Rattlesnake Hill WMA

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.

http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/24443.html

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NY Population Changes, July 2021-2022

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NYS Population, July 2021 – 2022
Seven counties in NYS gained population in 2022, while 57 counties lost population.
County July 2021 July 2022 22-21 Change 22-21 Percent
Bronx County 1,421,089 1,379,946 −41,143 −2.90%
Queens County 2,328,141 2,278,029 −50,112 −2.15%
Seneca County 33,576 32,882 −694 −2.07%
Kings County 2,637,486 2,590,516 −46,970 −1.78%
Chemung County 82,830 81,426 −1,404 −1.70%
Clinton County 79,996 78,753 −1,243 −1.55%
Franklin County 47,040 46,373 −667 −1.42%
Columbia County 62,039 61,286 −753 −1.21%
Tompkins County 106,044 104,777 −1,267 −1.19%
Cayuga County 75,791 74,998 −793 −1.05%
Essex County 37,292 36,910 −382 −1.02%
Orleans County 39,711 39,318 −393 −0.99%
Westchester County 999,607 990,427 −9,180 −0.92%
Greene County 48,493 48,061 −432 −0.89%
Jefferson County 117,680 116,637 −1,043 −0.89%
Wyoming County 40,017 39,666 −351 −0.88%
Schuyler County 17,800 17,650 −150 −0.84%
Onondaga County 472,094 468,249 −3,845 −0.81%
Broome County 198,703 197,117 −1,586 −0.80%
Genesee County 57,988 57,535 −453 −0.78%
Cortland County 46,489 46,126 −363 −0.78%
Ulster County 183,704 182,319 −1,385 −0.75%
Yates County 24,634 24,451 −183 −0.74%
Fulton County 53,055 52,669 −386 −0.73%
Tioga County 48,087 47,772 −315 −0.66%
St. Lawrence County 108,410 107,733 −677 −0.62%
Chautauqua County 126,785 126,027 −758 −0.60%
Monroe County 756,547 752,035 −4,512 −0.60%
Rensselaer County 160,740 159,853 −887 −0.55%
Steuben County 93,105 92,599 −506 −0.54%
Nassau County 1,391,112 1,383,726 −7,386 −0.53%
Suffolk County 1,533,118 1,525,465 −7,653 −0.50%
Allegany County 46,921 46,694 −227 −0.48%
Niagara County 211,891 210,880 −1,011 −0.48%
Oneida County 229,942 228,846 −1,096 −0.48%
Richmond County 493,484 491,133 −2,351 −0.48%
Madison County 67,397 67,097 −300 −0.45%
Herkimer County 60,082 59,822 −260 −0.43%
Erie County 954,350 950,312 −4,038 −0.42%
Chenango County 46,637 46,458 −179 −0.38%
Schoharie County 30,152 30,063 −89 −0.30%
Cattaraugus County 76,650 76,439 −211 −0.28%
Warren County 65,773 65,599 −174 −0.26%
Washington County 60,975 60,841 −134 −0.22%
Otsego County 60,758 60,636 −122 −0.20%
Livingston County 61,629 61,516 −113 −0.18%
Lewis County 26,745 26,699 −46 −0.17%
Dutchess County 298,039 297,545 −494 −0.17%
Albany County 316,301 315,811 −490 −0.15%
Putnam County 98,176 98,045 −131 −0.13%
Wayne County 91,201 91,125 −76 −0.08%
Schenectady County 160,214 160,093 −121 −0.08%
Rockland County 339,256 339,022 −234 −0.07%
Sullivan County 79,694 79,658 −36 −0.05%
Delaware County 44,753 44,740 −13 −0.03%
Montgomery County 49,611 49,623 12 0.02%
Ontario County 112,660 112,707 47 0.04%
Hamilton County 5,114 5,118 4 0.08%
Oswego County 118,124 118,287 163 0.14%
Orange County 404,997 405,941 944 0.23%
Saratoga County 237,962 238,797 835 0.35%
New York County 1,578,801 1,596,273 17,472 1.11%
Andy Arthur, 3/30/23
Source: census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/tables/2020-2022/counties/totals/co-est2022-pop.xlsx

25 Largest School Districts in NY By Area

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25 Largest School Districts (Area)
Largest District Square Miles
1 Saranac Lake CSD 684
2 Town Of Webb UFSD 494
3 Poland CSD 478
4 Long Lake CSD 387
5 Northern Adirondack CSD 373
6 Adirondack CSD 369
7 South Lewis CSD 369
8 Malone CSD 364
9 Camden CSD 331
10 Schroon Lake CSD 330
11 Clifton-Fine CSD 320
12 Ausable Valley CSD 309
13 Tupper Lake CSD 294
14 Onteora CSD 287
15 Indian River CSD 283
16 St Regis Falls CSD 277
17 Wells CSD 272
18 Piseco Comn SD 268
19 Indian Lake CSD 265
20 Randolph CSD 262
21 Lowville Academy & CSD 258
22 Sullivan West CSD 256
23 Edwards-Knox CSD 254
24 Colton-Pierrepont CSD 251
25 Boquet Valley CSD 244
Andy Arthur, 3/30/23
Data Source: NYS Education Department.

March 30, 2023 Morning

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Good morning! Happy Thursday. ☺

We are grooving our ways through the March, with April scheduled to start on Saturday but I’ll believe it when I see it. But I like getting out at five and taking the express home.

Partly sunny and 25 degrees for the morning walk on this Thursday in Delmar. 🌄Breezy, ️16 mph breeze from the northwest 🌬 . The current wind chill is 12. Honestly I don’t think it’s that cold out but maybe in the city with all those big buildings the wind is whipping around. Things will start to thaw out at around 11 am. 🌡️

Cold day ahead but warm enough to not need the heat, ♨️ as it will be above freezing and I’ll be at work all day.

Today will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 41 degrees at 5pm. 10 degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 5th. Northwest wind around 16 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 44 degrees. The record high of 86 was set in 1986. 4 inches of snow fell back in 1911.❄

Doesn’t seem like it’s going to be a particularly warm day today 🌬️ but I figure I’ll be in the office 🏢 most of the day and the sun shining on my desk is always nice. Been a relatively quiet week but know one of these days I’ll have a bunch of projects hitting my desk.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:01 pm with sun having an altitude of 51.1° from the due south horizon (-19.7° 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 6:42 pm with the sun in the west (270°). 📸

The sunset is in the west (276°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:19 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 55 seconds with dusk around 7:47 pm, which is one minute and 9 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Gibbous 🌔 Moon in the southeast (144°) at an altitude of 69° from the horizon, 252,079 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:21 pm. At sunset, look for mostly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 35 degrees. There will be a northwest breeze at 10 mph. Tomorrow will have 12 hours and 43 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 53 seconds over today.

Yesterday like usual I walked down to the park 🚶 and got my 7.5 miles in for the day. Cooked up a big pan of rice, beans and lentils in the morning which I had with broiled salmon 🐠 and veggies which was pretty good. Got home, had some cherries 🍒 and went to bed 🛏. Woke up during the night and listened to a while to a podcast on the Central Limits Therom.

Tonight will be partly cloudy 🌤, with a low of 23 degrees at 2am. Eight degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 7th. Northwest wind 5 to 8 mph becoming calm in the evening. In 2022, we had cloudy skies. It got down to 39 degrees. The record low of 12 occurred back in 1923.

Still wet for April Fools Day. 😕 Saturday, rain before 2pm, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 2pm. High near 68. Breezy, with a south wind 16 to 22 mph, with gusts as high as 34 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. Maximum dew point of 53 at 11am. Sunday, sunny, with a high near 44. Breezy. Typical average high for the weekend is 52 degrees.

After calling around I found a doctor 🧑‍⚕️ that was taking new patients for my physical but not until the end of May. But I didn’t want to have to go into the city and this place is within walking distance from home which is good. It just seems wrong to drive to a doctor’s visit, kind of like smoking a cigarette the doctor gave you. 🚬 Gives me more time to get in shape and improve my health 🩺 and I’m not in that much of a rush.

Also made the appointment for my truck to be serviced on April 10th. 🔧 I wanted to have that done before I’m doing a lot more driving as I’m overdue for some fluid changes and with inflation trying to maximize use of my truck. 🛻

Looking ahead, there are 4 weeks until Arbor Day 🌳 when the sun will be setting at 7:52 pm with dusk at 8:20 pm. On that day in 2022, we had mostly cloudy, rain showers and temperatures between 51 and 39 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 65 degrees. We hit a record high of 91 back in 1962.

Downer Glen

Population Change, July 2020-2022

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US Population, July 2020 – 2022
New York State once again leads the nation in population loss with Idaho leading the nation in population gain.
State April 2020 July 2020 July 2021 July 2022 Change Percent
New York 20,201,230 20,108,296 19,857,492 19,677,151 −431,145 −2.14%
Puerto Rico 3,285,874 3,281,557 3,262,693 3,221,789 −59,768 −1.82%
Illinois 12,812,545 12,786,580 12,686,469 12,582,032 −204,548 −1.60%
Louisiana 4,657,749 4,651,664 4,627,098 4,590,241 −61,423 −1.32%
California 39,538,245 39,501,653 39,142,991 39,029,342 −472,311 −1.20%
West Virginia 1,793,755 1,791,420 1,785,526 1,775,156 −16,264 −0.91%
Hawaii 1,455,273 1,451,043 1,447,154 1,440,196 −10,847 −0.75%
Mississippi 2,961,288 2,958,141 2,949,586 2,940,057 −18,084 −0.61%
Michigan 10,077,325 10,069,577 10,037,504 10,034,113 −35,464 −0.35%
Ohio 11,799,374 11,797,517 11,764,342 11,756,058 −41,459 −0.35%
New Mexico 2,117,527 2,118,390 2,116,677 2,113,344 −5,046 −0.24%
Rhode Island 1,097,371 1,096,345 1,096,985 1,093,734 −2,611 −0.24%
Massachusetts 7,029,949 6,995,729 6,989,690 6,981,974 −13,755 −0.20%
Pennsylvania 13,002,689 12,994,440 13,012,059 12,972,008 −22,432 −0.17%
Maryland 6,177,213 6,173,205 6,174,610 6,164,660 −8,545 −0.14%
Oregon 4,237,291 4,244,795 4,256,301 4,240,137 −4,658 −0.11%
New Jersey 9,289,031 9,271,689 9,267,961 9,261,699 −9,990 −0.11%
Wisconsin 5,893,725 5,896,271 5,880,101 5,892,539 −3,732 −0.06%
North Dakota 779,091 779,518 777,934 779,261 −257 −0.03%
Kansas 2,937,847 2,937,919 2,937,922 2,937,150 −769 −0.03%
Alaska 733,378 732,923 734,182 733,583 660 0.09%
Kentucky 4,505,893 4,507,445 4,506,589 4,512,310 4,865 0.11%
Minnesota 5,706,504 5,709,852 5,711,471 5,717,184 7,332 0.13%
District of Columbia 689,546 670,868 668,791 671,803 935 0.14%
Nebraska 1,961,489 1,962,642 1,963,554 1,967,923 5,281 0.27%
Iowa 3,190,372 3,190,571 3,197,689 3,200,517 9,946 0.31%
Missouri 6,154,920 6,153,998 6,169,823 6,177,957 23,959 0.39%
United States 331,449,520 331,511,512 332,031,554 333,287,557 1,776,045 0.54%
Virginia 8,631,384 8,636,471 8,657,365 8,683,619 47,148 0.55%
Vermont 643,085 642,893 646,972 647,064 4,171 0.65%
Indiana 6,785,668 6,788,799 6,813,532 6,833,037 44,238 0.65%
Wyoming 576,837 577,605 579,483 581,381 3,776 0.65%
Washington 7,705,247 7,724,031 7,740,745 7,785,786 61,755 0.80%
Connecticut 3,605,942 3,597,362 3,623,355 3,626,205 28,843 0.80%
Alabama 5,024,356 5,031,362 5,049,846 5,074,296 42,934 0.85%
Colorado 5,773,733 5,784,865 5,811,297 5,839,926 55,061 0.95%
Arkansas 3,011,555 3,014,195 3,028,122 3,045,637 31,442 1.04%
New Hampshire 1,377,518 1,378,587 1,387,505 1,395,231 16,644 1.21%
Oklahoma 3,959,346 3,964,912 3,991,225 4,019,800 54,888 1.38%
Maine 1,362,341 1,363,557 1,377,238 1,385,340 21,783 1.60%
Georgia 10,711,937 10,729,828 10,788,029 10,912,876 183,048 1.71%
Tennessee 6,910,786 6,925,619 6,968,351 7,051,339 125,720 1.82%
Nevada 3,104,624 3,115,648 3,146,402 3,177,772 62,124 1.99%
North Carolina 10,439,414 10,449,445 10,565,885 10,698,973 249,528 2.39%
South Dakota 886,677 887,799 896,164 909,824 22,025 2.48%
Arizona 7,151,507 7,179,943 7,264,877 7,359,197 179,254 2.50%
Delaware 989,957 992,114 1,004,807 1,018,396 26,282 2.65%
Texas 29,145,428 29,232,474 29,558,864 30,029,572 797,098 2.73%
South Carolina 5,118,429 5,131,848 5,193,266 5,282,634 150,786 2.94%
Utah 3,271,614 3,283,785 3,339,113 3,380,800 97,015 2.95%
Florida 21,538,226 21,589,602 21,828,069 22,244,823 655,221 3.03%
Montana 1,084,197 1,087,075 1,106,227 1,122,867 35,792 3.29%
Idaho 1,839,092 1,849,202 1,904,314 1,939,033 89,831 4.86%
Andy Arthur, 3/29/23
Source: census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/tables/2020-2022/national/totals/NA-EST2022-POP.xlsx

March 29, 2023 Morning

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Made it to the middle of the week. 🐫

Day by day we are very to the weekend and April 1st. It’s going to be warmer out soon, including today and the mornings are getting brighter.

Good morning on this the final Hump Day of March. Partly clear and 26 degrees in Delmar, NY. 🌅 Calm wind. Things will start to thaw out at around 8 am. 🌡️

Started out cold but expected to warm quickly today. 🐸 I heard the spring peepers for the first time locally last night. Others said they’ve been out for a few days. Not really loud yet, it’s early in the season. Out for the morning walk 🚶 not as dark as recent days with clear conditions this morning.

Today will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 55 degrees at 4pm. Four degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 6th. Light and variable wind becoming south 5 to 10 mph in the morning. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 37 degrees. The record high of 85 was set in 1946. 5.6 inches of snow fell back in 1984.❄

Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:01 pm with sun having an altitude of 50.7° from the due south horizon (-20.1° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 4.9 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 6:41 pm with the sun in the west (269°). 📸 The sunset is in the west (275°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:18 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 54 seconds with dusk around 7:45 pm, which is one minute and 9 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Gibbous 🌔 Moon in the south (176°) at an altitude of 74° from the horizon, 251,242 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:20 pm. At sunset, look for partly cloudy skies 🌃 and temperatures around 49 degrees. There will be a south breeze at 11 mph. Tomorrow will have 12 hours and 40 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 54 seconds over today.

Got out of work at five 5⃣ and caught the express bus 🚍 home which actually had the in service sign on. Same bad driver, I swear he was chatting with passengers 👥 more than driving, swerving through traffic on 32. I guess it’s the end of his shift, he was tired. Walked 7 1/2 miles which these days is my effective weekday goal. 🥅 Kind of a chilly evening 🌃 though I sat out back for a while before retiring to bed 🛏 a little before nine.

Tonight will rain and have some snow showers, becoming all snow after midnight. Some thunder is also possible. 🌧 Low of 24 degrees at 6am. Seven degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 10th. Breezy, with a south wind 11 to 16 mph becoming west 19 to 24 mph in the evening. Winds could gust as high as 38 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 20 degrees. The record low of 7 occurred back in 1970.

Been researching doctors 🧑‍⚕️ to get my yearly physical now that I’m forty and undertaking my walk program. I am going to call today and see if I can make an appointment for after Easter to mid April. It’s not a rush but I want to get checked out before I do my thirty mile walk 👣 this spring.

Trout opener still looks mild but wet. 🎣 Saturday, rain before 2pm, then showers likely after 2pm. High near 67. Breezy. Chance of precipitation is 90%. Maximum dew point of 53 at 11am. Sunday, sunny, with a high near 46. Breezy. Typical average high for the weekend is 52 degrees.

I’ve been thinking where to hike on Saturday if I want to do twenty miles. 🚶 I thought about Thacher Park but I don’t relish climbing the New Salem Hill or all those miles on busy highways hiking. I’m thinking instead to hike to Hollyhock Sanctuary in South Bethlehem and if I’m up to it then Blodgett Hill.

Looking ahead, there are 6 weeks until Average High is 70 🐮 when the sun will be setting at 8:06 pm with dusk at 8:36 pm. On that day in 2022, we had sunny and temperatures between 77 and 39 degrees. We hit a record high of 92 back in 1970.

Dairy Farm North of Middleburgh

20 Wettest April Days in Albany

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20 Wettest April Days
April rarely has extremely wet days in Albany, unlike late summer into autumn when there can be hurricanes and thunderstorms.
Date Year Precipitation (in)
Sun, Apr 15 2007 2.3
Wed, Apr 24 1968 2.0
Thu, Apr 7 2022 2.0
Thu, Apr 3 1975 1.9
Wed, Apr 25 1945 1.8
Sat, Apr 16 1983 1.8
Thu, Apr 22 1993 1.7
Tue, Apr 19 1983 1.6
Tue, Apr 3 1990 1.6
Sun, Apr 21 1991 1.6
Sun, Apr 9 2000 1.6
Sun, Apr 23 2006 1.6
Thu, Apr 29 2021 1.6
Thu, Apr 2 1970 1.5
Tue, Apr 22 1969 1.4
Sun, Apr 25 1976 1.4
Sun, Apr 1 1973 1.3
Thu, Apr 1 1976 1.3
Sun, Apr 19 1998 1.3
Mon, Apr 15 2019 1.3
Andy Arthur, 3/28/23 Data Source: National Weather Service, Albany

Rain Falls on Helldiver Pond

20 Wettest Days in Albany
All-time preciptation records for the Albany Airport.
Date Year Precipitation (in)
Thu, Sep 16 1999 5.6
Sun, Aug 28 2011 4.7
Thu, Aug 31 1950 4.1
Tue, Aug 4 2020 3.9
Sun, Jun 1 1952 3.5
Mon, Sep 12 1960 3.5
Sat, Aug 28 1971 3.5
Sat, Jul 13 1996 3.5
Wed, Sep 21 1938 3.3
Tue, Jun 6 2000 3.3
Thu, Dec 11 1952 3.2
Sat, Jul 15 2000 3.2
Tue, Sep 18 2012 3.2
Fri, Oct 1 2010 3.0
Fri, Dec 31 1948 2.9
Tue, Aug 31 1954 2.9
Tue, Aug 5 1980 2.8
Sun, Oct 4 1987 2.8
Sun, Dec 17 2000 2.8
Wed, Jul 1 2009 2.8
Andy Arthur, 3/28/23 Data Source: National Weather Service, Albany

First Day Above 80

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First Day Above 80
The first 80 degree day has historically fallen between March 9 (2016) and June 9 (1997).
Year Date High Temperature
2000 Sat, May 6 86
2001 Sun, Apr 22 82
2002 Tue, Apr 16 89
2003 Tue, Apr 15 86
2004 Mon, Apr 19 91
2005 Wed, Apr 20 83
2006 Thu, May 4 80
2007 Mon, Apr 23 87
2008 Fri, Apr 18 80
2009 Sat, Apr 25 89
2010 Wed, Apr 7 87
2011 Mon, Apr 11 82
2012 Thu, Mar 22 81
2013 Thu, May 2 81
2014 Sat, May 10 81
2015 Sun, May 3 80
2016 Wed, Mar 9 81
2017 Mon, Apr 10 81
2018 Wed, May 2 90
2019 Sun, May 19 86
2020 Fri, May 15 84
2021 Wed, May 19 82
2022 Thu, Apr 14 82
Andy Arthur, 3/28/23 Data Source: National Weather Service, Albany