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.
“As he approached the village, he met a number of people, but none whom he knew, which somewhat surprised him, for he had thought himself acquainted with every one in the country round.Their dress, too, was of a different fashion from that to which he was accustomed. They all stared at him with equal marks of surprise, and whenever they cast their eyes upon him, invariably stroked their chins. The constant recurrence of this gesture induced Rip, involuntarily, to do the same, when, to his astonishment, he found his beard had grown a foot long!”
“He had now entered the skirts of the village. A troop of strange children ran at his heels, hooting after him, and pointing at his gray beard. The dogs, too, none of which he recognized for his old acquaintances, barked at him as he passed. The very village was altered: it was larger and more populous. There were rows of houses which he had never seen before, and those which had been his familiar haunts had disappeared. Strange names were over the doors—strange faces at the windows—everything was strange. His mind now began to misgive him; he doubted whether both he and the world around him were not bewitched. Surely this was his native village, which he had left but the day before. There stood the Catskill Mountains—there ran the silver Hudson at a distance—there was every hill and dale precisely as it had always been—Rip was sorely perplexed—“That flagon last night,” thought he, “has addled my poor head sadly!”
“It was with some difficulty he found the way to his own house, which he approached with silent awe, expecting every moment to hear the shrill voice of Dame Van Winkle. He found the house gone to decay—the roof fallen in, the windows shattered, and the doors off the hinges. A half-starved dog, that looked like Wolf, was skulking about it. Rip called him by name, but the cur snarled, showed his teeth, and passed on. This was an unkind cut indeed—“My very dog,” sighed poor Rip, “has forgotten me!”
Chilly night ahead tonight, following a cool day. I think though with the sun I’ll be fine with the heat off, especially with the mercury heading up to 63 degrees come morning. It will be cold in the morning, but I usually start walking shortly after I get up, and my heated blanket keeps me warm under that.
The long holiday weekend, assuming I have Good Friday off looks nice, and with the rain, the fire danger will be down, but I’ll have to keep things small being early spring. But often the wind dies down after dark. I want to cook some salmon over the fire, and maybe some trout if I go fishing on Friday. Of course that all depends on the timing for the budget, but I can’t imagine there will be session during Passover or Good Friday. I have in years past had client business to do on Good Friday but usually that’s a cellphone thing, I can bring my laptop with me and work remote.
I am totally ready for some good nights in the wilderness. Especially when it’s not so cold and snowy out. That said, I wouldn’t mind a bit of snow around to reduce the fire risk, but not tromping through it. I don’t have any immediate plans to go to the Adirondacks as the snow up north is still deep but I might go out to Cazenovia before the end of the month for the three or day weekend.
Tonight. Feels like … February 28th.
Mostly clear.
Northwest wind 6 to 11 mph becoming light and variable in the evening.
and
21 degrees
,
6:32 sunrise.
Monday. Feels like … April 24th.
Mostly sunny.
South wind 7 to 12 mph increasing to 13 to 18 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 31 mph.
and
63 degrees
,33 max dew point,
7:24 sunset.
Monday Night. Feels like … May 2nd.
A chance of showers after 9pm. Mostly cloudy.
South wind 6 to 11 mph becoming light after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
and
43 degrees
,
6:30 sunrise.
Tuesday. Feels like … April 17th.
Showers likely, mainly before 7am. Mostly cloudy.
Light and variable wind. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
and
60 degrees
,
7:25 sunset.
Tuesday Night. Feels like … May 13th.
A chance of showers, mainly between 9pm and 3am. Mostly cloudy.
North wind 5 to 7 mph becoming southeast after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
and
47 degrees
,
6:29 sunrise.
Wednesday. Feels like … April 19th.
Showers likely, mainly after 3pm. Cloudy.
Breezy. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
and
61 degrees
,52 max dew point,
7:26 sunset.
Wednesday Night. Feels like … June 11th.
Showers likely, mainly before 3am. Cloudy.
Breezy. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
and
56 degrees
,
6:27 sunrise.
Thursday. Feels like … May 12th.
Showers likely, mainly between 9am and 3pm. Mostly cloudy.
Some down time was I wait for my wash at the laundromat and then get groceries for the week. Just planning on keeping my pantry stocked through Thursday, as I want to shop again on Thursday or actually probably Wednesday so I can get out camping for the long weekend.
Sunny and 45 degrees at the Four Corners Laundromat. 🌞 There is a northwest breeze at 11 mph. 🍃. Temperatures will drop below freezing at around 9 pm. ☃️
Well I’m working on my 20 mile walk for today. 🏃 So far I’ve gotten in 18.3 miles, hiking first out to Hollyhock Preserve in Selkirk — that Collabeck Hill is good for getting the blood pumping, then all over the Hollyhock Trails then over to Five Rivers, hiking around there the balance of the afternoon before heading home via Fisher Boulevard. I am going to do my evening walk so I can get my true 20 miles in for the day.
I really have enjoyed the walk, 🐃 🌺 and the rural landscape, but I can tell you at times that wind was super cold, especially walking along Meads Road mid-afternoon. But I am close to getting my twenty miles in for the day, which was my goal for the day, and seeing a lot of nature, at a non-hurried pace. Walked about 8 hours today though that includes numerous breaks, especially at Five Rivers, spending time to outdoors. The wind and relatively low temperatures made for a cold day but it was very sunny.
I like walking, and I plan to do more of it. This complements my more healthy eating, 🍎 is hopefully leading to better health habits. I want to do at least one more 20 mile walk before I attempt my 30 mile walk later in April or early May along the Mowhawk River on the Erie Canalway. That’s going to be a long day, but I think an enjoyable one. Probably do the 30 mile hike on Friday, when there aren’t so many crowds along the way.
Today doesn’t look like the nicest day ever — indeed this morning is kind of cold and wet. I don’t think I’ll make it out to Five Rivers but maybe at least I can get some fresh air and walk down to the library. Tomorrow looks cold but sunny. Monday is better, but I’ll be stuck in the office all day.
That said, what I’m really looking at is next weekend. The rain is good mid-week for if I want to camp over the weekend and have a small, legal-sized fire, you know below 3 ft during the months of March 15 – May 15. Not a rip-roaring fire. But that’s fine. I do want something I can cook my dinner over, especially trout or samon smoked is really good.
Today. Feels like … May 19th.
Showers, mainly before 11am. High near 72. South wind 11 to 16 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 28 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
and
72 degrees
,50 max dew point,
7:22 sunset.
Tonight. Feels like … April 1st.
Showers and thunderstorms before 11pm, then a slight chance of showers between 11pm and 1am. Some of the storms could produce gusty winds. Low around 31. Blustery, with a northwest wind 14 to 21 mph, with gusts as high as 34 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
and
31 degrees
,
6:34 sunrise.
Sunday. Feels like … March 11th.
Sunny.
Breezy, with a northwest wind 14 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 34 mph.
and
43 degrees
,
7:23 sunset.
Sunday Night. Feels like … March 14th.
Mostly clear.
Northwest wind 5 to 7 mph becoming calm after midnight.
and
25 degrees
,
6:32 sunrise.
Monday. Feels like … April 21st.
A slight chance of showers after 2pm. Partly sunny.
South wind 9 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
and
62 degrees
,35 max dew point,
7:24 sunset.
Monday Night. Feels like … May 2nd.
A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy.
Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Mostly cloudy and 49 degrees in Delmar, NY. 🌦️ There is a south breeze at 13 mph. 🍃. Temperatures will drop below freezing at tomorrow around 6 am. ☃️
It was raining ☔ hard when I first got up but stopped around 7:30 and I’m out and walking around 8:15. I was up at six o’clock but delayed walking due to the rain. Often on Saturday I delay getting an earlier start because I don’t have to but I don’t like to stay in bed too late.
Planning fairly typical Saturday, 📚 though probably no Five Rivers today as it’s going to be possibly quite wet later ☔ with thunderstorms ⛈ later. Thinking about going to the library later on.
I’m out walking though not as early as I often do as I slept well but was a bit slow rising as it was a bit cold with the heat off. I probably should have turned it on but it’s going to warm up as it’s essentially April.
Good morning! So yeap, on this Friday March isalmost done. Partly cloudy and 25 degrees in Delmar, NY. ⛅ Calm wind.Things will start to thaw out at around 8 am. 🌡️
Cold for the morning walk 🚶 but I’m getting it done. It certainly was colder in the winter but it’s good to get in as many steps as possible early as I think it’s going to rain later on. My ankle was bothering me last night for a while but I got my 7 1/2 miles in and it feels better today.
Today will rain, mainly after 2pm. 🌧️ High of 47 degrees at 1pm. Four degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 24th. Light southeast wind becoming south 6 to 11 mph in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 21 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning, which became light rain by afternoon. The high last year was 60 degrees. The record high of 89 was set in 1998. 14.6 inches of snow fell back in 1997.❄
Yesterday, I missed the express downtown 🐰 🚏 as the bus was running like 5 minutes early, and the Real Time Bus Info was down. Heck of it is if I caught the bus at the traffic light at Delaware and Cherry I’d be good but I decided to walk down to the other bus stop so I wouldn’t have to deal with the pesky traffic light walk signal 🚦 which at times can be quick, but also can be incredibly slow at other times. Plus I wanted to get more steps in. It wasn’t that much of a delay, and the local got me to work a little after 9, which is still before most folks.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:00 pm with sun having an altitude of 51.5° from the due south horizon (-19.3° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 4.8 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 6:43 pm with the sun in the west (270°). 📸
The sunset is in the west (277°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:20 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 55 seconds with dusk around 7:48 pm, which is one minute and 9 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Gibbous 🌔 Moon in the southeast (128°) at an altitude of 61° from the horizon, 252,252 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:22 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and temperatures around 41 degrees. There will be a south-southeast breeze at 11 mph with gusts up to 23mph. Today will have 12 hours and 46 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 53 seconds over yesterday.
Tonight will rain before midnight, then a chance of drizzle between midnight and 5am, then rain with a chance of drizzle after 5am. 🌧 Low of 41 degrees at 7pm. 10 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 25th. South wind 7 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter 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 36 degrees. The record low of 9 occurred back in 1923.
Tomorrow will rain before 2pm, then a slight chance of showers after 3pm. 🌦 High of 70 degrees at 3pm. 18 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around May 10th. Maximum dew point of 54 at 11am. 🏖️ South wind 14 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning, which became light rain by afternoon. The high last year was 53 degrees. The record high of 77 was set in 1986. 5 inches of snow fell back in 1924.❄
Looking ahead to Sunday, sunny, with a high near 44. Breezy, with a northwest wind 17 to 22 mph, with gusts as high as 38 mph. Typical average high for the weekend is 52 degrees.
As previously noted, next Friday is 7:30 PM Sunset 🌇 when the sun will be setting at 7:29 pm with dusk at 7:56 pm. On that day in 2022, we had rain and temperatures between 51 and 45 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 55 degrees. We hit a record high of 87 back in 2010.
