The Rattlesnake Hill Wildlife Management Area is a 5,100 acre upland tract, situated approximately eight miles west of Dansville, New York. Roughly two-thirds of the area lies in southern Livingston County, while the remaining third lies in northern Allegany County. The tract was purchased in the 1930’s under the Federal Resettlement Administration and is one of several such areas turned over to DEC for development as a wildlife management area.
The area is appropriately named after the Timber Rattlesnake, which may be occasionally found in the more remote sections of the “Hill”.
The area offers an interesting blend of upland habitats such as mature woodland, overgrown fields, conifer plantations, old growth apple orchards and open meadows.
The area is inhabited by a variety of game species and is open to public hunting. The white-tailed deer, wild turkey, ruffed grouse, grey squirrel, cottontail rabbit and woodcock are found on the area. An occasional snowshoe hare may be observed adjacent to thick creek bottom brush or conifer plantation habitats.
A number of small marsh units have been developed and provide limited hunting for waterfowl. Some of the area’s furbearing species such as mink, beaver and raccoon may be occasionally viewed at these marsh units.
Seems like it’s going to be a rather nice day. I’m glad I decided to take most of it off, though I do have a 3 pm meeting but it’s a Zoom Meeting so I can do it remotely from the trail side. Maybe a day or two from now the high pressure will break down and it will be much cooler and rainy for Columbus Day Weekend.
Good morning! Happy Tuesday. Fog 🌫 and 52 degrees in Delmar, NY. Calm wind. The dew point is 51 degrees.
Definitely a foggy 🌁 morning but it should be a nice day. Maybe a tad bit humid by afternoon. Out for my morning walk 🚶 after getting up at five o’clock and doing minimal cooking 🍳my standards lately – eggs with all the vegetables and spices. Putting some ginger and cinnamon in the coffee ☕ really spiced things up. Then I’ll shower 🚿 and head out on the trail.
Today will be sunny 🌞, with a high of 83 degrees at 3pm. 16 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around August 13th. Maximum dew point of 64 at 5pm. Muggy enough to almost feel like summer. Calm wind becoming northwest 5 to 7 mph in the afternoon. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 56 degrees. We will likely tie the record high of 83 set in 1967. There was a dusting of snow in 1974.❄
I’ve decided to have an O-K day today. 🚲 Spending my day in Kinderhook, going to ride the Albany Hudson Electric Trail, visit the grounds of Martin Van Buren Historical Site, get apples and stuff at Golden Harvest Farms and who knows what else. Maybe explore the Charles Flood WMA first thing on the Hudson River or the Oom Preserve later on. At 3 pm to 4 pm I have a work zoom meeting and then I need to run to Colonie Planning Board for a scoping hearing about the proposed solar farm in the Pine Bush. Figure start in Stuyvesant Falls and ride north so the trip back is mostly down hill. Lots of options is how I look at it for a nice day.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:45 pm with sun having an altitude of 43.5° from the due south horizon (-27.3° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 6.3 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 5:58 pm with the sun in the west (259°). 📸 The sunset is in the west (266°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 6:35 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 54 seconds with dusk around 7:02 pm, which is one minute and 44 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 7:36 pm. At sunset, look for clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 77 degrees. The dew point will be 64 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Tomorrow will have 11 hours and 39 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 52 seconds over today.
Tonight will be mostly clear 🌃, with a low of 56 degrees at 6am. 11 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around September 8th. Maximum dew point of 64 at 6pm. Light and variable wind. In 2022, we had cloudy skies. It got down to 47 degrees. The record low of 26 occurred back in 1948.
Much coolerand rainy to start out the Columbus Day Weekend. ⛵🍂 Saturday, showers likely. Cloudy, with a high near 66. Chance of precipitation is 70%. Maximum dew point of 61 at 6am. Sunday, a chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 58. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Typical average high for the weekend is 65 degrees.
Looking ahead, there are 4 weeks until Halloween 🎃 when the sun will be setting at 5:51 pm with dusk at 6:19 pm. On that day in 2022, we had partly cloudy, rain showers and temperatures between 64 and 37 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 56 degrees. We hit a record high of 75 back in 2019.
Similar to the 5-star rating system you see on YELP! the number of bullet holes found in road signs, is an indication of how desirable a particular area is. One or less bullet holes, says the area sucks. Five or more means its an outstanding area.
Always that caveat, lol 😂. Enjoy it while you can, noting that Indian Summer won’t last forever. The long weekend looks to start out wet but hopefully that part of the forecast will improve. I’m still thinking about heading out of town then, figure it’s a good day to read 📖 and eat good food 🍲. I know the following week is my autumn road trip. Who knows what the weather will be at that point but winter and even shorter days are around the corner.
This morning will have Canadian wildlife smoke haze 🌫 but it’s not clear of its going to be low enough to become a local air pollution problem but maybe downstate. I was noticing the haze on the bus ride in and maybe it was a good thing I didn’t ride downtown with the bad air. Hopefully it will be good by evening 🚲 but worse comes to worse I can put my bicycle on the bus. Not too many more weeks until the time change and I’ll only be able to ride in the morning. 🌅
I have made no decision on what I will do for Columbus Day Weekend 🏕 besides most likely head out of town unless the weekend turns out to be a complete soaker. Originally I was thinking Burnt-Rossman Hills and hitting up the farm stands in the Schoharie Valley, but lately I’ve been thinking the colors would be better in the Green Mountains and it’s been a few years since I’ve been up to the Kelley Stand area. But driving NY 7 on Columbus Day Weekend does nothing for me. I don’t want to camp in a crowded campground like Cherry Ridge at Charles Baker, though I probably will go up there in November before hunting season as part of my November trip. I know they don’t allow trail riding of mountain bikes at Charles Baker after October 31st, but you can still ride roads throughout the winter.
Today. Feels like … September 8th.
Sunny.
North wind 3 to 6 mph. and
77 degrees
,57 max dew point,
6:37 sunset.
Tonight. Feels like … September 17th.
Mostly clear.
Light south wind. and
52 degrees
,
6:53 sunrise.
Tuesday. Feels like … August 3rd.
Sunny.
Calm wind becoming northwest around 6 mph in the morning. and
83 degrees
,64 max dew point,
6:35 sunset.
Tuesday Night. Feels like … September 3rd.
Patchy fog after 3am. Otherwise, mostly clear.
Light west wind. and
57 degrees
,
6:54 sunrise.
Wednesday. Feels like … August 14th.
Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, sunny.
Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph in the afternoon. and
82 degrees
,64 max dew point,
6:33 sunset.
Wednesday Night. Feels like … August 26th.
Mostly clear.
and
59 degrees
,
6:55 sunrise.
Thursday. Feels like … September 5th.
Partly sunny.
and
78 degrees
,63 max dew point,
6:32 sunset.
Thursday Night. Feels like … August 13th.
Mostly cloudy.
and
61 degrees
,60 max dew point,
6:56 sunrise.
Friday. Feels like … September 21st.
A chance of showers after 2pm. Mostly cloudy.
Chance of precipitation is 40%. and
72 degrees
,64 max dew point,
6:30 sunset.
Friday Night. Feels like … September 6th.
Showers likely, mainly after 8pm. Cloudy.
Chance of precipitation is 70%. and
56 degrees
,
6:57 sunrise.
Saturday. Feels like … October 9th.
Showers likely. Mostly cloudy.
Chance of precipitation is 60%. and
64 degrees
,58 max dew point,
6:28 sunset.
Saturday Night. Feels like … October 1st.
A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy.
Chance of precipitation is 30%. and
An extraordinary autumn week ahead with temperatures expected to be heading up to the 80s with minimal humidity and lots of autumn color especially up north.
Good morning on this stunningly beautiful Monday morning as the sun rises. 🌄 Clear and 57 degrees in Delmar, NY. Calm wind. The dew point is 55 degrees. Out for the morning walk 🚶 after getting up well before dawn to fill my stove oven with pots and pans with good nutritious things to eat. Need energy ⚡ to power through the week, a five day week though I’m betting on the big boss letting us get a jump on the long weekend starting on two come Friday as otherwise I can’t leave early.
So what’s cooking at five o’clock this morning? 🧑🍳 Lots of good things for the week ahead.
Coffee
Oat pancakes topped with strawberries
Spaghetti squash
Split Pea Soup
Homemade whole wheat bread
Salmon and broccoli
Why so much cooking? Well when I get home from work and are hungry, I want things I can toss in the microwave and have ready in like five minutes all week.
It would be a nice morning to ride to work 🚲 but I can’t as I have my laptop 🖥 to bring in so I’m going to bring my bicycle on the bus and then ride home in the evening. I’ll ride both ways on Tuesday and I’m thinking if the weather cooperates I’ll take off Wednesday. Two options – Elm Ridge Wild Forest Mountain Biking and a hike up Windham High Peak 🗻 or ride the Albany Hudson Electric Rail Trail, visit the Martin Van Buren Historical Site and get apples 🍏 at Golden Harvest Farms orchard as in the autumn I can never get enough apples. In two weeks from now on my way to West Virginia I’m hoping to get paw paws from a roadside stand as it’s getting close to the end of the season but it’s been mild and they’re supposed to be awesome. 🍐
Yesterday I went for a ride at Kehler Preserve on Wolf Hill. 🐺 Those are some pretty nice trails for mountain biking. 🚵 Some roots but the trails are well graded and not real muddy despite what a wet summer lately. Also got a coat of primer on the wheel wells and rocker panels of the truck, had lasagna with my parents, got some needed groceries. 🛒 I was up at six o’clock, breakfast was eggs with all the fixings, along with beans I cooked up. 🍳 It was a busy Sunday in part because I got up so early. At my parents house I used their wi-fi to connect to my “smart bulb” I bought the other day, and set some nice warm-white color defaults, as I can’t control it but by the light switch at home as I lack wi-fi.
A pretty amazing week ahead starting today when it comes to the weather. Too bad the mild and sunny weather can’t reverse the shorter days that are normal in the autumn. But I guess you got to take what God gives you. Unfortunately it looks like the pattern is going to break down for Columbus Day Weekend, but you got to take what you get to a certain extent.
At this point, September is but a memory. A good one but much too short. October is here and will come and go in due time but I plan to maximize it. And November is fun with Thanksgiving and all of those holidays. The first full week of November both Tuesday and Friday is a holiday, which offers possibilities for another trip after my October vacation probably out to Madison County before rifle season, assuming it’s not to wet or snowy.
Mostly clear with some fog 🌫 and 54 degrees in Delmar, NY. There is a north breeze at 5 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 53 degrees. I am not complaining, it’s October out there. Mornings could be a lot cooler and wetter, as we experienced yesterday. I couldn’t believe how long we got stuck in that rainy pattern yesterday. But it was good to stay home and indulge in too much 15 bean soup and slightly stale whole-wheat homemade bread. The rumblings of my stomach tell me that the bean soup and bread are done. But it was good. Apparently I don’t have enough gas currently, I am cooking up more red kidney beans up this morning.
That rain came and stuck around most of yesterday. It finally cleared late, and I got down to the library and ended up returning home at 5 PM with a stack of nine books. Lots of good reading material. Of course, the book I had to open first was one about food and health and nutrition. I don’t know why I am so into cooking and eating healthy these day, but it’s just fascinating to learn new things. I like good fuel for my body as it keeps me going to when I go out for bike rides and hiking.
Yesterday I rode out to Voorheesville at 5 PM and then around the neighborhood doing about 14 1/2 miles for the day, which wasn’t bad before it started to get dark out, when I sat out back and had some cottage cheese with mango, strawberries and pineapple and some ginger. I really have been into ginger lately, I like the zing, and the fact that it makes you at less achy at least in one’s mind. Not sure if that’s completely scientific, but it’s way to give boring foods a lot more taste, like most spices, without adding a lot of sugar, salt or fat. Other then that, it was a pretty lazy day, eating way too much bean soup with a rumbling stomach from all those beans. But between the bean soup and eggs this morning with some help from the food processor, I got rid of a lot of vegetables that would otherwise become compost.
The government shutdown is over, which is good as opens up more vacation options, including heading down to Table Rock / Blackwater Falls area of West Virginia. Kind of a long trip though, and gas prices are going up through the roof once again and I know it puts a lot of load on my old truck but it might be a fun trip. I could still change my mind, I figure I will start out in Pennsylvania doing the rail trail, and if the weather or anything else changes my mind I can always go to the Allegheny National Forest or back north to New York State like the Southern Tier and the Finger Lakes.
All $2,300 has gone out the door on Friday, and I’m above the minimum balance, though I don’t get paid until a week from Tuesday, aka the day after Columbus Day, and soon after that my credit card bill is due. You know, rent, car insurance, retirement, and investing. I guess technically the last two things aren’t expenses, but they are money gone for now. I might have to dip into the rainy day fund, especially if I decide to retire some extra credit card debt early prior to vacation, especially as the web hosting bill goes out next Sunday. That said, it looks like I will be close to $16 for the first week of running ads, and it looks like there is ways I can further optimize the blog for additional revenue. It won’t make me rich but it should cover the cost of blog hosting, allowing me to continue to tell my story and have fun posting maps and other useful information.
After the morning walk 🚶, I am going to get out the rattle can, newspaper, masking tape and put on another layer of paint over the rust spots on Big Red. 🛻 I’m sure the salt spreaders are on their way. I decided at this point to just use not quite so expensive body primer and duplicate match but instead just red rust proofer and I can sand down later and add duplicate color but I don’t care that much, my truck is 12 years old and in a year or two I’m going to have to throw away at any rate. I figure by the time I head out to the folks house for Sunday things should be dry enough.
Also going to run down to the store 🍏 on my bike 🚲 and get more apples, along with frozen fruit like broccoli 🥦 and peas in part to bring out for Sunday dinner as while I’m sure the lasagna will be good I’m sure they won’t have enough good healthy veggies to go with it. Mom says she’ll include a salad 🥗 and garlic bread but I feel like both are basically junk food – salad has some fiber but for the most part is really nutrient poor and mostly an excuse to load with fats like dressing. I’m going to bring a big container for left overs which I’ll freeze for future weeks in small portions with vegetables for complete meals like to take on vacation for quick dinners after a full day of riding. 🚲
Looks like it will be a great week for riding to work. 🚲 I might take off Wednesday to ride the Albany Electric Trail and explore the Martin Van Buren Historical Site and get more apples 🍏 at the Golden Harvest Farms in Kinderhook. And then I can pack for the weekend. Assuming they let us leave early come Friday for Columbus Day Weekend – I have to work Friday as the other director is off – I might head up north or out to Schoharie. I’m kind of thinking up north as it might be a great weekend at Piseco-Powley and I’m kind of I’m kind of interested in the Little Falls Cheese 🧀 Festival. Saturated fats are bad but so delicious 😋.
I need to look at getting another rear light for my bicycle. I’ll have to look on Amazon and Ebay. I want to have good lights before going on vacation, as while I don’t plan to ride after dark, it gets dark so early this time of year, and it’s important for safety to be seen with dusk coming so early. Also need to top off the windshield washer fluid in my truck, and then I might go up to Wolf Hill to ride this afternoon on the bike trails up there. Hopefully not get my bike too muddy in the process, but worse comes to worse, I can watch it off.
A week after I was camping in the Finger Lakes National Forest in 2018, they got nearly a foot of rain in one hour from a freak thunderstorm. Precipitable water in the air is up significantly in recent years, and if the conditions are right – you can dump a lot of rain out of sky – far more than infrastructure is designed to handle. It only takes six inches of quickly moving water to float automobiles down a hill, and if you get a a foot of rain in an hour, it’s easy to get such accumulations on roads.
And let us not forget the Halloween 2019 storm that devastated Piseco-Powley Road and many others in the Southern Adirondacks. It took them almost a year to fully rebuild whole sections of the road after that freak storm that dropped a 8 inches of rain in an hour, taking out a bridge built in 1904. The gentle rains of yesterday are becoming a memory.
There is a north breeze at 5 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 53 degrees. I am not complaining, it’s October out there. Mornings could be a lot cooler and wetter, as we experienced yesterday. I couldn’t believe how long we got stuck in that rainy pattern yesterday. But it was good to stay home and indulge in too much 15 bean soup 
and slightly stale whole-wheat homemade bread. 
The rumblings of my stomach tell me that the bean soup and bread are done. 
But it was good. Apparently I don’t have enough gas currently, I am cooking up more red kidney beans up this morning. 
It finally cleared late, and I got down to the library and ended up returning home at 5 PM with a stack of nine books. Lots of good reading material. 
Of course, the book I had to open first was one about food and health and nutrition. I don’t know why I am so into cooking and eating healthy these day, but it’s just fascinating to learn new things. I like good fuel for my body as it keeps me going to when I go out for bike rides and hiking.
and then around the neighborhood doing about 14 1/2 miles for the day, which wasn’t bad before it started to get dark out, when I sat out back and had some cottage cheese with mango, strawberries and pineapple and some ginger. 
I really have been into ginger lately, I like the zing, and the fact that it makes you at less achy at least in one’s mind. Not sure if that’s completely scientific, but it’s way to give boring foods a lot more taste, like most spices, without adding a lot of sugar, salt or fat. Other then that, it was a pretty lazy day, eating way too much bean soup with a rumbling stomach from all those beans. But between the bean soup and eggs this morning 
with some help from the food processor, I got rid of a lot of vegetables that would otherwise become compost. 
which is good as opens up more vacation options, including heading down to Table Rock / Blackwater Falls area of West Virginia. 
Kind of a long trip though, and gas prices are going up through the roof once again 
and I know it puts a lot of load on my old truck 
but it might be a fun trip. I could still change my mind, I figure I will start out in Pennsylvania doing the rail trail, and if the weather or anything else changes my mind I can always go to the Allegheny National Forest or back north to New York State like the Southern Tier and the Finger Lakes. 
and I’m above the minimum balance, though I don’t get paid until a week from Tuesday, aka the day after Columbus Day, and soon after that my credit card bill is due. 
You know, rent, car insurance, retirement, and investing. I guess technically the last two things aren’t expenses, but they are money gone for now. I might have to dip into the rainy day fund, especially if I decide to retire some extra credit card debt early prior to vacation, especially as the web hosting bill goes out next Sunday. 
That said, it looks like I will be close to $16 for the first week of running ads, and it looks like there is ways I can further optimize the blog for additional revenue. It won’t make me rich 
but it should cover the cost of blog hosting, allowing me to continue to tell my story and have fun posting maps and other useful information. 
I’ll have to look on Amazon and Ebay. I want to have good lights before going on vacation, as while I don’t plan to ride after dark, it gets dark so early this time of year, and it’s important for safety to be seen with dusk coming so early. Also need to top off the windshield washer fluid in my truck, and then I might go up to Wolf Hill to ride this afternoon on the bike trails up there. Hopefully not get my bike too muddy in the process, but worse comes to worse, I can watch it off.
