and upper Tenant Creek Falls. Sunday evening back at camp, it absolutely poured. I was originally planning to work remote on Monday and maybe Tuesday in Speculator but the weather was so wet, I decided against that.

Friday July 23: Overnight at Cherry Ridge

Heading out to the Finger Lakes, I overnighted at Cherry Ridge at Charles Baker State Forest in Madison County. It was a stop over after leaving home after work. Noticed how much sway there was in front end of the truck, and the tires were getting loud as they were warn and cupped, grew concerned that I might have issues later on. Eventually in December I replaced the tires, the worn rear shock bushing. and bad sway links. I was dealing with some real anxiety issues at that point. But I had a little fire, then retired early to bed and then took camp down early in the morning and headed west to Montezuma Wildlife Refuge and the state Audubon Preserve.

Saturday July 24: One night Tent Camping Along Backbone Horse Trail at Finger Lakes National Forest

I knew arriving at the Finger Lakes National Forest on a Saturday would mean many campsites would be taken, including the site I wanted. I ended up tent camping at one of the primitive sites off Potomac Road. It was a one night deal as I prefer camping in the truck shell and I saw the people in the campsite I wanted leave, so I quickly grabbed that campsite in the morning. Ended up breaking one of the elastic straps in one of the tent poles, I still need to repair it.

Sunday-Saturday July 25-31: Six Nights Truck Cap Camping Along Backbone Horse Trail at Finger Lakes National Forest

My summer vacation was the Finger Lakes National Forest. I decided to stick close to camp for much summer vacation, not rushing too much from place to place, spending a lot of afternoons at the Watkins Glen Pool, doing some paddling in Seneca Lake and Cayuta Lake, hiking in Texas Hollow and Sugar Hill State Forests. Did a lot of reading and laying back in the hammock. The campsite I stayed at didn’t have cell service, so it gave me a much needed to respite from the internet for a few days. Had some nice fires, drank some beer, and got away from it all.

Summer Vacation Seems So Distant Now

Thursday, Friday, Saturday August 12-15: Three nights at House Pond Campsite with Clams and Sweet Corn

After summer vacation, I decided to take a long weekend — four days — up to Potholers, namely the House Pond campsite with lots of sweet corn, clams and beer. I can still taste the clams and beer, and I had plenty of them to eat over the weekend — they were breakfast, lunch and diner. But it was nice laying back in the hammock and swimming in the swimming hole by that campsite. I also hiked along old Edick Road and to Edick Road Campsite 1, which is way off from the main road, and then down to the ledge. Hiked back to House Pond, which was difficult as there was a lot of blow down from a storm earlier in the summer. Spent much of Sunday at the Potholers and then watched the sun set from the Kane Mountain Firetower. Didn’t bring the kayak this time.

Friday, Saturday, Sunday August 26-28: Three nights (again) at House Pond Campsite

With another warm week ahead, I decided to take off Friday and Monday off for one more week up at House Pond. This time I spent more time at Potholers, walking up there each afternoon, besides spending a lot of time at the swimming hole near this campsite. Did some fishing up House Pond, and a lot of drinking and reading from the hammock. Read yet another book about writing code in Python and Kristen Kimbell’s Dirty Life about farm life. I bought a large truck intertube for floating, but once I got to camp and started to setting up I realized I didn’t have an air pump with me, so I couldn’t use it while camping.

East Canada Creek Below Edick Road Ledge

Friday, Saturday, Sunday September 3-5: Three nights at Hardwood Hill at Perkins Clearing

Friday, September 3rd was the final day of remote work – Labor Day Weekend. I got up early, drove to Speculator before 9 AM. I started working from Speculator Library but with my phone having hotspot service and cell service, mid-day I drove up to Hardwood Hill. This time I made sure to inflate my intertube before heading up north, and I spent Saturday evening until well after dusk floating in the Jessup River off of Jessup River. Then I drove to Sled Harbor after dark, hoping to catch a glimpse the illuminated Wakely Hill Firetower, but I could not see it as it I couldn’t find the good views of the tower from the road after dark.

Saturday September 11: One night at Betty Brook

Decided to do a weekend trip out to Schoharie County to hike the Catskill Scenic Trail south of Grand Gorge through the deep notch where NY 30 runs. Hiked down to Hubbell’s Corners from Grand Gorge then went for a very cold swim at Mine Kill State Park. Mine Kill pool was open late this year due to opening late at the beginning of summer. Water temperature was 58 degrees. Sunday I also went for a quick swim at Mine Kill Pool again. Still very cold.

Into the Notch

Saturday September 18: One Night at House Pond

On September 18th, I drove up to Piseco-Powley Road to camp for three nights, four days. Spent one night at the House Pond Campsite, which I set up in the pouring rain, and spent time floating in the my new rubber intertube. It was a nice day once he rain stopped but the water was very cold. But it was nice laying back in the hammock that evening, although prior to dusk there was a lot of deer flies around and biting.

Sunday/Monday September 19 & 20: Two Nights at Powley Place

On Sunday afternoon I drove further up Piseco-Powley Road to Powley Place to do some camping and paddling on the East Canada Creek. Monday I hiked back to Goldstream Falls then carried my kayak down to the East Canada Creek and paddled down to the first rapids, portaged past that to the second main rapids. The beaver dams were relatively low this time, due to water levels being higher then other times when I’ve paddled the East Canada Creek. Laid back in the hammock, did some reading and looking out over the campsite on these mild, starry nights. Also did some floating down the East Canada Creek

Friday, Saturday, Sunday October 8-10: Three nights camping at Betty Brook

I took off the Friday before Columbus Day Weekend to hike Bear Pen Mountain in the Western Catskills. It was the start to a very colorful weekend. Betty Brook was nice, but it was good I got there relatively early — around 4 PM on Friday as the other campsites were quickly taken. On Saturday, I drove down to Stamford and hiked more of the Catskill Scenic Trail from Stamford for Bloomville then visited a friend in Summit. Sunday I hiked along Betty Brook Road to the snowmobile trail up Burnt Hill, then hiked over the dirt roads on Burnt and Rossman Hills, enjoying the leaves and wildlife. Hiked back  to camp and laid back into the hammock well into the evening, which was quite mild. Sunday I hiked from Grand Gorge to Stamford on the Catskill Scenic Trail.

Saturday, November 6: Camping at County Bridge Campground Pennsylvania

Originally I was planning to get new tires put on my truck prior to going to West Virginia,  trip that was postponed multiple times. Ultimately I decided it wouldn’t be a bad idea to just wear out the tires and go for the trip. I hadn’t decided on where I was going to go until I was on the road, and ended up going to Binghamton, then down to Pennsylvania for my first night camping. It was a cold first night — got down to 14 degrees.

Sunday/Monday November 7-8: Camp Run West Virginia

The first two nights I spent at Camp Run Primitive Campground at Miles, West Virginia which is located in a wash on the backside of Shenandoah Mountain. On Monday of that week I hiked up over Shenandoah Mountain, and watched the sun rise over Camp Run Lake. Tuesday morning I drove over through Judy Gap then up Spruce Mountain and hiked up that. In the afternoon I hiked up Seneca Rocks, something that had long been on my bucket list to do.

Quiet Walk Along Camp Run Road

Tuesday, November 9: Camping at Canaan Heights

On Tuesday night I camped up in Canaan Heights / Table Rock outside of Thomas WV. I was going to stay multiple days but hearing a lot of wheel bearing noise in my truck, I decided it best to head north on Wednesday and see if I could either make it home or get the truck fixed. The wheel bearing burned up by the time I got up to Lock Haven but was able to get it fixed that day and head north to County Bridge.

Wednesday, November 10: Camping at County Bridge Pennsylvania

The second time camping at County Bridge it wasn’t as cold.  I had a fire and retired to bed fairly early. But come the morning, neither the camp stove or the heater was working. I thought I might have have run out of propane. Then packed up in the morning on Veterans Day and headed north to Chenango Forks State Park, which I wanted to explore. I then stopped at Price Chopper, got some groceries and headed up to Long Pond State Forest for two kind of cold and chilly, damp nights.

Thursday/Friday, November 11-12: Camping at Long Pond State Forest

After spending the balance of Veterans Day, Thursday at Chenango Forks State Park, I camped for two nights at Long Pond State Forest. I was still having problems with my camp stove and heater, so it was kind of cold but I was able to find enough firewood to make do, and had some quiet evenings listening to the radio and just hanging out. Friday was pretty rainy, but I made due — beat having going back home. The fires were smokey but they were warm enough. And it beat being home.

Dusk in November

Monday/Tuesday December 20-21: Camping at Stoney Pond State Forest

I thought about getting out of town after Thanksgiving but the weather did not cooperate. Then my truck’s repairs and tires got dragged out to mid-December. I decided to take he week off before Christmas to go camping. I was thinking about Central New York and then the Finger Lakes, but ultimately made it no farther then the Finger Lakes. Saturday was pouring rain, and then Sunday was bitterly cold. And my camp heater and stove were malfunctioning. But ultimately I was able to get it working, after much fiddling at camp. I camped two nights at Stoney Pond, spending Tuesday poking around Cazenovia. Tuesday was very gray, and Wednesday was snowy. Wednesday I drove to Hamilton and hiked part of the Chenango Canal Trail.

Wednesday, December 22: Camping at Moscow Hill Assembly Area

My final night camping in 2021 was the Moscow Hill Assembly Area at the Charles Baker State Forest. I decided to camp there as it was more sheltered from the wind and snow, and in case we got more snow, I figured I wouldn’t have to worry about the snow, as the county highway isn’t that far away. They were expecting high winds and low windchills, but it turned out not to be too bad. I thought about staying another night on Thursday, but the weather for Thursday looked sunny, and wanted to do some hiking, plus I wanted to be home for Christmas Eve for a family Christmas Party.

June 20, 2021 Evening

Good evening! Partly clear and 82 degrees in Delmar, NY. There is a south breeze at 8 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 62 degrees. Back home again, as John Denver once sung. 🎶 Remarkably hot, especially now that I am back home after having a nice Sunday dinner at the folks house. 👕 Slowly unpacking my gear from camping, taking steps to drink and cool down.

Well, happy summer folks. ☺ The next ten weeks through Labor Day Weekend are considered real summer when the state parks pools are open and the days are relatively long. 🏖 Nice hot summer days to spend at the pool or swimming hole. 🏊🏻‍♂️ Do some fishing 🎣 late into the night.

It was a beautiful trip back across the Mohawk Valley and through the Schoharie Valley. Everything was very green and lush.  It was a nice weekend up north, although Friday night was very wet. ☔ It drizzled for a while and then when I went for a good walk up to the Potholers it poured and I got completely soaked. 💦 It was decent all three days up north although I have to say that today was the best of the week. That said, much too short. 🐇 Time flies, especially when it’s rare that I am not out of town for four or more nights, in the era of remote work. But I decided I should come home tonight, because I need to at minimum move to a new campsite.

It was three nights up in the wilderness, 🏕 camping up at House Pond, spending much of Friday during the day drinking, 🍺 reading, 📕 writing, ✍ and hanging down at the Swimming Hole by the House Pond Campsite. 🏊‍♀️ It was nice but the water was a bit cold to say the least. 🛶 Saturday, was kayaking from Stewart Landing up to Lily Lake. I didn’t go much into West Lake because I wanted to be close to back to Stewart Landing by 2 pm as they were threatening severe storms by afternoon, which never materialized. Instead, I spent the evening reading, and then down at the same swimming hole on the East Canada Creek. 🏊‍♀️ Most of Sunday was spent slowly taking down camp after a nice breakfast 🥞 then the majority of the day the Potholers. I forgot how much nicer the Potholers are with the flowing water and potholes compared to any ordinary swimming hole on a nice summer day. It’s good to be back there!

Tonight will be mostly cloudy 🌥, with a low of 69 degrees at 5am. 10 degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 66 at 3am. South wind around 8 mph. Probably need the fan on all evening. In 2020, we had mostly clear skies. It was somewhat humid. It got down to 69 degrees. The record low of 41 occurred back in 1970.

I thought about staying over the folks house, 👪 but I was tired and wanted to get home. It has been a nice weekend, but alas I should get ready for the work week and get my camping gear put away. I also want to get the volt meter out before dark, and try to figure out why the relay isn’t closing between the starting and accessory batteries when the engine is on or the solar is outputting enough to top off both batteries. 🔋 That was annoying that wasn’t working this weekend.

Tonight will have a Waxing Gibbous 🌔 Moon with 81% illuminated. At 7 PM, the moon was in the southeast (139°) at an altitude of 26° from the horizon, some 226,818 miles away from where you are looking up from the earth. 🚀 At the state speed limit of 55 mph, you’ll make it there by December 9th. Buckle up for safety! 💺 The Strawberry 🍓 Moon is on Thursday, June 24. The darkest hour is at 12:58 am, followed by dawn at 4:43 am, and sun starting to rise at 5:18 am in the east-northeast (57°) and last for 3 minutes and 28 seconds. Sunrise is 11 seconds later than yesterday. 🌄 The golden hour ends at 6:01 am with sun in the east-northeast (64°). Tonight will have 8 hours and 41 minutes of darkness, a decrease of 2 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 4pm. Some of the storms could produce small hail, gusty winds, and heavy rain. Mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 89 degrees at 3pm. Eight degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 71 at 11am. South wind 10 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 29 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. It was somewhat humid. The high last year was 92 degrees. The record high of 97 was set in 1938.

Friday turned out to be a very late start heading north. 🚍 I decided not to drive downtown as I’m out of practice with parallel parking and I hate dealing with rush hour traffic. 🚙 So I took the bus home and packed the coolers but ended up having to run to the grocery store to get all the things I didn’t previously pack. But at least the nights are long, and I had plenty of time to get set up, gather some firewood 🔥 and get things going.

The relay that connects the alternator – starting battery 🔋 to the accessory batteries quit working on the way up to camp. Not sure if it’s the exciter wire that broke or the relay is seized. It was fine, I had lots of sun ☀ for the solar so all was good. I stopped on Friday to try to get figure out the issue but nothing obvious. I’ll test this evening or tomorrow with the volt meter. ⚡ It’s possible that the big old can relay failed from the occasional clatter of the relay when clouds appear on a sunny day, although I think I have mostly arrested that by adjusting settings on the voltage control. I am betting the wire is just broken.

In four weeks on July 18 the sun will be setting in the west-northwest (300°) at 8:29 pm,🌄 which is 7 minutes and 24 seconds earlier then today. In 2020 on that day, we had hot and sunny weather with shallow fog in the morning and temperatures between 87 and 59 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 84 and 63 degrees. The record high of 100 degrees was set back in 1953.

By then, I hope to be on my summer vacation. 😎 I am thinking the Finger Lakes National Forest and the state parks circuit I normally do, finding new places to hike or explore. I kind of like that campsite I stayed at last year without cell service, because I find do a lot more reading and thinking if I’m camping somewhere without cell service, 🤫 the quiet with no Facebook quite nice. 📱 I admit I am a bit of social media addict, even if my own postings to social media are a bit more asinine as I hate all the creepy commercial advertising that follows you around the internet, especially the green schemes.

Looking ahead, Independence Day 🇺🇸 is Next Sunday, World Population Day 👩‍👩‍👧‍👧 is in 3 weeks, Ugly Truck Day 🚚 is a month away, August 🌻 is in 6 weeks, Buck Moon 🌕 is in 9 weeks, Halloween 🎃 is in 19 weeks, Average High is 50 🍂 is in 21 weeks, Regular Deer Season in Southern Zone 🦌 is in 5 months, Repeal of Prohibition Day 🍺 is in 24 weeks, Cold Moon 🌕 is in 26 weeks and Boxing Day 🥊 is in 27 weeks.

Yesterday On Lake Pleasant

June 1, 2021 Morning

Good morning! Suddenly it’s June 🐮 ! Dairy month with all those cows eating delicious first cut hay and corn silage popping up out of ground, 🌱 Gay Pride month so hang your flag, 🏳️‍🌈 and Black Lives Matter month. ✊🏾 Next Tuesday is 8:30 PM Sunset. 🌇 Mostly cloudy and 59 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☁ Calm wind. A bit gray this morning, but it’s expected skies will clear around noontime.

I can’t believe that the we are starting out this morning so cloudy ☁️, but I’m hopeful that we will see more sun ☀ later. At least it’s a nice enough of a morning for the walk 🚶🏻. My laptop is fully charged so I can work out back later on when it’s gets nicer. Might as well work outside today as tomorrow and Thursday it’s back in the office 🏢. I don’t mind but I like the sunshine when I can get it.

Today will be partly sunny 🌞, with a high of 76 degrees at 3pm. Typical for today. Maximum dew point of 49 at 11am. Calm wind becoming southwest around 6 mph in the afternoon. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning with more sun in the afternoon. The high last year was 68 degrees. The record high of 94 was set in 1918.

Today I will work from home after my morning walk. I need to get groceries, 👜 contact solution, 👀 and some other supplies at lunch time so I want to head to Walmart today. I probably should get groceries for the weekend, although maybe I can get out on Thursday night after work. I will probably start packing for the weekend, 💼 as I might have to work late on Thursday night or end up over in the archives continuing to sort, pack and dry John Wolcott’s files. 📂 I plan to leave early Friday morning at this point to work remote from Lake Pleasant and camp up that way over the weekend. 🏖 Going to be a hot weekend and even hotter next week. While I could probably work remote on next Tuesday, I probably will come back Monday night after work so I have time to prepare for next week in office and Wednesday and Thursday and work from home on the following Tuesday.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:54 pm with sun having an altitude of 69.5° from the due south horizon (-1.3° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.2 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:45 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (295°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (302°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:27 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 23 seconds with dusk around 9:00 pm, which is 47 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:45 pm. At sunset, look for mostly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 66 degrees. The dew point will be 51 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Today will have 15 hours and 6 minutes of daytime, an increase of one minute and 16 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be partly cloudy 🌤, with a low of 50 degrees at 4am. Four degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around May 23rd. Light southwest wind. In 2020, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became light rain by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 45 degrees. The record low of 39 occurred back in 1971.

Today I expect my Bluetooth speaker 🔊 to arrive in the mail ✉. The old one I’ve had for six years now stopped charging 🔋 and the battery life wasn’t great. I thought about trying to take it apart for parts or repair 🛠 but opening the waterproof case will be a rather destructive process I fear and the result wouldn’t be great in a wet and muddy camp environment. I kind of think it would be fun to shoot 🔫 it and then burn it but that rubber would stink to high heaven and I couldn’t salvage parts. I hope I got a good quality model, I researched it over a couple of days but I don’t know. Always hard to know which on line reviews are legit. As long as it’s loud enough to be heard over woods and road noise and the battery life is reasonable I’m good.

Going to be a nice, hot summer weekend. 🏊 Saturday, a chance of showers after 2pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 86. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Maximum dew point of 64 at 7pm. Sunday, mostly sunny, with a high near 89. Maximum dew point of 66 at 7pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 77 degrees. Yeah, that’s going to be a toasty one especially back in Albany. With that heat I’ll definitely want the screen tent not just to keep cool but control the bugs. Thinking of doing some swimming in Speculator and maybe some fishing. 🎣 I thought about going to the Green Mountains but I like being closer to WI-FI should something come up, and I prefer to do my Friday meeting using the laptop rather then the phone, especially when I’m away from home with the virtual background.

As previously noted, next Tuesday is 8:30 PM Sunset 🌇 when the sun will be setting at 8:31 pm with dusk at 9:06 pm. On that day in 2020, we had mostly sunny and temperatures between 81 and 49 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 77 degrees. We hit a record high of 93 back in 2011. It is quite possible we break that record this year, it seems like the dog days of summer will be coming early this year.

Bourne And Grout Pond

August 12, 2020 Evening

Good evening! Mostly clear and 73 degrees at the Finger Lakes National Forest. There is a north breeze at 6 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 53 degrees. A very nice evening, might even want a long sleeved shirt 👚 by morning. No fan tonight for me in the truck cap. ☢️

I did everything that I planned today without feeling rushed. 😊 I too often feel like I am running 🏃 from park to park 🏞 on vacation and not taking time to relax. But this year with the pandemic smoldering in the background and an otherwise busy season with work I’ve been taking it slow and doing a lot of reading 📖 and relaxing 🛏 while still enjoying the Finger Lakes. I’ve limited the number of parks I plan to visit and are staying at the same campsite ⛺ with no cell service 🔕 all eight nights to avoid set up and take down. After vacation, work is going to be non-stop as a supervisor, and I’ll be on call 📞 virtually all the time through November.

Caywood Point was interesting to explore on Seneca Lake. 🛥 I bet it’s fun to camp dorm there on a very starry night. 🌃 Some folks had tents pitched right on the shoreline – I guess you don’t have to worry about the tide on a Finger Lake. Seemed like an interesting group of people who hang out there. I should think about going back there and do some fishing 🎣 off the dock or go for a swim 🏊🏻‍♂️ there.

I hiked part of the Catherine Valley Rail Trail 🚂 through the Catherine Marsh WMA aka Bad Indian Swamp. 🌿I am sure the later is disfavored as a name, with the preference today recalling Seneca Chief Catherine Montour, although to this day there are towns that recall the first and last name, so the natives are hardly forgotten. 🐸🦆🕊️🐌🐍🐢 And I doubt the old name was referring to a Bad Indian, just that it was a large, thick area that was marshy and filled with reeds and difficult to pass until the Barge Canal and later the railroad tracks and NY 14 on the east shore. 🌾The swamp is largely reeds, probably the best views from the rail trail are of the Barge Canal. At least from the trail it didn’t stink of sewage. 💩

Then I went for a quick swim 🏊🏻‍♂️ at Watkins Glen State Park. Nobody was manning the toll booth so I didn’t have to show my Empire Passport 🛂. But the pool was open and mostly empty and lead to a nice cool way to break up the evening and cool down.

I went to Tops and stocked up on some food. 🥩 I bought some boneless chicken which I realized at camp was actually pork chops. 🐖 I have nothing against pork, it was good with the rice I bought, stuck in a nice hamburger role, washed down and with some beer 🍻. I also stopped at Glen Dairy Bar and got a large dish of soft ice cream 🍧 dipped in peanut butter 🥜. That was good.

Then before dark I went kayaking 🛶 from the Watkins Glen boat launch. I was going to paddle up to Hector Point but on the way up there I was warned by another kayaker that the water was choppy once you got beyond the bend, and after paddling a few more minutes agreed it seems a bit rough and didn’t want to get caught on open water and ended up just paddling along the south end of the lake by Clute Park. 🎣 Had my fishing pole but the lake was so rough and the south end of the lake so shallow I decided it wasn’t worth it.

Got back to camp around eight, 🏕️ cooked up the pork chops 🥩 and rice 🍚 had dinner and started a fire 🔥 and laid back in the hammock. I forgot to buy coffee ☕ today, I’ll have to get some tomorrow. Ice is not holding up well in the heat 🌡️, I may need to get more at any rate tomorrow and can get coffee at the same time.

Tonight will be mostly clear 🌃, with a low of 59 degrees at 3am. Two degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around August 21st. Maximum dew point of 54 at 10pm. North wind 3 to 6 mph. In 2019, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became light rain by the early hours of the morning. It was sticky. It got down to 67 degrees. The record low of 43 occurred back in 1957.

Tonight will have a Last Quarter 🌗 Moon with 37% illuminated. The Strugeon 🐡 Moon is on Wednesday, August 26. The darkest hour is at 1:13 am, followed by dawn at 5:42 am, and sun starting to rise at 6:12 am in the east-northeast (69°) and last for 3 minutes and 5 seconds. Sunrise is one minute and 3 seconds later than yesterday. 🌄 The golden hour ends at 6:51 am with sun in the east-northeast (75°). Tonight will have 10 hours of darkness, an increase of 2 minutes and 28 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 82 degrees at 3pm. One degree above normal, which is similar to a typical day around August 9th. Maximum dew point of 57 at 5pm. Calm wind becoming northeast around 6 mph in the afternoon. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, which became cloudy by afternoon. It was somewhat humid. The high last year was 81 degrees. The record high of 98 was set in 1947.

While I’m not totally sure and left the kayak on my truck, I am thinking tomorrow would be a good day for hiking. 🚶🏽 I am thinking about the Dresden – Penn Yann rail trail as I’ve never explored that part of the Finger Lakes and that was recommended to me on Facebook. Apparently this trail follows the old railroad grade in the gorge along the Penn Yann outlet. 🏞 Sounds intreguing in my book but I should read up on it before making the trip in the morning.

I’ve been having a few problems uploading photos 📸 today, there was a glitch in my new phone uploader that I built but I think it’s working now. I still have to upload photos from kayaking 🛶 this evening on Seneca Lake but that will have to wait until tomorrow when I have better cell service 📶.

I was saddened to hear about the passing of Reszin Adams, 😔 who has been called the alpha activist of Albany. Not only did she bake lasagna for every Pine Bush Dinner for 35 plus years, she was involved in everything from protesting the Vietnam War to Aprahid in South Africa.

I don’t know where things stand with the documentary 📹 I was working with Cynthia Pooler on her – we cut some n roll at her birthday party 🎂 in February but when she pandemic hit everything kind of stopped except for video editing. I barely know how to use the camera but we did interview several people om Reszin. Definitely sad news for everybody in the Capital Region that cared about progress and change.

At least I got to know her a little bit more than Theresa Cooke, 👩🏼 the lady who confronted Erastus Corning and made a big difference in openness and change in the Albany County Democratic Machine.🐴 I had met Cooke at Pine Bush dinners in her late years but never knew the difference she made in the 1970s. She just struck me as some kind of activist but I never asked any questions until I learned about her history upon her death.

In four weeks on September 9 the sun will be setting in the west (277°) at 7:27 pm,🌄 which is 45 minutes and 25 seconds earlier then today. In 2019 on that day, we had mostly sunny, patches of fog and temperatures between 73 and 49 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 75 and 54 degrees. The record high of 94 degrees was set back in 1959.

Looking ahead, National Dog Day 🐩 is in 2 weeks, Corn Moon 🌕 is in 3 weeks, SORRY NO NOT NATIONAL CORN DOG DAY, Columbus Day 🛥️ is in 2 months, Average High is 55 🍂 is in 11 weeks, Day After Election Day 🛀 is in 12 weeks, Veterans Day 🇺🇸 is in 13 weeks, Earliest Sunset of the Year ⌛️ is in 17 weeks, Tea Party Day 🐍 is in 18 weeks, Festivus 🍖 is in 19 weeks, Bacon Day 🥓 is in 20 weeks, Make Your Dream Come True Day 🏡 is in 22 weeks, Inauguration Day ✅ is in 23 weeks, Clean Your Computer Day 🧹 is in 26 weeks and Presidents Day 👴 is in 27 weeks.

Clouds Hanging Low

June 25, 2020 Evening

Good evening! Heavy rain and 73 degrees at the Jones Pond. ☔ Glad I’m tired 😴 and decided to bail for the truck early. It’s wet! There is a west-southwest breeze at 9 mph. 🍃 with gusts up to 24 mph 💨💨💨. The dew point is 45 degrees. The skies will clear around 5 pm.

Just a rain storm 💦 but quite wet for now. I’m not sure if good because of all the weather warnings ⚠ of how dry it is. That said, this week has had a lot of showers and Saturday could be quite wet.

Today I stopped by Bog River Falls then spent some time at the Tupper Lake Library. 💻 Been a pretty quiet time at work but I’ve been working on coming up with polling regions for one of my clients. Spent a little time at Tupper Lake Park and then bought a few very expensive groceries at the independent in Tupper Lake.

I forgot to get gas and ended up driving 🚘 through Saranac Lake on the way up to camp. It probably was about the same amount of time as going through pokey Fish Creek Ponds. Pretty drive between Tupper Lake and Saranac Lake, I didn’t realize how much of a drop its down to Saranac Lake. The village of Saranac Lake reminds me of a bit of Galenton, PA with the mountains and the ponds but much bigger and less hillbilly.

Occasionally I’ve been hearing a clinking noise when I turn my steering wheel 🚙 which is bothering me to no end after spending all that money on the front end of the truck. 💵 If something else is wearing out I would have hoped the shop would have pointed it out and asked me if I wanted it fixed. Maybe it’s nothing, there is nothing I can do about it for now, but it’s still annoying. It’s not effecting drivablity and it’s still happening only rarely. At times I get overly sensitive about auto noises.

Jones Pond is nice but they’ve reduced it to two drive in campsites ⛺ – the site I really like and the one in the boat launch parking area 🅿. You can guess which one I am at tonight. It’s fine though, only two nights here ✌ and it’s still on the lake and it’s close to the road so no rough roads to drive and quick to leave come Saturday when I head home. 🏡 Plus I have decent cell service for work. 📱

Tonight will have a 20 percent chance of showers before 9pm. Partly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 53 degrees at 5am. Six degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around June 5th. Maximum dew point of 52 at 10pm. Southwest wind 5 to 8 mph becoming calm in the evening. In 2019, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It was somewhat humid. It got down to 61 degrees. The record low of 39 occurred back in 1979.

Tonight will have a Waxing Crescent 🌒 Moon with 23% illuminated. At 5 PM, the moon was in the south (178°) at an altitude of 61° from the horizon, some 229,463 miles away from where you are looking up from the earth. 🚀 At the state speed limit of 55 mph, you’ll make it there by December 16th. Buckle up for safety! 💺 The Buck 🦌 Moon is on Sunday, July 5. The darkest hour is at 1:01 am, followed by dawn at 4:40 am, and sun starting to rise at 5:16 am in the northeast (56°) and last for 3 minutes and 37 seconds. Sunrise is 22 seconds later than yesterday. 🌄 The golden hour ends at 6:01 am with sun in the east-northeast (63°). Tonight will have 8 hours and 30 minutes of darkness, an increase of 21 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 78 degrees at 5pm. Three degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around June 16th. Maximum dew point of 56 at 8am. Southwest wind 8 to 11 mph. A year ago, we had rain in the morning with more sun in the afternoon. It was humid. The high last year was 87 degrees. The record high of 99 was set in 1952.

In four weeks on July 23 the sun will be setting in the west-northwest (299°) at 8:32 pm,🌄 which is 13 minutes and 39 seconds earlier then today. In 2019 on that day, we had rain and temperatures between 79 and 65 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 83 and 62 degrees. The record high of 96 degrees was set back in 1955.

Looking ahead,

Before the rain comes this evening check out the tons of woods lilies. The flowers won't likely survive the rain.