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.
It’s actually a pretty damp morning and cloudy but I’m out walking and I do have the lyrics of that song reversed. But I’m going forward and that’s what is important.
Good morning! Monday’s come back around again. Cloudy and 42 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☁ There is a northwest breeze at 10 mph. 🍃. The skies will clear around 5 pm.
I’m moving forward on this Monday morning 🚶 though I have no idea where the week will lead. But come Friday if I walk 5 miles each day it will be 100 days of walking at least 5 miles a day. 💯
Today will have a slight chance of showers after noon. Mostly cloudy 🌦, with a high of 55 degrees at 4pm. Eight degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 7th. Northwest wind 7 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with a few breaks of sun the afternoon. The high last year was 72 degrees. The record high of 81 was set in 2001. 1.2 inches of snow fell back in 1967.❄
Oatmeal 🥣 this morning, then ironing my shirt and showering 🚿 and then the express bus 🚍 downtown 🏢. Session is at 10 am for the extender and the redistricting lines, and I expect to be heading back home at five 5⃣ on the express. Have dinner. Then walk down to the park 🏞 until dusk and try to get in 7-9 miles walked. And forward to Tuesday. Not sure how long of a week it will be with session.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:54 pm with sun having an altitude of 60.2° from the due south horizon (-10.6° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 3.4 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:09 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (282°). 📸
The sunset is in the west-northwest (289°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:47 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 3 seconds with dusk around 8:17 pm, which is one minute and 8 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the First Quarter 🌓 Moon in the west (266°) at an altitude of 48° from the horizon, 248,783 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:54 pm. At sunset, look for partly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 52 degrees. There will be a west-northwest breeze at 6 mph. Today will have 13 hours and 50 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 38 seconds over yesterday.
The next step on the bicycle 🚲 rebuilding process is confirming the spoke length and studying up on the truing process. Then rebuilding the wheel. Once I think the wheel is good, I’ll put the gears back on, reassemble the tire, redo the chain and ultimately replace the missing derailer cable. And ride.
Tonight will be partly cloudy 🌃, with a low of 36 degrees at 6am. Five degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 14th. Northwest wind around 6 mph. In 2022, we had partly cloudy skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 49 degrees. The record low of 23 occurred back in 1965.
Cloudy andcool for the weekend. 🌥 Saturday, mostly cloudy, with a high near 62. Maximum dew point of 40 at 8pm. Sunday, a chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 59. Chance of precipitation is 50%. Typical average high for the weekend is 66 degrees.
I was hoping for a nice weekend ⛺ so I could get out of town before the black flies 🐜 were out in mass but it seems unlikely based on the current forecast. Plus I saw the governor announced a budget extender through Friday so probably not using a get out of jail free card 🆓 for Thursday and Friday this week. Maybe next, if I go to the Adirondacks I’ll bring bring DEET and the screen tent 🎪.
The long range looks cool 🌺 for closing out the month and heading to May. But will El Nino on its way I’m sure it will be cool until it’s not. 🏖 Somehow I expect the second half of the month to be ungodly hot.
That said, next Monday is May 🕊 when the sun will be setting at 7:56 pm with dusk at 8:25 pm. On that day in 2022, we had mostly sunny and temperatures between 69 and 35 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 66 degrees. We hit a record high of 86 back in 2001.
Turned out to be a beautiful ending to the weekend 🏞
It really is a beautiful evening with everything greening up. It was such a rainy dark start to the day but it left everything such a beautiful green.
Good evening! Partly clear and 50 degrees at the Bennett Hill Preserve. 🌇 There is a northwest breeze at 9 mph. 🍃. The skies will clear tomorrow around 9 pm.
It was nice seeing the folks. 👪 We had a nice afternoon, Dad helped me get the gears ⚙ off my bike 🚲 wheel. I’m still trying to determine the spoke length, I’m thinking 292 mm but struggling to confirm with the online calculators.
We had an interesting conversations 👥 and I played out back for a while with the dog. 🐶 I did my wash 👚 and we had dinner. Sausage and peppers, with bread with dipping sauce. I nibbled on some bread and a little bit of sauce but it’s pretty high on calories, sugars and carbohydrates so I didn’t partake like I might have years ago. 🍝 Once you quit that old way of eating that kind of food tastes overly sweet and fatty and it’d hard to really enjoy much of it. Still it was nice to sit around the table with my parents.
Tonight will have a chance of showers, mainly before 11pm. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 39 degrees at 6am. One degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 21st. Northwest wind 9 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. In 2022, we had light rain in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 45 degrees. The record low of 25 occurred back in 1965.
Tonight will have a Waxing Crescent 🌒 Moon with 16% illuminated. At 7 PM, the moon was in the west (259°) at an altitude of 51° from the horizon, some 246,401 miles away from where you are looking up from the earth. 🚀 At the state speed limit of 55 mph, you’ll make it there by October 27th. Buckle up for safety! 💺
The Flower 🌷 Moon is on Friday, May 5. The darkest hour is at 12:55 am, followed by dawn at 5:33 am, and sun starting to rise at 6:03 am in the east-northeast (72°) and last for 3 minutes and 2 seconds. Sunrise is one minute and 31 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌄 The golden hour ends at 6:42 am with sun in the east-northeast (79°).Tonight will have 10 hours and 11 minutes of darkness, a decrease of 2 minutes and 38 seconds over last night.
Tomorrow will be scattered showers, mainly after noon. Mostly cloudy 🌦, with a high of 53 degrees at 3pm. 10 degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 4th. Northwest wind 8 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 72 degrees. The record high of 81 was set in 2001. 1.2 inches of snow fell back in 1967.❄
In four weeks on May 21 the sun will be setting in the west-northwest (299°) at 8:18 pm,🌄 which is 30 minutes and 31 seconds later then today. In 2022 on that day, we had hot, humid, partly cloudy and temperatures between 91 and 65 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 73 and 50 degrees. The record high of 92 degrees was set back in 1941.
Looking ahead, tommorow is , 8 PM Sunset 🌇 is Next Sunday, Mothers Day 👩 is in 3 weeks, Fathers Day 👨 is in 7 weeks, Last Sunset After 8:30 PM 🌆 is in 12 weeks, 6:30 Sunrise 🌇 is in 20 weeks, Constitution Day 📜 is in 21 weeks, October 🎃 is in 23 weeks, Average High is 65 🍂 is in 24 weeks, Thanksgiving 🦃 is in 7 months, 7:15 AM Sunrise ⌛️ is in 33 weeks, Festivus 🍖 is in 8 months and Christmas Eve 🎅 is in 35 weeks.
For a while last night it really poured. I was only home from my walk out to Five Rivers a few minutes before the skies really opened up, I’m glad I left a bit early from Five Rivers, as all I felt was a few large drops before I got inside. But while I was cooking dinner around 8 PM, the skies opened up with some dramatic rumbles of thunder, a good crash of lightening and then lead to a night of heavy rain. It’s letting up now, I might soon put on my rain coat and go for a walk.
Good morning! Happy Sunday. Rain showers and 52 degrees in Delmar, NY. 🌧 There is a west-northwest breeze at 10 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 48 degrees. The skies will clear around 6 pm.
Believe it or not I slept into 6:30 AM this morning, 🛌 and didn’t start breakfast until 7. That’s super late for me these days. Had a good breakfast of barley, bananas and blueberries. 🍵 It’s a change from oatmeal and is still good and healthy, with a fair amount of fiber for staying power through the day. I will follow it up with some carrots 🥕 in a bit for more staying power today.
Today will have showers and possibly a thunderstorm before 11am, then showers likely. 🌦 High of 56 degrees at 4pm. Seven degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 9th. Maximum dew point of 48 at 8am. 🏖️ Northwest wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 57 degrees. The record high of 87 was set in 2007. 2.4 inches of snow fell back in 1956.❄
Still struggling to get the clip off the gears ⚙ on the cassette on my bicycle. 🚲 I am going to see if my dad has any ideas when I go out to visit the folks today. I do think using the breaker bar for lug nuts from my truck is the right tool but I may need to buy a better quality socket to get that cassette off. I really want to do the spoke repair myself if at all possible, because I know it’s a repair I’ll need in the future, and if I master the technique myself not only will it save money 🤑 but also downtime going forward, which will mean my bike will become a reliable commuting tool.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:54 pm with sun having an altitude of 59.9° from the due south horizon (-11° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 3.5 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:08 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (282°). 📸
I might hike Bennett Hill 🏔 mid-day and then head out to the folks house, but it depends on how rainy the mid-day is. Looks like rain again this evening, but I would like to get my steps in if at all possible. 👣 I don’t mind a little bit of rain, but I also don’t want to get totally soaked if I can all avoid it.
The sunset is in the west-northwest (288°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:46 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 2 seconds with dusk around 8:16 pm, which is one minute and 9 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Crescent 🌒 Moon in the west (273°) at an altitude of 38° from the horizon, 246,532 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:53 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and temperatures around 55 degrees. There will be a north-northwest breeze at 7 mph. Today will have 13 hours and 47 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 41 seconds over yesterday.
Tonight will have a slight chance of showers before midnight. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 42 degrees at 6am. Two degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 27th. Northwest wind 7 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. In 2022, we had light rain in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 45 degrees. The record low of 25 occurred back in 1965.
Rivers on fire, acid rain falling from the sky, species going extinct, oil spills, polluted air, and undrinkable water. For so long, we didn’t think of our planet as a place to preserve. And then in the 1960’s and 70’s that changed. Democrats and Republicans, with overwhelming public support, came together to pass a sweeping legislative agenda around environmental protection. In today’s episode, what led to Earth Day, and what Earth Day led to.
I am sure with the warmer weather, lots of spring tillage and manuring of the earth is going on. Certainly they were hauling tank loads of manure slurry when I did my walk last week up to Bennett Hill. Got to get the Earth ready for the upcoming planting season.
It’s damp and cloudy and 50 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☁ There is a south-southeast breeze at 13 mph. 🍃. The skies will clear tomorrow around 11 pm. Not the greatest morning ever but less wet then yesterday.
Out walking at 6:45 AM today. 🏃♀️ Less early then usual, but it’s a Saturday and I’m moving slowly. But I don’t have a lot to do on a schedule though a busy day planned around home. I thought about doing one of those Earth Day Clean Ups but I’m not filling really ambitious or civil minded these days. I’d rather focus on my own health and life rather then saving the world.
This morning going to have a treat — pancakes with blueberries. 🥞 I don’t have pancakes every day, or even that often due to the high amounts of carbohydrates, but I have some pancake mix leftover and I will mix with slow oaks and bananas to help improve the health value, then a little bit of butter and syrup and blueberries to top it off. It will be a nice breakfast.
Today will be mostly cloudy 🌥, with a high of 68 degrees at 3pm. Five degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around May 4th. Maximum dew point of 50 at 5pm. Southeast wind 13 to 17 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 86 was set in 1985. 1 inches of snow fell back in 1928.❄
I have a number of projects to work on today. ⚙Still trying to pull the gear cassette off my bike. I have the spoke key and gear puller tool but so far I’ve not had a lot of luck. I did figure out that I can use it with my truck’s tire iron which gives me more leverage but I’m struggling. I wish I had gotten a little bit better quality tool for the job, though I think I’m getting closer now that I discovered it fits my tire iron which offers far more leverage to break it loose. Spoke key works great, I pulled loose a spoke but until I get the gear casette off I can’t pull any spokes. Ultimately if I can’t get the gear off, I’ll have to take it to the shop for the spoke replacement, but I really want to learn to do it myself, and if that involves buying additional parts or tools, I’m up for it. I want to be able to fully maintain the bike myself. Youtube is a great resource for learning. 📺
Then I want to paint some of the rust damage on the truck. 🚚 Trying to paint off some of the rust on the floor boards of the truck. I wanted to do that last week but I was busy walking and then Sunday visiting Mr. Wolcott and the parents. The weather looks good for painting but I a bit windy. Then probably go out to Five Rivers for the afternoon into the evening. 🐸 Probably leave a bit after 2 PM, after my the truck is done painting and I’m done with lunch.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:55 pm with sun having an altitude of 59.5° from the due south horizon (-11.3° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 3.5 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:07 pm with the sun in the west (281°). 📸
Yesterday, I walked 11.5 miles which isn’t bad for the work day. 🐰 Most of it was down in the park. It’s good to get a lot of steps in. I don’t know if I’ll do that many today, but there is a good change I’ll at least get in 10 miles, especially if I go to Five Rivers for the afternoon into the evening.
The sunset is in the west-northwest (288°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:45 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 2 seconds with dusk around 8:14 pm, which is one minute and 8 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Crescent 🌒 Moon in the west (278°) at an altitude of 27° from the horizon, 243,905 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:51 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and temperatures around 63 degrees. The dew point will be 50 degrees. Breezy, 22 mph breeze ⛅ from the southeast with gusts up to 32mph. Today will have 13 hours and 44 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 40 seconds over yesterday.
I got a card reader for my phone, so now if I take photos with my stand alone camera, I can process them with my phone 📲 including uploading them to the blog. One issue I noticed is that my phone doesn’t like the upper case JPG extension on photos, which also is probably true with the blog, but I found an app for bulk renaming photos on my phone.
Tonight will have showers, mainly after midnight. 🌧 Low of 52 degrees at 6am. 10 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around May 20th. Breezy, with a southeast wind 17 to 22 mph, with gusts as high as 33 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 34 degrees. The record low of 26 occurred back in 1975.
I was very tired and fried after the week that was. 😫 Feeling better today but Friday was a day that alternated from super busy to super dead, and until the end of the day I didn’t know how much I would have to work. It turned out to be a quiet weekend, which is good because I have those various projects to do.
Looking ahead, there are 9 weeks until Latest Sunset 🌆 when the sun will be setting at 8:38 pm with dusk at 9:12 pm. On that day in 2022, we had partly cloudy and temperatures between 86 and 61 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 82 degrees. We hit a record high of 96 back in 1943.
The Earth at 1.5 degrees celicus above pre-industrial levels in 2028 🌎
They’ll never let carbon emissions go unchecked, that’s pure madness. That’s what people like to tell themselves while buying the latest organic products, electric cars and heat pumps to heat their homes. It’s all the fault of the greedy Republicans and those who don’t get it, say the virtue signaling Democrats who hope to pick up a few more votes come election day. It’s not bad politics or a marketing strategy, but it’s not good for our future either.
They say most likely this decade, we will reach 1.5 degrees global warming. Possibly as soon as 2027, although on our current projectory we are looking at 2028 or 2029 most likely. That’s just a fact, something that that is going to mean the most optimistic carbon budget will be used up as carbon levels continue to spiral upwards.
It’s going to mean more severe weather, more heat waves and floods. It will change the probability of severe weather, meaning storms unlikely to happen in a lifetime are more common. You can pretend the inevitable isn’t happening unless you turn on the news or look out your window.
