Puff the magic dragon by lived by the sea, and frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honah Lee. A dragon lives forever but not so little boys.

Good morning! Happy Thursday. It’s cloudy and 60 degrees in Delmar, NY. ⛅ Calm wind. The dew point is 60 degrees. Fog around, and it’s in my head this morning and I’m not stoned but maybe I wish I was as I stumble around this morning skipping my morning walk.

So I can get at least some steps in 👣 taking the long way around the High School 🚸 superblock to the express bus 🚍 as I have enough time. Breakfast was a bowl of light red kidney beans with sugar free maple syrup and a little bit of Greek yogurt and fresh fruit. I have a bit of sore throat this morning and maybe that’s my excuse for my dragging ass, though truth be told it’s the gray skies my struggle to recover from summer vacation. 🛏 I was in bed shortly after 9 pm and slept well but had to run to the bathroom 🚽 a few times during the night as I had a bunch of lemonade 🍋 after my evening bike 🚲 ride to Voorheesville.

Today will have a slight chance of showers before noon, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between noon and 5pm, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 5pm. Mostly cloudy 🌦, with a high of 78 degrees at 12pm. Five degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around September 5th. Maximum dew point of 67 at 1pm. Lighyg south wind increasing to 5 to 9 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. It was somewhat humid. The high last year was 79 degrees. The record high of 96 was set in 1949.

If the weather was going to be better today ⛈ I would definitely be riding into work. 🚲 It was a nice bicycle commute yesterday, although my ride home was a bit heavy with all that sweet corn 🌽, zucchini, cucumbers 🥒 and that watermelon 🍉 I had loaded into the back of my bike. Howard Street does get a bit crazy 🚘 at 5 o’clock but once I hit the bike path under 787 and do the climb out of the valley it’s a bit of serenity. Tomorrow I’ll ride down to the dentist 🦷 and then to work.

Yesterday I rode close to 30 miles or maybe more. 🚲 Not sure though I did GPS log it. Sunset is getting earlier 🌇 and I was running late 🏃 after dinner but it was still a great ride. That said my mountain bike is so slow compared to the road bikes and it’s boring 💤 to ride on asphalt but take it to the places I like to camp ⛺ it’s wonderful and it beats walking 🚶 around town. It just annoys me as road bikes fly by on the bike path, and general boredom of the bike path, but I remember it’s a compromise compared to the great places I can get up in the wilderness. I am thinking the gravel/stone dust of Pennsylvania’s Pine Creek Gorge might be fun this autumn. 

I’ve been kicking myself for not stopping in Triangle on my way home from the Finger Lakes to get more zucchini and have been desperate ever since. 🥒 The zucchini I had in the Finger Lakes was so good that all I’ve been dreaming of all week is more zucchini. Fried with onions, some MSG, some pepper and a bit of stevia and olive oil it was so good. Eat way too much but there are worse foods to over indulge in. Sweet corn also for dinner and a plum for dessert. 🌽 This morning as I mentioned it was red kidney beans and syrup, and lunch is going to be onions, rice with peas and lentils and then some edamame thrown in. Haven’t had edamame in a few weeks, and it’s good, mostly because of vacation. 

Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:02 pm with sun having an altitude of 63° from the due south horizon (-7.8° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 3.1 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:27 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (286°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (292°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:06 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 7 seconds with dusk around 8:35 pm, which is one minute and 22 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:15 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and thunderstorms 🌩 and temperatures around 71 degrees. The dew point will be 66 degrees. There will be a south breeze at 7 mph. Today will have 14 hours and 11 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 26 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have showers and thunderstorms likely before 1am, then a slight chance of showers between 1am and 2am. Cloudy, then gradually becoming partly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 61 degrees at 4am. One degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around August 13th. Maximum dew point of 66 at 6pm. South wind around 8 mph becoming west after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 63 degrees. The record low of 46 occurred back in 1941.

Another summer weekend on tap. 🏖 Saturday, a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 83. South wind 7 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Maximum dew point of 66 at 5pm. Sunday, mostly sunny, with a high near 80. Maximum dew point of 68 at 10am. Typical average high for the weekend is 83 degrees.

This weekend I’m thinking of either riding or driving out to Our Families Harvest farm stand 🌽 in New Scotland to stock up on produce then maybe some mountain biking / trail riding in the Albany Pine Bush 🦋, I think that could be a lot of fun. Do it early as I see thunderstorms ⛈️ and rain popping up by afternoon. Then maybe go to see John and get some groceries at the Walmart in Albany. I specifically like those little pearl onions they have, I haven’t seen them at other grocery stores. They’re like candy and you can eat them raw after you peal the outer skin or toss them in a frying 🍳 pan and they quickly get brown and extra sweet. Maybe head a bit further north in Colonie and do some of the Canalway trail but I doubt it. Quiet day Sunday, maybe Five Rivers Environmental Education Center 🐸 and go out and see the folks. 👪

I asked the secretary 🗓 to schedule no meetings for me on Thursday and Friday of next week, lest I want to head up to the Potholers for a long weekend and to ride Piseco-Powley Road on Blackie 🚵 and camp at House Pond Campsite ⛺ assuming it’s open. I could go for a nice few days at the swimming 🏊 hole there maybe with some clams again 🦪 and tons of fresh farm produce 🌽 🥒 🍅 🧅 to toss in the beer and clam broth. We’ll see, it depends on the weather. I could use some time floating on the tube ⭕ and cooling in the Potholers before summer is done. I can’t do the following week as the other director is off. Right now the second half of next week looks good, and we might finally get some warmer and drier weather. One last stand before summer is done. I’m also thinking of seeing if I can work remote or take a personal day that Friday before Labor Day Weekend 👷‍♀️ so I can get camp set up early on Friday, then work or have fun as time would allow.

One month 📅 from now will be 6:30 Sunrise 🌇 when the sun will be setting at 7:16 pm with dusk at 7:43 pm. It will mean darker mornings especially for walking 🚶 although I should be able to walk for a few more weeks after then at 6:15 as dawn is about a half hour earlier and I do that most of the winter at any rate. The cooler air will be refreshing and help wake me up when those days come.