Good evening! Partly cloudy and 30 degrees in Delmar, NY. 🌃 Calm wind. There is a inch of snow on the ground. ☃ ️It was technically a White Christmas here but the snow is rather old and faded. Things will start to thaw out at tomorrow around 11 am. 🌡️

I had a nice Christmas dinner with the folks 🎄 and then went for my evening walk. 🚶 Took a sleeping pill 💊 earlier and now have retired to bed. Got to get milk in the morning 🍶 and I’ve been waking up so early lately I got to start retiring early to bed. With darkness so early this time of year, I plan to retire to bed most nights at camp next week ⛺ by nine to save on the lights and because it’s going to be fairly cold most evenings although not terribly cold but may be fairly damp up at camp based on the latest forecast. 💦 I doubt I’ll stay up to midnight on New Years Eve but it might be fun to set an alarm clock for five before midnight, get up briefly, light off a sparkler 🎇 at midnight and go back to sleep.

Tonight will be mostly cloudy 🌥, with a low of 23 degrees at 6am. Five degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around December 12th. Calm wind. In 2018, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 19 degrees. The record low of -17 occurred back in 1914. Definitely can get cold in the winter but not always.

Tonight will have a New Moon. The sun will rise at 7:23 am with the first light at 6:51 am, which is 23 seconds later than yesterday. 🌄 Still loosing a little bit of light on the morning for a few more days. The earlier sunrises don’t really start happening until the first week of January. Tonight will have 14 hours and 56 minutes of darkness, a decrease of 15 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will be mostly cloudy 🌥, with a high of 37 degrees at 2pm. Four degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around December 13th. Not too bad for late December. Calm wind becoming southeast 5 to 7 mph in the afternoon. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 35 degrees. The record high of 59 was set in 1895. 13.9 inches of snow fell back in 1969.❄

It seems like the voltage switch ⚡ is working well as it’s maintaining a healthy voltage both on the accessory and starting batteries. 🔋 Alternator ramped down after a short drive because the amperage flowing into the battery sunk due to the full charge. I did increase the connection upper voltage on the voltage switch to 14.2 volts as it looked like relay was cycling on and off more than it should. Not good for the relay or the batteries to be constantly connected and disconnected while not enough power coming off the solar panel. By the time the solar panel reaches 14.2 volts the accessory battery must be close to full charge or there is a lot of sunshine coming down.

In four weeks on January 22 the sun will be setting at 4:55 pm,🌄 which is 28 minutes and 7 seconds later then tonight. In 2019 on that day, we had cold weather, but generally mostly sunny and temperatures between 18 and 0 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 30 and 14 degrees. The record high of 62 degrees was set back in 1906.

Looking ahead, New Years Day 2020 🎉 is in 1 weeks, Bubble Bath Day 🧼 is in 2 weeks, 5 PM Sunset 🌆 is a month away, 37th Birthday 🎉 is in 5 weeks, Average High is 40 ☀️ is in 10 weeks, April Fools Day 🤡 is in 14 weeks, Pink Moon 🌕 is in 15 weeks, Tax Day 💰 is in 16 weeks, Earth Day 🌎 is in 17 weeks, Memorial Day 🇺🇸 is in 5 months, Latest Sunset 🌆 is in 26 weeks and Inauguration Day 2021 👴🏻 is in 56 weeks.

Good evening on this Christmas Eve 🕯️ ! Partly cloudy and 27 degrees in Delmar, NY. There is a north breeze at 5 mph. 🍃. There are 2 inches of snow on the ground. ☃ ️Things will start to thaw out at tomorrow around noontime. 🌡️

Had a nice lunch with the parents and my neice and sister 👪 and we exchanged presents 📦. We had macaroni and cheese for lunch although I guess tomorrow my parents are also doing a formal Christmas dinner 🍲. My neice is already getting close to four, I remember her baby shower a few years ago 👶. She’s got such a large vocabulary and is so smart being plugged into the whole Saratoga scene.

Hiking Bennett Hill was nice but I need to repair microspikes that I strap on my boots 👢. One of them had a wire break while another had a chain 🔗 pop loose. Easy enough to fix but walking back after sunset with the microspikes off it was slippery and I sort of twisted my ankle a bit. I’m fine though. I did enjoy the sunset and the rural agricultural landscape. 🚜 I miss that so much living in the city even though I do live far enough on the outskirts of the city I can still tell when the farm down the street is spreading manure. 💩 Someday I’ll move to some rural areas a few miles out from a small town like an Oneida or a Utica or a Plattsburgh but not in New York with all the gun laws and fire restrictions.⛔ But in the mean time, next week’s road trip should be great.

I was going to go out for my evening walk 🚶 after I got back from hiking Bennett Hill but I was tired and got watching the YouTube videos I downloaded this week. 🎥 I probably watch too much but at least it’s add free and a lot of stuff I watch is educational even if it’s not as good as reading 📖. When I’m camping in the Finger Lakes next week I’ll do a lot more reading for sure. I thought about riding the exercise bike 🚲 but I’m not sure if my neighbor was home – his lights were off but his car 🚙 was in the drive. I think he may have gone to the city on a bus or with a designated driver. 🍻 I’m still not sure if I’m coming down with something or it’s the Lyme disease. I am feeling again like I was in early November. I’m not thinking 💭 it will impact my trip next weekend but who knows.

I was watching this amazing video of a weather balloon with a camera floating up from earth to the stratosphere. ☁ I guess the same thing you’d see on a plane ✈ but I haven’t been on an airplane in years and it’s fascinating to see the different – and quite thin layer that seperates all of mankind from the vast emptiness of outer space that is extremely hostile to all life. 🌎 The atmosphere is really only a few miles thick. Honestly, I really like the idea of the Space Force and a greater emphasis on the understanding of the earth’s climate and the boundaries between space and the earth. 🚀

Christmas Eve will be partly cloudy 🌤, with a low of 19 degrees at 5am. One degree above normal, which is similar to a typical night around December 23rd. Maximum wind chill around 15 at 4am; Northwest wind 3 to 5 mph. In 2018, we had light snow in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 24 degrees. The record low of -22 occurred back in 1969.

Tonight will have a New Moon. 🌚 Not much too see though as tonight is fairly cloudy. The sun will rise at 7:23 am with the first light at 6:51 am, which is 25 seconds later than yesterday. 🌄 Tonight will have 14 hours and 57 minutes of darkness, a decrease of 11 seconds over last night.

Christmas Day will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 38 degrees at 3pm. Five degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around December 10th. I think that’s a bit too optimistic based on other forecasts I’ve seen lately but so be it. I’m thinking more clouds. Calm wind becoming south around 6 mph. I have less than a quarter tank of gas in my truck ⛽ so I have to be careful how far I go. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 35 degrees. The record high of 66 was set in 1889. 19.2 inches of snow fell back in 2002.❄

A week from now will be New Year Eve 🎉and my final night of my Finger Lakes camping adventure. It should be a nice trip but the second day might be quite rainy ☔ based on the forecast but a good chance to get through a book of two in the tent, sitting next to the heater 🎪. They have even less snow there than here at this point, I think it will totally be gone by the time I get there – but fortunately not so muddy because it is expected to be a fairly dry week until Sunday out there. At least next Sunday will give me a chance to do a lot of reading 📖 and maybe some writing too.

For Christmas 🎄my parents got me a nice little rechargeable lantern 🏮 that is perfect in the tent for reading at night especially with the nights so long now and the heater adding to the ambiance. Although also I’m looking forward to some long winter nights and hopefully getting the quality sleep that seems impossible lately at home – it’s terrible 😰 how I keep waking up at 3 or 4 each morning and can’t get back to sleep. 🎅 Maybe it’s Santa Claus waking me up each night, but it seems like every winter my sleep declines enormously. I think it’s too few nights in the woods. I still haven’t tested my big gas lantern, mainly because I have no where to hang it. I really should consider getting a lantern post but the thing is usually in the woods I have trees I can run a rope between to hang the lantern from. I really should do this tomorrow. And maybe start pulling stuff for camping from the attic. Gotta get my holiday decorations out tomorrow to hang at camp. . I’m hoping to also get a few extra Christmas lights and extension cords to use up at camp to replace broken and then cracked ones. 🔌

In four weeks on January 21 the sun will be setting at 4:53 pm,🌄 which is 27 minutes and 28 seconds later then tonight. In 2019 on that day, we had snow showers, cold weather, partly cloudy and temperatures between 5 and -7 degrees. That was a pretty cold day but not unheard of for January. My metrologist friend says he thinks late January this winter will be just as cold if not colder. I guess I wouldn’t mind the cold so much if my place had a better heater and more insulation. Typically, you have temperatures between 30 and 14 degrees. The record high of 61 degrees was set back in 2006.

Looking ahead, New Years Eve 🎆 is in 1 week, Coldest Week of the Year 🌬 is in 3 weeks, Martin Luther King Day 🖤 is in 4 weeks, Don’t Cry over Spilled Milk Day 🥛 is in 7 weeks, National Drink Wine Day 🍷 is in 8 weeks, St. Patrick’s Day 🍀 is in 12 weeks, 7:30 PM Sunset 🌇 is in 15 weeks, Cinco de Mayo 🤠 is in 19 weeks, Primary Day 🗳️ is in 26 weeks, Latest Sunset 🌆 is in 6 months, Election Day 2020 🗳️ is in 45 weeks and Election Day 2020 🗳️ is in 45 weeks.

Good evening! Partly clear and 36 degrees in Delmar, NY. There is a west breeze at 5 mph. 🍃. There is a inch of snow on the ground. ☃ ️Temperatures will drop below freezing around 2 am. ☃️

It’s actually a pretty nice evening, 🌃 and I sat out back for over an hour when it started to cool off a little bit. It wasn’t until quite late that it really started to drop off. Not going to be quite as nice in the Finger Lakes but not that awful either with each day expected to reach the mid 40s. Hard to complain about such weather on Festivus and I got a nice walk 🚶 before dark as I got out of work early today.

After which I came inside and rode the exercise bike 🚲 for a while listening 👂 to more of that trucker country 🚚 that I like from the late 1960s. That music 🎶 is crude and sleazy and sexist, probably gives one a taste of cigarette 🚬 and diesel 💨 on one’s mouth but it’s good for singing along especially if you’re not a real good singer and it has a good back beat. 🎸

Tonight will be partly cloudy 🌤, with a low of 28 degrees at 6am. 10 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around November 29th. Northwest wind 5 to 11 mph. In 2018, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 31 degrees. Even milder last year. The record low of -15 occurred back in 1989.

Tonight will have a Waning Crescent Moon 🌘 with 1% illuminated. The moon will rise at 5:38 am. The New Moon is on Christmas Day with mostly cloudy skies. The sun will rise at 7:22 am with the first light at 6:50 am, which is 28 seconds later than yesterday. 🌄 Tonight will have 14 hours and 57 minutes of darkness, a decrease of 7 seconds over last night. We never quite have 15 hours of darkness in Albany but if you go maybe to Warrensburg or there about, you do on the first day of winter. They have slightly longer summer days then more southerly locations but ultimately it balances out.

Tomorrow will be sunny 🌞, with a high of 36 degrees at 1pm. Three degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around December 16th. North wind around 7 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 40 degrees. The record high of 72 was set in 2015. I remember that day we’ll, rained a fair bit then I went to my parents house – after working until 3pm and they lost power briefly while cooking Christmas dinner. Spent Christmas that year camping at the Cherry Ridge Camping Area in Madison County. 13 inches of snow fell back in 1966.❄

I thought about testing the propane lantern 🏮 after work today but I have no where to test it around home. I normally hang it between trees on a rope at camp but there are no trees around where I live because the landlord cut down all the trees on his property to avoid liability and leaf removal costs, although in the summer neighboring property trees seem to provide enough shade to keep the buildings cool. I feel like the lantern should work now that I cleaned it a few weeks and if it doesn’t I don’t know how I’m going to fix it before heading out to camp on Saturday.

While I haven’t really planned out my whole camping trip yet ⛺ I do have some things in mind and I’m thinking about what I will need for camping and my packing list 📃. I might start doing a little packing on Christmas Day 🎄 as I told John Wolcott I’ll be over to his house on Thursday after work 🔎and then Friday I’ll have to finish packing and getting finished for camp as I don’t want to delay my departure. I hate driving NY 79 through Ithaca with all the aggressive drivers so I’ll probably take US 20 out but that’s a long drive. Alternatively I guess I could take NY 13 down through Cortland but that can be pokey too. Seneca Falls, decorated as Bedford Falls 🌉 is fun to explore during the holiday season, Montezuma Wildlife Refuge will be closed for the winter. 🐦

In four weeks on January 20 the sun will be setting at 4:52 pm,🌄 which is 26 minutes and 47 seconds later then tonight. In 2019 on that day, we had snow and temperatures between 21 and 0 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 30 and 14 degrees. The record high of 53 degrees was set back in 2006.

Not sure I’m happy with the current voltage settings on the voltage switch. 🔋 Neither the starting or the accessory batteries were well charged today, but then again I only got like 30 watt hours of power today. It said that the starting battery charged for 3 minutes today, not sure if the switch tripped multiple times. I may have to push the switch up to 14.0 volts again but in the lousey sun angle ☀ of winter not sure if I’m going to ever have enough power to make it ever engage. I might raise the voltage for camping as maximizing the accessory batteries charge us kind of a priority with the long cold winter nights. It easy enough to adjust those settings.

So far I’ve been fairly happy with the red screen both on my laptop and phone 📱 but it’s a pain to get things adjusted just right. But once the settings are good enough I can just turn them on and off and hopefully that will help with sleep 😴. Definitely it’s good to tone down the blue light from my computer monitor 💻.

I really do watch too many farm, hunting, trapping and off grid living videos on YouTube 📹 but it’s a much needed change from my urban life and takes me to worlds far away from Albany. A camera can bring you into a tie stall dairy barn and see the milking and feeding, show how to skin and process a coyote pelt or even many the day to day parts of living off grid with limited electricity generated on site, heating irg wood, etc. 🐻Wisdom shared over a camera. Because I downloaded the videos and watch them offline, I don’t have to watch those stupid ads but I also don’t get to like or comment on people’s channels. But if I had the internet at home, I’d probably be distracted all the other mindless things to do on the internet. 😼

Looking ahead, Bacon Day 🥓 is in 1 weeks, Make Your Dream Come True Day 🏡 is in 3 weeks, National Popcorn Day 🍿 is in 4 weeks, National Cheese Lovers Day 🧀 is a month away, National Pie Day 🍰 is in 4 weeks, Clean Your Computer Day 🧹 is in 7 weeks, Presidents Day 👴 is in 8 weeks, Read Across America Day 📚 is in 10 weeks, Worm Moon 🌕 is in 11 weeks, Arbor Day 🌳 is in 18 weeks, 8 PM Sunset 🌇 is in 19 weeks, Flower Moon 🌕 is in 21 weeks, Memorial Day Weekend Starts 🏕️ is in 5 months, Memorial Day 🇺🇸 is in 22 weeks, June 🍹 is in 23 weeks, Average High is 80 🏖 is in 26 weeks and Primary Day 🗳️ is in 6 months.

Good evening! Mostly clear and 25 degrees in Delmar, NY. Calm wind.There are 3 inches of snow on the ground. ☃ ️Things will start to thaw out at tomorrow around 8 am. 🌡️

The weekend came and went quickly but at least I got done the major things on my list 📃 and got out and did some skiing 🎿. I was happy that I have the voltage switch wired up and that’s working well. I did reduce the upper turn on voltage to 13.7 volts to ensure that it does dump some power into the starting battery 🔋 even on fairly cloudy days. ☁ Hopefully now I won’t go out and see after the truck has been parked for a week that the starting voltage has dropped to 12.4 or 12.3 volts. If I’m producing more power than I can use, might as well dump it in the starting battery for easier cold weather starts and to prolong the battery life. I’ve not had any problems with starting the truck but when I see the voltage sag on the starting battery I always get concerned.

Tonight will be mostly clear 🌃, with a low of 23 degrees at 10pm. Four degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around December 12th. Maximum wind chill around 21 at 10pm; Light south wind. In 2018, we had light snow in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 31 degrees. The record low of -12 occurred back in 1955.

It’s weird but on a mild night 🌃 like tonight it just feels so much warmer inside. ♨Does it actually read all that much warmer on the thermometer? Not really but it’s just less drafty and cold feeling. I can be comfortable with a lot less clothes on. 👚 Its amazing how much warmer it feels inside when it gets to 35 degrees outside with the south facing roof compared to a 25 degree day with lots of clouds.

Tonight will have a Waning Crescent Moon 🌘 with 4% illuminated. The moon will rise at 4:28 am. The New Moon is on Wednesday night with mostly cloudy skies. The is on Wednesday night. The sun will rise at 7:22 am with the first light at 6:50 am, which is 30 seconds later than yesterday. 🌄 Tonight will have 14 hours and 57 minutes of darkness, a decrease of 2 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will be sunny 🌞, with a high of 48 degrees at 2pm. 15 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around November 16th. I’ll take mid November weather a few days before Christmas. Light south wind increasing to 6 to 11 mph in the morning. Nice for a change, it should mean the boiler stays off tomorrow. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning, which became light snow by afternoon. The high last year was 35 degrees. The record high of 64 was set in 1990. 8.8 inches of snow fell back in 1947.❄

I’ve installed on both my phone and my laptop red light filters for night time use, 😴 in hopes that it will improve my sleep. While the hope is that less blue light will make for easier sleeping, I noticed that with the rest of my bedroom lights a dim red the monitor is awful bright 🔆 when I watch YouTube at night especially when I ride the bike 🚲.

I ordered more contacts online 👀 but I think my prescription is expired so it will be canceled as it looks like they actually check ☑ the prescriptions more carefully now. But I’m okay with that as I found another large box 🎁 of contacts in my truck and my insurance now covers yearly contact lens exams. It used to be that contact wearers had to pay for every other exam – or order online. That said, I really hate my current eye doctor 😷 but the other places I’ve been too haven’t been much better. I feel like most doctors offices are scams although I do have to say that doxycycline I got for Lyme seemed to mostly make those problems go away. If my prescription is denied, I’ll have to make an appointment but not right away as I actually have a supply for a while. 👓 And ultimately if I run out of contacts there always is the option of getting used to wearing glasses again.

In four weeks on January 19 the sun will be setting at 4:51 pm,🌄 which is 26 minutes and 6 seconds later then tonight. In 2019 on that day, we had snow and temperatures between 31 and 7 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 30 and 14 degrees. The record high of 62 degrees was set back in 1929.

Looking ahead, National Bird Day 🐧 is in 2 weeks, 5:30 PM Dusk 🌆 is in 5 weeks, Ground Hog Day 🐻 is in 6 weeks, Snow Moon 🌕 is in 7 weeks, March 🌨 is in 10 weeks, Daylight Savings Time 🌆 is in 11 weeks, Ides of March ✝ is in 12 weeks, Palm Sunday 🌴 is in 15 weeks, Easter 🐰 is in 16 weeks, Earth Day 🌎 is in 4 months, Mothers Day 👩‍ is in 20 weeks, Pack Rat Day 🐀 is in 21 weeks, Strawberry Moon 🌕 is in 24 weeks, Fathers Day 👨 is in 25 weeks and Average High is 80 🏖 is in 6 months.

Good evening! Partly clear and 22 degrees in Delmar, NY. Calm wind. Already not as bitterly cold as a day ago but I did turn up the heat because I am cold and it’s going to be mild the rest of the week. There are 3 inches of snow on the ground. ☃ ️Things will start to thaw out at tomorrow around 11 am. 🌡️

Today was a cold and gray day ☁ but it was pretty when the sun peaked through the clouds out skiing 🎿 in the Pine Bush. It was just me and Burt Shou on the Save the Pine Bush Ski trip but then I went out for a while myself. I think I may have gotten a bit of a sun burn because of the reflection off the snow and from my photosensitive skin after taking the antibiotics for three weeks. I was glad I finished them up but I am now feeling a bit stiff in the knees and I had a bit of a headache for a while but sometimes a bit of Lyme hangs around. 🐜 Or maybe I’m injuring my knees a bit with all the time lately I’ve spent on the bike 🚲.

I did fine skiing 🎿 except the one time I crashed 💥- my skis are touring cross country skis and they are a bit fast and unstable for descending the steepest dunes. I missed a turn in the trail and ended up tangled in wild grape 🍇 vine. They’re quite old at this point but they still work great. I like to use things as long as possible as it saves money 💵 and I don’t have trash pickup so I’d have to pay to get rid of them at the transfer station. 🚮 I have more photos 📷 to upload tomorrow.

As the first day of winter it was pretty cold and gray. ☁ But it was a productive day and it’s going to be warm and sunny over the next few days, ☀ especially on Monday. Too bad I have to work that day but I’ll enjoy my lunch time walk 🚶.I’m just hoping that the nice weather will continue into the next weekend when I’m out in the Finger Lakes National Forest.

Finally took out the garbage from the kitchen. 🗑With the compost usually it doesn’t stink and I can leave it in the can for weeks — but I guess I must have scrapped something off a pan or something and it started to rot and stink. 👃🏻 I should do it more often but I don’t like to waste trash bags, and it’s not like I have a day I have to do it except when I go to the transfer station myself.

Took another sleeping pill 💊 because I was concerned about waking up in the early hours and didn’t want to have that happen again like last night. Might be a bit foggy 🌁 in the morning but without work or anything to do early tomorrow I’m fine with that.

Tonight will be partly cloudy 🌤, with a low of 15 degrees at 5am. Four degrees below normal. Maximum wind chill around 17 at 6pm; Light south wind. In 2018, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 34 degrees. The record low of -8 occurred back in 1955.

Tonight will have a Waning Crescent Moon 🌘 with 10% illuminated. The moon will rise at 3:16 am. The New Moon is on Wednesday night with mostly cloudy skies. The is on Wednesday night. The sun will rise at 7:21 am with the first light at 6:49 am, which is 32 seconds later than yesterday. 🌄 Tonight will have 14 hours and 57 minutes of darkness, an increase of 3 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 39 degrees at 2pm. Five degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around December 7th. South wind 3 to 6 mph. A year ago, we had light rain in the morning, which became mostly clear by afternoon. The high last year was 59 degrees. The record high of 60 was set in 1990. 12.3 inches of snow fell back in 1969.❄

I am glad we are having a big warm up tomorrow ♨ as it will save on the heat. It will also make it easier outside for skiing and walking. I’m interested to see if the voltage switch does its job properly. I checked the connections with the Volt meter – for a while I brought it inside for future testing when something looked like the output polarity reversed but it seems fine now. ⚡ I’ll probably need to tweak the voltage thresholds but I think it will work well. I’ve learned to test and check ☑ when wiring things up and always stop and reconsider things ⛔ when I discover something isn’t working as expected.

One week from now will be my first night 🌃 winter camping ⛺ and that should be a lot of fun. I’m just hoping that it won’t be too rainy – looks to be quite mild and cloudy for sure with a chance of rain throughout the week. ☔ I almost prefer snow showers to rain although at least the roads won’t be so bad with just rain. I can’t control the weather but I can control my attitude.

In four weeks on January 18 the sun will be setting at 4:50 pm,🌄 which is 25 minutes and 23 seconds later then tonight. In 2019 on that day, we had snow showers, mostly cloudy and temperatures between 35 and 21 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 30 and 14 degrees. The record high of 59 degrees was set back in 1973.

Looking ahead, 4:30 PM Sunset 🌆 is in 1 weeks, Winnie the Pooh Day 🍯 is in 4 weeks, Martin Luther King Day 🖤 is a month away, 5 PM Sunset 🌆 is in 5 weeks, February 🌧 is in 6 weeks, Average High is 50 🌸 is in 14 weeks, Average High is 60 🌼 is in 17 weeks, Average High is 70 🐮 is in 21 weeks, Memorial Day Weekend Starts 🏕️ is in 22 weeks, Last Day of Session 🏛 is in 26 weeks and Summer ️⛱️ is in 26 weeks.

Good evening! Clear and 10 degrees in Delmar, NY. Calm wind.There are 3 inches of snow on the ground. ☃ ️Things will start to thaw out at Sunday around 10 am. 🌡️ Last real cold night for a while, but I so hopefully I can turn the heat down tomorrow and maybe my evening walk again.

Had a nice lunch at work when the director took everybody out to lunch 🍻 and I of course had enough beer that I was very quiet the rest of the afternoon and then left early. 🍲 Holiday parties can be fun especially when you don’t have to drive. Big meal, 🍴 I skipped dinner because I was full and very tired 😴 after all the food and drink. I only have a drinking problem when I want to.

Got home early, spent a bunch of time looking for parts and components I need to put together 🔍the voltage ⚡ switch on my truck or tomorrow. Had to dig all through my electronics box to find the Shotsky diodes I needed for the project. For a while I thought 💭 they were lost and I was concerned. Found them and built the harness.

Tonight will be mostly clear 🌃, with a low of 5 degrees at 5am. 14 degrees below normal. Maximum wind chill around 5 at 5am; Calm wind. In 2018, we had light rain. It got down to 37 degrees. The record low of -18 occurred back in 1942.

Tonight will have a Waning Crescent Moon 🌘 with 18% illuminated. The moon will rise at 2:04 am. The New Moon is on Wednesday night with mostly cloudy skies. The is on Wednesday night. The sun will rise at 7:21 am with the first light at 6:49 am, which is 34 seconds later than yesterday. 🌄 Tonight will have 14 hours and 57 minutes of darkness, an increase of 6 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will be partly sunny 🌞, with a high of 28 degrees at 2pm. Six degrees below normal. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the afternoon. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 62 degrees. The record high of 62 was set in 2018. 6.6 inches of snow fell back in 2008.❄

I am hoping for a nice day tomorrow for the Save the Pine Bush Ski 🎿 trip in the morning. Hopefully the Pine Bush will be quite nice. I put together the wiring harness for voltage switch ⚡ and double checked the specifications of everything and studied the data sheet for the diode to make sure everything would work perfectly. Those Shotsky diodes have a higher voltage drop then I expected at higher currents although in the grand scheme of things not that critical as it only wastes a half watt when the trucks big alternator is spinning. The isolator relay itself uses about six watts – as it draws nearly 500 mA to stay closed – or so I’m told. I’m actually curious, I should test this.

Been thinking a little bit about getting a heating blanket as a cheap way to stay warm ♨ without having to turn the heat on so much. They don’t use that much power compared to a space heater and are typically safer. 50 watts is typical as you are only heating near yourself. But it just seems like more stuff and I don’t need more. It’s plenty warm under the covers. 💤

In four weeks on January 17 the sun will be setting at 4:49 pm,🌄 which is 24 minutes and 37 seconds later then tonight. In 2019 on that day, we had mostly sunny, snow showers and temperatures between 24 and 9 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 30 and 14 degrees. Coldest time of the year. The record high of 62 degrees was set back in 1889.

Looking ahead, Latest Sunrise of the Winter 🌄️ is in 2 weeks, Wolf Moon 🌕 is in 3 weeks, National Popcorn Day 🍿 is a month away, National Pie Day 🍰 is a month away, Save the Pine Bush Turns 42 🦋 is in 7 weeks, Valentines Day ❤️ is in 8 weeks, 5:30 PM Sunset 🌆 is in 2 months, 7 PM Sunset 🌆 is in 12 weeks, Spring 🌷 is in 3 months, Good Friday ✝️ is in 16 weeks, May 🕊 is in 19 weeks, 8:30 PM Sunset ️⛱️ is in 24 weeks, Last Day of Session 🏛 is in 6 months, Summer ️⛱️ is in 6 months and Inauguration Day 2021 👴🏻 is in 13 months.

Good evening! Mostly clear and 14 degrees in Delmar, NY. There is a west-northwest breeze at 7 mph. 🍃. There are 3 inches of snow on the ground. ☃ ️Things will start to thaw out at Sunday around 11 am. 🌡️

Cold evening so I decided to stay home and ride the excerise bike 🚲 and catch up on the world of farmers, hunters, trappers and off griders I follow on the YouTube. 🚜 Dairy farming at negative 30 Celsius or -22F in Saskatchewan doesn’t look like much fun. 🐮 Muskrat trapping seemed more fun as did rebuilding an old multimeter from the 1950s. 🐨 I got in an hour and a half on the exercise bike. I also walked down to the park and ride this morning, a half mile during lunch and down to Peter Kiernan building 🏢 in the evening so I got my steps in despite the cold. I’ve noticed though that too much time on the exercise bike can make my knees stiff. Dinner tonight was pasta with tuna fish, corn and mayo. 🍲 I like it, it’s affordable and tasty even if it’s not high class to have tuna salad for dinner. Need to buy more mayonnaise this week though.

Tonight will be mostly clear and cold 🌃, with a low of 6 degrees at 5am. 14 degrees below normal. Maximum wind chill around -4 at 5am; Northwest wind around 7 mph. In 2018, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 19 degrees. The record low of -19 occurred back in 1951.

Tonight will have a Waning Crescent Moon 🌘 with 28% illuminated. The moon will rise at 12:52 am. The New Moon is on Wednesday night with mostly cloudy skies. The is on Wednesday night. The sun will rise at 7:20 am with the first light at 6:48 am, which is 36 seconds later than yesterday. 🌄 Tonight will have 14 hours and 57 minutes of darkness, an increase of 11 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will be sunny and cold 🌞, with a high of 24 degrees at 1pm. 10 degrees below normal. Another cold day. Northwest wind 6 to 9 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with a few breaks of sun the afternoon. The high last year was 43 degrees. The record high of 61 was set in 1957. 8.4 inches of snow fell back in 1975.❄

I did some more research and thinking 💭 about the voltage switch for the truck. I think I’ll only need the one diode on the input from the engine to keep the CB radio from accidentally being turned on by the solar panel. I have all the components I’ll need, just have to cut the wire, solder the diode in the line and then run the wire in the truck and crimp the connectors. 🔌 Shouldn’t take much time and Sunday will be quite warm for working outside. Then lots of sun ☀ to test it out this week and adjust the voltage thresholds appropriately. I have Tuesday and Wednesday off next week for Christmas 🎄.

In four weeks on January 16 the sun will be setting at 4:47 pm,🌄 which is 23 minutes and 52 seconds later then tonight. In 2019 on that day, we had partly cloudy, snow showers and temperatures between 39 and 23 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 30 and 14 degrees. The record high of 62 degrees was set back in 1995.

Looking ahead, Boxing Day 🥊 is in 1 weeks, Static Electric Shock Day 🧼 is in 3 weeks, National Cheese Lovers Day 🧀 is in 5 weeks, 5:30 PM Sunset 🌆 is in 9 weeks and Flower Moon 🌕 is in 20 weeks.