The breeze and the clouds are making it not as quite as hot as it could be, though also the dew point is kind of modest. I’m dragging my butt to get walking this morning, but it’s getting done. I was up late last night doing some cleaning and packing, I’m inching closer to leaving tomorrow fairly early for summer vacation.

Good morning! Happy Thursday. Cloudy and 70 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☁️There is a south breeze at 11 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 67 degrees. The skies will clear around 6 pm.

So, yep it’s morning. 😵 I’m going, I’m doing my morning walk. 🍳 When I get back home I’m planning a quick breakfast of eggs with spinach, tomatoes, peppers and mushroom. Then I am hoping to walk down and catch the express bus downtown. 🚏 🚌 Yesterday, I rode my bike to work and it was a nice ride, 🚵‍♀️ but to be honest I think it’s going to rain or storm by afternoon, and I figure it best to catch the bus downtown. Plus I’m just not feeling real energetic this morning, though I’m doing my walk and hoping the eggs and spinach with some coffee ☕ will get me moving.

Today will have showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly between 1pm and 5pm. Some of the storms could produce gusty winds and heavy rain. Mostly cloudy and hot 🌧, with a high of 90 degrees at 2pm. Six degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 72 at 12pm. South wind 11 to 14 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 83 degrees. The record high of 97 was set in 1955.

Last night I went for a ride down to Normans Kill West Preserve 📖 and sat down by the Normans Kill for a while with a book before returning them to the library. Then I went home, cooked down and froze the black beans 👨‍🍳 and did some cleaning in the bathroom, and further packing to prepare for the trip. ⛺ I have a few more things to do tonight regarding packing, but I think I’ll skip the laundromat as I can wear shorts a second time on vacation, and I probably need additional pairs of clothes, as many that I own really don’t fit well at this point but I can always pick some up in the Finger Lakes. 👕

Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:03 pm with sun having an altitude of 66.6° from the due south horizon (-4.2° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.6 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:42 pm in the west-northwest (291°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (298°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:23 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 15 seconds with dusk around 8:54 pm, which is one minute and one second earlier than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Gibbous 🌔 Moon in the south (186°) at an altitude of 24° from the horizon, 235,816 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:36 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and thunderstorms 🌩 and temperatures around 81 degrees. The dew point will be 70 degrees. The heat index around sunset will be 77. ⛱ There will be a west breeze at 8 mph. Today will have 14 hours and 42 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and one second over yesterday.

The plan is to mostly finish packing tonight 💼 except for a few things I will need in the morning. I am not sure if I will put the kayak on my truck until the morning, as I think it might rain or thunderstorm ⛈ and I don’t want to drive out to the Finger Lakes with the kayak sloshing full of water, on the roof of my truck. 🛶  I was going to replace the front tie down rope for the kayak but I’ll hold off on that for now, but the next time I’m at Walmart I should pick up some more rope and maybe cut that down to size for use the next time I load the kayak up.  🥚 I think I may hard boil the remaining eggs I have at home tonight, so I can have that as a protein boost before leaving tomorrow, which I want to leave at 8:45 AM so I can swing by my insurance agent to ask them about the new spousal insurance law, and if I can decline that coverage. 🏦 Then try to be on the road a little after 9 AM, then maybe stop first down Oneonta to get fuel ⛽ and pick up a few supplies at Walmart, 🛒 and a bathroom break. 🚽 The plan then is to not stop until I’m at the National Forest 🌲 and can start setting up camp by mid-day. 🏕

Tonight will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 9pm. Partly cloudy 🌃, with a low of 69 degrees at 5am. Six degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 72 at 6pm. West wind 3 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It became sticky as the night progressed. It got down to 67 degrees. The record low of 44 occurred back in 1971.

Right now, a split verdict on the weekend. 😕 Saturday, a chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 8am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 85. Northwest wind 6 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Maximum dew point of 70 at 11am. Sunday, mostly sunny, with a high near 79. Maximum dew point of 58 at 7am. Typical average high for the weekend is 84 degrees.

As previously noted, next Thursday is Campfire Day 🔥 when the sun will be setting at 8:15 pm with dusk at 8:45 pm. On that day in 2022, we had hot, mostly sunny and temperatures between 90 and 64 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 83 degrees. We hit a record high of 97 back in 1975.

Cool enough this morning to be reminded of what fall feels like without the humidity and wildfire smoke mugging you the moment you step outside. That said, autumn is just around the corner as is August. It will come quickly come August 8th when I’m back from summer vacation, and I loose all the sunlight in the evening as I’ll be back farther east.

Good morning! Mostly clear 🌅 and 61 degrees in Delmar, NY. Calm wind. The dew point is 56 degrees.

Out walking 🚶 at 6:15 am which probably isn’t good idea as I didn’t get to bed until much too late after the late return from the hike last night, which I followed by sitting out back for a while and then running inside, taking a shower 🚿 and checking carefully for ticks before bed 🛏. A hard boiled egg 🥚 and some grapes 🍇 for protein and sugar before the morning walk. Whole grain oatmeal with fresh blueberries and black berries with more black coffee after the morning walk.🫐🍓 Plus maybe some carrots 🥕 for a fiber boost.

Today will be sunny 🌞, with a high of 85 degrees at 4pm. One degree above normal. Maximum dew point of 61 at 10am. Calm wind becoming southeast around 6 mph in the afternoon. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. It was sticky. The high last year was 97 degrees. The record high of 97 was set in 1991.

Finally finished my bike build. 🚲 I’m much happier with Blackie now that I got all the accessories installed except the heavy gauge u-lock holder 🔒 because I’m debating if I should mountain on the frame or on the rack, for better balance center and axle wise versus blocking the location for future additional water storage unit under bike lights for safer nighttime riding for finding potholes and rough terrain on the trail. The waterproof phone holder is great with the Zeopoxa Cycling app which not only tells me my speed but also distanced traveled and provides a map of my route. And every mile it barks out how many miles traveled, average speed and calories burnt. 🗣️

That said, I think the feature I like the most about my bicycle is the 13×15 crate I have mounted on my bike rack, now with a MIK adapter for quick release so I can load the box when it’s not on the bicycle or take off for transit on the bus or in my truck. 🧺 Or what riding in real rough country or greater efficiency. It’s great, you just throw whatever gear you want in it and go. Hammock, backpack, water, lunch, tools, etc. Also makes a good grocery carrier for heading home from the store. 🏪 Detach the crate, load in the store and I never have to worry buying too much groceries to haul home. Probably use it tonight for that purpose. Toss in the Bluetooth speaker 🔊 and have tunes 🎶 and podcasts to listen to plenty loud over the roar of traffic. Ended up using six plastic cable zip ties to secure the basket to the MIK adapter, it just worked better than bolts and washee with my particular crate. The crate is the weakest link, not the twist ties but I feel confident it could safely carry 20-30 lb of supplies or groceries. 🍏 While the rack is rated for 30 kg or 66 lb, the mount is 20 kg or 44 lb, I think the lightweight crate I installed probably couldn’t handle that much. But I don’t often get juice or milk at the grocery store — milk but usually at Stewarts where I walk, and only a gallon at most of the time. Bicycle water bottle holders are inexpensive, but I’m not sure the advantage over just tossing the water in the back. Maybe for long trips I’d want additional water closer to the front axle.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:02 pm with sun having an altitude of 68.1° from the due south horizon (-2.7° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.4 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:47 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (293°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (300°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:29 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 19 seconds with dusk around 9:01 pm, which is 48 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Crescent 🌒 Moon in the west (275°) at an altitude of 15° from the horizon, 251,882 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:44 pm. At sunset, look for partly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 76 degrees. The dew point will be 62 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Today will have 14 hours and 55 minutes of daytime, a decrease of one minute and 43 seconds over yesterday.

Well that certainly was an interesting evening hiking in the Norman’s Kill Ravine Preserve. 🚶 The loop trail was just longer than I expected and the terrain was more rugged then I would expect for suburban Delmar. Not even all that exciting, just a lot of ridges and swamps along a flatwater, very muddy from the recent rain ☔. I think the trails are a bit rougher than I would want to take my new mountain bike on but might walk them again come the autumn when things are colorful and the views are better. 🍂

Tonight will be mostly cloudy 🌥, with a low of 67 degrees at 4am. Four degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 64 at 4am. South wind 3 to 7 mph. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It became very sticky as the night progressed. It got down to 72 degrees. The record low of 45 occurred back in 1974.

I am thinking tonight maybe of checking out another nature preserve along the Normans Kill, the Normans Kill Preserve behind the Justice Center on Normans Kill Boulevard next to Delaware Plaza. This preserve looks much more interesting then Normans Kill Ravines Preserve, and is much smaller / quicker hike, though a slightly longer bus ride. I was thinking I could go there and then go grocery shopping for the weekend thereafter, all using my bicycle.

On this day in 1969, Apollo 11’s crew successfully makes the first landing on the Moon 🌕 in the Sea of Tranquility. Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the Moon, well at least in England. Us Americans would get to watch it the next day. 📺 Funny how time zones work. The world conquered the moon, returned a half dozen times or so and got bored and gave up visiting the moon only three years later. 🌎 Worldly problems like Vietnam, pollution and inflation somehow seemed more important than visiting the moon. I guess they were, but to give up so quickly after a goal 🥅 was reached seems like a major societal cop out.

Continues to be a nice weekend on tap. ☺ That said, the muggers will return after the rain tonight into tomorrow. Saturday, isolated showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 2pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 80. West wind 6 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. Maximum dew point of 63 at 8am. Sunday, sunny, with a high near 84. Maximum dew point of 63 at 7pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 84 degrees.

The plan continues to be to head out of town for the weekend. I am thinking early Saturday morning through mid-day Monday, after the rain stops. I am leaning towards Catskill Scenic Trail on Saturday morning from Grand Gorge to Stamford, then swim in Mine Kill State Park, then Sunday maybe mountain bike around Burnt-Rossman Hills State Forest truck trails. I do want to get Shaul’s too, I haven’t decided if that will be Saturday or Sunday. Probably Sunday as Shaul’s closes at 5 PM. Maybe that could be another pool and bicycle day. Biking along NY 30 from the Blenhiem Bridge and maybe doing another afternoon at Mine Kill Pool could be good for Sunday, even though I’d rather hang out at camp for the day and not have to take down camp or at least lock things up, and then have the fun of getting out of that rough site and the bumpy roads. But whatever. Then maybe more of the Catskill Scenic Trail on Monday morning, such as Stamford south to Bloomville. And another swim before heading out to the folks house. Truth is I don’t want to get home too late on Monday as I need to pack for summer vacation like the next day.

Looking ahead, there are 2 weeks until Campfire Day 🔥 when the sun will be setting at 8:15 pm with dusk at 8:45 pm. On that day in 2022, we had hot, mostly sunny and temperatures between 90 and 64 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 83 degrees. We hit a record high of 97 back in 1975.