Good afternoon! Mostly sunny and 77 degrees in Speculator, NY. Calm wind. The dew point is 57 degrees. A very a beautiful afternoon up here in Spectulator, but I tell you Charlie Johns was crazy. And not just the prices. I have gotten too used to shopping at Aldi’s in Rensselear and when you go to these hick town shopping stores, 🧑‍🌾 you understand why folks are so poor in the hick towns. 🤑 Been enjoying the day, spending most of the morning working down at lake with my laptop working on my memorandum.💻

This afternoon will be sunny 🌞, with a high of 80 degrees at 3pm. Three degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around August 18th. Maximum dew point of 58 at 6pm. Light east wind. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with a few breaks of sun the afternoon. The high last year was 82 degrees. The record high of 96 was set in 1941.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:04 pm with sun having an altitude of 66.2° from the due south horizon (-3.7° 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 7:48 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (292°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (299°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:29 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 20 seconds with dusk around 9:01 pm, which is 58 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the First Quarter 🌓 Moon in the west-southwest (255°) at an altitude of 23° from the horizon, 227,058 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:45 pm. At sunset, look for mostly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 72 degrees. The dew point will be 60 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Today will have 14 hours and 49 minutes of daytime, a decrease of one minute and 58 seconds over yesterday.

After I get done with work tonight, it’s off to Piseco-Powley Road for round 2. 🏕 No cell service up there, so I will be off the phone grid through mid-day summer. So nobody can call me or bug with my social media pings.🔇🔕 More and more, after being so busy with work in June into July, I am enjoying my time with no social media and no phone calls or emails.📩

Tonight will have patchy fog after 5am. Otherwise, mostly clear 🌃, with a low of 58 degrees at 5am. Four degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around August 27th. Maximum dew point of 60 at 8pm. Calm wind. In 2019, we had mostly clear skies. It got down to 59 degrees. The record low of 46 occurred back in 1953.

On this day in 1969, Apollo 11 splashes down safely in the Pacific Ocean. Mission accomplished! Good for all involved. 🚀In 1974, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that President Richard Nixon did not have the authority to withhold subpoenaed White House tapes and they order him to surrender the tapes to the Watergate special prosecutor. 🧑‍⚖️ In 1959, at the opening of the American National Exhibition in Moscow, U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev have a “Kitchen Debate”. ⏲️ I hear the United States wins that one. We had better toasters then the USSR, 🍞 ours back in the 1960s, would automatically, and gently load the bread for perfect results. Of course, they don’t

Tomorrow will be sunny 🌞, with a high of 81 degrees at 3pm. Two degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around August 10th. Maximum dew point of 60 at 8am. Sounds like it might be a bit cool at the potholers. 🏞️ But it still will be fun. I was thinking about camping down by Austin Falls, that I explored last night, but I think I’d rather spend my day at the Potholers. So sue me. Calm wind becoming west around 6 mph in the afternoon. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with a few breaks of sun the afternoon. The high last year was 85 degrees. The record high of 97 was set in 1963.

Looking ahead to Sunday, mostly sunny, with a high near 82. West wind 6 to 11 mph. 😎 Maximum dew point of 62 at 7pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 83 degrees.

Good evening! Partly clear and 70 degrees in Speculator, NY. 🌃 There is a north breeze at 6 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 61 degrees.

I had some tuna salad for dinner 🍲 then I had a small fire and laid back in the hammock. 🔥 A very starry night. ✨ Reading 📖 that old Kerner Commission report is fascinating. I wonder if I can get a paper copy at the library to read more carefully. Well illustrated with photos and graphics too.

Stayed in camp ⛺ and worked from here. Not much rain, just a few showers. I took everything down planning to head into town and because I didn’t want my gear to get wet but they turned out to be a non issue. No bugs so that was nice. Exploring Old NY 8B on foot was interesting, had to have been quite the road back in the day. Austin Falls was pretty first time I’ve been there. 📷 Uploading pictures tomorrow. That campsite at Robb Creek Mill ruins looks really pretty but I didn’t get a good look as somebody had their camping gear set up but wasn’t there. I think that’s the site where Robert Garrow murdered those campers. 🍀 I’m just hoping I didn’t brush any poison ivy along the river, it’s thick along Old Route 8B.

Tonight will have patchy fog after 5am. Otherwise, partly cloudy 🌤, with a low of 58 degrees at 5am. Four degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around August 27th. Maximum dew point of 61 at 10pm. North wind around 6 mph. In 2019, we had mostly clear skies. It got down to 63 degrees. The record low of 45 occurred back in 1985.

Tonight will have a Waxing Crescent 🌒 Moon with 13% illuminated. At 10 PM, the moon was in the west (278°) at an altitude of 7° from the horizon, some 228,308 miles away from where you are looking up from the earth. 🚀 At the state speed limit of 55 mph, you’ll make it there by January 12^th. Buckle up for safety! 💺 The moon will set in the west-northwest (285°) at 10:41 pm. The Strugeon 🐡 Moon is on Monday, August 3. The darkest hour is at 1:04 am, followed by dawn at 5:05 am, and sun starting to rise at 5:39 am in the east-northeast (61°) and last for 3 minutes and 21 seconds. Sunrise is 59 seconds later than yesterday. 🌄 The golden hour ends at 6:20 am with sun in the east-northeast (68°). Tonight will have 9 hours and 9 minutes of darkness, an increase of one minute and 56 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will have patchy fog before 8am. Otherwise, mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 82 degrees at 3pm. One degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around July 27th. Maximum dew point of 60 at 8am. Light and variable wind. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 82 degrees. The record high of 96 was set in 1941.

As I got a big project in for tomorrow I’ll be working all day in Speculator probably at the park in the morning by Lake Pleasant for number 🔢 crunching then down to the library for internet research in the afternoon. 📶 Then I think I’m going to go to Piseco-Powley Road Friday and Saturday nights and spend most of Saturday at the Potholers. Then come home on Sunday. 🏡 Going to continue to be extremely hot next week but I feel like I should work from home at least every other week to save expenses of travel. ⛽ Gas is cheap but I’m still doing a lot of miles overall and ice and food adds up when you are buying it for camping.

In four weeks on August 20 the sun will be setting in the west-northwest (288°) at 7:52 pm,🌄 which is 36 minutes and 54 seconds earlier then tonight. In 2019 on that day, we had a hot late summer day that was very sunny with temperatures between 87 and 63 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 80 and 60 degrees. The record high of 97 degrees was set back in 1937.

Looking ahead, I’m going to sleep. 🛌 Good night.

Good morning! Happy Thursday. Cloudy and 67 degrees in Speculator, NY. ☁ There is a west-southwest breeze at 5 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 65 degrees. Brief break of sun, skies will clear around 8 pm. Maybe a few drops 💧 of rain but nothing major so far.

I am going to get washed up and shaved today 😁 as it’s been a while since I last did and while I went for a swim 🏊 yesterday I feel gritty with the peach fuzz. I also need to clean up the coolers before I go shopping midday today.

Today will have a chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 8am. Mostly cloudy 🌦, with a high of 79 degrees at 3pm. Four degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around August 24th. Maximum dew point of 67 at 8am. Southwest wind 5 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Not seeing much up north here so far – that air mass to the north is keeping stuff to the south. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 79 degrees. The record high of 96 was set in 1955.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:04 pm with sun having an altitude of 66.4° from the due south horizon (-3.5° 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 7:48 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (292°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (299°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:30 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 21 seconds with dusk around 9:02 pm, which is 56 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Crescent 🌒 Moon in the west (269°) at an altitude of 17° from the horizon, 228,369 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:46 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and thunderstorms 🌩 and temperatures around 72 degrees. The dew point will be 64 degrees. There will be a north-northwest breeze at 6 mph. Today will have 14 hours and 51 minutes of daytime, a decrease of one minute and 55 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms before 10pm, then a slight chance of showers between 10pm and 11pm. Mostly cloudy 🌤, with a low of 59 degrees at 5am. Three degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around August 21st. Maximum dew point of 65 at 6pm. North wind 3 to 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. In 2019, we had mostly clear skies. It got down to 63 degrees. The record low of 45 occurred back in 1985.

On this day in 1967, today was the start of 12th Street Riot In Detroit, one of the worst riots in United States history begins on 12th Street in the predominantly African American inner city. 💥 It ultimately kills 43 people, injures 342 and burns about 1,400 buildings.

A picture perfect weekend on tap. 😎 Saturday, mostly sunny, with a high near 82. Calm wind becoming west around 6 mph in the afternoon. Maximum dew point of 60 at 8am. Sunday, mostly sunny, with a high near 82. Maximum dew point of 63 at 9pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 83 degrees.

Good evening! Mostly clear and 69 degrees in Speculator, NY. 🌃 Calm wind. The dew point is 61 degrees.

I think I made the right choice to stay up north as it’s a very pleasant evening. Not going to stay up beyond ten but I’m hopeful to see the comet 🌟 tonight. So far I’ve only seen Vega. Some high clouds but I’m hoping for a very starry night from this open sky campsite. A little fire tonight, cooled off a bit after dark. Kept the lights simple tonight – just the flag light, campfire and lantern 🏮 on low to allow me to better enjoy the site. No screen tent 🎪 tonight as the bugs ain’t bad and I didn’t want to deal with wet gear.

This evening I hiked back to Fly Creek Road and down to the Sacandaga River to wash the sand off my itchy feet. 👣 I checked out the area where Robert Garrow murdered those campers nearly 50 years ago. 🔪 I couldn’t find the exact site, I may not have walked down far enough. 😕 Pretty area though but very overgrown. I was surprised, the old road is poured concrete with asphalt coat – hasn’t been paved in probably 70 years and still in passable shape. I was glad to get that sand off my feet, they were itchy enough to make me think I might have gotten athletes foot from the beach, like last time. I’ve been wearing my sandals a lot more lately to try to keep my feet drier. Athletes foot doesn’t bother me but jock itch is bad when you have itchy balls 🍆.

Tonight will have a chance of showers, mainly after 4am. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 63 degrees at 4am. One degree above normal. Maximum dew point of 64 at 11pm. Calm wind. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. Seems like it will stay to the south. In 2019, we had light rain in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It was somewhat humid. It got down to 65 degrees. The record low of 45 occurred back in 1981.

Today wasn’t a bad, worked from the town park ⛲ and then went during the beach during lunch to swim 🏊 then spent the balance of the day working at the library 📚. All day was rain free which was nice, well except for a brief shower when I was working from my truck. It’s nice being only five minutes away from Speculator – makes it easy with work. Library parking 🅿 lot was packed midday with people using the Wi-Fi – a lot of children 🚸 – must be doing the – lessons. Internet was slow for a while. 🐢

Tonight will have a Waxing Crescent 🌒 Moon with 6% illuminated. At 9 PM, the moon was in the west (281°) at an altitude of 12° from the horizon, some 230,253 miles away from where you are looking up from the earth. 🚀 At the state speed limit of 55 mph, you’ll make it there by January 13^th. Buckle up for safety! 💺 The moon will set in the west-northwest (292°) at 10:11 pm. The Strugeon 🐡 Moon is on Monday, August 3. The darkest hour is at 1:04 am, followed by dawn at 5:04 am, and sun starting to rise at 5:38 am in the east-northeast (61°) and last for 3 minutes and 21 seconds. Sunrise is 58 seconds later than yesterday. 🌄 The golden hour ends at 6:19 am with sun in the east-northeast (68°). Tonight will have 9 hours and 7 minutes of darkness, an increase of one minute and 54 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will have scattered showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 1pm. Patchy fog before 8am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy 🌦, with a high of 78 degrees at 2pm. Five degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around August 28th. Maximum dew point of 66 at 8am. Southwest wind 5 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning, which became light rain by afternoon. It was humid. The high last year was 79 degrees. The record high of 96 was set in 1955.

Tomorrow will be similar to today, 🏬 although I’ll need to run to the store for ice and food 🍲. It should be another nice evening tomorrow and then Friday after work I’m heading back to Piseco Powley Road for the weekend, probably camp farther north, maybe at a site I’ve never camped at before. Probably visit the Potholers Saturday and then head home relatively early come Sunday.

In four weeks on August 19 the sun will be setting in the west-northwest (288°) at 7:54 pm,🌄 which is 36 minutes and 14 seconds earlier then tonight. In 2019 on that day, we had humid, partly cloudy, mist and temperatures between 86 and 69 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 80 and 60 degrees. The record high of 92 degrees was set back in 1899.

Good morning! What day is it? A Speculator Hump Day, of course. Cloudy and 72 degrees this morning. ☁ That said, expected though this afternoon. ☔ There is a southeast breeze at 6 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 63 degrees. The skies will clear tomorrow around 5 pm.

Today will have a slight chance of showers before 11am, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between 11am and 4pm, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 4pm. Some of the storms could be severe. Mostly cloudy 🌩, with a high of 75 degrees at 5pm. Eight degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around September 8th. Maximum dew point of 63 at 11am. South wind 6 to 8 mph. 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 cloudy skies in the morning, which became light rain by afternoon. It was humid. The high last year was 74 degrees. I think we had better weather than when I was in the Finger Lakes. The record high of 102 was set in 1926.

Looking at the radar and not wanting to deal with wet camping gear 💦I took down camp this morning. Right now I’m still at camp watching for emails 📧 and text from work but I can be in Speculator in ten 🔟 minutes should I need full internet access 📶 for work.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:04 pm with sun having an altitude of 66.6° from the due south horizon (-3.3° 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. Sun angle is already getting a fair bit weaker but I’m also farther north. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:49 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (292°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (299°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:31 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 21 seconds with dusk around 9:03 pm, which is 54 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Crescent 🌒 Moon in the west-northwest (282°) at an altitude of 11° from the horizon, 230,245 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:48 pm. At sunset, look for likely rain 🌧 with thunderstorms 🌩 and temperatures around 71 degrees. The dew point will be 64 degrees. There will be a south breeze at 7 mph. Today will have 14 hours and 52 minutes of daytime, a decrease of one minute and 53 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 10pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between 10pm and 2am, then a chance of showers after 2am. Some of the storms could be severe. Patchy fog after 3am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy 🌩, with a low of 64 degrees at 6am. Two degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 66 at 9pm. South wind around 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. In 2019, we had light rain in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It was somewhat humid. It got down to 65 degrees. The record low of 45 occurred back in 1981.

Today in 1991, Jeffrey Dahmer is arrested in Milwaukee after police discover human remains in his apartment.😛 Remember if you eat other humans, to take our the garbage regularly. 🚯 Most ag schools have things posted on their websites about composting animal carcasses in manure, hay and wood chips. Gotta tie down the nitrogen with carbon to reduce the smell. 👃 Good to return organic matter to the soil. Two years later, Great Flood of 1993: Levees near Kaskaskia, Illinois rupture, forcing the entire town to evacuate by barges operated by the Army Corps of Engineers.🚤 I bet some rednecks in hick towns had some wild bonfires after that, getting rid of all their moldy, flooded junk. 🔥 Small town life is fun.

A picture perfect weekend on tap. 😎 Saturday, mostly sunny, with a high near 83. Maximum dew point of 61 at 8am. Sunday, partly sunny, with a high near 83. Maximum dew point of 64 at 2pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 83 degrees.

It kind of would be fun to stay through the weekend ☀ and maybe do round two at Piseco Powley but tonight into tomorrow looks rather wet and I don’t have much extra for food 🍲 and clothes. 👚 I guess it depends on the weather later this afternoon. I got to have enough power to work and I don’t want to spent two days cooped 🐔 up in my truck with the windows up working there. If I do go home, I could do something fun around home like fishing at Patridge Run. 🎣 Or even tent or hammock camping at a local state forest.

Of the what the hell things this morning 💵 I got a odd text from my broker about them doing the regular deposit into my IRA. Not sure why they started sending me text alerts ⚠ today, but I signed up for them a while back for security purposes. I’ve been maximizing my IRA for a while now, because I want to avoid paying state taxes and make sure when I have land and off grid property I’ll have the money I need for implements and other consumables. Plus it’s nice knowing that money will be locked 🔒 away until I’m 60, growing quietly and off my books. I don’t have to pay taxes on interest or dividends like I do other regular investments.

Good evening! Mostly cloudy ☁and 70 degrees in Speculator, NY. Calm wind. The dew point is 57 degrees.

I decided to stay up here at least one more night 🌃 so I could look at the stars, ✨ but it seems like it clouded up. I’m going to take a wait and see approach to tomorrow – if it’s really wet I’ll work from my truck at the library and then head home. 💻 I have more cell service here so I might be able to work from camp but it depends on how much data I need for work.

Tonight will be partly cloudy 🌤, with a low of 58 degrees at 4am. Four degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around August 27th. Maximum dew point of 57 at 9pm. Light and variable wind. In 2019, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It became humid as the night progressed. It got down to 66 degrees. The record low of 47 occurred back in 1970.

Tonight will have a New 🌚 Moon with 2% illuminated. At 9 PM, the moon was in the west-northwest (292°) at an altitude of 6° from the horizon, some 232,599 miles away from where you are looking up from the earth. 🚀 At the state speed limit of 55 mph, you’ll make it there by January 14^th. Buckle up for safety! 💺 The Strugeon 🐡 Moon is on Monday, August 3. The darkest hour is at 1:04 am, followed by dawn at 5:03 am, and sun starting to rise at 5:37 am in the east-northeast (61°) and last for 3 minutes and 22 seconds. Sunrise is 58 seconds later than yesterday. 🌄 The golden hour ends at 6:19 am with sun in the east-northeast (68°). Tonight will have 9 hours and 6 minutes of darkness, an increase of one minute and 51 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 4pm. Mostly cloudy 🌦, with a high of 77 degrees at 2pm. Six degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around September 1st. Maximum dew point of 64 at 5pm. South wind 3 to 7 mph. 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 cloudy skies in the morning with more sun in the afternoon. It was humid. The high last year was 74 degrees. The record high of 102 was set in 1926.

Well I’ll see how things play out tomorrow. 🔥 It’s nice laying back on the hammock and I had a small fire but I’m going to head to bed soon. 😴

In four weeks on August 18 the sun will be setting in the west-northwest (289°) at 7:55 pm,🌄 which is 35 minutes and 34 seconds earlier then tonight. In 2019 on that day, we had mist showers, hot, humid, mostly cloudy and temperatures between 87 and 67 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 80 and 60 degrees. The record high of 95 degrees was set back in 1913.

Looking ahead, Election Day 2020 🗳️ is in 15 weeks.