Good evening! Mostly clear and 73 degrees at the Finger Lakes National Forest. There is a north breeze at 6 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 53 degrees. A very nice evening, might even want a long sleeved shirt 👚 by morning. No fan tonight for me in the truck cap. ☢️

I did everything that I planned today without feeling rushed. 😊 I too often feel like I am running 🏃 from park to park 🏞 on vacation and not taking time to relax. But this year with the pandemic smoldering in the background and an otherwise busy season with work I’ve been taking it slow and doing a lot of reading 📖 and relaxing 🛏 while still enjoying the Finger Lakes. I’ve limited the number of parks I plan to visit and are staying at the same campsite ⛺ with no cell service 🔕 all eight nights to avoid set up and take down. After vacation, work is going to be non-stop as a supervisor, and I’ll be on call 📞 virtually all the time through November.

Caywood Point was interesting to explore on Seneca Lake. 🛥 I bet it’s fun to camp dorm there on a very starry night. 🌃 Some folks had tents pitched right on the shoreline – I guess you don’t have to worry about the tide on a Finger Lake. Seemed like an interesting group of people who hang out there. I should think about going back there and do some fishing 🎣 off the dock or go for a swim 🏊🏻‍♂️ there.

I hiked part of the Catherine Valley Rail Trail 🚂 through the Catherine Marsh WMA aka Bad Indian Swamp. 🌿I am sure the later is disfavored as a name, with the preference today recalling Seneca Chief Catherine Montour, although to this day there are towns that recall the first and last name, so the natives are hardly forgotten. 🐸🦆🕊️🐌🐍🐢 And I doubt the old name was referring to a Bad Indian, just that it was a large, thick area that was marshy and filled with reeds and difficult to pass until the Barge Canal and later the railroad tracks and NY 14 on the east shore. 🌾The swamp is largely reeds, probably the best views from the rail trail are of the Barge Canal. At least from the trail it didn’t stink of sewage. 💩

Then I went for a quick swim 🏊🏻‍♂️ at Watkins Glen State Park. Nobody was manning the toll booth so I didn’t have to show my Empire Passport 🛂. But the pool was open and mostly empty and lead to a nice cool way to break up the evening and cool down.

I went to Tops and stocked up on some food. 🥩 I bought some boneless chicken which I realized at camp was actually pork chops. 🐖 I have nothing against pork, it was good with the rice I bought, stuck in a nice hamburger role, washed down and with some beer 🍻. I also stopped at Glen Dairy Bar and got a large dish of soft ice cream 🍧 dipped in peanut butter 🥜. That was good.

Then before dark I went kayaking 🛶 from the Watkins Glen boat launch. I was going to paddle up to Hector Point but on the way up there I was warned by another kayaker that the water was choppy once you got beyond the bend, and after paddling a few more minutes agreed it seems a bit rough and didn’t want to get caught on open water and ended up just paddling along the south end of the lake by Clute Park. 🎣 Had my fishing pole but the lake was so rough and the south end of the lake so shallow I decided it wasn’t worth it.

Got back to camp around eight, 🏕️ cooked up the pork chops 🥩 and rice 🍚 had dinner and started a fire 🔥 and laid back in the hammock. I forgot to buy coffee ☕ today, I’ll have to get some tomorrow. Ice is not holding up well in the heat 🌡️, I may need to get more at any rate tomorrow and can get coffee at the same time.

Tonight will be mostly clear 🌃, with a low of 59 degrees at 3am. Two degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around August 21st. Maximum dew point of 54 at 10pm. North wind 3 to 6 mph. In 2019, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became light rain by the early hours of the morning. It was sticky. It got down to 67 degrees. The record low of 43 occurred back in 1957.

Tonight will have a Last Quarter 🌗 Moon with 37% illuminated. The Strugeon 🐡 Moon is on Wednesday, August 26. The darkest hour is at 1:13 am, followed by dawn at 5:42 am, and sun starting to rise at 6:12 am in the east-northeast (69°) and last for 3 minutes and 5 seconds. Sunrise is one minute and 3 seconds later than yesterday. 🌄 The golden hour ends at 6:51 am with sun in the east-northeast (75°). Tonight will have 10 hours of darkness, an increase of 2 minutes and 28 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 82 degrees at 3pm. One degree above normal, which is similar to a typical day around August 9th. Maximum dew point of 57 at 5pm. Calm wind becoming northeast around 6 mph in the afternoon. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, which became cloudy by afternoon. It was somewhat humid. The high last year was 81 degrees. The record high of 98 was set in 1947.

While I’m not totally sure and left the kayak on my truck, I am thinking tomorrow would be a good day for hiking. 🚶🏽 I am thinking about the Dresden – Penn Yann rail trail as I’ve never explored that part of the Finger Lakes and that was recommended to me on Facebook. Apparently this trail follows the old railroad grade in the gorge along the Penn Yann outlet. 🏞 Sounds intreguing in my book but I should read up on it before making the trip in the morning.

I’ve been having a few problems uploading photos 📸 today, there was a glitch in my new phone uploader that I built but I think it’s working now. I still have to upload photos from kayaking 🛶 this evening on Seneca Lake but that will have to wait until tomorrow when I have better cell service 📶.

I was saddened to hear about the passing of Reszin Adams, 😔 who has been called the alpha activist of Albany. Not only did she bake lasagna for every Pine Bush Dinner for 35 plus years, she was involved in everything from protesting the Vietnam War to Aprahid in South Africa.

I don’t know where things stand with the documentary 📹 I was working with Cynthia Pooler on her – we cut some n roll at her birthday party 🎂 in February but when she pandemic hit everything kind of stopped except for video editing. I barely know how to use the camera but we did interview several people om Reszin. Definitely sad news for everybody in the Capital Region that cared about progress and change.

At least I got to know her a little bit more than Theresa Cooke, 👩🏼 the lady who confronted Erastus Corning and made a big difference in openness and change in the Albany County Democratic Machine.🐴 I had met Cooke at Pine Bush dinners in her late years but never knew the difference she made in the 1970s. She just struck me as some kind of activist but I never asked any questions until I learned about her history upon her death.

In four weeks on September 9 the sun will be setting in the west (277°) at 7:27 pm,🌄 which is 45 minutes and 25 seconds earlier then today. In 2019 on that day, we had mostly sunny, patches of fog and temperatures between 73 and 49 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 75 and 54 degrees. The record high of 94 degrees was set back in 1959.

Looking ahead, National Dog Day 🐩 is in 2 weeks, Corn Moon 🌕 is in 3 weeks, SORRY NO NOT NATIONAL CORN DOG DAY, Columbus Day 🛥️ is in 2 months, Average High is 55 🍂 is in 11 weeks, Day After Election Day 🛀 is in 12 weeks, Veterans Day 🇺🇸 is in 13 weeks, Earliest Sunset of the Year ⌛️ is in 17 weeks, Tea Party Day 🐍 is in 18 weeks, Festivus 🍖 is in 19 weeks, Bacon Day 🥓 is in 20 weeks, Make Your Dream Come True Day 🏡 is in 22 weeks, Inauguration Day ✅ is in 23 weeks, Clean Your Computer Day 🧹 is in 26 weeks and Presidents Day 👴 is in 27 weeks.

Good evening! Cloudy and humid and 69 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☁ Calm wind. The dew point is 65 degrees. The skies will clear tomorrow around 8 am.

I was going to leave tonight but studying the radar ⚽ I decided it was going to be a pretty wet night camping 🏕 and it best wait until morning. 🌅 I have everything ready to go except the coolers buy I should be on the road by 7 pm. I didn’t really want to camp at Cherry Ridge 🍒 during the pandemic while it was crowded at any rate Plus I’m still thinking about heading out via NY 23 for a change. Kind of pokey that was but I haven’t driven much of that road in years and I kind of like seeing the deep rural 🐐 parts of the state. Something different then US 20 or my least favorite – NY 206 and NY 79. Vacation isn’t over tomorrow so I still have plenty of time to camp, especially as I plan to spend all of the week this year in the Finger Lakes.

Tonight will be scattered showers and thunderstorms. Patchy fog after 2am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 64 degrees at 5am. Three degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 65 at 9pm. Light and variable wind. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. In 2019, we had mostly clear skies. It was humid. It got down to 67 degrees. The record low of 46 occurred back in 1948.

Tonight will have a Waining Gibbous 🌖 Moon with 81% illuminated. The moon will rise at 10:30 pm. The darkest hour is at 1:02 am, followed by dawn at 5:24 am, and sun starting to rise at 5:55 am in the east-northeast (67°) and last for 3 minutes and 9 seconds. Sunrise is one minute and 3 seconds later than yesterday. 🌄 The golden hour ends at 6:34 am with sun in the east-northeast (73°). Tonight will have 9 hours and 47 minutes of darkness, an increase of 2 minutes and 22 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will have isolated showers before 11am, then isolated showers and thunderstorms after noon. Patchy fog before 8am. Otherwise, mostly sunny 🌦, with a high of 82 degrees at 3pm. Typical for Tomorrow. Maximum dew point of 67 at 11am. Calm wind becoming south around 6 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 20%. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning, which became partly cloudy by afternoon. It was sticky. The high last year was 84 degrees. The record high of 95 was set in 1983.

In four weeks on September 4 the sun will be setting in the west (280°) at 7:24 pm,🌄 which is 43 minutes and 43 seconds earlier then tonight. In 2019 on that day, we had thunderstorm and temperatures between 80 and 59 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 77 and 56 degrees. The record high of 97 degrees was set back in 1929.

Looking ahead, Labor Day Weekend Begins 👨‍🏭 is in 4 weeks, Labor Day 👨‍🏭 is a month away, September 11th 🇸 is in 5 weeks, 7 PM Sunset 🌆 is in 6 weeks, Average High is 65 🍂 is in 8 weeks, Average Night Below Freezing 🌌 is in 14 weeks, Buy Nothing Day 🛍️ is in 16 weeks, Average High is 40 🌨 is in 17 weeks, Bake Cookies Day 🍪 is in 19 weeks, Christmas 🎅 is in 20 weeks, New Years Day 2020 🎉 is in 21 weeks, Bubble Bath Day 🧼 is in 22 weeks and 37th Birthday 🎉 is in 25 weeks.

Good evening! Partly clear and 70 degrees in Delmar, NY. Calm wind. The dew point is 58 degrees. 🌃 Another quite pleasant mid summer evening with the crickets 🦗 singing their song. 🎶

Called the forest service today 🌲 to confirm that camping 🏕 was still open after the earlier Coronavirus closure. It is.. Did some packing but the first half of the day I was super groggy for unknown reasons. 😴 Didn’t do the laundry 👚 as I figured do it all on Friday while I work before heading out in the evening. Assuming tomorrow evening isn’t a complete washout.

I discovered I had accidentally deleted the code that allows me to display charts 📊 and history comparisons today but if you hit refresh 🔄 that should be good now. Also uploaded a few other new things. Then it was a busy afternoon at work, getting things lined up before vacation. 🏖 Went to the Town Park and worked on the blog for a bit.

Tonight will be partly cloudy 🌃 , with a low of 58 degrees at 3am. Three degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around August 27th. Maximum dew point of 58 at 9pm. Light north wind. In 2019, we had partly cloudy skies. It was sticky. It got down to 69 degrees. The record low of 46 occurred back in 1994.

Tonight will have a Waining Gibbous 🌖 Moon with 88% illuminated. The moon will rise at 10:08 pm. The darkest hour is at 1:02 am, followed by dawn at 5:22 am, and sun starting to rise at 5:54 am in the east-northeast (66°) and last for 3 minutes and 9 seconds. Sunrise is one minute and 3 seconds later than yesterday. 🌄 The golden hour ends at 6:33 am with sun in the east-northeast (73°). Tonight will have 9 hours and 45 minutes of darkness, an increase of 2 minutes and 20 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will have isolated showers, then scattered showers and thunderstorms after noon. Partly sunny 🌦, with a high of 76 degrees at 3pm. Six degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around September 5th. Maximum dew point of 63 at 6pm. Light and variable wind becoming east around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, which became rain by afternoon. It was very sticky. The high last year was 84 degrees. The record high of 102 was set in 1918.

I started packing this evening and doing some cleaning during the downtime today. 🧹 The beer 🍻 is in the fridge being chilled, I started packing clothes 👖 and the water containers are loaded in the truck. I’ll do the kayak 🛶 and propane tomorrow.

I am thinking of leaving tomorrow after work for Madison County 🐮 but I might not leave until Saturday morning early if Friday night is going to be a real washout. While I’d rather be farther west and break the trip up going out there not if it means camping the first night in the pouring rain. ⛈️ I don’t want to get soaked my first night of camping. Still thinking about the mid state route via NY 13 and Cortland.

Weather looks pretty good for next week 👌based on the at least some forecast models but others show more clouds 🌥 and rain. It’s summer and it’s a crap shoot but if the weather is too bad I’ll just stay in camp and read 📖. Nice thing about the National Forest is you can camp for up to two weeks, no permit needed.

Been drinking a lot more water 🥤 with lemon juice in it. 🍋 Much healthier than all that apple 🍏 juice I’ve been drinking lately. No sugar in it although I’m sure the acid ain’t great for the teeth but I still drink plenty of milk. 🥛Plus a whole lot less plastic trash. ♻

In four weeks on September 3 the sun will be setting in the west (281°) at 7:25 pm,🌄 which is 43 minutes and 17 seconds earlier then tonight. In 2019 on that day, we had mostly sunny, shallow fog and temperatures between 79 and 55 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 77 and 56 degrees. The record high of 100 degrees was set back in 1953.

Looking ahead, 6:30 Sunrise 🌇 is in 5 weeks, Constitution Day 📜 is in 6 weeks, October 🛥 and Harvest Moon 🌕 is in 8 weeks, Average High is 60 🍂 is in 10 weeks, Thanksgiving 🦃 is in 16 weeks, First Sunday of Advent ✝️ is in 4 months, Saint Nicholas Day 🎅 is in 4 months, 7:15 AM Sunrise ⌛️ is in 18 weeks, Christmas Eve 🎅 is in 20 weeks, New Years Eve 🎆 is in 21 weeks, Coldest Week of the Year 🌬 is in 23 weeks, Wolf Moon 🌕 is in 25 weeks, Save the Pine Bush Turns 43 🦋 is in 6 months, Don’t Cry over Spilled Milk Day 🥛 is in 27 weeks and National Drink Wine Day 🍷 is in 28 weeks.