Search Results for: photo rainy evening at camp

Hump Day Comes to a Rainy Close

Made it through the middle of the week. Pouring rain this evening, after I walked down to the library. Wasnโ€™t so cloudy when I first got up, but itโ€™s headed in the direction of rain by the time I got out of work. So far the weekend doesn’t look all that great.

This morning, rodeย the bus with no name downtown. Or so it seems, taking a bus without a working destination sign. They must be short on buses, because last night I caught a bus home, which was a shuttle bus. Probably makes sense to use the smaller buses, as they are more fuel efficient, especially if they aren’t full, which they usually aren’t in the evening by 5 PM.

Roundtop Mountain

Tomorrow is the first day of calendar spring. That means in one month, it will be April 20th. Might even see some signs of spring by mid to late April, besides a slight tinge of manure in the air. I am hopeful that by late April when I take my trip out to the Finger Lakes, there will be some signs of green at least down by Seneca Lake. We shall see, as spring always comes late in higher elevation.

Bought my fishing license, which will be effective on April 1st. I haven’t done a lot of fishing in recent years, but I am going to get a good rod and reel next weekend.

Walking Back to the Truck

Almost ready to buy the solar panels for my truck camping and maybe the CB radio. Probably will be 400 bucks for everything — including the CB antenna, quick connects, mounts, solar controller, and half a dozen other parts.ย Once it is delivered, all I will have to buy is some 8-gauge wire (which is not cheap), some plywood, screws, fuse holders, fuses, and hinges to put it all together. Also maybe some rubber cement to patch up the hole in the firewall when I run the antenna out there.

Done a lot of research and I think I will end up with a good setup that will let me continue to use as much electricity as I need camping during day without starting up the truck — and get weather alerts and CB radio info.ย It would be fun to get things wired up this next week.

I have almost finalized my latest investment decisions for retirement after a lot of careful study of the options. Itโ€™s kind of hard to know what to buy these days, as its apparent the stock market is kind of overvalued from quantitative easing and the like. But I think I got a good mix of index funds and bond funds, and so small-cap and medium-cap stuff. Also plan to buy some energy stock. Yeah, that fossil fuel stuff that is so awful but provides good historical returns. Diversity is key for investing, as they say.

Putting off the lift-kit for now — probably the end of summer. I am leaning towards wearing out the tires, especially now that one of the tires has developed a wear pattern due to an alignment issue. That’s why I have a little more money to spend on things now, by cashing in a few of my short-term investments for toys I’ve wanted for a while.

 New Lebanon Overlook

Kind of a rainy middle of the week. But the rain will turn the snow into mud, and maybe soon it will be camping time.

Camping Log

New York Land Cover

January – June 2011.

Roadside: 9, Tent: 1, Leanto: 0 nights …

Date Campsite Where Type Notes
06/19/11 Campsite On Forest Road 70 Near Lye Wilderness Forest Road 70, Green Mountains NF, Kelley Stand, VT Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge Hiked towards Big Alder, but couldn’t cross stream. Rainy day, did a little paddling in Powley Place. Nicer day on Memorial Day
06/04/11 Campsite On Back Side of Stockmans Island Stockmans Island, Hudson River State Park, NY Tent camping after paddling in on kayak Put in at Coxscakie Boat Launch, camped on an island in Hudson River.
05/29/11 Powley Place (Campsite 9) Piseco-Powley Road, Ferris Lake Wild Forest, Stratford, NY Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge Hiked towards Big Alder, but couldn’t cross stream. Rainy day, did a little paddling in Powley Place. Nicer day on Memorial Day.
05/28/11 Powley Place (Campsite 9) Piseco-Powley Road, Ferris Lake Wild Forest, Stratford, NY Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge Rainy day. Hiked around Powley Place.
05/27/11 Powley Place (Campsite 9) Piseco-Powley Road, Ferris Lake Wild Forest, Stratford, NY Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge Left work early, drove up there. Nice evening before the rain.
05/21/11 Cheney Pond Cheney Pond, Vanderwhacker Wild Forest, Newcomb, NY Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge Explored Vanderwhacker Wild Forest. Kayaked around Cheney Pond couple of times, explored Tawandus Ruins.
05/20/11 Fox Lair Campsite NY Route 8, Wilcox Lake Wild Forest, Bakers Mills, Adirondacks, NY Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge Much nicer this time, a little rain, things greened up. Got a little rain, very damp.
04/22/11 Fox Lair Campsite NY Route 8, Wilcox Lake Wild Forest, Bakers Mills, Adirondacks, NY Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge Woke up to 3” of cold wet snow and rain, decided to go home and abandon trip.
04/21/11 Gravel Pit Campsite NY Route 8, Wilcox Lake Wild Forest, Griffin, Adirondacks, NY Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge Cold morning, trees covered with ice. Hike up around part of 13th Lake near North Creek, NY
04/09/11 Moscow Hill Horse Camp Brookfield State Forest aka Charles Baker State Forest, Brookfield, NY Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge One other camper here, no equestrians this time of year. Wanted to camp on Cherry Ridge, however too much snow there.

Getting Out and Stretch

March – December 2010.

Roadside: 28, Tent: 2, Leanto: 1 nights …

Date Campsite Where Type Notes
12/4/10 Old NY 8 Wilcox Lake Wild Forest, Griffin, NY Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge Very cold. Ice and snow on truck in morning. Kind of close to NY 8, but all the best campsites taken by hunters.
11/12/10 Lower Assembly Area Sugar Hill State Forest, Watkins Glen, NY Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge Woke up surrounded by Horse Trailers and equestrians in morning. Assembly area was closed this time of year, but horse trails still widely used.
11/11/10 Informal campsite on Forest Road 151 Allegheny National Forest, Near Sayre, PA Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge Second night at Allegheny National Forest. I liked the site I stayed in the previous day a lot, and the days where too short (sunset at 4:45 PM), so no time to waste searching for a site.
11/10/10 Informal campsite on Forest Road 151 Allegheny National Forest, Near Bradford, PA Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge Many sites in Allegheny National Forest. This one I particularly liked, so I decided to stay there.
11/09/10 Aspah Run Camping Area Aspah, near Wellsboro, PA Roadside camping (in pickup truck): paid primitive area Decided due to a lack of a time due to early sunset, would have done roadside/back country camping, but for $10, and being alone, it was fine.
11/08/10 Aspah Run Camping Area Aspah, near Wellsboro, PA Roadside camping (in pickup truck): paid primitive area Camped here, because I didn’t want to camp back country, and didn’t know the area well enough.
11/07/10 Lower Assembly Area Sugar Hill State Forest, Watkins Glen, NY Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge Originally wanted to camp at Birds Eye Lake or something like that, but the map I had got me lost, and I couldn’t find the road campsite up there.
11/06/10 Campsite 7 Stoney Pond State Forest, Madison, NY Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge Frost/ice on puddles in morning. Some snow in some places.
09/05/10 Campsite 56 Moose River Plains, Inlet, Adirondacks, NY Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge Rain showers, enjoyed staying in a very private and quite campsite up in the sandy plains.
09/04/10 Campsite 56 Moose River Plains, Inlet, Adirondacks, NY Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge Hiked to Mitchells Pond. More rain. It was kind of wet and cold.
09/03/10 Campsite 56 Moose River Plains, Inlet, Adirondacks, NY Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge Kind of wet and rainy, hung out in camp, did a little exploring of the plains. Also, paddled in Cedar River Flow for a while. Enjoyed the very private drive in site here.
09/02/10 Campsite 2 Moose River Plains, Inlet, Adirondacks, NY Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge I left work at 5 PM…. but with traffic, and wanting to get a pizza to eat on the way up, didn’t get to Moose River Plains until after 9 PM. Very dark, very tired, just wanted a place to collapse.
08/28/10 An Designated Campsite Big Pond, near Margretville, NY Kayak in Primitive Campsite: no charge Did a little hiking an exploring around Ashfield Pinnacle, then drove south to Big Pond. Lantern did not work, a very dark night.
08/27/10 Betty Brook Campsite Burnt-Rossman Hill State Forest, Schoharie, NY Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge Nice night after work…. drove around Mallet Pond State Forest, looking for campsites and interesting places to explore.
08/14/10 Mountain Pond Campsite 4 Mountain Pond, Paul Smiths, NY Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge Last day of NY 30 Kayak vacation. Mountain Pon was nice, very remote, just off of NY 30.
08/13/10 Floodwood Road Campsite 3 Floodwood Road, Fish Creek Ponds, NY Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge Crowded, stayed down by Poliwog Pond… wouldn’t go there again.
08/12/10 Horseshoe Lake Campsite 8 (about a ½ mile from lake) NY 421, Horseshoe Lake, NY Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge Couldn’t get a site right on Horseshoe Lake. Discovered Lows Lake – amazing.
08/11/10 Wakely Pond Campsite 7 Moose River Plains, Inlet, Adirondacks, NY Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge Wanted to paddle Cedar River Flow and enjoy camping up near water …
08/10/10 Undesigned Campsite, west side of road Mason Lake, Spectulator, NY Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge First day of kayak vacation, as I drove up from work, decided to go somewheres not too far away …
07/31/10 Undesigned Campsite, west side of road Mason Lake, Spectulator, NY Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge Hiked to Pillsbury Mountain Firetower, then camped down at Mason Lake.
07/18/10 Otter Brook Campsite (MRP Number 110) Moose River Plains, Inlet, Adirondacks, NY Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge Camped by the Otter Brook Bridge, at a rather large campsite. Not my favorite campsite, and it poured out.
07/17/10 Wakely Pond Campsite 8 Moose River Plains, Inlet, Adirondacks, NY Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge Camped down by Cedar River Flow, in a drive in site, a short way from the Flow, but also pretty private.
07/16/10 Wakely Pond Campsite 8 Moose River Plains, Inlet, Adirondacks, NY Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge Camped down by Cedar River Flow, in a drive in site, a short way from the Flow, but also pretty private.
07/15/10 Wakely Pond Campsite 8 Moose River Plains, Inlet, Adirondacks, NY Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge Camped down by Cedar River Flow, in a drive in site, a short way from the Flow, but also pretty private.
06/27/10 Balsam Swamp Camping Area Site 3 Balsam Pond, East East Pharsalia, NY Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge Came back to here, after exploring Labrador Hollow.
06/26/10 Balsam Swamp Camping Area Site 3 Balsam Pond, East East Pharsalia, NY Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge Stop over between Burnt-Rossman and Labrador Hollow. Liked camping here in the past.
06/25/10 Duck Pond Campsite Burnt-Rossman Hill State Forest, Summit, NY Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge Camped up a Duck Pond for a change, after driving out here after work.
06/05/10 Leonard Hill Informal Overlook and Campsite Leonard Hill, Broome Center, NY Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge Camped up by the Firetower at an informal campsite, watched sun set, weather turned to rain by morning …
06/04/10 Betty Brook Campsite Burnt-Rossman Hill State Forest, Schoharie, NY Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge Camped at Betty Brook, very humid, drove down to Utsaythana Firetower.
05/15/10 Alder Pond Campsite 2 Alder Pond, Balsam Lake Wild Forest, Margretville, NY Tent campsite…. short backpack in: no charge Camped at one of the campsites around Alder Pond.
04/03/10 Betty Brook Campsite Burnt-Rossman Hill State Forest, Schoharie, NY Roadside camping, in a tent Didn’t have the cap on my truck yet, but wanted to roadside camp.
03/21/10 Cotton Hill Lean To Cotton Hill, Middleburgh Short backpack into a leanto There was about a foot of snow up by Cotton Hill Leanto on first day of spring, but due to abnormally warm weather, wasn’t all that cold until late into the night.

Campsite

August – October 2009.

Roadside: 3, Tent: 0, Leanto: 0 (thru August 2009) …

Date Campsite Where Type Notes
10/11/09 Betty Brook Campsite Burnt-Rossman Hill State Forest, Schoharie, NY Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge First really cold evening of the year, very much fall like. I didn’t bring my warm coat with me.
10/10/09 Betty Brook Campsite Burnt-Rossman Hill State Forest, Schoharie, NY Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge Fairly cold night, but not as bad as one might have thought. On way out, stopped at Leonard Hill to take some pictures.
08/08/09 Betty Brook – informal campsite along road Burnt-Rossman Hill State Forest, Schoharie, NY Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge After hiking Slide Mountain and Balsam Lake Firetower. Dead tired …

A Rainy Day at Cedar River Flow, July 23

I had originally planned on exploring Moose River Plains, on Friday July 23 during my vacation. It however rained and rain, and I had to hide out under the tarp the whole time. So I spent most of the day camping out and reading.

Getting Breakfast Ready. Yes, I have lots of cheap trashy plastic crap that I use for camping. And I use styrofoam bowls and plastic silverware as much as possible, because clean up only involves using some matches and a fire.

Getting Breakfast Ready

Cearel in Plastic Box. I stored all of my food in these 10 plastic boxes that I got at Walmart for $10. It helped things from getting all smashed up, and made organization much easier.

Highest Elevation Populated Places in NY State

It just poured and poured. It was a real rainy Friday. I ended up driving down to Indian Lake to buy some more ice and food, and to check the internet.

A Rainy Friday

I spent a lot of time listening to radio in the rain and reading books.

Listening to Radio in the Rain

After a while, all the rain started to make the tarp sinks due to the wet. Eventually, even the Christmas lights shorted out.

Tarp Sinks Due to Rain

But by evening, things started to clear out at the Cedar River Flow. It was refreshing after Friday’s long day of rain.

Cedar River Flow Clearing

That was Day 3 at Cedar River Plains. It was wet, but nice to take a quiet break for a while.


View Larger Map

I’ve decided to send a check to Protect the Adirondacks ๐ŸŒฒ

In related news, I’ve decided to buy a house in Clifton Park with vinyl siding, cathedral ceilings, marble counter tops, grid tied solar panels and a giant picture of Joe Biden in the living room. That sure sounds creepy. I am also buying an electric SUV to drive to work, and to Commissioner Grannis promise I’ll wash out and recycle plastics and not burn them any more.

Good morning on this first day of Trout Season! ๐ŸŽฃ Cloudy and 37 degrees at the Delmar, NY. โ˜ Calm wind. Good conditions for getting snookered on the interwebs or hitting the trout hole, although creek levels might be a bit high. Not much sun for shadows at all this week but the river levels will be rising midweek. The skies will clear Saturday around 8 pm.

My pantry is quite bare ๐Ÿฅš but I managed to cook some eggs with spinach and corn ๐Ÿณand bake some bread ๐Ÿž and a big pot of rice and split peas for dinner. ๐Ÿซ˜ Got milk ๐Ÿฎ for my coffee and I should be good โ˜• once I go shopping ๐Ÿ›’ tonight after dinner. I also plan to wash the salt off Big Red. ๐Ÿ›ป

Today will have a slight chance of showers between 11am and noon. Cloudy ๐ŸŒฆ, with a high of 55 degrees at 4pm. Three degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 6th. South wind 3 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 74 degrees. The record high of 77 was set in 1986. 5.0 inches of snow fell back in 1924.โ„

Probably today is the best weather day of the week for riding to work ๐Ÿšฒ but I’m hoping at least to ride in again on Friday and maybe work the afternoon downtown and catch the bus home Friday. It’s fine, Tuesday evening when it’s raining I’ll bring my laptop ๐Ÿ’ป home as I need to work on a few things at home.

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 1:00 pm with sun having an altitude of 52.1ยฐ from the due south horizon (-18.7ยฐ vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 4.7 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ๐Ÿ… starts at 6:45 pm with the sun in the west (271ยฐ). ๐Ÿ“ธ The sunset is in the west (277ยฐ) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:22 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 55 seconds with dusk around 7:50 pm, which is one minute and 8 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ The best time to look at the stars is after 8:24 pm. At sunset, look for mostly cloudy skies โ˜ and temperatures around 50 degrees. There will be a south-southwest breeze at 5 mph. Today will have 12 hours and 48 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 52 seconds over yesterday.

I got to say I’m glad these days I’m no longer involved in the state budget or the Capitol Hill life. ๐Ÿ›๏ธIt’s nice having my evenings back and not sleeping under my desk or running reports at 2 am. It’s just another ordinary day ahead for me in the data services department. ๐Ÿ’พ Run reports, supervise data entry people, talk to the programmers. Fun stuff.

Tonight will be mostly cloudy ๐ŸŒฅ, with a low of 37 degrees at 5am. Five degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 15th. Light and variable wind becoming north 5 to 9 mph in the evening. In 2023, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 30 degrees. The record low of 17 occurred back in 1964.

Besides shopping this evening ๐Ÿ“š I plan to do more reading of the e-books I got from the library. It was a bummer that you can’t read e-books more than two days after not having cell service but how often am I that far off the grid except camping at the East Branch Sacandaga River or Piseco-Powley. Most of the time, e-library books really are the way to go especially for the first two days. It’s so much easier to carry books on my phone ๐Ÿ“ฑ. Plus no worries about them getting wet or damaged.

After a rainy week some improvements ahead. โ˜€ Saturday, mostly cloudy, with a high near 47. Sunday, mostly sunny, with a high near 53. Typical average high for the weekend is 55 degrees. Not terrible for early April but still a bit cool. The following week might really feel spring like. But this weekend I’ll probably stay in town.

Not sure when my next trip will be โ›บ but not this weekend. I might do Charles Baker in Madison County come later April or Burnt-Rossman in Schoharie. Lower elevations will see spring first. ๐ŸŒธ All depends on how much it warms up next week. I wouldn’t mind taking off another Friday.

Looking ahead, there are 2 weeks until Tax Day ๐Ÿ’ฐ when the sun will be setting at 7:39 pm with dusk at 8:07 pm. On that day in 2023, we had partly sunny skies and a nice warm day with a thunderstorm and temperatures between 84 and 52 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 59 degrees. We hit a record high of 86 back in 2003. I’d take weather like that for reading down at the park.

Edge of Escarpment

Waiting on the rain ๐ŸŒง๏ธ

No rain yet but it’s coming. The air feels damp but I’m hoping it will hold off until after I catch the bus downtown so I can bring my posters in without them getting wet or having to drive.

Good morning! Happy Tuesday. Clouds and 45 degrees in Delmar, NY. โ˜๏ธ There is a south-southeast breeze at 8 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. Temperatures will drop below freezing at Friday around 5 am. โ˜ƒ๏ธ

I decided I definitely need some kind of air freshener or candle warmer ๐Ÿ‘ƒ๐Ÿ•ฏ for my office as yesterday they got a fresh delivery of cardstock to the print shop ๐Ÿ–จ below my office and the HVAC sucked in the hydrogen sulfide rich air from the fresh paper delivered ๐Ÿ“„ ๐Ÿšš and I wanted to gag half the morning. I know enough about human noses and sulfur that over time people get used to the smell and can’t smell it, and may even grow fond of it but at least right now it stinks!

I may run to Walmart later in the week, I also need razors and eggs ๐Ÿช’ ๐Ÿฅš. I eat a lot more eggs these days as they’re cheap and fairly healthy protein ๐Ÿ’ช๐Ÿปand make an excellent binder in cornmeal and oatmeal pancakes ๐Ÿฅž. I actually had Johnny Cakes this morning with lots of onion, broccoli, chilli and cherry tomato. ๐Ÿ… ๐Ÿง…๐ŸŒถ ๐Ÿฅฆ It was good but that like so many meals requires eggs, and I won’t have enough come Friday or Saturday.

Today will rain. ๐ŸŒง High of 46 degrees at 1pm. Five degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 18th. Southeast wind 5 to 8 mph becoming light and variable. Chance of precipitation is 90%. My windows are open but maybe I should shut them. ๐Ÿ”ฒ Not going to be super warm. New precipitation amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible. But wet! ๐Ÿ’งA year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 42 degrees. The record high of 71 was set in 1964. 8.6 inches of snow fell back in 1917.โ„ If this was colder that would be a ton of snow. โ˜ƒ But truth be told we need rain to reduce fire risk. ๐Ÿง‘‍๐Ÿš’

Bussing it in this morning. ๐ŸšŒ I could drive but it’s much easier to catch the bus. It’s time I can work on my phone or catch up with folks. It’s relaxing to not have to deal with traffic. ๐Ÿš˜ I am sure I’ll have plenty of alone time in an automobile once I build my off-grid cabin, as that naturally has to be a ways from the city so I can have freedom. ๐Ÿ”ฅ ๐Ÿท ๐Ÿ Saves over the gas and no miles on my truck. People in my suburban office think it’s weird I ride my bike or bus it here, but it saves money and stress. Some ways I like the urban life, but I am also ready to get away.

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 12:08 pm with sun having an altitude of 41.6° from the due south horizon (-29.3° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 6.8 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ๐Ÿ… starts at 5:13 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (257°). ๐Ÿ“ธ The sunset is in the west (263°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 5:51 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 56 seconds with dusk around 6:18 pm, which is one minute and 13 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ The best time to look at the stars is after 6:52 pm. At sunset, look for rain ๐ŸŒง and temperatures around 46 degrees. There will be a north-northeast breeze at 5 mph. Today will have 11 hours and 30 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 53 seconds over yesterday.

I found some a nice property on Zillow that I’m investigating further. ๐Ÿ” Not quite ready to buy at this point, and probably somebody else will get it first, but I’m not going to spend $100,000 on land that I don’t have a solid plan to make use of in coming years. But it’s worth it to develop my code and methodology to study the property ๐Ÿ—บ as even if I don’t end up living there, it gives me an idea of what I should look for and avoid. I also started reading How to plan, contract, and build your own home by Richard M. Scutella  to try to understand more of the owner-builder process. Once I get further along, I might reach out to friends with questions, but I want to take my time and do it right.

Tonight will rain likely, mainly before 7pm. Mostly cloudy ๐ŸŒง, with a low of 44 degrees at 1am. 21 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around May 3rd. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. In 2023, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 33 degrees. The record low of -21 occurred back in 1948.

Going to be a rainy night, so my plan is to do a lot more reading, ๐Ÿ“š and more work on my code to crank out vital information about a property that is listed. I have completed the LIDAR section that gives me total acreage by average slope and direction the slope faces, but also want to be able to calculate how much of the property is on DEC wetlands and/or 100 feet from waterway, what soils are on the land, and so forth. The more data I can obtain, the more leverage I have. While most sellers and real estate agents probably know topographic maps and have walked the property, I doubt many know how many acres are 5% slope, how many acres exactly are soil x, y, or z. Information is power. Or at least it’s interesting what I can crank out of a few lines of R code.

Today in 1970, Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty goes into effect after ratification by 43 nations. โš›๏ธ It was really bad when they were blowing up nuclear bombs in the air, making the milk and corn radioactive across the mid-west. ๐Ÿฎ Some of it was willful ignorance by the federal government on how harmful such actions were. In 1933, during the height of the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declares a “bank holiday”, ๐Ÿฆ closing all U.S. banks and freezing all financial transactions.

Gonna rain again this weekend. โ˜” No camping ๐Ÿ• for me. ๐Ÿ˜ž Saturday, a chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 46. Chance of precipitation is 50%. Sunday, rain likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 46. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Daylight savings time starts Sunday. Typical average high for the weekend is 43 degrees.

Looking ahead, there are 2 weeks until Last Day of Winter ๐Ÿ‚ when the sun will be setting at 7:08 pm with dusk at 7:35 pm (Daylight Savings Time). On that day in 2023, we had partly sunny, snow showers and temperatures between 33 and 22 degrees.l Typically, the high temperature is 46 degrees. We hit a record high of 78 back in 2012.

Heading Down to Escarpment

As the protests chanted, “Nobody Died When the Weatherman Lied” ๐ŸŒซ๏ธ โœŠโ˜น๏ธ

Yesterday was not nearly as nice as the weatherman had argued it should have been. At times it was downright chilly outside. But it was a nice afternoon to spend out in country over at old friend’s homestead picking his brain on how he financed and put together his 10-acres of land with a beautiful farm house and barn from the 1820s. It was chilly and cloudy, as today also will be, but not so cold. I left the windows open last night, after I the smoke alarm went off again, but I’m hopeful to keep the windows open for most of the rest of the summer at this point. Only a few more weeks that there is a good chance of freezing weather.

Good morning! Monday’s come back around again. ๐Ÿ™€ Mostly cloudy and 41 degrees in the land of the Delmartian, as I get ready to ride to work. โ˜ Calm wind. Temperatures will drop below freezing at Friday around 4 am. โ˜ƒ๏ธ

Well maybe not a beautiful day today, โ˜๏ธ it should be good for riding to and from work. I want to bring my new artwork into the office ๐Ÿ–ผ๏ธ but I’ll wait until a rainy day later in the week when I either take the bus or drive in. ๐Ÿš˜ I realized I need some more eggs ๐Ÿฅš and I should get some kind of candle warmer plate. I couldn’t find it in Walmart the other day but looking online, they have them in-store for $10 but I didn’t know the aisle. ๐Ÿ•ฏ Yes, the use electricity, but they don’t charge me for that at work, lol. Working above a printing plant sometimes smells like sulfur. ๐Ÿ‘ƒ You know, like Ticonderoga or Plattsburgh.  Same thing for the brighter 200-watt light bulb I got for my desk, ๐Ÿ’ก though it’s an LED bulb so it only uses 27-watts and is replacing the 60-plus watts of hideous overhead florescent lighting. ๐Ÿ›‹ So far I haven’t been asked to give back the lamp, but I was looking at Walmart, and they have many attractive desk lamps for sale, as will garage sales and paces like the Salvation Army should I have to give back the seemingly forgotten lamp I found covered with dust in the closet.

Today will have patchy dense fog before 9am. ๐ŸŒซ Otherwise, mostly cloudy ๐ŸŒฅ, with a high of 55 degrees at 1pm. 14 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 6th. Maximum dew point of 47 at 1pm. Light and variable wind becoming south 5 to 10 mph in the morning. A year ago, we had light snow in the morning with a few breaks of sun the afternoon. The high last year was 37 degrees. The record high of 59 was set in 1919. 8.3 inches of snow fell back in 1971.โ„

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 12:08 pm with sun having an altitude of 41.2° from the due south horizon (-29.7° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 6.9 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ๐Ÿ… starts at 5:12 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (256°). ๐Ÿ“ธ The sunset is in the west (263°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 5:50 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 55 seconds with dusk around 6:17 pm, which is one minute and 13 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ The best time to look at the stars is after 6:50 pm. At sunset, look for mostly cloudy skies โ˜ and temperatures around 54 degrees. The dew point will be 47 degrees. There will be a south-southeast breeze at 10 mph. Today will have 11 hours and 27 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 52 seconds over yesterday.

I plan to start my deep dive into the land ๐Ÿค  today, and am going to try to write some code to analyze parcels based on steepness of slope and direction of slope. Both of those have significant impacts on the ability to build and homestead on the land, plus I want to make sure if I do build a house ๐Ÿ‘ท that it’s built in a place that is resistant to excessive rainfall, that is certain to happen with the warming climate. ๐ŸŒ๏ธ Also want to take a deep dive into CAD, and try to get to place were I can at least sketch out a house plan. Really want to go simple and low resource when I build, not so much as a cost measure but for sustainability and simplicity purposes — I want to spend the money up front and then have minimal out-year costs for maintenance and repair. That said, despite being conditionally approved for an excessively large mortgage to buy a conventional house, I am increasingly thinking about buying with cash ๐Ÿ’ต and knowing my land and house is paid off and cheap to operate. Utility bills and repairs on my house scares me the most about it, more then the up-front cost. Plus I just hate how everything is plastic now. ๐Ÿ”ฅ Have you ever burned plastic? Shit stinks and burns so black, especially some of common materials used these days.

Tonight will have a chance of rain after 5am. Mostly cloudy ๐ŸŒง, with a low of 42 degrees at 5am. 19 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 27th. Southeast wind 8 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. In 2023, we had light snow in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 33 degrees. The record low of -12 occurred back in 1948.

I really enjoyed meeting up with that friend of twenty years ago ๐Ÿ˜ and learning more about how he obtained his homestead. It’s a ways out from the city, but it is a wonderful 10 acres and an beautiful old 1820s house. I really miss being out in the country, in the hilltowns. โ›ฐ Since I got my big jacked up truck, and well the burn ban, I don’t cruise the backroads like I once did. ๐Ÿ”ฅ He built quite the life for himself and his family. While I am still stuck, for now, in the suburbs in my dumpy apartment. Not that my dream off-grid cabin is what many people would call high-class living, but I won’t be paying rent and I’ll be able to do my thing, have fires, listen to the frogs on a warm summer night. ๐Ÿธ And see the mountains every day driving to and from work.

Today in 1985, Food and Drug Administration approves a blood test for AIDS infection, used since then for screening all blood donations in the United States. ๐Ÿฉธ In 1917, Jeannette Rankin of Montana becomes the first female member of the United States House of Representatives. ๐Ÿ›๏ธ Pretty remarkable that was only about 100 years ago. And in 1957, S&P 500 stock market index is introduced, replacing the S&P 90. ๐Ÿ“ˆ The market opened at a ceremonial $17.75 and at this point is well over 1,000.

Not a particularly nice weekend on tap. ๐Ÿ˜ž Saturday, a chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 46. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Sunday, rain likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 44. Chance of precipitation is 60%. The likelihood of camping this weekend seems fairly low. Maybe another good weekend to red and study about buying land, and continue my research. Typical average high for the weekend is 43 degrees.

Looking ahead, there are 4 weeks until April Fools Day ๐Ÿคก when the sun will be setting at 7:23 pm with dusk at 7:50 pm (Daylight Savings Time). On that day in 2023, we had rain and temperatures between 74 and 41 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 52 degrees. We hit a record high of 77 back in 1986.

Under a cloud

It’s nice sleeping with the windows open ๐Ÿ”ฒ

The fresh air is nice even if I don’t love all the road noise.

Good morning! Rain and 51 degrees in Delmar, NY. โ˜” Breezy, ๏ธ18 mph breeze from the south-southeast ๐ŸŒฌ with gusts up to 28 mph ๐Ÿ’จ๐Ÿ’จ๐Ÿ’จ. The dew point is 50 degrees. Temperatures will drop below freezing at around 11 pm. โ˜ƒ๏ธ

Pancakes ๐Ÿฅž with fruit and maple ๐Ÿ syrup this morning. I should get some locally bottled syrup as this point I’m sure the sugar houses are firing up. Coffee โ˜• too but not to much as there is plenty in the office ๐Ÿข to drink, lol ๐Ÿ˜‚.

Rainy โ˜” morning today, but I’m driving to work ๐Ÿ›ป as we are going to lunch to celebrate ๐ŸŽ‰ the retiring director and I need a car to get to lunch plus I need to get money ๐Ÿ’ต. I also want to bring in some of my plants ๐ŸŒฟ and some of my other office stuff that’s been sitting at home while I’ve been in the temporary cubicle. ๐Ÿ‘ž I have big shoes to fill but I know I’ll do excellent work that I’m proud of in coming years. In some ways it’s a dream job – I’ve always loved working with computers and data – and I get to use the Unix text utilities and SQL every day. Plus lots of R and Python. ๐Ÿ–ฅ I miss the politics and working Capitol Hill but I’m hopeful to be more involved with that side of things come the autumn. ๐Ÿ—ณ Those posters I’m sure once framed will be beautiful in my office. ๐Ÿ–ผ๏ธ

Today will have showers likely, mainly between 10am and 11am. Cloudy ๐ŸŒฆ, with a high of 59 degrees at 2pm. 19 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 14th. Maximum dew point of 55 at 1pm. Breezy, with a south wind 18 to 22 mph, with gusts as high as 34 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. A year ago, we had light snow in the morning, which became mostly sunny by afternoon. The high last year was 36 degrees. The record high of 63 was set in 1903. 9.7 inches of snow fell back in 1948.โ„

I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy ๐Ÿ˜Š to have my rent check clear ๐Ÿ’ต but it seems like my new landlord didn’t delay in cashing the check. It’s good to know he got paid and he’s not going to play games with Venmo. ๐ŸŽฎ While I don’t view Delmar to be my home forever, and hopefully not into next winter it buys time. Even with the June rent hike, this is still my cheapest option to live here. I don’t think I’ll come out ahead owning a home compared to renting a cheap place on the bus ๐Ÿš line and riding to work ๐Ÿšฒ most days.

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 12:09 pm with sun having an altitude of 39.3ยฐ from the due south horizon (-31.6ยฐ 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 ๐Ÿ… starts at 5:05 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (253ยฐ). ๐Ÿ“ธ The sunset is in the west (260ยฐ) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 5:43 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. ๐ŸŒ‡ The best time to look at the stars is after 6:44 pm. At sunset, look for rain ๐ŸŒง and temperatures around 58 degrees. The dew point will be 54 degrees. Breezy, 22 mph breeze โ›… from the south with gusts up to 37mph. Tomorrow will have 11 hours and 15 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 51 seconds over today.

I’m still looking at better housing options even though my rent check cleared as saving money isn‘t the only thing in this world, I’m rapidly getting older ๐Ÿ‘ด๐Ÿผ and as I settle into what is likely my career for the next twenty years, I should look for a lifestyle that I really want to live. As I noted yesterday, few things scare me more than dropping dead at age 64 and not living the life I want before then. Life isn’t guaranteed forever. Plus I’m super jealous of all my friends and colleagues who have land out in the country. ๐Ÿšœ I shouldn’t be but I am.

I am basically pre-qualified for a mortgage after submitting a ton of documents but I haven’t followed up with the banks to get it in writing or get a letter โœ‰ of pre-approval. Part of it is I might not get a traditional mortgage should a buy a fixer up property or have a cabin built to my specifications. To be clear, I don’t want to stall now that the pressure is off but I want to make the right decision on what may define the place I call home my remaining working year. I am continuing to read a book ๐Ÿ“– about custom home building โš’๏ธ and the contracting process. Is that the right option for me? I don’t know but I don’t want to be stuck in a house too big with features I don’t want with a life I don’t want.

Tonight will rain showers, possibly mixing with snow after 10pm, then gradually ending. ๐ŸŒง Low of 24 degrees at 5am. One degree above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 1st. Windy, with a south wind 23 to 30 mph becoming northwest after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 48 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. Little or no snow accumulation expected. In 2023, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 19 degrees. The record low of -2 occurred back in 2008.

Last night ๐ŸŒƒ I had more fried zucchini with onions and corn with spices. A good dinner followed by some mango and chopped apple ๐Ÿ with cinnamon. Then I went for my evening walk ๐Ÿšถ. Rode both ways to work plus a short ride around North Albany. Been finalizing the details of moving into the new private office and getting the phones ๐Ÿ“ž switched over to that office. Plants ๐ŸŒฟ are moving into that office today even if the retiring director still will be there a bit today.

Right now, a split verdict on the weekend. ๐Ÿ˜• Saturday, a chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 51. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Sunday, partly sunny, with a high near 59. I still think it would be a nice night ๐ŸŒƒ to camp on Saturday if not too muddy. Today’s rain should reduce the fire risk though it also will reduce the snow. Typical average high for the weekend is 40 degrees.

One month ๐Ÿ“… from now the Average High is 50 ๐ŸŒธ when the sun will be setting at 7:18 pm with dusk at 7:45 pm (Daylight Savings Time). That sure will be nice when the heat is off and the windows open. And the evening commute much brighter ๐Ÿ”†.

Bullet hole