I was about 15 minutes late, as I had previously gone to another function across town. I figured I would never get a parking space, but somehow managed to get my pickup truck rammed up into a snowbank where nobody else had parked.
Taken on Saturday February 26, 2011 at Albany, NY.The Thatcher Park OSI Parcel with High Point and Hang Gliders Cliff have rapidly become one of my favorite local places to visit. It has replaced Partridge Run as a personal favorite, mainly because in addition to interesting woods to explore, it also has the Escarpment to look off.
The day when I went out hiking I had previously gone to the doctor with a horrible sinus infection. I was feeling pretty sick, but the bright blue skies just beckoned me to go outside and get some fresh air. So I donned my beat up old cowboy hat, took some Zyrtec and my antibiotics, and off I went.
I didn’t plan on snowshoeing too far, so I decided to park up at the old Bluestone Quarry off of Carrick Road. Carrick Road was a sheet of ice, with about 2 inches of packed snow on it. Fortunately the Quarry had an area that was well plowed and it was a perfect place for me to park and not worry about getting my pickup stuck. Even with 4×4, I am so paranoid about such things these days.
The bright sun and the blue skies were so delightful. In winter, it seems like gray snowy weather is always the norm, and it’s rare to get a truly nice day for snowshoeing. On this particular day, there was not a cloud in the sky, and it could almost not have been much nicer.
Here is the junction of the White Connector Trail and the Red Ski Loop which is multiplexed with the Long Path. This is only a short distance from High Point. The light and the weather was just so amazing on this afternoon.
I hopped off the Red Ski Trail and took an old woods road to High Point. I had never been over this way before, and when I reached High Point from this angle, I almost didn’t even realize it was High Point, looking out through a clearing.
While I go up to High Point quite a bit, it is the first time I really noticed this classic looking farm in Guilderland with the barns and the house. Obviously, you can’t tell what kind of livestock they raise from this picture, but it is a very classic old farm house and old barns, probably from back when it was a dairy operation some time ago.
All of the sun and fresh air made me start to feel better so I snowshoed on south to Hang Gliders cliff. While I usually would take the unmarked escarpment trail all the way on over in the summer, I took for the first part the Long Path and cut over to the unmarked trail, to avoid the section that runs right along the edge. Here we are looking off Hang Gliders cliff, down into the valley.
Settles Hill can viewed from Hang Gliders Cliff quite well. I have always loved the look Settles Hill if only for it’s rolling nature and all of beautiful small farms up on it. Most of this country is still in the Town of Guilderland, although some is in Princetown.
Snowshoeing along Hang Gliders Road. There was some icy patches and I passed a group of young kids snowmobiling, probably from one of the neighboring farms.
One of the things I don’t like about this time of year is the days are so short. That said, each and every day is getting a little longer, and twilight is now around 5 PM every night. In a month, the twilight will be much closer to 6 PM. Sunset was about 4:30 PM.
There was waxing crescent moon hiking back to the truck. Quite beautiful, as the sun set in the opposite direction. It made for a beautiful hike on back to my pickup, as I headed home for the day on this wonderful day.
The route I took is in green.
Why are the weekends such complete shit lately I have to ask myself? It’s kind of lame. Yesterday wasn’t bad and Friday was pretty nice, but if I had gone out of town this weekend, it would have been a pretty wet morning taking down gear and driving home in the rain.
Good morning! Rain and 54 degrees in Delmar, NY. 🌧️ 15 mph southernly breeze. Not only is it wet, the wind is now whipping around. As they say, the sun ain’t going to shine anymore, at least not for two days straight on weekend.
This morning was eggs and hashbrowns 🍳 with lots of onions, garlic, and broccoli. Not a half bad breakfast. Last night was red lentil soup with loads of shredded carrot and spices, and a little bit of cornmeal just for that rich taste of cornmeal. Amazing how quickly a big pot of that can disappear. 🍲 Super tasty. Pantry is getting bare but I’ll go shopping soon after I shower. :🚿
Today will have showers before noon, then rain after noon. 🌦 High of 55 degrees at 9am. 14 degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 5th. Maximum dew point of at 9am. 🏖️ South wind around 16 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 64 degrees. The record high of 91 was set in 1944. There was a dusting of snow in 1900.❄
I honestly didn’t have high hopes for today, and the weather didn’t disappoint. 😔 I am putting off shopping for a bit 🛒 as I want to visit Steiner’s and get bike tires this morning and a spare tube, 🚲 so I can be back on road by Monday hopefully and be good if the weather isn’t as shitty as predicted for next weekend to ride the Catskill Scenic Trail without fear of getting a flat. I could probably get away with replacing just one tire but I think I’ll spring for two so they’re matching tires, plus even the one that isn’t totally shot is pretty worn. ⚫
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:53 pm with sun having an altitude of 63.8° from the due south horizon (-7° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 3 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:21 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (287°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (294°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:01 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 9 seconds with dusk around 8:31 pm, which is one minute and 7 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:11 pm. At sunset, look for clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 48 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Today will have 14 hours and 19 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 24 seconds over yesterday.
Going out to see the folks this afternoon, 👪 but probably won’t stay that late as I want to get the new tires mounted on the bike and the tube re-installed – – and the old tube patched if possible. Hopefully with the new tires I won’t have so many problems, but it’s been bad with the amount of broken glass there has been on the roads lately. Apparently spring comes, and everybody is tossing their beer bottles 🍾 out their car windows.
Tonight will have showers, mainly before midnight. 🌧 Low of 41 degrees at 9am. Five degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around May 20th. South wind 7 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. 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 49 degrees. The record low of 29 occurred back in 1969.
I’ve just been doing a lot of reading 📚 and learning lately. A lot of it is as a distraction to pass time, but it’s also been as I’ve been trying to learn as much as possible about land and building a cabin. 📖 It was remarkably quiet 🤫 around here, no construction 🚧 on the unit next door yesterday at least while I was home – – I was at Five Rivers 🐦 from 8 AM through 4 PM – – and no sports games 🏈 being played at the school 🚸 next door. I was surprised how truly quiet it was yesterday around here. Even the evening was nice, took a nap 🛏 and enjoyed that red Lentil soup.
Still a bit bummed out about that cabin I saw go on sale on May 1st, it would have been perfect if not for the access issues. I’m not saying something like that wouldn’t need improvement, but it would have been a great start, but I would want the parcel connected to a public roadway, 🏡 so I wouldn’t have to ever worry about access or improving the road.
Looking ahead, next Sunday is Mothers Day 👩 when the sun will be setting at 8:09 pm with dusk at 8:40 pm. On that day in 2023, we had a pretty hot day for May, with mostly sunny skies and temperatures between 87 and 44 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 70 degrees. I bet the black flies liked that. We hit a record high of 91 back in 1881.
I am still hoping to take off next Friday and spend a long weekend in the woods, 🌲but the forecast can’t be as shitty as it currently looks for next weekend. I guess there is still five days for it to change but so far I’m not impressed.
While this will shock no one, it is expected to rain by mid-afternoon. I guess that’s the story of the weather in recent months. A few minutes of sunshine then some rain. At least it’s not as cold as it was only a few days ago, and it looks like most of the week I’ll be able to sleep with the windows open.
Good morning! Partly sunny with clouds around and 45 degrees 🌤️ here in Delmar. There is a south breeze at 5 mph. 🍃. The rain shower that was overhead a few minutes ago has passed along, and hopefully we will have more sun going on today.
Just the usual things are on tap for a Sunday. 🛒 Starting out by taking a shower, then heading over to Walmart for some groceries then back home, I think. Or maybe I should wait to get groceries until I run to the bike shop at 11 AM. 🚲 Honestly, that option probably makes the most sense.
I called Stiener Sports Up yesterday, 🚲 and they said I should bring the bike in and they’ll look at the issue of it skipping gears on hard pedaling right away and I don’t need an appointment though depending on what is wrong I’ll either have to drop it off or make an appointment for later on for repairs. 🛠 I want to get the derailer and the bike into top condition for summer riding, especially before summer vacation in the Finger Lakes ⛺ but also for riding trail up at Charles Baker State Forest. It’s fine as it is now for commuting, though the griding gears at hard acceleration is both annoying, and dangerous.
That said, I don’t really like the crowds 👪 that are a normal part of shopping mid-day at the store, though actually my list is pretty short as I only need the basics, especially fresh fruit and vegetables 🍏 🥦 as that’s what I am out of because I went to Walmart on Tuesday when I drove in 🚘 because that was the day I had the flat tire on my bicycle and it was too late to catch the bus downtown. That said, if the repairs are simple, maybe I can just drop my bike off and they’ll wrench it while I run to the supermarket. That would work out well.
Today will have increasing clouds ☁, with a high of 64 degrees at 2pm. One degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 26th. South wind 5 to 13 mph. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies. The high last year was 62 degrees. The record high of 91 was set in 1962. There was a dusting of snow in 2020.❄
Yesterday was a quite day for me, 📚 full of reading and nature observation 🐸 out at the Five Rivers Environmental Education Center. I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately, trying to learn whatever I can about permaculture, land, livestock, architecture, housing and off-grid systems 🐐 – – trying to plan out my off-grid homestead. I am staying away from reaching out to businesses and getting quotes on various things, just because there is such pressure to do now, buy now build now. And I want to build right. Not spend a lot of money on a project that turns out to be shit. 💩
It was a nice day day out yesterday, 🌸 quite spring like and beautiful to say the least. I could have gone out hiking somewhere far away or gone for a bike ride but I wanted to keep things simple and when you bicycle commute every day, the last thing you necessarily want to do is go for a bike ride. 🚶 Sometimes a simple walk just really hits the spot. Moving your legs, going at a slower pace. 🐸 Spending some more time observing nature.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:54 pm with sun having an altitude of 61.4° from the due south horizon (-9.4° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 3.3 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:13 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (284°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (290°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:52 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 5 seconds with dusk around 8:21 pm, which is one minute and 8 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:59 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and temperatures around 58 degrees. There will be a south breeze at 11 mph. Today will have 13 hours and 59 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 34 seconds over yesterday.
I’ve been looking at replacing my cellphone, 📱 as I’ve been having more and more problems with the touch screen behaving badly. I have a lot of options, though I’d rather have a simple basic sub-$50 phone if possible so if I break it not a big expense. I’ve been struggling with my phone for a long time now, 😤 and it really annoys me after a while. 🖥 This morning, I’m actually using my keyboard and mouse attached to my phone to write this blog post – – I’ve been thinking about getting a USB-C to HDMI adapter – – they’re under $10 or so which would allow me to connect my phone to my monitor along with my keyboard and mouse, and be almost like having a full computer at home without actually having to bring my computer home on the weekends.
Tonight will have a chance of showers, mainly after 8pm. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 44 degrees at 4am. Two degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around May 3rd. South wind around 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. In 2023, we had mostly clear skies. It got down to 39 degrees. The record low of 25 occurred back in 1947.
Looking ahead to the long early summer nights, next Saturday is 8:30 PM Dusk 🌆 when the sun will be setting at 8:00 pm with dusk at 8:30 pm. Now it just has to warm up a bit more and the black flies not take over the world, lol. 🐜 On that day in 2023, we had partly sunny, rain showers and temperatures between 60 and 45 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 68 degrees. We hit a record high of 91 back in 1944.
Brown in many ways is the color of April. The dirt and ground is brown or gray, with the snow mostly gone but still too cold for things to green up in the more upland areas. Mud and muck get on the boots, the air often has a pungent taste to it in farm country. The warmth of May sometimes breaks through in April, but color is limited, for this is not a month known for it’s diverse color.
God needs to fill the mud wallows up. But I think all this rain will lead to things rapidly greening up over the next week or so which is actually about normal for the Albany area.
Good morning! Yeah, it’s Friday! Rain and 60 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☔ Breezy, ️20 mph breeze from the south-southeast 🌬 with gusts up to 38 mph 💨💨💨. The dew point is 58 degrees. 0.2 inches of rain is expected before it ends around noontime.
I guess it’s busing it in this morning 🚍 as it’s too wet to ride in. I do plan to catch the 7:15 downtown so I can walk 🚶 the Concourse an hour before work. Didn’t get a lot of steps in yesterday. 👣 I guess I sort of made up by reading 📖 more though that exercises a different type of muscle 🧠 💪🏻. Maybe if the rain tapers off I’ll walk from Downtown to Menands, tha’s always a good walk.
Today will have showers and thunderstorms likely, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 1pm. 🌦 High of 64 degrees at 12pm. Seven degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 27th. Maximum dew point of 58 at 6am. 🏖️ Breezy, with a south wind 17 to 21 mph, with gusts as high as 45 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 78 degrees. The record high of 84 was set in 1977. 3.3 inches of snow fell back in 1962.❄
Johnny cakes this morning 🥞 with lots of onion and tomato 🍅. And too much red chilli 🌶 pepper which had my nose 👃 running like I had a cold. Topped with cottage cheese and I was even green 💚and washed out the container for recycling ♻. At least my stomach is feeling better than yesterday. 🫃🏻 Been going a bit over board with the cranberry beans, 🫘 and the carrots 🥕 lately, though it also seems like in recent months my stomach has been a bit rough. Dinner last night was more of that chicken soup 🐔 and bread 🍞 that I made up yesterday.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:57 pm with sun having an altitude of 56.3° from the due south horizon (-14.5° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 4 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 6:57 pm with the sun in the west (277°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (283°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:34 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 58 seconds with dusk around 8:03 pm, which is one minute and 9 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the First Quarter 🌓 Moon in the west (266°) at an altitude of 47° from the horizon, 237,447 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:38 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and temperatures around 57 degrees. The dew point will be 46 degrees. There will be a south breeze at 13 mph. Today will have 13 hours and 19 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 48 seconds over yesterday.
Tonight will have a chance of showers, mainly after midnight. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 44 degrees at 5am. Eight degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around May 3rd. South wind 11 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. In 2023, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 51 degrees. The record low of 19 occurred back in 1874.
Tomorrow will have showers likely, mainly before 2pm. Cloudy 🌦, with a high of 48 degrees at 2pm. 10 degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 24th. Southwest wind 11 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 89 degrees. The record high of 87 was set in 1977. 5.5 inches of snow fell back in 1950.❄
That sounds kind of like a shit day, 💩 but it’s good for reading 📖 and maybe an early morning bike ride to Five Rivers Environmental Education Center 🚲 or Voorheesville. Everything though will be mud. 🐽 But so be it. 🌸 It might be fun to walk around Five Rivers and see the blooming plants, especially if I stay on the main roadways.
Looking ahead to Sunday, showers likely, mainly after 2pm. 🌦️ Partly sunny, with a high near 59. Southwest wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. Going to want those farm boots 👢 when hiking Bennett Hill this weekend. I also kind of want to get out to Partridge Run to do a hike, but only if it’s not a mosh pit. I think the snow is gone. Typical average high for the weekend is 58 degrees.
In two weekends, 🏕️ if the weather is decent I’d like to take off a Friday or Monday, or maybe both and plan out a 3 to 4 night camping trip somewhere. Maybe back to NY 8 East Branch, or maybe to Schoharie or Madison County. 🐮 Not sure if the roads in the Green Mountain National Forest would be open, but that’s an option too.
Looking ahead, there are 4 weeks until Average High is 70 🐮 when the sun will be setting at 8:07 pm with dusk at 8:37 pm. On that day in 2023, we had sunny and temperatures between 77 and 39 degrees. We hit a record high of 92 back in 1970. Before my time, despite what the internet advertisers think.
Rise and grind on this second day of the week. Started my morning with Johnny cakes with spinach and broccoli and old bay seasoning, I guess to celebrate the collapse of the Baltimore bridge, or I wasn’t feeling like pancakes despite having some cherries and bananas rolled in oats as a side.
Good morning! Happy Tuesday. Mostly sunny and 24 degrees in Delmar, NY. Calm wind. ☀️A cold start to the morning. There are 3 inches of snow on the ground. ☃ Melting quickly though, by tomorrow’s rain it will be gone at least locally. ️Things will start to thaw out at around 8 am. 🌡️
I guess I’ll be riding in this morning. 🚲 I’m going to try to do the rail trail, it’s better than Corning’s Hill and the rough as duck 🦆 South Pearl Street. Depending on how much snow is left on the bike path I’ll try to ride home too, but last night I ended up catching the express bus 🚍 from the old train station downtown. ⚙ Adjusted the gears on my bike, went for an evening walk and did some reading 📖 last night. Got another e- audio book from the Libby app to listen to on my ride to work. 🔊 Waiting for the next, part of Power Broker to be available, in the meantime I’m listening to Ralph Naders new book on CEOs who did the right thing.
Today will be partly sunny 🌞, with a high of 46 degrees at 3pm. Three degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 19th. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph in the afternoon. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 56 degrees. The record high of 75 was set in 2021. 6.1 inches of snow fell back in 1899.❄
Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:02 pm with sun having an altitude of 49.8° from the due south horizon (-21° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 5.1 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 6:38 pm with the sun in the west (268°). 📸 The sunset is in the west (274°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:15 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 54 seconds with dusk around 7:43 pm, which is one minute and 9 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:17 pm. At sunset, look for potential rain showers 🌧 and temperatures around 42 degrees. There will be a southeast breeze at 6 mph. Tomorrow will have 12 hours and 33 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 53 seconds over today.
Tonight will have a slight chance of sprinkles before 8pm, then a chance of showers after 10pm. Cloudy 🌧, with a low of 37 degrees at 2am. Seven degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 15th. Southeast wind around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. In 2023, we had clear skies in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 27 degrees. The record low of 78 occurred back in 1998.
It looks like now the heat can be off until October or November ♨️ though maybe not quite warm enough for the windows open. I’m also not ready to put away the electric blanket but I’m using it less and less these days.
Easter Weekend still looks outstanding. 🐰 Good Friday, mostly sunny, with a high near 49. Saturday, mostly sunny, with a high near 49. Easter, mostly sunny, with a high near 48. Typical average high for the weekend is 51 degrees. A little bit below normal. But I’m looking forward to getting out of town. 🌲
There are 2 weeks until 7:30 PM Sunset 🌇 with dusk at 7:59 pm. On that day in 2023, we had sunny and temperatures between 55 and 29 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 56 degrees. We hit a record high of 77 back in 1991.
