Good morning! Happy Boxing Day 🥊! Good day for burning all those boxes 🔥 that the Christmas presents 📦 came in. Although I guess the greenies say the rednecks of the world should recycle ♻ them. Apparently recycling cardboard is a good idea. Probably good for soaking up mud too. Christmas 🎄 is over, now they can go back to playing Freda Paine 💍 for the hundred 💯 millionth time on the radio 📻. Or whatever is trendy these days, although Band of Gold is pretty singable. Does anybody even listen 👂 to commercial radio anymore in the era of the MP3? I rarely do. Two weeks to Static Electric Shock Day 🧼🌩. I fully expect it to be cold and dry enough then to get a good shock. 😮 I know in the state office building I used to work in the air was purty dry.

This morning is partly cloudy ⛅ around freezing degrees at the Elm Ave Park & Ride – CDTA. Calm wind 🍃. Not a half bad morning for late December. Bus is running on time 🚍 Going to be another mild day, they’re is a trooper sitting at the Southern Boulevard Bridge. 🌉 45 mph section so probably not a lot of speeders but maybe he’s sitting up there looking for people yapping on their cellphones 📱. I know I can’t talk and drive, I find it hard to remember things when driving like what day of week it is. That said, I drive so little and when I’m on the road I often are in the sticks where there ain’t reception 📶. I really should hook the bluetooth back up with my phone on my truck, it got reset the last time I reset my phone. But I use it so rarely, it’s hardly needed.

Today will be mostly cloudy 🌥, with a high of 41 degrees at 2pm. Eight degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around December 3rd. Light and variable wind. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 35 degrees. The record high of 59 was set in 1895. 13.9 inches of snow fell back in 1969.❄

The sun will set at 4:27 pm with dusk around 4:59 pm, which is 39 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At sunset, look for mostly cloudy skies ☁ and temperatures around 40 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Today will have 9 hours and 3 minutes of daytime, an increase of 18 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have a chance of rain showers, snow showers, freezing rain, and sleet before midnight, then a chance of rain showers between midnight and 3am, then a chance of freezing rain after 3am. Sounds, charming, eh? I actually thought about leaving work on Friday early and driving out to Madison County but I decided it against it based on the forecast. Cloudy☔ , with a low of 32 degrees at 9pm. 15 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around November 16th. South wind 6 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Little or no snow and sleet accumulation expected. In 2018, we had light snow in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 24 degrees. The record low of -18 occurred back in 1914.

This weekend is going to very mild as especially out in the Finger Lakes but will end with a pretty good rain storm. Saturday, partly sunny, with a high near 43. Northwest wind 5 to 9 mph becoming light in the afternoon. ☀ Sunday, a chance of rain after 2pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 44. Chance of precipitation is 50%.☔ Typical average high for the weekend is 32 degrees. It looks like Sunday evening into the Monday morning will be a good soaker, but I will bring extra tarps and books to read in the tent if it’s cold and wet.🌧 The heater will get keep the tent real comfortable. ♨Good warm meals will be good even if it’s rainy,  👨‍🍳 and if I gather plenty of wood up on Saturday into Sunday, 🪓 I’ll have enough for a good fire on Monday and New Years Eve.🔥

Never got around to testing the propane lantern. 🏮 I think it’s working fine though, and I’m not sure what else I can do to repair it besides knock out that shit ton of carbon that I already knocked out of it. 🏮💨 I realized if I tested it at home, I’d end up with a ton of propane in the line, that I’d have to burn out, and with only the latern hooked up, the pressure is such that it can take 15-20 minutes for all the propane to burn out of the line. I’ll bring a wrench to camp in case I need further adjustments, but I think it will work well now. 🔧

As previously noted, there are 2 weeks until Static Electric Shock Day 🧼 🌩 when the sun will be setting at 4:40 pm with dusk at 5:11 pm. On that day in 2019, we had rain and temperatures between 40 and 32 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 30 degrees. We hit a record high of 62 back in 2008.

Good evening on this Christmas Eve 🕯️ ! Partly cloudy and 27 degrees in Delmar, NY. There is a north breeze at 5 mph. 🍃. There are 2 inches of snow on the ground. ☃ ️Things will start to thaw out at tomorrow around noontime. 🌡️

Had a nice lunch with the parents and my neice and sister 👪 and we exchanged presents 📦. We had macaroni and cheese for lunch although I guess tomorrow my parents are also doing a formal Christmas dinner 🍲. My neice is already getting close to four, I remember her baby shower a few years ago 👶. She’s got such a large vocabulary and is so smart being plugged into the whole Saratoga scene.

Hiking Bennett Hill was nice but I need to repair microspikes that I strap on my boots 👢. One of them had a wire break while another had a chain 🔗 pop loose. Easy enough to fix but walking back after sunset with the microspikes off it was slippery and I sort of twisted my ankle a bit. I’m fine though. I did enjoy the sunset and the rural agricultural landscape. 🚜 I miss that so much living in the city even though I do live far enough on the outskirts of the city I can still tell when the farm down the street is spreading manure. 💩 Someday I’ll move to some rural areas a few miles out from a small town like an Oneida or a Utica or a Plattsburgh but not in New York with all the gun laws and fire restrictions.⛔ But in the mean time, next week’s road trip should be great.

I was going to go out for my evening walk 🚶 after I got back from hiking Bennett Hill but I was tired and got watching the YouTube videos I downloaded this week. 🎥 I probably watch too much but at least it’s add free and a lot of stuff I watch is educational even if it’s not as good as reading 📖. When I’m camping in the Finger Lakes next week I’ll do a lot more reading for sure. I thought about riding the exercise bike 🚲 but I’m not sure if my neighbor was home – his lights were off but his car 🚙 was in the drive. I think he may have gone to the city on a bus or with a designated driver. 🍻 I’m still not sure if I’m coming down with something or it’s the Lyme disease. I am feeling again like I was in early November. I’m not thinking 💭 it will impact my trip next weekend but who knows.

I was watching this amazing video of a weather balloon with a camera floating up from earth to the stratosphere. ☁ I guess the same thing you’d see on a plane ✈ but I haven’t been on an airplane in years and it’s fascinating to see the different – and quite thin layer that seperates all of mankind from the vast emptiness of outer space that is extremely hostile to all life. 🌎 The atmosphere is really only a few miles thick. Honestly, I really like the idea of the Space Force and a greater emphasis on the understanding of the earth’s climate and the boundaries between space and the earth. 🚀

Christmas Eve will be partly cloudy 🌤, with a low of 19 degrees at 5am. One degree above normal, which is similar to a typical night around December 23rd. Maximum wind chill around 15 at 4am; Northwest wind 3 to 5 mph. In 2018, we had light snow in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 24 degrees. The record low of -22 occurred back in 1969.

Tonight will have a New Moon. 🌚 Not much too see though as tonight is fairly cloudy. The sun will rise at 7:23 am with the first light at 6:51 am, which is 25 seconds later than yesterday. 🌄 Tonight will have 14 hours and 57 minutes of darkness, a decrease of 11 seconds over last night.

Christmas Day will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 38 degrees at 3pm. Five degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around December 10th. I think that’s a bit too optimistic based on other forecasts I’ve seen lately but so be it. I’m thinking more clouds. Calm wind becoming south around 6 mph. I have less than a quarter tank of gas in my truck ⛽ so I have to be careful how far I go. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 35 degrees. The record high of 66 was set in 1889. 19.2 inches of snow fell back in 2002.❄

A week from now will be New Year Eve 🎉and my final night of my Finger Lakes camping adventure. It should be a nice trip but the second day might be quite rainy ☔ based on the forecast but a good chance to get through a book of two in the tent, sitting next to the heater 🎪. They have even less snow there than here at this point, I think it will totally be gone by the time I get there – but fortunately not so muddy because it is expected to be a fairly dry week until Sunday out there. At least next Sunday will give me a chance to do a lot of reading 📖 and maybe some writing too.

For Christmas 🎄my parents got me a nice little rechargeable lantern 🏮 that is perfect in the tent for reading at night especially with the nights so long now and the heater adding to the ambiance. Although also I’m looking forward to some long winter nights and hopefully getting the quality sleep that seems impossible lately at home – it’s terrible 😰 how I keep waking up at 3 or 4 each morning and can’t get back to sleep. 🎅 Maybe it’s Santa Claus waking me up each night, but it seems like every winter my sleep declines enormously. I think it’s too few nights in the woods. I still haven’t tested my big gas lantern, mainly because I have no where to hang it. I really should consider getting a lantern post but the thing is usually in the woods I have trees I can run a rope between to hang the lantern from. I really should do this tomorrow. And maybe start pulling stuff for camping from the attic. Gotta get my holiday decorations out tomorrow to hang at camp. . I’m hoping to also get a few extra Christmas lights and extension cords to use up at camp to replace broken and then cracked ones. 🔌

In four weeks on January 21 the sun will be setting at 4:53 pm,🌄 which is 27 minutes and 28 seconds later then tonight. In 2019 on that day, we had snow showers, cold weather, partly cloudy and temperatures between 5 and -7 degrees. That was a pretty cold day but not unheard of for January. My metrologist friend says he thinks late January this winter will be just as cold if not colder. I guess I wouldn’t mind the cold so much if my place had a better heater and more insulation. Typically, you have temperatures between 30 and 14 degrees. The record high of 61 degrees was set back in 2006.

Looking ahead, New Years Eve 🎆 is in 1 week, Coldest Week of the Year 🌬 is in 3 weeks, Martin Luther King Day 🖤 is in 4 weeks, Don’t Cry over Spilled Milk Day 🥛 is in 7 weeks, National Drink Wine Day 🍷 is in 8 weeks, St. Patrick’s Day 🍀 is in 12 weeks, 7:30 PM Sunset 🌇 is in 15 weeks, Cinco de Mayo 🤠 is in 19 weeks, Primary Day 🗳️ is in 26 weeks, Latest Sunset 🌆 is in 6 months, Election Day 2020 🗳️ is in 45 weeks and Election Day 2020 🗳️ is in 45 weeks.

Good morning! Happy Festivus 🍖! It’s the holiday for the rest of us, at least those who don’t raise hogs. 🐷  I like meatloaf but I’ve been forever banished from having my parents meatloaf, because a decade and a half ago, I told mom I liked the traditional drier meatloaf 🍞 they had at college over the dripping in A-1 steak sauce and Worcestershire sauce that my mom used to make, 🍽with it’s very strong, rather salty flavor. ✊ I walked down to the Park and Ride this morning and it was pleasant, but hardly a feat of strength.

But more importantly — grunt, grunt — Next Monday is Bacon Day 🥓. I’ll have to buy some bacon to fry 🍳 up at camp. Bacon is not my favorite but maybe because I don’t own heritage hogs. 🐽 Maybe I’ll have to stop at For the Love of Bacon 😍 on my way out to the Finger Lakes. I bet they have good bacon, well worth the price. It’s now right off of Interstate 88, closer to the Mariaville Farm. 🚜 I’ve been by the farm, they have lots of hogs there, far more than my parents neighbors. Pigs are great recyclers – actually upcyclers ♻ of food waste. 🍲 I know, I probably watch too many off-grid hog farmers from Idaho on the Youtube.

A really pleasant morning for sure. Sunny and 27 degrees at the Elm Ave Park & Ride – CDTA. 🌞 There is a south breeze at 5 mph. 🍃. There is about three inches of snow on the ground, based on what is at the traffic island.. ☃ ️Warming up quickly: things will start to thaw out at around 9 am. 🌡️ Better not leave your bacon outside, it might go rancid.

And now, as Simon and Garfunkel once sung many decades ago, “I can gather all the news I need from the weather report …”. It is a beautiful day for sure!

Today will be sunny 🌞, with a high of 49 degrees at 1pm. 16 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around November 14th. I’ll take mid-November weather around Christmas. 🎄 South wind 5 to 9 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 35 degrees. The record high of 64 was set in 1990. 8.8 inches of snow fell back in 1947.❄

The sun is good, as it will give me a chance to calibrate and play with the voltage switch. I am going to monitor both the starting and accessory battery banks in my truck, to see what gets the maximum charge on both batteries, but for now I’m using the 13.7 volt switch relay on, 13.1 volts switch relay off solar panel. 🔋

Definitely a lot of traffic going into the city 🚓🚕🚐🚑🚗🚒🚌🚎 which is surprising being the day before the holiday. But it’s moving past the traffic light 🚦, might just have been the timing. I’ll be to work plenty early I’m sure. Over the past two months, so far I’ve only clocked in late one time ⌚. So I can’t complain much. It was definitely a nice walk down to the Park and Ride, and I will enjoy my lunch time walk, no matter how brief it is.

The sun will set at 4:25 pm with dusk around 4:57 pm, which is 32 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At sunset, look for mostly sunny skies 🌃 and temperatures around 42 degrees. There will be a south-southwest breeze at 9 mph. Today will have 9 hours and 3 minutes of daytime, an increase of 5 seconds over yesterday. Yes the days are finally getting longer. 🌱 Before you know it the grass will be green, well in another 20 weeks or so.

Tonight will be mostly clear 🌃, with a low of 26 degrees at 6am. Eight degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around December 4th. Northwest wind 8 to 11 mph. In 2018, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 31 degrees. The record low of -15 occurred back in 1989.

It seems like the Redshift app worked great on my laptop and phone last night, 📱 although a few times it crashed and clicked off and I was left with a face full of blue light. But if I’m controlling the rest of the light in my room, I should work on reducing the blue from the my screens. It really helps with my big monitor, as it was really flooding my room with blue with the Youtube videos, especially when I dimmed down the red in my room.💡

Mild but cloudy this weekend in Albany. ☁ Saturday, mostly cloudy, with a high near 40. Sunday, a chance of rain and snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 42. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Typical average high for the weekend is 32 degrees. A similar forecast for the Finger Lakes it looks like, but with a little more sun on Saturday and a bit warmer and a lower chance of rain on Sunday then the place I’m planning on leaving behind for a few days.

Definitely looking forward to my road trip, especially if the weather isn’t too bad, 🌄 and there isn’t a ton of snow and icy to deal with. 🏕 Been a long time since I’ve spent a night in the wilderness, and that’s one of the best things I find for my restoring my sleep cycles. Even with the red lights in my bedroom, I just find sleeping at home hard this time of year. In the summer months it’s not too bad. I keep my bedroom cool, which I think helps, but I keep waking up at 3 AM and finding it hard to get back to bed. Maybe come spring time, I’ll have to think about retiring to bed at 8 or 9 PM and getting up at 4 or 5 AM each day, and taking full advantage of the morning, before it gets too hot. I don’t know.

As previously noted, next Monday is Bacon Day 🥓 when the sun will be setting at 4:30 pm with dusk at 5:02 pm. On that day in 2018, we had mostly cloudy, snow showers and temperatures between 33 and 23 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 32 degrees. We hit a record high of 53 back in 1984.

Good evening! Mostly clear and 25 degrees in Delmar, NY. Calm wind.There are 3 inches of snow on the ground. ☃ ️Things will start to thaw out at tomorrow around 8 am. 🌡️

The weekend came and went quickly but at least I got done the major things on my list 📃 and got out and did some skiing 🎿. I was happy that I have the voltage switch wired up and that’s working well. I did reduce the upper turn on voltage to 13.7 volts to ensure that it does dump some power into the starting battery 🔋 even on fairly cloudy days. ☁ Hopefully now I won’t go out and see after the truck has been parked for a week that the starting voltage has dropped to 12.4 or 12.3 volts. If I’m producing more power than I can use, might as well dump it in the starting battery for easier cold weather starts and to prolong the battery life. I’ve not had any problems with starting the truck but when I see the voltage sag on the starting battery I always get concerned.

Tonight will be mostly clear 🌃, with a low of 23 degrees at 10pm. Four degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around December 12th. Maximum wind chill around 21 at 10pm; Light south wind. In 2018, we had light snow in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 31 degrees. The record low of -12 occurred back in 1955.

It’s weird but on a mild night 🌃 like tonight it just feels so much warmer inside. ♨Does it actually read all that much warmer on the thermometer? Not really but it’s just less drafty and cold feeling. I can be comfortable with a lot less clothes on. 👚 Its amazing how much warmer it feels inside when it gets to 35 degrees outside with the south facing roof compared to a 25 degree day with lots of clouds.

Tonight will have a Waning Crescent Moon 🌘 with 4% illuminated. The moon will rise at 4:28 am. The New Moon is on Wednesday night with mostly cloudy skies. The is on Wednesday night. The sun will rise at 7:22 am with the first light at 6:50 am, which is 30 seconds later than yesterday. 🌄 Tonight will have 14 hours and 57 minutes of darkness, a decrease of 2 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will be sunny 🌞, with a high of 48 degrees at 2pm. 15 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around November 16th. I’ll take mid November weather a few days before Christmas. Light south wind increasing to 6 to 11 mph in the morning. Nice for a change, it should mean the boiler stays off tomorrow. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning, which became light snow by afternoon. The high last year was 35 degrees. The record high of 64 was set in 1990. 8.8 inches of snow fell back in 1947.❄

I’ve installed on both my phone and my laptop red light filters for night time use, 😴 in hopes that it will improve my sleep. While the hope is that less blue light will make for easier sleeping, I noticed that with the rest of my bedroom lights a dim red the monitor is awful bright 🔆 when I watch YouTube at night especially when I ride the bike 🚲.

I ordered more contacts online 👀 but I think my prescription is expired so it will be canceled as it looks like they actually check ☑ the prescriptions more carefully now. But I’m okay with that as I found another large box 🎁 of contacts in my truck and my insurance now covers yearly contact lens exams. It used to be that contact wearers had to pay for every other exam – or order online. That said, I really hate my current eye doctor 😷 but the other places I’ve been too haven’t been much better. I feel like most doctors offices are scams although I do have to say that doxycycline I got for Lyme seemed to mostly make those problems go away. If my prescription is denied, I’ll have to make an appointment but not right away as I actually have a supply for a while. 👓 And ultimately if I run out of contacts there always is the option of getting used to wearing glasses again.

In four weeks on January 19 the sun will be setting at 4:51 pm,🌄 which is 26 minutes and 6 seconds later then tonight. In 2019 on that day, we had snow and temperatures between 31 and 7 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 30 and 14 degrees. The record high of 62 degrees was set back in 1929.

Looking ahead, National Bird Day 🐧 is in 2 weeks, 5:30 PM Dusk 🌆 is in 5 weeks, Ground Hog Day 🐻 is in 6 weeks, Snow Moon 🌕 is in 7 weeks, March 🌨 is in 10 weeks, Daylight Savings Time 🌆 is in 11 weeks, Ides of March ✝ is in 12 weeks, Palm Sunday 🌴 is in 15 weeks, Easter 🐰 is in 16 weeks, Earth Day 🌎 is in 4 months, Mothers Day 👩‍ is in 20 weeks, Pack Rat Day 🐀 is in 21 weeks, Strawberry Moon 🌕 is in 24 weeks, Fathers Day 👨 is in 25 weeks and Average High is 80 🏖 is in 6 months.

Good morning! Happy Days are Getting Longer ☀️! Summer is coming in another six months but winter and black fly season is first! Two weeks to National Bird Day 🐧. Partly sunny and 27 degrees in Delmar, NY. There is a south breeze at 5 mph. 🍃. There is a inch of snow on the ground. ☃ ️Things will start to thaw out at around 11 am. 🌡️

This morning started out cloudy ⛅ but it is quickly clearing. Not sure if the voltage switch ⚡ is going to hit the 14.0 volts to turn on, if not I may set it lower at least on an experimental basis. I also think I’ll reduce the anti-retrip mode down from 8 minutes to 60 seconds. It’s worthwhile experimenting to see what produces the maximum charge on both batteries. 🔋

I got to take a shower 🚿 and then head to the store 🏬 before the crowds get there. 🍖 I also have some beer cans to return from my November camping trip 🍻 as last time the machine was full so I didn’t return them all. I want to test the gas lantern 🏮 and get that ready for my camping trip next.

I had waffles for breakfast 🍳 but I’m going to have to get more waffle mix if I want to have more next week. The nice thing is that I only have to work Monday next week and then I have Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off. 🎄 I doubt they’re going to be much snow left for the holidays as we lost a fair amount of snow yesterday and even more should disappear after today’s sun and warmth.

Today will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 39 degrees at 2pm. Five degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around December 7th. South wind around 6 mph. Yeah, save on the heat. ♨ A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning, which became light snow by afternoon. The high last year was 59 degrees. The record high of 60 was set in 1990. 12.3 inches of snow fell back in 1969.❄ It looks like this year though we are going to end it snow free. 🚫I’m fine with that as snow can be problematic while camping ⛺ although mud much more so. 🐽

The sun will set at 4:25 pm with dusk around 4:57 pm, which is 30 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At sunset, look for mostly clear skies 🌃 and temperatures around 35 degrees. There will be a south breeze at 6 mph. Today will have 9 hours and 2 minutes of daytime, a decrease of over yesterday.

Tonight will be mostly clear 🌃, with a low of 26 degrees at 5am. Seven degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around December 4th. Southwest wind 3 to 6 mph. In 2018, we had light snow in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 31 degrees. The record low of -12 occurred back in 1955.

A week from now I will be having my first camp breakfast 🍳 and splitting firewood. 🔥 I just hope it’s not too cloudy ☁ and damp but there is a lot that could change in the forecast by then. If it’s nice, I’ll enjoy sitting down by Seneca Lake in Clute Park or doing some cross country skiing if a little bit of snow remains, which seems increasingly unlikely now. 🎿

As previously noted, there are 2 weeks until National Bird Day 🐧 when the sun will be setting at 4:35 pm with dusk at 5:07 pm. On that day in 2019, we had rain and temperatures between 40 and 29 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 31 degrees. We hit a record high of 64 back in 1950.

Good evening! Partly clear and 22 degrees in Delmar, NY. Calm wind. Already not as bitterly cold as a day ago but I did turn up the heat because I am cold and it’s going to be mild the rest of the week. There are 3 inches of snow on the ground. ☃ ️Things will start to thaw out at tomorrow around 11 am. 🌡️

Today was a cold and gray day ☁ but it was pretty when the sun peaked through the clouds out skiing 🎿 in the Pine Bush. It was just me and Burt Shou on the Save the Pine Bush Ski trip but then I went out for a while myself. I think I may have gotten a bit of a sun burn because of the reflection off the snow and from my photosensitive skin after taking the antibiotics for three weeks. I was glad I finished them up but I am now feeling a bit stiff in the knees and I had a bit of a headache for a while but sometimes a bit of Lyme hangs around. 🐜 Or maybe I’m injuring my knees a bit with all the time lately I’ve spent on the bike 🚲.

I did fine skiing 🎿 except the one time I crashed 💥- my skis are touring cross country skis and they are a bit fast and unstable for descending the steepest dunes. I missed a turn in the trail and ended up tangled in wild grape 🍇 vine. They’re quite old at this point but they still work great. I like to use things as long as possible as it saves money 💵 and I don’t have trash pickup so I’d have to pay to get rid of them at the transfer station. 🚮 I have more photos 📷 to upload tomorrow.

As the first day of winter it was pretty cold and gray. ☁ But it was a productive day and it’s going to be warm and sunny over the next few days, ☀ especially on Monday. Too bad I have to work that day but I’ll enjoy my lunch time walk 🚶.I’m just hoping that the nice weather will continue into the next weekend when I’m out in the Finger Lakes National Forest.

Finally took out the garbage from the kitchen. 🗑With the compost usually it doesn’t stink and I can leave it in the can for weeks — but I guess I must have scrapped something off a pan or something and it started to rot and stink. 👃🏻 I should do it more often but I don’t like to waste trash bags, and it’s not like I have a day I have to do it except when I go to the transfer station myself.

Took another sleeping pill 💊 because I was concerned about waking up in the early hours and didn’t want to have that happen again like last night. Might be a bit foggy 🌁 in the morning but without work or anything to do early tomorrow I’m fine with that.

Tonight will be partly cloudy 🌤, with a low of 15 degrees at 5am. Four degrees below normal. Maximum wind chill around 17 at 6pm; Light south wind. In 2018, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 34 degrees. The record low of -8 occurred back in 1955.

Tonight will have a Waning Crescent Moon 🌘 with 10% illuminated. The moon will rise at 3:16 am. The New Moon is on Wednesday night with mostly cloudy skies. The is on Wednesday night. The sun will rise at 7:21 am with the first light at 6:49 am, which is 32 seconds later than yesterday. 🌄 Tonight will have 14 hours and 57 minutes of darkness, an increase of 3 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 39 degrees at 2pm. Five degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around December 7th. South wind 3 to 6 mph. A year ago, we had light rain in the morning, which became mostly clear by afternoon. The high last year was 59 degrees. The record high of 60 was set in 1990. 12.3 inches of snow fell back in 1969.❄

I am glad we are having a big warm up tomorrow ♨ as it will save on the heat. It will also make it easier outside for skiing and walking. I’m interested to see if the voltage switch does its job properly. I checked the connections with the Volt meter – for a while I brought it inside for future testing when something looked like the output polarity reversed but it seems fine now. ⚡ I’ll probably need to tweak the voltage thresholds but I think it will work well. I’ve learned to test and check ☑ when wiring things up and always stop and reconsider things ⛔ when I discover something isn’t working as expected.

One week from now will be my first night 🌃 winter camping ⛺ and that should be a lot of fun. I’m just hoping that it won’t be too rainy – looks to be quite mild and cloudy for sure with a chance of rain throughout the week. ☔ I almost prefer snow showers to rain although at least the roads won’t be so bad with just rain. I can’t control the weather but I can control my attitude.

In four weeks on January 18 the sun will be setting at 4:50 pm,🌄 which is 25 minutes and 23 seconds later then tonight. In 2019 on that day, we had snow showers, mostly cloudy and temperatures between 35 and 21 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 30 and 14 degrees. The record high of 59 degrees was set back in 1973.

Looking ahead, 4:30 PM Sunset 🌆 is in 1 weeks, Winnie the Pooh Day 🍯 is in 4 weeks, Martin Luther King Day 🖤 is a month away, 5 PM Sunset 🌆 is in 5 weeks, February 🌧 is in 6 weeks, Average High is 50 🌸 is in 14 weeks, Average High is 60 🌼 is in 17 weeks, Average High is 70 🐮 is in 21 weeks, Memorial Day Weekend Starts 🏕️ is in 22 weeks, Last Day of Session 🏛 is in 26 weeks and Summer ️⛱️ is in 26 weeks.

Good evening! Mostly clear and 14 degrees in Delmar, NY. There is a west-northwest breeze at 7 mph. 🍃. There are 3 inches of snow on the ground. ☃ ️Things will start to thaw out at Sunday around 11 am. 🌡️

Cold evening so I decided to stay home and ride the excerise bike 🚲 and catch up on the world of farmers, hunters, trappers and off griders I follow on the YouTube. 🚜 Dairy farming at negative 30 Celsius or -22F in Saskatchewan doesn’t look like much fun. 🐮 Muskrat trapping seemed more fun as did rebuilding an old multimeter from the 1950s. 🐨 I got in an hour and a half on the exercise bike. I also walked down to the park and ride this morning, a half mile during lunch and down to Peter Kiernan building 🏢 in the evening so I got my steps in despite the cold. I’ve noticed though that too much time on the exercise bike can make my knees stiff. Dinner tonight was pasta with tuna fish, corn and mayo. 🍲 I like it, it’s affordable and tasty even if it’s not high class to have tuna salad for dinner. Need to buy more mayonnaise this week though.

Tonight will be mostly clear and cold 🌃, with a low of 6 degrees at 5am. 14 degrees below normal. Maximum wind chill around -4 at 5am; Northwest wind around 7 mph. In 2018, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 19 degrees. The record low of -19 occurred back in 1951.

Tonight will have a Waning Crescent Moon 🌘 with 28% illuminated. The moon will rise at 12:52 am. The New Moon is on Wednesday night with mostly cloudy skies. The is on Wednesday night. The sun will rise at 7:20 am with the first light at 6:48 am, which is 36 seconds later than yesterday. 🌄 Tonight will have 14 hours and 57 minutes of darkness, an increase of 11 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will be sunny and cold 🌞, with a high of 24 degrees at 1pm. 10 degrees below normal. Another cold day. Northwest wind 6 to 9 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with a few breaks of sun the afternoon. The high last year was 43 degrees. The record high of 61 was set in 1957. 8.4 inches of snow fell back in 1975.❄

I did some more research and thinking 💭 about the voltage switch for the truck. I think I’ll only need the one diode on the input from the engine to keep the CB radio from accidentally being turned on by the solar panel. I have all the components I’ll need, just have to cut the wire, solder the diode in the line and then run the wire in the truck and crimp the connectors. 🔌 Shouldn’t take much time and Sunday will be quite warm for working outside. Then lots of sun ☀ to test it out this week and adjust the voltage thresholds appropriately. I have Tuesday and Wednesday off next week for Christmas 🎄.

In four weeks on January 16 the sun will be setting at 4:47 pm,🌄 which is 23 minutes and 52 seconds later then tonight. In 2019 on that day, we had partly cloudy, snow showers and temperatures between 39 and 23 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 30 and 14 degrees. The record high of 62 degrees was set back in 1995.

Looking ahead, Boxing Day 🥊 is in 1 weeks, Static Electric Shock Day 🧼 is in 3 weeks, National Cheese Lovers Day 🧀 is in 5 weeks, 5:30 PM Sunset 🌆 is in 9 weeks and Flower Moon 🌕 is in 20 weeks.