Good morning! What day is it?Final Hump Day of March, of course. Five weeks to May 🕊. At least there is a few weeks in early May when there is no black flies. Sunny and 25 degrees in Delmar, NY. 🌞 Calm wind.Things will start to thaw out at around 10 am. 🌡️

Another cold but at least sunny morning. ❄ At least I think we are most likely done with snow for the year in the Albany area. I heard the heat click on for a while then shut off. I think tomorrow I’ll turn it off hopefully until late October or early November. It’s good that it’s going to warm up to the fifties by afternoon. 🌷Big Red accessory battery should be floating in a few hours. 🔋

Was a bit stiff and sore this morning but that’s part of growing old. 👴 I did get a fairly early start despite being relatively cold in my bedroom because the heat is turned down. Listening again to John Denver🎶 as the bus gently rocks on its journey downtown. 🚍Should be a nice days with lots of sun streaming into the office, good for taking a break and studying the mountains.

Today will be sunny 🌞, with a high of 50 degrees at 4pm. One degree above normal, which is similiar to a typical day around March 28th. Calm wind becoming south around 6 mph in the afternoon. A year ago, we had cloudy in the morning, which became mostly sunny by afternoon. The high last year was 48 degrees. The record high of 78 was set in 1998. 6.7 inches of snow fell back in 1959.❄

The sun will set at 7:16 pm with dusk around 7:44 pm, which is one minute and 9 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At sunset, look for clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 42 degrees. There will be a south breeze at 6 mph. Today will have 12 hours and 30 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 54 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be mostly clear 🌃, with a low of 30 degrees at 4am. Typical for tonight. South wind around 7 mph. In 2018, we had partly cloudy in the evening, which became mostly sunny by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 36 degrees. The record low of 3 occurred back in 1923.

Tomorrow will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 60 degrees at 3pm. 10 degrees above normal, which is similiar to a typical day around April 18th. That’s going to be super nice. South wind 9 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph. A year ago, we had cloudy in the morning, which became mostly sunny by afternoon. The high last year was 49 degrees. The record high of 85 was set in 1945. 14.2 inches of snow fell back in 1932.❄

Tuesday came and went. It was a good day, maybe fairly busy at work but it made the time go by quickly.💼 Took the 6:45 bus home, a virtually brand new bus, and then rode the exercise bike 🚲 for a half hour or so then went out for my evening walk. Hot dogs and baked beans for dinner with some frozen pineapple 🍍 and banana 🍌 slices for dessert. I’m not that much into health food but I’m on a budget and frozen fruit is often more tasty and affordable than junk food. It’s less packaging too.

Evening walk 🚶 was pleasant with lots of stars. 🌃 Chilly though. Looking forward to nicer weather when I can sit out back again. I think after tomorrow night the heat will be done for the year although I don’t see any balmy nights in the near future on tap but the hard freezing weather is nearly done for the year. I’d love 😍 nights when I can leave the windows open but not so hot I run the fan all night. The big box fan I have is remarkably energy hungry, using upwards of 60 watts each hour it’s run on high. I know fossil energy ⚡ is cheap but that seems awful wasteful. Sitting out back on a summers night listening to the spring peepers is really nice I must say. 🐸 Still too cold for that yet. For a while we had a Great Horned Owl in the neighborhood 🐭 who really gave a hoot.

Yesterday in the evening I went up to the old observation deck on the 31st floor of the Alfred E Smith Building 🏢 which is primarily used as a state conference room nowadays with the doors to the deck are closed off most of the year. Interesting to see up there, it’s too bad it’s closed to the general public nowadays. Neat to see it.📷 The anti jumping fence around the deck does kind of block the view though.

Finally set up my account with the state tax department to pay taxes quarterly to ensure I don’t risk an underpayment fine in 2020.😢 I keep cutting it closer each year and I really don’t want to pay a fine next year. Unfortunately there is no way to make automatic payments on and ongoing basis with the state tax department, although you can schedule four quarters of tax payments or out a full year on the website.💸 I’m going to just do enough so I have a margin of safety but hopefully only owe a small amount to the state next year. I mean I wouldn’t want the governor or the gestapo that he operates to profit on my interest.

Bought more milk at Stewart’s. 🐮Missplaced my milk card 💳 then found it later on. I have so many milk cards to redeem at some point in the future. I’m drinking less milk now though after discovering the wonders of cider vinegar and water though. 🍏 Saves money.

Each day I briefly log onto Facebook to see what my clients and some of my friends are up to but I find it’s hard to leave it on for more than a few minutes. 💻 I try to be very strategic with my use of social media – especially Facebook – updating the Save the Pine Bush page and my personal page, checking a few other things before shutting it down. It just brings much more joy to my life not getting swamped down by all of it. I think I would like Facebook better if it just was pictures of cattle, turkeys and deer.

Not a particularly nice weekend on tap. 😞 Saturday, a chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 68. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Maximum dew point of 50 at 1pm. Sunday, showers likely, mainly before 2pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 52. Chance of precipitation is 70%. Typical average high for the weekend is 51 degrees.

Again I have no idea what the weekend will look like for me 🌲but I have no real plans. My best guess is that I will be working Sunday. Maybe Saturday I can do the Save the Pine Bush Hike but I’m not holding my breath on that. The weekend will certainly be fairly mild. I guess March is leaving like a mud crusted lamb that smells like manure and wet wool.

The following week I’ll probably stay in town, take my bottles and cans to the recycling center ♻. Like usually happens this time of year, I’m running out of room in the outside trash cans so I’m starting to stack the bottles and cans in my truck. Then maybe start packing my truck for camping. ⛺Still thinking 💭 about heading out a few days before Good Friday. ➕ Probably still head out to the East Branch of the Sacandaga River and then maybe drive up through the Adirondacks to the North Country.

I do like my neighbors big jacked up truck. It makes mine look so small. 🚛 I just hate how all the kids in the neighborhood have nicer toys than me. So be it. Big Red is quite sweet on his own behalf and he’s paid for and seems to run better than my neighbors big diesel. But ultimately I think I primarily care more about eventually owning land and having fires to burn things whenever I want. 🔥

In four weeks on April 24 the sun will be setting at 7:47 pm,🌄 which is 31 minutes and 53 seconds later then today. In 2018 on that day, we had partly sunny skies with rain showers and temperatures between 70 and 45 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 62 and 40 degrees. The record high of 81 degrees was set back in 2001.

I do look forward to the weekends up in the wilderness, getting away from all of it for a few days. 🌿🌲🌳Then spending time down in the swimming 🏊 holes, kayaking and hiking in woods. The fires 🔥, the cold beer 🍻, the music 🎶 and the lights. 🎄

99 days until Independence Day this year. I know because it was hundred days when I wrote this blog post last night. 📝 It’s a Thursday this year and I assume they’ll give us off that Friday. 🎇I’m thinking about a long weekend that weekend at the Moose River Plains although I might change my mind. Maybe drive up to Speculator Tree Farm on Wednesday night then to the Plains first thing on Independence Day. 🎈I could change my mind, and certainly Memorial Day Weekend is long before then.

Looking ahead, Arbor Day 🌳 is a month away, May 🕊 is in 5 weeks, Memorial Day 🇺🇸 is in 2 months, 8:30 PM Sunset ️⛱️ is in 10 weeks, Primary Day 🗳️ is in 13 weeks, Altamont Fair Opens 🎡 is in 20 weeks, State Fair Opens 🎡 is in 21 weeks, September 11th 🇸 is in 24 weeks, More Night then Day 🌌 is in 26 weeks and Inauguration Day 2021 👴🏻 is in 95 weeks.

Good morning! Happy Spring 🌷! Well in about nine more hours, although today will feel very spring like for sure. Six weeks to May 🕊. Black flies would approve of this message. Partly sunny and 34 degrees in Delmar, NY. ⛅ Calm wind.Temperatures will drop below freezing at Friday around 10 pm. ☃️

Definitely enjoying the sun this morning. ☀ Going to be a modestly mild and sunny last day of winter into spring. 🌷 Colder Friday into Saturday though, I heard lake effect snow ❄ squalls in Central New York then. But even if we get some here I’m not expecting any real accumulation, and even the relative cold isn’t stressing the heating system much or jacking up the bills.

Winter officially bites the dust according to the calendar 📅 two minutes before the Save the Pine Bush Dinner starts at six o’clock in the evening. 🍲 Should be an interesting dinner on the bomb trains 💣 with a leading author coming to speak 🔊 about the horrific train 🚉 explosion in Quebec. 🔥 For once in March I think I will be able to make it to the dinner. Doesn’t happen often. I broke out some of the Pine Bush February dinner lasagna left overs for lunch on Monday and it was so delicious. The whole office was talking about the wonderful smell. 👃

Today will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 53 degrees at 4pm. Seven degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 3rd. Awesome way to kick off spring. Light south wind increasing to 8 to 13 mph in the morning. A year ago, we had cloudy in the morning, which became mostly sunny by afternoon. The high last year was 37 degrees. The record high of 78 was set in 2012. 7.0 inches of snow fell back in 1944.❄

The sun will set at 7:07 pm with dusk around 7:36 pm, which is one minute and 9 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At sunset, look for mostly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 48 degrees. Talk about a nice spring evening. There will be a south breeze at 10 mph. Today will have 12 hours and 10 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 54 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have increasing clouds ☁, with a low of 34 degrees at 4am. Seven degrees above normal, which is similiar to a typical night around April 6th. South wind 8 to 11 mph. In 2018, we had partly cloudy in the evening, which became cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 25 degrees. The record low of negative one occurred back in 1956.

Tomorrow will rain likely, mainly after 2pm. Cloudy 🌧, with a high of 47 degrees at 4pm. March showers 🚿 bring mud. One degree above normal, which is similiar to a typical day around March 22nd. South wind 10 to 14 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. A year ago, we had cloudy in the morning, which became mostly sunny by afternoon. The high last year was 37 degrees. The record high of 78 was set in 1921. 6.0 inches of snow fell back in 1905.❄

Last night 🌃 was pretty with the full moon 🌕 but too cool ❄ to sit out back and enjoy the moonlight. Definitely very bright 🔆 out with the moonlight 🎑 last night. I went for a nice walk around the super block past the high school 🚸 which was nice. Almost never see anybody out walking 🚶around the nine o’clock hour. I did see a bunch of deer. I do think that the winter weather has finally moderated a bit – and certainly tonight will be really nice – although I’ll be done with Pine Bush Dinner too late for my evening walk 🚶.

Queens 👑 night was good but I thought the Fooe 🍲 and drink 🍻 at Brooklyn Night was better. A lot more people there tonight but I was careful to moderate my drinking and drank lots of water 💦 when I home 🏡. It wasn’t too bad of a day at work.

I am enjoying my respite from Facebook. 💻 I think I might use 👤 the site again in the future 🔮 but I think my use will be greatly reduced. 📴 I want to give it a bit of time. I could see using my Facebook page going forward to supplement and promote my blog rather than syndicating everything there. Fewer really good posts might drive more traffic. 🚥

Maybe post occasional articles on social media about my blog, kind of the best of type thing. 📝 I still think though I’m moving away from the proprietary social media platforms to focus more on the blog where I have full control 🎮 over content, layout and formatting. I can even use the blink tag if I want. I’m also experimenting with doing more embedding of social media I like into the blog, as that might avoid the nasty comments that I get from my liberal friends every time I post something in support of the second amendment. 🔫

Finally finished and submitted my taxes. I did okay, I should be able to cover my state taxes with the federal refund in getting 💲 and it looks like when it’s all said and done I won’t have to pay a state fine for underwitholding. I’m considering doing maybe $50 quarterly payments to state tax and finance to avoid problems in 2020 tax filing, although honestly I may be okay 👌 next year as I’m doing an increased deferred comp. I might even have enough money left over this years tax return from the federal refund to pay for a small part of the car insurance 🚙 bill. The Trump tax cuts did save me some money which was nice. Of course I’m not in debt, have a mortgage or pay property tax so I don’t get those big deductions the SALT folks complain about.

Ultimately I think a lot about money and investing these days because I really want to own my own land and live off grid,🏡 hobby farm, get out of the city and to a state where there is a lot more freedom. 🐮 The problem is all those things cost a lot of money and opportunities for good work 👷 in outlying areas is pretty limited. Cheaper land prices and cheaper living though are the upsides. I want to enjoy my life today but minimize waste and excess to the greatest extent possible and devote as much of my effort towards a better tomorrow. While I’m still young and making decent money at work 💰 I should be doing everything I can to make it work for a better tomorrow for me.

I do really like the big jacked up truck my neighbor has. I don’t know if it’s his or a friend but I keep seeing it parked outside. It’s an F-250 on 40 inch wheels and a high lifter kit I believe. 🚚 Gorgeous truck I must say, but not a pretty boy mall toy.😍 Makes Big Red look tiny. I doubt I would lift my truck again because I’m so future oriented again but I could see eventually going for a 3/4 ton truck like that for hauling materials and getting too and from my off grid cabin. 🏡

Lots of sun but cold on Saturday. 😎 Saturday, partly sunny, with a high near 38. Breezy. Much better on Sunday. Sunday, sunny, with a high near 56. Typical average high for the weekend is 47 degrees. Saturday doesn’t look all that great, but Sunday looks much more spring like. I am thinking I want to spend most of the day on Sunday in the woods hiking and exploring, maybe after unpacking my camping gear from my truck, and starting to go through that. If not, I guess I could do that later in the week.

Looking ahead, there are 6 weeks until May 🕊 when the sun will be setting at 7:55 pm with dusk at 8:26 pm. On that day in 2018, we had partly cloudy, rain showers and temperatures between 74 and 43 degrees. By May, I definitely plan to be getting out a lot of weekends on road trips and camping more.🏕 Black flies aren’t an issue in the Adirondacks until late May. Usually around then the stock the Sacanadaga River,🎣 which could make some good fishing, especially if I decide to camp up off of that Pumpkin Hollow Road.🎃 Typically, the high temperature is 65 degrees (at least in Albany). We hit a record high of 86 back in 2001.

Looking ahead, May 🕊 is in 6 weeks, 8:30 PM Sunset ️⛱️ is in 11 weeks, Primary Day 🗳️ is in 14 weeks, Altamont Fair Opens 🎡 is in 21 weeks, State Fair Opens 🎡 is in 22 weeks, September 11th 🇸 is in 25 weeks, More Night then Day 🌌 is in 27 weeks and Inauguration Day 2021 👴🏻 is in 22 months.

Good morning! Happy Tuesday on this final day of calendar 📅 winter. Sunny and 29 degrees in here at CDTA Bus Stop #10595. 🌞 There is a west-northwest breeze at 5 mph. 🍃. Things will start to thaw out at around 10 am. 🌡️

“Cause he gets up in the morning,
And he goes to work at nine,
And he comes back home at five-thirty,
Gets the same train every time.
Cause his world is built round punctuality,
It never fails.”

-The Kinks, A Well Respected Man

Another cold ❄ morning when I first awoke. Frost or a dusting of snow on the ground, the heat was on and it was 54 degrees in my bedroom. That said today is the last full day of winter. Already warming up quickly with the sun. ☀ Before you know it my windows will be open and I’ll be enjoying the fresh air when I awake each morning. Even on a chilly summers morning, the fresh air is delightful. 🍃 Plus I hate spending all that money on fossil fuels and warming the climate to avoid freezing the pipes.

It seems like the snow piles are continuing to melt away and all the signs point to spring. 🌷 Tomorrow is the first day of calendar spring 📅 and we now have more daylight then night every night. Still a ton of snow up north but I expect a lot of that to melt over the next month although ice will be in the mountains 🗻 until mid May.

Today will have increasing clouds ☁, with a high of 44 degrees at 4pm. Two degrees below normal, which is similiar to a typical day around March 16th. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny in the morning, which became sunny by afternoon. The high last year was 35 degrees. The record high of 78 was set in 2012. 9.6 inches of snow fell back in 1971.❄

I am quite happy to say to that my shirts weren’t so wrinkled this morning, being hung in the bathroom overnight where there is more humidity. I did spend some time though still ironing, but that’s just the nature of dressing up for work.👔 I did make sure not to be wear the blazer that I need to bring to the dry cleaner to work today, and I did

The sun will set at 7:06 pm with dusk around 7:34 pm, which is one minute and 10 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At sunset, look for partly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 36 degrees. There will be a west-northwest breeze at 6 mph. Today will have 12 hours and 7 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 55 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be partly cloudy 🌤, with a low of 22 degrees at 6am. Five degrees below normal, which is similiar to a typical night around March 7th. Light and variable wind. In 2018, we had clear in the evening, which became cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 15 degrees. The record low of 2 occurred back in 1967.

Tomorrow will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 53 degrees at 4pm. Seven degrees above normal, which is similiar to a typical day around April 3rd. South wind 5 to 10 mph. That will be a pleasant start to first day of spring. A year ago, we had mostly sunny in the morning, which became sunny by afternoon. The high last year was 37 degrees. The record high of 78 was set in 2012. 7.0 inches of snow fell back in 1944.❄

Yesterday wasn’t too bad of a day at work. Left work around 6:45 pm although I didn’t get home until a little before 7:30 pm. I was tired 😴 but I rode the exercise bike for a while, and then I went for a walk around the super block past the high school. I cooked up pasta and with some canned potatoes and sausage. 🍲 Not a half bad evening, almost the full moon. 🌕 Hoping by the next full moon it will be warm enough I can sit outside and bathe in the moonlight.

I find quiting social media I save a lot of bandwidth on my phone 📱 . I will check Facebook occasionally for work but with the new blog code I am planning to roll 🍥 out on Wednesday, the first day of spring I will no longer be updating my Facebook page and I’ve decided to no longer post on my personal profile. I also removed the Flickr code which I don’t know if it works any more but kept the Twitter posts but I’ve deleted most of old tweets. 🔣

Said and done, I’m essentially quitting social media. It’s not worth the psychological games it has become. I’m not going to disable but not delete my Facebook page, making it invisible to the world 🌍 for now, so if I want it again I can reactivate it but all the old pictures and posts on Facebook will disappear when I kill off my Facebook app. I’m content with my decision. I’ve always liked my blog better than the angry 😡 nest known as social media.

You can say my quitting of social media is like my quitting of drinking. 🍻 I might go out and have a beer or two occasionally, probably getting a buzz quickly. But it’s not the have 2-3 beers every night or a thirty rack over a long weekend. It’s about moderation. Social media may on paper 📄 be free for the user 👤 unlike beer but I think it’s just as costly to one’s health.

Tonight is another Borough Night at the Egg, this time Queens Night. 🌆 Should be fun after work, although I plan to a stay away from the shots as I don’t want to have Wednesday morning be too painful. It should be fun sampling all the foods and stuff, having some social time with my colleagues. Plus it will be one less meal 🍴 I’ll have to cook out of the remaining foods that I have at home.

Today is pay day for me which sounds good but I’m really cutting it close this month so almost all the money (after savings and retirement) will go to bills. 💸 March into April with taxes and car insurance 🚙 is always tough on my budget. But I continue to save for a better tomorrow. 🏡 Eventually I’ll have enough money to own land and live in a freer state out in the country.

I’ve been thinking about buying some inexpensive farm muck boots 👢 to wear in the woods during the mud season. My regular boots aren’t great in the deep mud that is common in spring and much too warm to boot. Not my expensive insulated hunting boots in case they get too close to the fire and melt a bit. But I want to hold off until closer to camping season in April, after a few more paychecks when money 💸 is less tight. My focus over the two pay periods just has to be remaining financially afloat.

I have a Go Pro knock off waterproof camera that I plan to use to start making videos when I’m out on the lake kayaking. 📷 Should be some fun videos to post this summer. I started looking on Ali Express at camera clamp mounts for my kayak. I ended up looking at reviews on Amazon and I’ll either order there or on ebay probably in late April when I have a little more money. They’re not that expensive – under $20 and there is little savings by ordering from China compared to the United States.

I fixed several bugs to the VMS display in my bedroom 📟 last night but I plan to continue to work on it come later in the week to rearrange the order of the messages.

A picture perfect weekend on tap. 😎 Saturday, mostly sunny, with a high near 39. Sunday, sunny, with a high near 55. Typical average high for the weekend is 47 degrees.

Sound like a pretty nice weekend to kick off the spring season. 🌸 It looked like from my office window yesterday that there is still quite a bit of snow left in the mountains 🗻 so I could go cross country skiing 🎿 although the snow may not be great. Might still be a good day to enjoy some fresh air outside though. Three weeks until trout season 🐠 opens.

In four weeks on April 16 the sun will be setting at 7:38 pm,🌄 which is 32 minutes later then today. In 2018 on that day, we had rain and temperatures between 49 and 32 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 59 and 38 degrees. The record high of 91 degrees was set back in 2012.

Looking ahead, Constitution Day 📜 is in 26 weeks, October 🛥 is in 28 weeks and Election Day 2020 🗳️ is in 85 weeks.

Good morning! Yeah, it’s Friday! Not yet a summer get away weekend but Memorial Day Weekend 🇺🇸 is only 11 weeks away at this point.🏕 Attention friendly strangers in black sedans, Next Friday is Ides of March ✝. Cold but very sunny ☀ around 13 degrees in Delmar. Not a whole lot of warmth in the sun today. There is a south-southwest breeze at 8 mph. 🍃. The current wind chill is 2. Not a really good day for frosty, as only patches of snow remain around. ☃ ️Things will finally start to thaw out at around noontime. 🌡️ Thumpty-thump, thumpty-thump, look at frosty go.

Remarkably chilly morning walking down to the express bus stop.🚍 Despite all the sun ☀ there isn’t a lot of warmth in the air. I also left the heat turned down last night because I didn’t think it was that cold ❄ and honestly I’m trying to save money 💵 however possible to make it over the fiscal cliff known as tax season. I’m hoping at this point that I won’t have to turn the heat up at night night because the nights won’t be that cold. I’m not seeing a lot of below normal weather in the forecast for the next week.

It’s just kind of depressing to read my home energy report the utility sends me and see that 94% of my winter energy ⚡ use is from heating. 🔥 My heating bills have been higher this year than last year according to the report, but then again we had the cold spell and sometimes I’ll turn it up a bit when I’m cold. But every time I turn up the heating knob, I realize I am stealing from my future in two ways — less money to save 💸 and more climate change from the burnt natural gas.🌍 I do find my blaze-orange hoodie keeps me warm, so I wear it a lot more and just are cold morning. Eventually when I own land and home, insulation is going to be a priority, as will having an efficient, wood or maybe coal stove. Energy security is a big concern for me, I’ve seen too many people struggle after they loose power or their propane supplier doesn’t show up promptly for re-fills. Things are only going to get worse as climate change gets worse.

Today will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 36 degrees at 3pm. Five degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around February 22nd. Where are you Mr. March weather? Probably in Florida. Southwest wind around 8 mph. Might be good though for a lunch time walk 🚶 . A year ago, we had partly cloudy in the morning, which became light snow by afternoon. The high last year was 35 degrees. The record high of 68 was set in 2012. 6.5 inches of snow fell back in 2013.❄

Today back In 1965, Thirty-five hundred United States Marines 🇺🇸⛴ are the first American land combat forces committed during the Vietnam War. 🔫 The Vietnam War was getting underway, a quagmire that would ultimately undermine the Great Society plans and be one of America’s longest wars. Never declared a war, it still did a lot of harm to our country to say nothing of Vietnam and lead to a lot of unnecessary deaths.☠

The sun will set at 5:53 pm with dusk around 6:21 pm, which is one minute and 12 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At sunset, look for partly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 34 degrees. There will be a south breeze at 6 mph. Today will have 11 hours and 35 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 54 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be partly cloudy 🌤, with a low of 18 degrees at 6am. Five degrees below normal, which is similiar to a typical night around February 20th. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. In 2018, we had light snow. It got down to 27 degrees. The record low of -14 occurred back in 1943.

Tomorrow will be sunny 🌞, with a high of 41 degrees at 3pm. Typical temperature for a change. Not above or below normal, just normal. Doesn’t happen very frequently — only four times over the past winter. Calm wind becoming northeast around 5 mph in the afternoon. A year ago, we had partly cloudy in the morning, which became light snow by afternoon. The high last year was 37 degrees. The record high of 81 was set in 2016. 6.9 inches of snow fell back in 1961.❄

Tomorrow looks like a nice day. I am thinking about meeting my parents for breakfast, 🍳 and then going out for a hike/ski in the Heldebergs and look for sheds 🦌 or at least enjoy the beautiful day.🏞 I’m trying to minimize the miles on my truck and not filling up the gas tank for a while, but I’d hate to miss the nice weather on Saturday as who knows how much longer the snow will be around. Gas isn’t that expensive, ⛽ and I’m not planning to head out that far, and next week like this week, I plan to keep the truck parked through Saturday or maybe Sunday, 🅿so it won’t be burning any fuel in the mean-time.

Looking ahead to Sunday, rain, snow, and sleet, becoming all rain after 11am. 🌨 High near 42. Southeast wind 8 to 11 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. Typical average high for the weekend is 41 degrees. I emailed Mr. Wolcott to see if he’s around on Sunday, I might go over to his house. I could take a bus, or I might drive this week, as I would like to wash the salt off my truck 🛁 and pick up the few groceries I need. I’m avoiding a “full” shop this weekend, to save money, and because I have way too much food at home right now. If I didn’t have to wash the salt off the truck, I’d probably just leave Big Red Parked until next week. No problem with keeping the accessory battery fully charged, it was at 15.4 volts this morning with the stronger sun of spring time.

Sunday is the first day of Daylight Savings Time. ⌚ I know it doesn’t actually save time but it does mean more light in the evening 🌇 which once it warms up and I’m not working late at work, I can go down to the park with a book 📙. I really look forward to the change, even if it means I will have to get an extra hour early up for work. But with the days getting longer so quickly, I don’t think that’s a big deal.🕜 I already set the analog clocks ahead in my bathroom and kitchen, the next step will be to set the clock in my truck and reprogram my microcontrollers with the time change. I know I probably could hard-code in the time change to the controllers, but it’s just easier to re-flash the memory twice a year. For about a week, it will be dark when I wake up for work, but with lights coming on automatically, it shouldn’t be that difficult to wake in the morning. Plus, I can go back to setting my alarm clock each day.

In four weeks on April 5 the sun will be setting at 7:26 pm (Daylight Savings Time),🌄 which is one hour, 32 minutes and 23 seconds later then today. In 2018 on that day, we had a rather cold but partly cloudy day with some snow showers and temperatures between 39 and 24 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 54 and 33 degrees. The last few Aprils have been pretty cold, but I’m not totally sure that will be the trend this year. The record high of 82 degrees was set back in 1928.

Looking forward to finally nice weather, and getting out of town on the weekends once the snow bites the bucket. 🏕 It’s going to happen, it always does. Sure many roads will be closed for mud season, but there are still many places I can go once the snow is gone. NY 8 in the Adirondacks comes to mind, especially early May before the black fly season has started. Solar panel should work good this time of year. The fiscal cliff I face, is manageable, and with some careful planning, I should be able to enjoy adventures in late April into May, depending a lot on how busy my work schedule is and the weather. I want to definitely do some trout fishing, 🎣 plus have a nice big fire up in the woods 🔥 with a cold one or two.  Snow camping is fine, but I much prefer truck cap camping, and not tromping through the snow.

Looking ahead, Ides of March ✝ is in 1 weeks, Memorial Day Weekend Starts 🏕️ is in 11 weeks and Dog Days of Summer 🌻 is in 17 weeks.