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Gorging on Gorges, An Adventure, Day 2

I awoke for Day 2 of Gorging on Gorges, and it was a fairly warm morning, at least for the day before Columbus Day, in the back country of the Finger Lakes National Forest. I decided I wanted a full breakfast this morning, so I got some sausage frying up, the coffee peculator doing its thing, then scrambled some eggs with mushrooms and sweet peppers. It was a good breakfast. Packed up my gear, folded the flag, headed out on Potamac Road, and stopped grab a few pictures of the pastures along the road.

Driving along all these back-country roads, I was amazed during most of my trip in New York State, on how many anti-SAFE Act signs there were in front of houses and farms along the way. If there ever was an issue that galvinized the backwoods of Upstate NY, it has to be that stupid gun law. I would reminded of the opposition to the SAFE Act all week, until I finally crossed into Pennsylvania state-line – the last SAFE Act sign ended a ¼ mile before I left the state. I bet you that poor dairy farmer, was awful pissed to live on the wrong side of an imaginary line, so they had to be subjected to stupid laws, high taxes, and anti-farm regulations.

Drove down to Trumansburg and then to Taughannock Falls State Park’s Gorge Overlook. The main overlook, next to the parking lot was a complete tourist trap, with dozens of tourists, many obviously traveling a long ways to get there, crowded around the overlook deck, as everyone – myself included – scrambled to get that one trademark photo of the falls. I was glad to get away from that overlook.

Started along the North Rim trail along the gorge. I was looking for secret places to find isolated, beautiful views of fall, and the hike did not disappoint. I found one perfectly shrouded in colorful fall leaves, but with a view of falls. I snapped a picture. I continued along, and found some good views in the gorge, showing the depth and width it below the falls. Then I ran into Robin Smith and his wife – Twitter and Facebook friend. Chatted for five minutes, then I proceeded on.

In part, I was in a bit of a rush, trying to find a place to take a piss. All that coffee plus maybe an eye-opener drink wasn’t great for the bladder. There also were a few to many people around to do it right on trail, especially being so close to the road most of way. But eventually I did it, and was on my way.

The North Rim trail runs into the Black Diamond Trail, which crosses an old railroad bridge, converted to a hiking trail via some concrete slaps and fence placed on it. The high, old railroad trestle provides views of a smaller, upper waterfalls and the little known, but quite impressive upper gorge. The upper gorge, above the falls, is a deep, narrow, but beautiful gorge where the Taughannock Creek runs, cutting deep into the valley. For the best views, you have to take the South Rim trail, which is what I took next.

The South Rim trail is impressive. There is the big parking lot from the Gorge Overlook on Taughannock Road, or you can alternatively take Gorge Road, and halfway down it, park in the smallish pull-off. Don’t miss it though. If you follow the South Rim Trail, there are some views of the gorge below the falls, and one view of the gorge, extending out to Seneca Lake.

I hiked back to my pickup truck, and then drove down to the main part of Taughannock Falls State Park. I parked in main portion of the park, rather then the always crowded and tight to park in lot next to the trail to Gorge Trail, which runs inside the gorge to below the falls. Not wanting my truck damaged by an overly excited tourist, I figured it’s always safer to park in an empty lot. Walked down to Seneca Lake, and noticed how green the trees were still on the lake shore. This contrasts to sections of US 20, the previous day, where the colors were burnt out to say the least. I was also surprised to see the AES Cayuga in Lansing, across the lake, burning coal today. They must keep in standby for when the line frequency drops to low locally. Stopped in the bathrooms at Taughannock Falls State Park, which were just very gross – clean, but rusty and in old shape – like so many state facilities.

Then I hiked along the gorge trail to the fall, taking several moments to stop and take photos, and explore the river bed. I had previously been here, in mid-July, but it certainly was different now that fall was in full swing. The trail was popular, and in some places, downright crowded, but the riverbed, at least as far as one could hike, wasn’t nearly as crowded. The gorge walls were pretty with the fall leaves, although by the time I got the falls, the sun was right over the top of the waterfalls, so most of the pictures of the falls came out pretty poorly.

Headed back to the truck, then drove down to Ithaca. The traffic was as awful as always in that city. I had stop at the pharmacy, then it was off to Buttermilk Falls State Park. I was surprised they were still charging – the last day must be Columbus Day. By now, it was too late to keep Robert Treman State Park on my list; that will have to wait until tomorrow. This time, I intentionally hiked up the North Rim trail, up to West King Road, then down into the gorge. Last November, I hiked up the gorge, so I figured it would be interesting to go the other way this time.

Hiking down Buttermilk Falls was scenic, but not as a scenic as I remember it. Maybe after all this time hiking in gorges and exploring the gorges, they also start to look a bit alike – and we are only day two. It’s more scenic then most of other glens, besides Enfield Glen and Watkins Glen, but it’s still a step below them. The gorge swimming pool at the bottom of the gorge it was nice.

It was a good hike, until descending the slippery stairs, I slipped, and dropped my camera, and it fell like 20 feet, hitting a dozen of the stone stairs before coming to a rest. The fall did some serious damage to the camera, as one might expect. The protective UV filter was shattered, the case was cracked up the lens. I was not pleased, to say the least. There may have been a few cuss words. But so be it. The camera was under a drop warranty that I bought when I got it, but I was more worried that the fall would damage the camera, so I would be out of luck for taking more pictures for the rest of the trip.

I might have been pissed at myself for my careless handling and missteps, for a little while, cussed myself out. I was less pissed when I discovered the lens wasn’t destroyed, only the $5 UV filter. The camera seemed to continue to work well, although the flash doesn’t always pop up – a feature I almost never use at any rate. The camera seemed to work okay, and I picked up a second UV filter at Walmart later in the evening. Later in the week, I noticed the automatic focus was sticking – fortunately I have a drop warranty on the lens too. One of these days, I will get around to sending the camera back to the factory for warranty repairs or replacement.

Once I got over the shock, anger, and amusement of smashing up my camera, and got the shattered UV filter off the camera – it took a little fiddling, as the impact of the fall bent the ring – I enjoyed the remaining hike and vistas of falls. Snapped several other quite nice pictures. Went to Walmart to pick up a few supplies, then back to Finger Lakes National Forest, for another evening at camp.

When I drove up to the campsites on Chicken Coop Road, I was pleasantly surprised to find out the campsite I like was vacant. Whoever was the night before packed up, and there was no mess left over. Hung the flag up, set up the table, hung lights up, and gathered wood. Started a campfire, cracked open a beer, had soup and sandwitches for dinner. The colors in the woods were about peak here. Around 6:15 PM, walked across the road, to take a closer look at the cows grazing in the pasture.

I stayed up until 8:15 PM, when it started to sprinkle, and quickly turned to a heavier rain, and decided it was time to seek shelter under the truck cap. Again a bit annoyed about the rain, and my stupidity about not setting up a tarp earlier in the evening. I listened to the radio for a bit, played on my cellphone, and retired for the night. The good news was that by morning, the rain would have passed, although the skies would be cloudy, damp, and the temperature only around 47 degrees.

Gorging on Gorges, An Adventure, Day 1

About a month ago, I took a trip I gave the name “Gorging on Gorges”. As the name would suggest, most of the trip involved visiting various gorges, taking photographs of them, and otherwise exploring them. About half of them I had previously been to, while the rest were new. I also visited several other state parks, state forests, and national forests – and did something I haven’t done in a long time – camped one night in a developed campground.

I started out my trip from Albany, taking US Route 20 West from I-88. I really wanted to avoid expressways for the bulk of my trip, is my general view is that expressways are the best way to get across America without really seeing anything. It’s more then a philosophical argument for me – what’s the purpose of a vacation if your rushing from point “A” to point “B”.

The first part of the trip, I drove to Chittenango Falls State Park via Nelson and beautiful farm country so high above. I walked down into the gorge, and up and around the falls. The color was somewhat muted, but it still was quite pretty. Then I headed off, taking some side roads as recommended by my GPS’s most direct route, and ended up passing a few miles from Labrador Hollow and the beautiful Labrador Pond, and said, heck, I got to stop on by there.

I drove down to Labrador Pond parking area, and hiked down to the pond. The colors were still not fully-turned on Jones Hill, but on Labrador Mountain were well past peak. Despite the crowds of fall foliage peepers from Syracuse, crowding the area, there were adequate opportunities for solitude. I walked down to the lake, snapped a few photos, then hiked the nature trail/boardwalk. It was nice. It also was great to see the boardwalk being used by a disabled man – he could get out and enjoy nature, despite his difficulties he had walking. One of the large dairies in the area was spreading something on fields nearby, and it sure stunk – it seemed nastier then fermented grain, although that’s probably what it was. Didn’t stick around too long, as I had places to go.

Drove down through Prebles, another deep, rich agricultural valley, dotted by large dairies that take advantage of the area’s rich soils for producing many bushels of corn on each acre. Got held up for about 5 minutes during a paving job, where they had the road restricted to one lane, for what had to been a half mile or so. Noticed how most of remaining trash burning barrels had disappeared from the landscape, that might have only been there 3 or 4 years ago.

Then it was off to Homer, where I passed a moose, made out of welded scrap metal along the road. It was kind of a neat roadside attraction, and I really should have stopped and got a picture, but I had a tight schedule and was burning daylight. I would come to later regret not getting that picture, but heck, I figure I can probably find a picture of it on the Internet using Google Images or Flickr. If not, it will certainly be there, the next time I find myself going through this roadside wilderness.

I got lost on my way to Moravia. Not really lost, because I was following the GPS, but because I had programmed the “most direct route” rather then “fastest route”, the GPS.decided to take me up a rough dirt road through Hewitt State Forest. I declined, and eventually the GPS found a new route, that happened to take me past Milton Fillmore’s birthplace. There is now a picnic pavilion and a some landscaping in that location. I turned around, snapped a few pictures, and explored it briefly. I wanted to a get a picture for dad for his historical markers collection.

Then it was off to Fillmore Glen. I was running a bit late at this point, but it’s a pleasant drive down to Filmore. The landscape is pretty rural until you drop, rather quickly into Moravia. Moravia is a pretty, small rural town; the glen is located at far southernly end of the town. There was a bridge being replaced in town, and you had to wait, for what seemed like an eternity for the light to green on the on-one lane bridge.

Finally, I got to the park entrance. The older guy there, grumbled when I said I had an Empire Pass. He was like “where is it – I can’t see it”. The rear window on my truck where the Empire Pass is tinted, but not that dark. I was slightly annoyed that the park entrance guy wasn’t friendly, and I forgot to ask for a map. I was kind of rushing. Got parked, and there was a big wedding going on, complete with horse drawn carriage. Crossed the “Dry Creek” and started up the trail, first to the Cow Shed falls, then decided to take the Northern Rim Trail. It wasn’t apparent at first that it was the rim trail, but I didn’t have a map. I actually printed up a map, and had it my truck, but I of course forgot it.

The Northern Rim climbs a fair bit, then runs along the rim, with very limited and occasional views. It crosses a pretty little creek that tumbles down the gorge, and eventually leads to a path down to the gorge trail, three-quarters the way up the gorge. I decided to hike down to the gorge trail, and then head back down the gorge towards the parking area. I missed a bit of the gorge trail, and the overlook, but so be it, time was tight.

The Gorge trail was scenic, but certainly not the most scenic of gorges. There were several small waterfalls, and some stairs and bridges, although most of the trail was gravel along the edge. The “Dry Creek” had plenty of water, but in general, the gorges was smaller then other Finger Lake gorges. There were several glens of interest, but the most beautiful portion of the glen was the Cow Sheds in the button of the gorge. Cow Sheds falls, are the wider portion of the gorge, where at one time, historically, cows would gather for shelter in severe or cold weather.

Snapped a few more pictures of Fillmore Glen, and it was off to Ithaca. I made pretty good time to Ithaca, although I admit I certainly wasn’t poking along. I really should have stopped more places, but I wanted to get to the Finger Lakes National Forest relatively early so I could set up camp and/or make alternative plans should my desired campsite on Chicken Coop Road be unavailable. Passed a giant bull statue on a farm, along NY 38, a few miles south of Moravia. I really should have stopped for a picture, but I was burning daylight, and the Finger Lakes National Forest, was over an hour away. I think this is the one, that the farmer paid like $10,000 to haul from an abandoned Steakhouse in Binghamton to the farm. I am sure the bull will be there for a long time – in case anybody forgot what is raised on farms.

Then it was down to Freeville.. The only thing real remarkable about that town, was the pine barrens and swamps, consisting of heading into it. When you think of the Finger Lakes, you tend to think open landscapes and farms, at least until you get mostly south of them of them, or in the highest points to the west. But not here. The Finger Lakes Trust owns some land, on the north side, where it the land is mostly the backwaters of the Oswaco Inlet.

Finally made it to Ithaca by 4:45 PM. I was lucky at this hour that traffic wasn’t too much of a slog by Ithaca standards, then I was off heading up Trumansberg Road. It seemed like an endless drive. Finally made it to Perry City, and then to the Finger Lakes National Forest. There was no sign of the government closure when I got there, but a bit disappointed, my favorite campsite on Chicken Coop Road was already taken. It was off to campsite on Potamac Road, just past the hunting camp.

I wasn’t thrilled by campsite, a big field campsite, but it had some trees along one edge for hanging the flag and lights. It was pretty good site for observing the stars, although there was a hunting camp down the road a little ways, so I had to keep the music down. I really don’t want to piss off the hunters. I gathered up some firewood from the woods, and got a fire started. The sun was fading fast, but so be it. I wired up my lights, some Christmas lights, and got the spot light on the flag.

It got dark, and I tuned into the Ithaca Progressive Radio Station, and gazed on the stars for a couple of hours. Nibbled on some snacks, cracked open a beer or two. Tossed some more wood on fire, and was happy to finally be on vacation.

It was a good first day… more adventures to come.

New Theme for the Blog. Central Vermont/Green Mountains This Extended Weekend. Lift Kits vs Other Toys. Getting off the Grid.

Good Morning! Happy Wednesday. Yes, folks it’s Wednesday. I think this is the first note I’ve done in a few months, but so be it. It really isn’t that hard to do notes, especially now that I’ve switched WordPress, and everything is pretty much standardized and easy to use. It’s a long one, jotted down over the past week,w with lots of things to talk about.

Working on a New WordPress Theme for the Blog. When I brought the blog over to WordPress, my intent was not to create another generic looking WordPress blog, although in many ways that’s how it ended up. I also messed up some of the code, and didn’t build a proper client theme, instead relying on an adapted theme.

The result was a kind of bland mess. The good news is I am now learning how to build a proper client theme on top of an existing, much nicer WordPress theme — that doesn’t look so much like a generic WordPress theme. One of the reasons I avoided for so long going with WordPress, as I didn’t want to end up with a very generic theme. But somehow it all ended up that way. I think the new theme I am going to — based on the popular Pinboard theme is much nicer.

Hopefully it will be up by the start of September, if all goes well. New maps up are on the blog today.

Heading Up to the Northern Half of Green Mountains this Weekend. Probably leave Friday after work, first camp in the Southern Green Mountains near Somerset Reservior, then head North on Vermont 100. There looks to be a lot of neat places to see in the northern Green Mountains, and some spectular scenery.

Plan to stay for a long weekend, by also taking off Monday and Tuesday, which promise to be pretty nice weather. As I don’t really know the area, a lot of the trip will be about seeing what is up there, and going from there to figure out what to do. I will bring the kayak and camera, and certainly are keeping my mind open to taking a nice hike somewheres. They are talking about a continuation of the recent low-humidity, temperate climate weather over the weekend, especially as we head into Monday and Tuesday. Supposed to be some good meteor showers.

I’ve decided to do more of these long weekends, rather then take any full weeks off this summer. I guess you could say the July 4th week was technically a week off, although actually July 4th and July 5th were holidays at the office, so they didn’t really count.

I might take a week-long trip in October to Western NY and Pennsylvania during peak foliage season. That said, I also want to do an extended weekend trip to Moose River Plains and also Lake Kushaqua/Jones Pond and recently re-opened Loon Mountain firetower.

Going to Put Off Getting the Lift-Kit Installed Until at Least March. Originally the plan was to have a lift-kit installed on my truck in October. But after giving it more thought, and carefully reviewing the options, I’ve decided the best option is to wait another six months or so. For one, I want to wear down the stock tires more, so I’m not wasting them as much, and also so I’m a bit closer to end of the factory warranty — the lift kit isn’t covered by the truck’s factory warranty, and while it wouldn’t invalidate the whole warranty, certainly any damage (as unlikely as it is) it could cause wouldn’t be warrantied.

But the other part of the rational is partly money-wise, and because I’m not totally sold on the lift-kit idea. I’ve thought about getting a snowmobile instead this winter, and have been looking at Want Ad Digest. That said, the more I look at it, the more I am not in a rush to get a snowmobile. As much fun as it would be to get deep in the back country in winter — assuming there are groomed trails back there — I worry about break downs and the alike. Not to mention, snowmobiles use a lot of gas, and really aren’t much more efficient then automobiles, because the snow drags them down.

The money-wise issue comes in that things are more expensive then I first estimated a year ago. I think I am going to go with 35s and a 6″ lift kit from a good brand like BDS. Any bigger then that isn’t cost-effective, and non-pratical. That will get me up high enough. The final increase in the height of the truck will be something like 8 inches, because the 35s are 4 inches larger in diameter then factory 31s, and a six-inch lift is half foot higher.

I also think I will go for full-leaf replacements in the back rather then add-a-leafs, to ensure the weight of the camper shell and equipment in the back won’t cause the nose to be pointing in the air, etc. Going to have it re-geared to save fuel, add some more power, not kill the engine or tranny. And there are some other things like the narrower brake lines that are recommended, among other parts, I would probably spring for when it comes to lift-kit. Plus all that labor cost, which will easily be a grand on it’s own.

I want to ride up higher. I am a tall guy. It also will give me a chance to “freshen” up the look of my truck, which after 2 1/2 years will be getting kind of boring and old. I want something I can get 10 years or more out of without getting totally bored with. After I do the lift kit, there are other projects for future years, such as getting the rocker panels Line-X’d, and replacing the bumpers with those awesome Ranch bumpers, that can actually be used for parallel parking without being damaged.

Or maybe I’ll find other toys to spend my money on. It’s good having some extra disposable money kicking around, as I’m sure future jobs won’t nearly pay as much.

Been Reading and Watching More Videos About Getting Off the Grid. Being somebody who camps most weekends from April to November in the back of my pickup truck, and relies heavily on my inverter and the deep cycle battery to keep things lighted up all evening long. I cook my own food in the woods, clean dishes using bottled water, burn my garbage, and dig a whole in woods when I need to go to the bathroom. Heck, with my laptop and the wireless card, I can be up in woods and surfing the web, doing work, and even fielding calls over my cellphone.

I have a pretty decent working understanding of electricity, and how all the off-the-grid thing too. I grew up in the country, are comfortable in woods, and know how to build a good fire in woodstove. I am fascinated to learn more about some of the relatively inexpensive and simplistic living arrangement many-off-the-griders live with, without all costs and hassles of an on-grid house.

My grandfather had one of those absorption-cooler refigerators/freezers in his RV at his campsite in Warrensburg. They’re neat, as one needs more then just a cooler when you live somewhere permanently, rather then wondering the wilderness in your pickup truck. They burn like 5-10 gallons of propane a month. But there also is these high-efficiency refrigerators that are electric and have a lot of insulation, so they don’t strain batteries in a PV/micro-hydro/wind system as much.

But a bigger issue for me is the ability to take showers and get cleaned up properly wherever I live. For that purpose, there are amazingly small tankless-water heaters that use a small amount of propane, but can get water very hot quickly. If you think small, you don’t really need that much flow, compared to a full-scale modern house with a massive-tanked water heater. Hot showers, and hot water for dishes is a necessity to keep clean. If I can get away with it from the code inspectors, I’d be fine with composting toilets or even just a plain old outhouse. That’s a luxury in woods.

Woodstoves, radiant flooring, and other familiar technology is self-explanatory. Having good insulation is a must in this part of the country. I don’t want to have trash pickup — I’m happy enough burning what can be burnt, and taking the glass and metals for proper recycling in the normal industrial fashion.

I like small houses. Smaller is better. I would rather spend my money on land, that could not only be used for recreation like riding quads, shooting guns, and hunting, but also for money by grazing livestock and timber. I am not a greeny, I don’t got a problem with using styrofoam plates for dinner and disposing them in an open fire. I just hate the whole upper-middle class, fancy house living style in the suburbs.

All this reading library books gots me thinking …

But for now I’m fine. As a transition though, I think I would next like to live in a small, handsome, downtown, one that is walkable to a bar and a store, but also provides ample-off-street parking. I think it would be a lot of fun to have an apartment on the second or third floor, above a shop, and be able to sit out and look at my window and watch the traffic go by.

Anywhere I live, I want to be near a National Forest or State Forest that allows free, primitive camping, in a remote-roadside fashion. Not to mention scenic vistas, places to hunt, fish, hike, and spend time outdoors. But I really want to get out of New York, at least eventually. I think it would be fun to own an AR-15, and eventually get a concealed carry permit from a must-issue state, without any pesky questions about whatever stupid things I did decades ago back in college — that hurt nothing but folks egos. To say nothing of not being in a state that’s totally anti-rural and not into the philosophical nature thing.

Far off I guess. Things aren’t that bad right now.

A Cold Winter’s Day Five Rivers

On a very cold Saturday afternoon, I decided to drive out to Five Rivers and take some pictures. I wanted to get pictures of the setting sun, but it did not happen due to the snow squal that came blowing in. Here’s what I got.

Blowing Snow…

It certainly was cold enough there when I was walking. If it had been nicer, I probably would have headed out of town.

Deer Pics…

The deer really aren’t all afraid of humans at Five Rivers. You can almost walk up and touch them, as they know that hunting is prohibited in this area.

It’s the commute 🚘

I’ve continued to think about country living and building my off grid homestead. Commuting sucks especially in the big city, as I’ve determined in the past two days when I drove to work – one day for the Pine Bush Hike and the other for heading out to Schoharie to camp.

Traffic jams, traffic speeds up and slows down, you have to pay constant attention.
So many broke down cars and crashes necessitating difficult lane changes due to Move Over Law.
Cops everywhere – checking your speed, if all your tail lights are working, not using your cellphone, following the Move Over Law.
A complete time suck – on the bus you can read and on the bike you get exercise but time driving is wasted.
Expensive automobile maintenance and fuels.

And that was only one trip out of town and a trip up to the Pine Bush!

It’s nice to get out of town, but I’ve come to realize that much of the nice of the really nice land is beyond sensible commuting distance. There is no reason to live in a suburban subdivision surrounded by corn fields that smells like cow shit. Commutes aren’t certainly a good reason to live out in the country.

Maybe for as long as I have to live in big city, focusing on making money, I should continue to live in the city where I can bike to work. Continue to research and plan my dream homestead, but realize it’s not compatible with living in New York or being within commuting distance of my work. It just isn’t possible to put together to incompatible views of my future.

Shotgun Love songs 😍 🚜

That was the name of the trashy audio book I’ve been listening to that has a distinct taste of silage and smallest town life. It’s a story about several small town people, a rock and roll star and a family living on a dairy in Wisconsin, you know bonfires, working the land, etc. I’m just tired of the crowded east coast and the values of the eastern establishment and those who play to their values in the most scummy of ways, I’m probably talking about myself or maybe Bob Moses.

Good morning! Happy Thursday. Sunny and 31 degrees in Bethlehem, NY. 🌞 There is a north breeze at 7 mph. 🍃.

Taking the bus to work today as I found another small, slow leak in my bike tube. 🚍 Apparently whatever I ran over put several small wire shards through the tube. I should get some fix a leak — next time I go to the store and fill both of my tires with it, and pick up an extra tube just so I have it in reserve so I’m not waiting for a patch to dry, unsuccessfully. I think I let that rear tire go too long before rotating it, and I concede even now I’ve rotated the tires, I need to get new tires soon.

Going to get off at the Empire Plaza and walk North Pearl Street🚶 to work as I did yesterday. I think this route is a bit longer then walking along Broadway, but I like the change and I think this route is a bit more interesting then Broadway with better views of the cliffs above. It’s a nice walk to work but I’m hoping my second tire patch, on another hole in the tube holds and I’m back riding tonight. Or maybe I can get another tube at the local bike shop if this one just ain’t going to hold air.

Today will be sunny 🌞, with a high of 54 degrees at 3pm. 10 degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 5th. North wind 6 to 8 mph. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies. The high last year was 54 degrees. The record high of 89 was set in 2009. 0.3 inches of snow fell back in 1928.❄

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:54 pm with sun having an altitude of 60.8° from the due south horizon (-10.1° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 3.4 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:10 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (283°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (289°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:49 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 4 seconds with dusk around 8:19 pm, which is one minute and 8 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:56 pm. At sunset, look for clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 51 degrees. There will be a northwest breeze at 5 mph. Today will have 13 hours and 54 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 37 seconds over yesterday.

That whole thing about somebody jumping off the bridge yesterday 🪂 next to my office 🏢 got a lot of interest in the office but I didn’t really care, I had work to do. It’s possible that from the opposite side of the building you could see the bridge where he jumped from but certainly not where he fell. Sometimes there are crashes and other delays along the interchange. Despite driving 🚘 in on Tuesday I didn’t notice any delays in particular.

Tonight will be clear 🌃, with a low of 28 degrees at 5am. 13 degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 23rd. Northwest wind around 5 mph. In 2023, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 30 degrees. The record low of 24 occurred back in 1972.

The weekend looks to be fairly mild but not all that great. 🌥 Saturday, a slight chance of showers after 2pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 63. South wind 5 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. Maximum dew point of 36 at 9pm. Sunday, mostly cloudy, with a high near 71. Maximum dew point of 56 at 4pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 65 degrees.

Looking ahead, there are 10 weeks until Independence Day 🇺🇸 when the sun will be setting at 8:37 pm with dusk at 9:10 pm. On that day in 2023, we had mostly sunny and temperatures between 84 and 54 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 83 degrees. We hit a record high of 104 back in 1911.

Cold mid-April morning 🌥️

Started out my day bright and early around 5 AM cooking up a big pan of veggies, eggs and some cornmeal with lots of turmeric and red chili peppers to ensure my nose still ran well. Did some reading, finishing up the e-book on green building I had form the library, continuing that e-book on sustainable farming and java programming.

Good morning! Happy Saturday. Another shit weather weekend. 💩 That’s how I feel about this weekend’s forecast, now that the windows are closed in my apartment. 🪟 I like the fresh air, the lack of it makes me a bit cranky. Mostly cloudy with a few hints of sun, 🌥️ and 48 degrees in Delmar. Much colder then yesterday, and certainly quite a bit below normal. There is a south-southwest breeze at 13 mph. 🍃. The skies will clear around 10 pm.

One of the first things on my agenda 🔧 is to perform the usual adjustments on my bike 🚲️ to keep the gears working well. I also want to do scrub down some of the walls in my apartment and floor as the floors were soaked yesterday after all the rain and wet weather we’ve been having lately. 🌧️ I could smell the mold starting to grow once again. This place is such a run down dump, 🏚️ but let’s be honest, I kind of like it as it is. That said, I do like having the windows open. Fresh air is good.

Today will have a chance of showers. Cloudy 🌦, with a high of 49 degrees at 6am. Nine degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 26th. Breezy, with a southwest wind 13 to 20 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 38 mph. S Chance of precipitation is 50%. Going to be a fairly cool day by mid-April standards. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. A year ago, we had sunny skies. The high last year was 89 degrees, breaking the previously set record. But not today. 5.5 inches of snow fell back in 1950.❄

Thinking of heading out early for a ride out to Voorheesville 🚴‍♂️ before the wind picks up an things cloud up. I am actually happy to see a bit of blue sky 🌬️ but I know it’s not going to last with rain more likely later. I might then go down to the library. 📚️ They are renovating the unit next door now that my neighbor with the big garbage pile moved out. A bit noisy with all the construction going on. 👷‍♀️ New landlord seems to be pretty good at maintaining the yard so far and has been friendly. Rent is going up in June, but it’s not that much — $800 a month in these inflationary times isn’t bad. 🏘️ I’m kind of hoping for a new lease, so I can stay another year while I continue to evaluate my options.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:56 pm with sun having an altitude of 56.6° from the due south horizon (-14.2° 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 6:58 pm with the sun in the west (277°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (284°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:36 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 58 seconds with dusk around 8:04 pm, which is one minute and 8 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the First Quarter 🌓 Moon in the west-southwest (256°) at an altitude of 57° from the horizon, 240,404 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:40 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and temperatures around 46 degrees. Breezy, 22 mph breeze ⛅ from the west-northwest with gusts up to 46mph. Today will have 13 hours and 22 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 47 seconds over yesterday.

Yesterday evening, did a nice bike ride out to Five Rivers. 🚴‍♂️ It was a nice evening, with the spring peepers 🐸 singing their songs and red-winged black birds chirping along. 🐦️ One of the cows was out loose on Meads Lane 🐮 . It was a pleasant evening, came home and read for a while, 📖 the headed off to bed.

Tonight will be cloudy, then gradually becoming partly cloudy 🌃, with a low of 39 degrees at 6am. Three degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 20th. Breezy, with a west wind 13 to 22 mph, with gusts as high as 44 mph. 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 58 degrees. The record low of 19 occurred back in 1973. More rain come Sunday.

I’m hoping next week to get out camping. 🏕️ It all depends on how things go weather wise, but it’s been a few weeks since I last spent a night in the wilderness. Thinking about the Green Mountains, maybe taking a three day weekend, but it depends on what roads are open. I could also do Rensslearville State Forest or maybe Madison County. Not sure, I need to think about it a bit more.

As previously noted, there are 2 weeks until Arbor Day 🌳 when the sun will be setting at 7:52 pm with dusk at 8:21 pm. On that day in 2023, we had partly cloudy, patches of fog and temperatures between 62 and 40 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 65 degrees. We hit a record high of 91 back in 1962.

Andy Arthur.org

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