Search Results for: photo suburban woods

I guess I’ll be getting some bike tires tomorrow ๐Ÿšฒ

I mean the bike shop wasn’t wrong when they said the worn out tires would be prone to flats and would ride like a pig, especially with the more worn one on the front tire. Another flat up front and I’m not riding anywhere until I get a new tire and maybe a tube in case I can’t patch it.

Good morning! Today 8:30 PM Dusk ๐ŸŒ† . Most cloudy and 70 degrees here in Delmar, NY. ๐ŸŒฅ๏ธ Calm wind. Hey at least it’s not raining this morning but the temperature will drop through the day and only get cloudier.

Today will be be mostly clouds with some breaks of sun especially in the morning , ๐ŸŒฅ with a high of 70 degrees at 6am. Two degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around May 10th. South wind 7 to 10 mph. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 60 degrees. The record high of 91 was set in 1944. There was a dusting of snow in 1986.โ„

Another shitty kind of weekend ahead, ๐Ÿ’ฉ but at least this morning Mr. Preskta isn’t out working on the unit next door ๐Ÿšช shortly after getting done with the milking and feeding – – cow ๐Ÿฎ chores at 6:30 AM in the morning. Enjoying the quiet for now, and will probably just end up spending my day at Five Rivers Environmental Education Center, ๐Ÿธ reading in the woods. The original plan called for riding over to Pebbles Island and go for a walk there, ๐Ÿšถ but honestly the weather isn’t that impressive today. Plus I need to get a tire and maybe a tube – – at least as a back up should the patch fail.

Truth is after that crash I got into Thursday, ๐Ÿ’ฅ my knee still needs time to heal. ๐Ÿฉน A weekend off from riding is a good thing in my perspective. I will continue to research tires today ๐Ÿ”Žand stop by the bike store tomorrow and buy two tires โšซ and maybe also a bike tube in case my patch fails or for an emergency it wouldn’t be bad to keep in storage for while camping or riding should I get another flat. I should be back on the road by Monday assuming they have the tire in stock.

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 12:53 pm with sun having an altitude of 63.5ยฐ from the due south horizon (-7.3ยฐ vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 3 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ๐Ÿ… starts at 7:20 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (287ยฐ). ๐Ÿ“ธ The sunset is in the west-northwest (293ยฐ) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:00 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 9 seconds with dusk around 8:30 pm, which is one minute and 7 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ The best time to look at the stars is after 9:09 pm. At sunset, look for mostly cloudy skies ๐ŸŒฅ and temperatures around 61 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Today will have 14 hours and 17 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 24 seconds over yesterday.

After such a busy week riding back and forth to work, ๐Ÿšถ I am okay with taking life slow and going for a walk today. And not doing much but a lot of reading and observing nature. I was at Five Rivers last night too, rode out there, hiked and red until dusk ๐ŸŒ‡ and it was a good evening. I’m just not feeling really ambitious today and I don’t feel like driving anywhere. ๐Ÿš˜ I ended up riding back through the suburban subdivision last night, getting home in the pitch black around 10 of nine. I thought about riding out to Feura Bush for some ice cream ๐Ÿฆ but I think I’ll wait for warmer weather then last night – – wasn’t a super warm day.

Tonight will have a chance of showers, mainly after 3am. Mostly cloudy ๐ŸŒง, with a low of 48 degrees at 6am. Three degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around May 14th. South wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. In 2023, we had mostly clear skies. It got down to 40 degrees. The record low of 29 occurred back in 1974.

That great cabin / acerage I was looking at in Rensselaer County was only accessible via Easement, so after talking to the real estate agent I decided to pass on further investigation. ๐Ÿก Great location, not a bad commute, and really what I wanted – – off-grid pole-and-beam cabin with water and septic on 6 acres but the Easement road was a deal breaker. The price wasn’t cheap but including the cabin it was reasonable for the location if only it didn’t involve the Easement road. Might be a good hunting cabin, but it would not be possible to improve the road and even a written easement gets complicated. Maybe I’m hoping too much that I can fine the perfect turnkey solution, but what I need to do build my own. ๐Ÿ‘ทI’m continuing to research and learn everything I can.

I am still hoping that next weekend I can get out to Schoharie County, โ›บ take Friday off camp and ride throughout the weekend. Right now the weekend looks cold and showery ๐ŸŒง๏ธ but things could certainly change into he mean-time. I would like to ride the Catskill Scenic Trail, but I need new tires in the before I can do that as I don’t want to deal with another flat. And maybe find some good ramps to eat in the woods. ๐Ÿง…It’s spring turkey, ๐Ÿฆƒ so probably not hiking before noontime.

Possibly the following weekend, I might do a family trip ๐Ÿš˜ out to the Roger’s Center in Central New York, and then I believe the week after that is Memorial Day Weekend ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ which I’ll have to decide where and if I want to get eaten alive by the black flies. ๐Ÿœ Last year the trip out to Cole Hill for two nights was a lot of fun hammock camping, so that’s another option. There is something simple and beautiful about laying back in the hammock as the sky gets dark and cooking over the fire. ๐Ÿ”ฅ At some point I want to get down to Catskill Mountain Cabins, the big show room in Kingston near the Thruway to look at the pre-fab cabins that have at the showroom there, but I think that’s more likely to be a June thing. Plus thoughts of the Potholers are on my mind ๐ŸŠโ€โ™‚๏ธ come later in June but that gets hard to do in the sense that as summer progresses I’ll be busier with work at the campaign committee preparing for the autumn campaign season, running data exports and processing data.

Looking ahead, there are 4 weeks until 9 PM Dusk ๐ŸŒ† when the sun will be setting at 8:28 pm. On that day in 2023, we had rain and temperatures between 69 and 60 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 76 degrees. We hit a record high of 94 back in 1918.

Along Edge of Alder Pond

Hoping for a smoother Tuesday today ๐Ÿง‘โ€๐Ÿš’๐Ÿงฏ

I did not appreciate missing the express bus home yesterday or the smoke alarm repeatedly tripping off after cooking dinner. Or repeatedly hitting the wrong keys in VIM at work yesterday, half awake on a Monday. But the salmon and frozen asparagus was good for dinner as was the larger paycheck with my new job.

Good morning! Happy Tuesday. Clouds and 28 degrees in Delmar, NY. โ˜ Calm wind.There are 3 inches of snow on the ground. โ˜ƒ ๏ธThings will start to thaw out at around 1 pm. ๐ŸŒก๏ธ

Made it through my birthday ๐ŸŽ‚ without anybody saying anything besides my mom= and a few people at work. I keep my birthday locked down on Facebook as I get tired of all the fake happy birthdays you get on Facebook. I really don’t appreciate all the unwarranted attention to myself and my age, I’d rather tell my story but otherwise he ignored. Maybe that’s why I don’t do the social media.

Yesterday was a Monday and kind of a shitty one but it was always silly stuff. ๐Ÿ’ฉ The kind of things that you can hit escape and then u in vim and undo. I just wasn’t feeling Monday, even if was my forty first time around the sun โ˜€. The smoke detector that kept going off time and time again from cooking smoke and moisture ๐Ÿง‘‍๐Ÿš’ really set me off as did having to ride the local home. ๐Ÿก Then I had to piss and crap so badly that I barely made the toilet ๐Ÿšฝ and had to clean up the seat but fortunately not my pants ๐Ÿ‘– this time. ๐Ÿคฏ All that fiber and water from eating lots of fruits and vegetables can be tough at times. Especially spaghetti squash ๐Ÿ† which I find hard not to overeat but can he very lubricating of the gut and everything connected. Gawd, I’m getting old ๐Ÿ‘ด๐Ÿผ.

I got this enormous glass ๐Ÿธ at work as a Christmas gift that I love and when it’s full of water ๐Ÿ’ฆ and ice ๐ŸงŠ it’s so easy to overdo it and I was busy at the end of the day with work ๐Ÿ“„ and didn’t have time to run to the bathroom before catching the shuttle ๐Ÿš€ back to the Plaza. And then missing the express bus ๐Ÿš. Yeap. Forgot my fork ๐Ÿฝ at lunch yesterday and didn’t have a spare one in my new office ๐Ÿข so the cooked part of lunch with peas, corn, peppers and tofu got skipped for lunch as that ain’t finger ๐Ÿ–• food. The milk ๐Ÿฅ› I had in the mason jar for my coffee โ˜• at work went rancid. That was a Monday, my birthday. ๐ŸŽ‚

I’m thinking today won’t be such a shit show ๐Ÿค” or so I tell myself. ๐Ÿฅž Woke up at five o’clock like usual with no alarm โฐ and made some good oatmeal banana ๐ŸŒ pancakes. I’ve finally mastered a good recipe that is absolutely delicious ๐Ÿ˜‹ topped with mango and blueberries with real maple ๐Ÿ syrup. The real stuff is so much better even if it’s slightly more calories. It’s not like I eat much meat or milk high in saturated fats these days or processed foods or added sugars so I figured I can use a little bit of natural sweetness occasionally like honey ๐Ÿฏ or pure maple syrup.

Went for a five mile bike ride this morning after breakfast before showering and catching the express bus downtown. ๐Ÿšฒ Not so cold this morning for a change. My hands ๐Ÿ‘ weren’t cold nor was my face. The cows ๐Ÿฎ on Meads Road were up and around chewing their cud not all huddled together. ๐Ÿšœ It was nice for a change. I probably would have gone for a longer ride, but time was tight as it was close to 6:50 AM when I got out riding. One thing is nice is that the mornings are a lot brighter then they were.

Today will have patchy freezing drizzle before 10am. Mostly cloudy ๐ŸŒฅ, with a high of 33 degrees at 2pm. Typical for today. Calm wind becoming south 5 to 7 mph in the afternoon. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, which became light snow by afternoon. The high last year was 41 degrees. The record high of 56 was set in 2013. 11.0 inches of snow fell back in 1966.โ„

After all of it, dinner last night was good, ๐ŸŸ even if the fire alarm problem was annoying. ๐Ÿ‘ฉ‍๐Ÿš’ I am not sure why it’s been such a problem with the smoke detectors this winter. I got a new smoke detector hoping it would stop false alarms, ๐Ÿ”• without much luck. Fresh asparagus are hard to get this time of year, but the frozen ones weren’t bad. ๐ŸŽ Looking forward to spring ๐Ÿฐ when the fresh ones are more available for a reasonable price, like around Easter. ๐Ÿ‘ฃ Evening walk was good too. I need to get back in the habit, if my fingers are cold all of the time, ๐Ÿงค I should learn to toughen up and get better gloves. It’s not like I have as much of an opportunity to get steps in working in the suburban office, though come nicer weather when I don’t have to dress up as much, I’ll probably be back to riding back in and home from the office. I figure after President’s Day, there will be enough daylight in the evening to ride home, and that’s where the real calorie burning takes place. ๐ŸŒง With the rain and cold, I’ve really gotten out of the habit, and my stomach and face are starting to show it.

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 12:09 pm with sun having an altitude of 29.6° from the due south horizon (-41.2° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 10.6 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ๐Ÿ… starts at 4:24 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (239°). ๐Ÿ“ธ The sunset is in the west-southwest (247°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 5:06 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 10 seconds with dusk around 5:35 pm, which is one minute and 18 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ The best time to look at the stars is after 6:10 pm. At sunset, look for mostly cloudy skies โ˜ and temperatures around 32 degrees. There will be a south-southeast breeze at 7 mph. Tomorrow will have 9 hours and 59 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 18 seconds over today.

Maybe I’ve been overly cranky, but the smoke detector thing in particularly really set me off yesterday, ๐Ÿ‘ฉ‍๐Ÿš’ especially after such a long and difficult birthday. I am so done with winter, ready for nicer weather and longer days. At least the mornings and evenings aren’t as dark we move into February. I have a lot to look forward to once we get over the hump of winter. โ›„ I think what I really need is just more time in the wilderness. ๐Ÿ• Maybe this weekend.

Tonight will be mostly cloudy ๐ŸŒฅ, with a low of 25 degrees at 4am. 10 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 11th. South wind around 7 mph. In 2023, we had light snow in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 18 degrees. The record low of -26 occurred back in 1948.

It’s always nice to see a bit of money in bank account ๐Ÿ’ฐ before the money goes into retirement, investments, and my landlord’s slice. ๐Ÿ˜ My apartment is a dump but it’s affordable.

A picture perfect weekend on tap. ๐Ÿ˜Ž Saturday, sunny, with a high near 35. Sunday, sunny, with a high near 35. Typical average high for the weekend is 33 degrees. I am thinking of doing an overnight in the woods this weekend, though I wish I had skis โ›ท but I should be able to ride roads if the trails have too much which they might. Kind of a birthday weekend camping adventure. โ›บ But a week late. Probably won’t head too far out of town for that. President’s Day Weekend, depending on how much snow there is, I might head up to the Adirondacks or Madison County.

As previously noted, next Tuesday is Save the Pine Bush Turns 43 ๐Ÿฆ‹ when the sun will be setting at 5:16 pm with dusk at 5:44 pm. On that day in 2023, we had partly sunny and temperatures between 41 and 21 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 34 degrees. We hit a record high of 55 back in 1991.

Open Water

Happy Final Friday of January 2024! โ˜”

Kind of a wet one to flush away the month of January. I’m up early walking laps on the Concourse in the Emperor’s Plaza. I was thinking if I wanted to do some cardio I could do the stairs in LOB, though truth be told I’ll be here come midday for diversity training and then I’m going to work the rest of the day in my old office.

Good morning! Yeah, it’s Friday! Heavy rain and 38 degrees at the Elm Ave Park and Ride. ๐ŸŒง๏ธ There is a southeast breeze at 7 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. Not much snow left after the warm temperatures and the rspTemperatures will drop below freezing at Sunday around 3 am. โ˜ƒ๏ธ

For some reason I didn’t sleep well last night ๐Ÿ› so I’m up early walking ๐Ÿšถ the Plaza. I just find it hard to sleep with the windows closed and I need another night in the wilderness but alas it’s January for a few more days and the woods is going to be a mosh pit after all the rain of recent. ๐Ÿฝ I have diversity training today, so I’ll need to stay awake for that. And lots more reports to run. I need to figure out how to get Docker running on my work machine ๐Ÿค– to automate that further.

Breakfast this morning was pancakes ๐Ÿฅž made from carrots ๐Ÿฅ• and apples with some egg and whole wheat flour for binder with cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice and honey ๐Ÿฏ to top. Then I decided I was still hungry and wanted some protein, so I had some Greek yogurt and strawberries ๐Ÿ“ as a side. โ˜• Looking forward to more coffee when I get in the office. Last night it was pea soup ๐Ÿฅฃ with carrot bread which came out so moist and tender, reminded me almost of carrot cake. By the end of the week I think I will have eaten nearly five pounds of carrots.

Today will rain, mainly before 10am. Patchy fog after 5pm. ๐ŸŒง High of 43 degrees at 4pm. 10 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 9th. Southeast wind 6 to 10 mph becoming northeast in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, which became light snow by afternoon. The high last year was 41 degrees. The record high of 59 was set in 1950. 8.5 inches of snow fell back in 1949.โ„

Bike ride in and hike was good, ๐Ÿšฒ though on a cloudy day like yesterday it was darker than I would have preferred for riding across the Water Street Bridge. Didn’t help there was a bunch of debris from crashes on the shoulder. I should have enough time that in the future I might ride through Corning Preserve ๐Ÿž and over the pedestrian bridge as an alternative.

I’m getting used to suburban office ๐Ÿข with its acres parking ๐Ÿ…ฟ which everybody tells me is a good thing but I find it hard to believe. I just find the corporate architecture to be so soul depraving with the acres of cubicles, florescent lighting and the very square windows that are few and far between. At least I can make it work with the buses ๐Ÿš and it’s an easier bike ๐Ÿšฒ ride. I enjoyed riding in yesterday and riding down to the river at lunch time, โ˜บ It will be nice come summer. Acres of parking probably is good if I’m planning on going out of town after work.

I do think I’m doing good work, ๐Ÿ–ฅ putting my data science skills and Unix knowledge to hood work in the new position. Change is good, I think I’m rapidly getting up to skill. Plus it’s a good resume builder as I can say I’m using Unix text utilities, SQL and R processing in a o

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 12:08 pm with sun having an altitude of 28.6ยฐ from the due south horizon (-42.3ยฐ vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 11 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ๐Ÿ… starts at 4:18 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (238ยฐ). ๐Ÿ“ธ The sunset is in the west-southwest (245ยฐ) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 5:00 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 12 seconds with dusk around 5:30 pm, which is one minute and 17 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ The best time to look at the stars is after 6:05 pm. At sunset, look for cloudy skies โ˜ and temperatures around 42 degrees. There will be a southeast breeze at 5 mph. Today will have 9 hours and 48 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 7 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have patchy fog before 7pm. Otherwise, cloudy โ˜, with a low of 35 degrees at 5am. 20 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 10th. North wind 3 to 6 mph. In 2023, we had light snow in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 27 degrees. The record low of -23 occurred back in 1994.

Tomorrow will be mostly cloudy ๐ŸŒฅ, with a high of 41 degrees at 1pm. Eight degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 3rd. North wind around 6 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, which became light snow by afternoon. The high last year was 36 degrees. The record high of 62 was set in 1974. 9.3 inches of snow fell back in 1963.โ„

Looking ahead to Sunday, rain and snow, becoming all snow after 4pm. ๐ŸŒจ๏ธ High near 35. North wind 5 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. Typical average high for the weekend is 33 degrees.

As previously noted, next Friday is Ground Hog Day ๐Ÿป when the sun will be setting at 5:10 pm with dusk at 5:39 pm. On that day in 2023, we had partly cloudy and temperatures between 36 and 19 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 33 degrees. We hit a record high of 53 back in 1981.

 Woodstock Road

Hump Day, and I’m out riding early ๐Ÿšฒ

Slept in a bit later then I wanted this morning but I made good time this morning and was able to go for a 45 minute ride out Meads Lane and Orchard Drive. Cows were all lumped together, staying warm in the cold. My fingers felt a bit swollen and sore when I first got back indoors but the warm shower seemed to make things feel better again.

Good morning! What day is it? Hump Day, of course. Partly sunny and 17 degrees at the Downtown Albany. There is a west breeze at 11 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. The current wind chill is 4. Honestly, I think that wind chill is an exaggeration but I’m kind of a tough mother. There are 4 inches of snow on the ground. โ˜ƒ ๏ธThings will start to thaw out at Tuesday around 9 am. ๐ŸŒก๏ธ

The morning bike ride at 6:45 AM wasn’t bad ๐Ÿšฒ though it was a bit cold at times, especially on my fingers. ๐Ÿคš I had gloves on which helped quite a bit, ๐Ÿงค but at times my fingers were cold. Riding up the hills on Orchard Avenue helped warm me up but I didn’t mind getting back home and taking that warm shower ๐Ÿšฟ before heading out to the bus. ๐ŸšŒ It turns out the later express bus works out well for the transfer to the shuttle to the suburban office, making for a commute not much longer then driving, plus it saves money and I don’t have to worry about bumping other cars, and watch videos or do other things while I ride the bus. That said, I look forward to riding to work again, but right now the rail trail is snow covered โ„๏ธ not to mention it’s a pretty cold week.

Today will be partly sunny ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 24 degrees at 3pm. Eight degrees below normal. West wind 10 to 13 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, which became cloudy by afternoon. The high last year was 33 degrees. The record high of 62 was set in 1889. 10.9 inches of snow fell back in 1994.โ„

Moving back out to working in the suburbs is what you might expect it to be. ๐Ÿ‘จ‍๐Ÿ’ผ Very much kind of a corporate experience, working in a massive two-story sprawling building with massive open-air cubical farms, surrounded by acres of free parking. ๐Ÿ…ฟ๏ธ At least it’s convenient for parking for the weekends I plan to head out of town after work, right off the freeway. โ˜• And as much free coffee as I want and not many late nights. And it’s a bit more money and a good resume builder, which is important especially in these inflationary times. ๐Ÿ’ธ Need to study up on VIM and probably awk, as I think those programs will be essential for my new job. They have some books in the office, but I know there is a lot of Youtube videos and other sources of info about it on the internet.

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 12:06 pm with sun having an altitude of 26.5° from the due south horizon (-44.3° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 12 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ๐Ÿ… starts at 4:05 pm with the sun in the southwest (234°). ๐Ÿ“ธ The sunset is in the west-southwest (242°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 4:49 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 17 seconds with dusk around 5:19 pm, which is one minute and 12 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ At dusk you’ll see the First Quarter ๐ŸŒ“ Moon in the south (174°) at an altitude of 56° from the horizon, 228,953 miles away. ๐Ÿš€ The best time to look at the stars is after 5:55 pm. At sunset, look for partly cloudy skies ๐ŸŒƒ and temperatures around 22 degrees. The wind chill around sunset will be 11. โ˜ƒ๏ธ There will be a west breeze at 10 mph. Today will have 9 hours and 30 minutes of daytime, an increase of one minute and 43 seconds over yesterday.

Yesterday with the snow was kind of a messy commute โ„๏ธ and I was annoyed that I got on the local bus and saw shortly thereafter the very late express bus passing by. ๐ŸšŒ I just didn’t trust the real time bus info, as it kept shift as the express bus and local bus kept getting later. I though they might have canceled the express bus or I missed it as the shuttle back to the Plaza was running late due to snow, but it was accurate data. Doesn’t matter, I was still home by 6 PM.

Tonight will be partly cloudy ๐ŸŒƒ, with a low of 14 degrees at 2am. One degree below normal, which is similar to a typical Maximum wind chill around 4 at 10pm; South wind 8 to 10 mph. In 2023, we had light freezing rain in the evening, which became cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 32 degrees. The record low of -19 occurred back in 1957.

Ended up getting dinged $45 for damaged books ๐Ÿ“š from the library, but I get to pickup the books and I’ll add them to my collection. Two of my books unfortunately got wet and dirty when I was camping. ๐Ÿ• It happens, I shouldn’t bring library books winter camping I guess. Or at least plan to keep any books that I take up to the woods with me. Never a problem in the summer, but in the winter, it’s easy for dirt and wetness to get attracted to the paper. It happens, oh well. I’ve paid the fine. At least with the mild weather in December, my electric and gas bill was down, mostly because I didn’t use that much gas heat. This month though with the recent cold blast ๐ŸŒฌ it must certainly will be back up. Trying to limit my power use too by cooking efficiently with a full oven each time I cook. ๐Ÿ‘ฉ‍๐Ÿณ

Cold but clearing this weekend. โ›… Saturday, mostly cloudy, with a high near 17. Without much sun, that’s going to feel like a real cold day for sure. Sunday, sunny, with a high near 24. Typical average high for the weekend is 32 degrees. But it’s too be expected in mid-to-late January. By Tuesday, things are expected to be in the low 40s and by the second half of the week if the trend continues, looking at upper 40s. It’s really to far away to know about things though for following weekend, and heck even past Tuesday who really knows but it looks like there is a warming trend ahead.

Looking ahead, there are 4 weeks until Valentines Day โค๏ธ when the sun will be setting at 5:26 pm with dusk at 5:53 pm. On that day in 2023, we had partly sunny skies mild temperatures between 50 and 30 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 36 degrees. But maybe there is hope after all the cold. We hit a record high of 63 back in 1946.

Blue and Green

Went for a hike at Norman’s Kill Ravine at 7:30 pm. Not a good idea, made it back to my bike at 9 pm.

To be fair, the online reviews said it would be an 1 ยฝ hour hike to do the full loop. However, I thought I could always turn back and there would be short cut trails. But there aren’t as many trails as shown on OpenStreetMap and turning back wasn’t super easy option as the trail is one way and blazed in one direction only, the terrain is quite rugged and overgrown with lots of mountain bike paths cut through whose direction is not obvious.

Plus I really need to think about getting a much brighter headlight on my bike for riding through those dark suburban subdivisions or in the woods. Tail light is okay but not great but the headlight which I’ve had since my college days is a really shitty halogen flashlight bulb which replacing the batteries only made marginally brighter.

I’ll post photos tomorrow they’re on my other camera.

January 8, 2023 Night

Good evening! Mostly clear and 26 degrees during my moon lit evening walk here in Delmar. ๐ŸŒ– Calm wind.Things will start to thaw out at tomorrow around 10 am. ๐ŸŒก๏ธ

I was going to stay home this evening after walking about ten miles today ๐Ÿšถ but with the weeks schedule ahead and the moonlit night I decided to go out and walk this evening. Making good progress on breaking in the boots, they’re pretty comfortable now ๐Ÿ‘ข but I figured give them a rest and then do my evening walk with the old ones. I’m really trying to maximize them as much as possible with inflation.

Walked out to Five Rivers Environmental Education Center ๐Ÿธ in the morning, then visited John Wolcott up in Colonie for a few hours and then stopped at Colonie Center Maul to look for reasonably priced dress shirts. First time I’ve been into a shopping maul since the pandemic. I looked at Boscov’s first but ended up at Macy’s. ๐Ÿ‘จ๐Ÿป‍๐Ÿ’ผ They didn’t have a lot reasonably priced. I did find one I liked ultimately. That said, I think I’m going to take a risk order online next time from like Amazon or Ebay take the risk and if I find something I like order more.

I felt so out of place at the Maul. ๐Ÿ‘จ‍๐Ÿ’ผ Especially those fancy department stores like Macy’s and Boscovs. I liked the old Sears better, but truth be told, I’d rather be in the woods ๐ŸŒฒ or a barnyard ๐Ÿฎ then any maul. The whole maul environment seems so oppressive, with so much future garbage on shelves. ๐Ÿ—‘ I guess people need stuff and want fancy things for their suburbanite homes, but I can’t imagine spending money on half the things they sell at mauls. ๐Ÿšœ Of course, that’s why on Facebook I look at farm tractors and implements so much lately. But at least they’re not all shiny and fancy. ๐Ÿš The more time I spend in suburbia the more I want to have my off-grid homestead, as simple as possible. Maybe even no electricity. ๐Ÿ“บ Don’t get me started on the television.

Later on I did an evening hike in the Pine Bush ๐ŸŒฒas it got darker out. The crowds thinned out before dusk, I did the loop from the Discovery Center past the landfills. I really don’t get up to the Pine Bush as much as I should but I don’t like driving ๐Ÿš˜ and try to avoid the city as much as possible. I would and probably should visit John more too but like the Pine Bush I really avoid the city as much as possible. Northway traffic is so heavy. Then I picked up a few more groceries I forgot at the store ๐Ÿฌ on Friday. Should be good for the week now.

Tonight will have increasing clouds โ˜, with a low of 21 degrees at 1am. Four degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around February 26th. Calm wind. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became light freezing rain by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 19 degrees. The record low of -20 occurred back in 1968.

Tonight will have a Waining Gibbous ๐ŸŒ– Moon with 95% illuminated. At 8 PM, the moon was in the east-northeast (76°) at an altitude of 18° from the horizon, some 251,964 miles away from where you are looking up from the earth. ๐Ÿš€ At the state speed limit of 55 mph, you’ll make it there by July 18th. Buckle up for safety! ๐Ÿ’บ The Wolf ๐Ÿบ Moon is on Tuesday, January 24. The darkest hour is at 12:03 am, followed by dawn at 6:54 am, and sun starting to rise at 7:26 am in the east-southeast (120°) and last for 3 minutes and 21 seconds. Sunrise is 11 seconds earlier than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ„ The golden hour ends at 8:11 am with sun in the southeast (128°). Tonight will have 14 hours and 42 minutes of darkness, a decrease of one minute and 15 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will be partly sunny ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 40 degrees at 3pm. Seven degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around February 28th. Calm wind becoming northwest 5 to 8 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 36 degrees. The record high of 62 was set in 2008. 9.9 inches of snow fell back in 1953.

Back to the grind tomorrow. ๐Ÿ‘จ๐Ÿป‍๐Ÿ’ผGot to make that money ๐Ÿ’ต for a better tomorrow. Like walking ๐Ÿšถ it’s one step at a time, learning, thinking and becoming a better person. it’s one way closer to fifty. Money is a key part of Mission Fifty, but there is so much I can do learn and become better also over the upcoming decade. Soft skills can make it easier to succeed beyond age 50, provide income and so many other benefits — and they are as key to Mission Fifty as saving and earning in the mean-time. ๐Ÿ‘จ‍๐Ÿซ When that day comes in 2023, the adventure is really just starting, but the next ten years, on the mission gives me a change to develop who I want to me as I undertake whatever my goals are to be implemented with Mission Fifty. Skills, life experience, are equally as important as money as I look to the next ten years. ๐Ÿ“ˆ

In four weeks on February 5 the sun will be setting in the west-southwest (249°) at 5:15 pm,๐ŸŒ„ which is 34 minutes and 26 seconds later then tonight. In 2021 on that day, we had partly cloudy skies, snow showers and temperatures between 38 and 17 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 34 and 16 degrees. The record high of 59 degrees was set back in 1890.

Looking ahead, Coldest Week of the Year on Average ๐ŸŒฌ starts Next Sunday, 38th Birthday ๐ŸŽ‰ is in 3 weeks, Daylight Savings Time ๐ŸŒ† is in 9 weeks, Last Day of Winter ๐Ÿ‚ is in 10 weeks, 7:30 PM Sunset ๐ŸŒ‡ is in 13 weeks, Average High is 60 ๐ŸŒท is in 14 weeks, 8 PM Sunset ๐ŸŒ‡ is in 17 weeks, Mothers Day ๐Ÿ‘ฉ‍ is in 18 weeks, 8:30 PM Sunset ๐ŸŒ‡ is in 5 months, Fathers Day ๐Ÿ‘จ is in 22 weeks, Last Sunset After 8:30 PM ๐ŸŒ† is in 27 weeks, 6:30 Sunrise ๐ŸŒ‡ is in 35 weeks, Constitution Day ๐Ÿ“œ is in 36 weeks, October ๐ŸŽƒ is in 38 weeks, Average High is 65 ๐Ÿ‚ is in 9 months, Day After Election Day ๐Ÿ›€ is in 10 months, 7:15 AM Sunrise โŒ›๏ธ is in 48 weeks and Christmas Eve ๐ŸŽ… is in 50 weeks.

Close the City Dump

Wonderful Wood Smoke

The other day I was out walking on a chilly early autumn afternoon outside of Manlius Center and I smelled wood smoke – that wonderful smell of cooler times to come in small-town America.

While wood is mostly just a supplemental source of heat in these more suburban areas it is a necessity for many farms and rural homes that rely on it as a primary source of heat. And it’s a wonderful thing.

It makes me dream about the days to come – not just when I make it to my long term goal of owning an off grid cabin – but also the more short term goal of my road trip and camping in mid November once this election cycle has come to an end as they always do.

Nice long November nights curled up by the fire are always nice, especially if the stars are out and I can also warm myself by the propane heater. Nice evenings to cook and relax. Something so relaxing about having a nice fire.

Indeed there is something nice about the warmth of a woodstove. Beyond November I may be cold in my apartment but the money saved today is money saved for a better tomorrow. I look forward to the days to come.

 Cold Afternoon on Mary Smith Hill