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.
But then things should improve for the days I have off. Rain is holding off for the morning but I’m not sure if I’ll be able to walk in the park at lunch or will be relegated to the Concourse. Probably have to take the local bus home.
For the days I have off it looks decent though I’m not sure what my plans are. Regular season is done up north but there is still some snow around and most of the seasonal roads are closed for the winter. I’d rather wait another week to do any camping in the Southern Zone when things are quieter. Probably take off all of the week before Christmas assuming that I don’t have jury duty. But I guess it doesn’t matter as I’m going to loose the time regardless at the end of the year as it doesn’t roll over.
Today. Feels like …
November 8th.
Rain, mainly after 10am. High near 52. South wind 5 to 8 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
and
52 degrees
,
4:23
sunset.
Tonight. Feels like …
September 27th.
Rain. Low around 48. South wind 8 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
and
48 degrees
,
7:10
sunrise.
Wednesday. Feels like …
November 1st.
Rain likely, mainly before 1pm. Cloudy.
South wind around 6 mph becoming light and variable in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.
and
55 degrees
,
4:23
sunset.
Wednesday Night. Feels like …
October 15th.
A chance of showers, mainly before 10pm. Mostly cloudy.
Calm wind becoming northwest around 6 mph after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Dark start to the morning as the sun rises later and it’s starting to rain. Got to get out before it picks up later.
Light drizzle and 37 degrees in Delmar, NY. 💧There is a south-southeast breeze at 6 mph. 🍃. Temperatures will drop below freezing at Friday around 1 am. ☃️
Backon plan with the steps. 👣 Yesterday did 16,400 steps and this morning I’m out walking 🚶 in the drizzle well before dawn so I hit my goal 🥅 and then some to make up
Walked past a Dead Skunk 🦨 in the road. 👃 Amazing how sensitive human noses are to sulfur. Apparently somebody must have reported it as animal control was picking it up when I was heading down to the express bus 🚍.
Continuing to study responsive web design. 🕸 There is a lot I didn’t know about the CSS Flex model. I am finding it a bit of a challenge to learn but it’s so much cleaner and better than the old CSS box model I’ve used in the past for responsive design. I’ll finally master it and pass the test. The thing is it’s a free class and a computer 🖥 is grading it so no pressure. I knew some in the beginning and probably my eyes 👀 glazed over on the class while I was learning new stuff. Next is the CSS Grid model which also seems useful to master than on to Javascript and eventually D3js. The more advanced classes seem really interesting in part because they are things I know absolutely nothing about but could make great visualizations and be major time savers.
Maybe thinking about refreshing the blog theme. 📝 I hate working with the old box model for multiple columns which is why my current blog is mostly one 1⃣ columns. The box model sucks for responsive design which is why I’ve avoided more complicated designs. But with the things I’m learning I can do something much lighter and nicer using flex. I like full screen pictures – they seemed to open a window on the world 🗺 during the pandemic but like everything time marches on.
Happy Pay Day. 💸 I haven’t gotten the text message that the pay check has hit the bank account yet but last week was rent week and my insurance bill also was the same week and I need to pay my credit card 💳 which has extra on it because I needed to replace worn out clothes. I am trying to build up checking, as I want to do one more extra stock market buy before the year is over — to expand my investment portfolios so I can get closer to buying land. But I need to make sure I have funds cleared before I can do that, though I’m a bit concerned that I’m not going to get the deal I want because the market lately has been on the upswing. 📈
On again off again I look at property and land on Internet. 🚜 It’s kind of a fun activity to do when I have some downtime to see what’s out there on Landwatch and Zillow. Mostly undeveloped acerage, but also smaller sized-homes and farms. Things that are small, easy to clean and maintain, and can be heated with wood — and possibly fully off-grid, up in mountain somewhere. With at least 20 acres, preferably more — and enough distance from neighbors so I can do lots of shooting 🔫 and burn things 🔥 without pissing them off. It’s just interesting to see what’s out there. Much more affordable the more rural you get for more acerage. But truth be told, I’m not really wanting to buy a property in New York State but it’s interesting to watch. Time buys more time to save and investments to grow, which has kind of been on a downswing lately.
Need to think about getting boots. 👢 It’s getting to that point with all the walking that my boots are really worn out again. Happens every 6 months or so. I wish I could get boots that hold up better but I’ve spent more for fancier brands and they don’t seem to hold up much better. At least lately I’ve been doing more to keep them waterproofed and dry which helps both with the foot stink 🦶 and keeping the leather from ripping.
Not sure about the weekend. ⛺ I am thinking about going up north but only if it’s decent. 🛻 Big game season is done up north, and there isn’t that much snow, but I don’t want to freeze. But I also need to figure out about how I’m going to find out on Friday if I have jury duty the following week, 👩⚖️ so I can let my employer know and plan appropriately. I feel like I am more likely to get called next week, as I’m juror number 189 in the system, and I figure they probably call in like 100 or so a week. But that’s just a wild guess.
Joined this funny welding group on Facebook. 🥽 Some people do some real crap welds, but it’s apparently also a skill. It’s tough to be steady and land the dimes perfectly on the metal, getting a good solid bond. But it’s a good skill to have, as it means you can fix a lot of things you might otherwise just throw away as garbage. Essential skill certainly on the farm 🐮 and in more remote county. I’ve always thought it was a good skill to learn, maybe some point I’ll take class at a local community college. It would be cool if I could built a really awesome incinerator with metal that burns hot and completely, without much smoke, stink or pollution. 🔥
Rain ☔ and clouds ☁️ for Tuesday into Wednesday. Then hopefully better for the second half of the week. So far so good, I’d like to get up to the Adirondacks later this week. Days are getting short as we approach the first day of winter, but so far fairly mild. Regular season is done up north, and there is not much snow up there. So it might be nice to get away for a few days, though I need cell service come Friday so I can check if I have jury duty for the following week — so I can let my employer know, plan future days off, and figure out when I can get my truck inspected.
Today. Feels like … November 28th.
Increasing clouds.
South wind 5 to 10 mph.
and
44 degrees
,
4:23 sunset.
Tonight. Feels like … November 7th.
A slight chance of rain after 4am. Mostly cloudy.
South wind 6 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
and
34 degrees
,
7:09 sunrise.
Tuesday. Feels like … November 16th.
Rain, mainly after 10am. High near 49. South wind around 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.
and
49 degrees
,
4:23 sunset.
Tuesday Night. Feels like … October 1st.
Rain. Low around 46. South wind 6 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
and
46 degrees
,
7:10 sunrise.
Wednesday. Feels like … October 29th.
Rain, mainly before 4pm. High near 56. South wind 5 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.
and
56 degrees
,
4:23 sunset.
Wednesday Night. Feels like … October 18th.
A chance of rain, mainly before 7pm. Mostly cloudy.
Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
I’m happy it’s only a three day week for me. I took the second half of the week off.
Clear and 24 degrees in Delmar, NY. 🌅 Calm wind. 🍃. Heavy frost, the air has that acidic taste of corn 🌽 silage on it. Things will start to thaw out at around 9 am. 🌡️
Crisp morning today ☀ but expected to warm up quickly into the mid to upper 40s today. Going to need to close my window shades when I get into the office as it’s going to be sunny. Chilly for the morning walk 🚶 but should be nice for the afternoon walk.
Saturday was the Save the Pine Bush Hike 🌲and Sunday went out to see the folks for Sunday lunch 🍲 which was a nice big pot of turkey 🦃 stew. Didn’t do as good at getting my steps 👣 in both days, only did about eight 8⃣ miles between both days. Hiking in the Pine Bush Preserve was quiet 🐦 but I didn’t stay too long as it was drizzle and heavy rain and severe weather was predicted for the afternoon.
Spent a lot of time working on the freeCodeCamp. 🖥 They are pretty intense but are very interactive and give you a lot of experience and practice coding. Right now I’m working on the responsive web design course – which wasn’t my first choice but they recommend doing all the courses in order and I’m learning a lot as I’ve not kept up with all the latest in responsive web design. 🕸 The advanced Javascript and machine learning classes are far more interesting to me. But all my skills need brushing up as I’ve learned from the class. Doesn’t use much bandwidth on my laptop which is nice too.
I think it’s easy to blame partisan politics for woes of rural Upstate New York, or any rural part of a blue state. It must be fault of the Democrats, the conservative Republicans like to say. But I think it’s more complicated then that — it’s that urban governance isn’t always the best for rural areas. The same can be said with many of the red states down south, where cities find themselves controlled by rural-dominated legislatures who set down policies that are simply bad for cities.
Living in an rural part of a blue state, means a life full of work-arounds for inflexible policies that are created and well meaning for urban areas. The same is true with red states. The problem is the way states are drawn — they’re historical accidents rather then communities of interest. And while activities in one part of a state effect others, often power is used to punish for ideological reasons.
I was playing around with RStudio and my ADP calculation code, and looking at competitive races (at least one Democrat and Republican on each line), I calculated the Average Democratic Performance for the enacted districts and those proposed by the Independent Redistricting Commission. The proposed lines would make some districts more competitive, but certainly would make the state somewhat redder.
Assembly District Democratic Performance (2020)
Enacted 2022
Lean 2022
IRC 12/1 Proposed
Lean IRC
Shift
1
52.6%
Lean Dem
51.9%
Lean Dem
−0.7%
2
40.4%
Republican
42.0%
Republican
1.6%
3
46.2%
Lean Rep
45.9%
Lean Rep
−0.3%
4
52.9%
Lean Dem
52.3%
Lean Dem
−0.5%
5
42.2%
Republican
42.3%
Republican
0.1%
6
72.6%
Democratic
74.9%
Democratic
2.3%
7
42.4%
Republican
42.8%
Republican
0.4%
8
39.8%
Republican
40.0%
Republican
0.2%
9
39.4%
Republican
45.6%
Lean Rep
6.1%
10
55.7%
Democratic
56.0%
Democratic
0.3%
11
60.4%
Democratic
58.2%
Democratic
−2.2%
12
48.3%
Lean Rep
49.7%
Lean Rep
1.5%
13
60.2%
Democratic
45.3%
Lean Rep
−14.9%
14
44.5%
Republican
47.4%
Lean Rep
2.8%
15
49.5%
Lean Rep
55.7%
Democratic
6.2%
16
57.6%
Democratic
58.1%
Democratic
0.5%
17
42.1%
Republican
37.9%
Republican
−4.2%
18
87.5%
Democratic
87.7%
Democratic
0.2%
19
44.2%
Republican
46.7%
Lean Rep
2.6%
20
51.1%
Lean Dem
51.5%
Lean Dem
0.4%
21
55.8%
Democratic
56.9%
Democratic
1.1%
22
65.5%
Democratic
65.6%
Democratic
0.1%
23
56.5%
Democratic
57.2%
Democratic
0.7%
24
70.3%
Democratic
73.9%
Democratic
3.6%
25
62.9%
Democratic
62.2%
Democratic
−0.7%
26
56.8%
Democratic
60.6%
Democratic
3.8%
27
60.9%
Democratic
57.6%
Democratic
−3.3%
28
61.9%
Democratic
68.6%
Democratic
6.6%
29
88.5%
Democratic
85.5%
Democratic
−3.0%
30
65.7%
Democratic
68.2%
Democratic
2.5%
31
84.8%
Democratic
81.1%
Democratic
−3.7%
32
87.8%
Democratic
87.8%
Democratic
−0.0%
33
82.3%
Democratic
87.9%
Democratic
5.6%
34
72.6%
Democratic
72.8%
Democratic
0.3%
35
76.0%
Democratic
76.0%
Democratic
−0.1%
36
76.4%
Democratic
77.5%
Democratic
1.0%
37
70.4%
Democratic
65.7%
Democratic
−4.7%
38
70.5%
Democratic
64.4%
Democratic
−6.1%
39
70.4%
Democratic
76.4%
Democratic
6.0%
40
63.8%
Democratic
62.8%
Democratic
−1.0%
41
70.4%
Democratic
51.5%
Lean Dem
−18.9%
42
86.5%
Democratic
87.0%
Democratic
0.5%
43
88.0%
Democratic
88.1%
Democratic
0.0%
44
76.3%
Democratic
77.2%
Democratic
0.8%
45
52.7%
Lean Dem
61.0%
Democratic
8.4%
46
60.1%
Democratic
58.3%
Democratic
−1.8%
47
61.8%
Democratic
57.8%
Democratic
−4.0%
48
47.8%
Lean Rep
48.1%
Lean Rep
0.4%
49
64.1%
Democratic
68.2%
Democratic
4.1%
50
81.1%
Democratic
82.4%
Democratic
1.3%
51
80.0%
Democratic
77.7%
Democratic
−2.3%
52
82.2%
Democratic
83.6%
Democratic
1.5%
53
88.0%
Democratic
84.6%
Democratic
−3.4%
54
91.4%
Democratic
90.2%
Democratic
−1.3%
55
94.4%
Democratic
94.5%
Democratic
0.1%
56
90.8%
Democratic
90.3%
Democratic
−0.5%
57
87.4%
Democratic
87.3%
Democratic
−0.1%
58
95.8%
Democratic
95.7%
Democratic
−0.1%
59
79.5%
Democratic
87.6%
Democratic
8.1%
60
94.8%
Democratic
94.9%
Democratic
0.1%
61
69.8%
Democratic
71.6%
Democratic
1.8%
62
39.3%
Republican
38.5%
Republican
−0.7%
63
53.4%
Lean Dem
46.6%
Lean Rep
−6.8%
64
44.7%
Republican
48.8%
Lean Rep
4.2%
65
82.9%
Democratic
81.4%
Democratic
−1.4%
66
82.8%
Democratic
82.4%
Democratic
−0.5%
67
84.2%
Democratic
84.2%
Democratic
−0.0%
68
89.0%
Democratic
89.3%
Democratic
0.4%
69
86.0%
Democratic
85.8%
Democratic
−0.3%
70
91.3%
Democratic
91.2%
Democratic
−0.1%
71
88.9%
Democratic
89.3%
Democratic
0.3%
72
88.4%
Democratic
88.1%
Democratic
−0.3%
73
74.3%
Democratic
75.6%
Democratic
1.3%
74
81.6%
Democratic
82.6%
Democratic
1.0%
75
83.7%
Democratic
84.6%
Democratic
0.9%
76
79.4%
Democratic
79.1%
Democratic
−0.3%
77
93.9%
Democratic
94.1%
Democratic
0.2%
78
90.9%
Democratic
90.8%
Democratic
−0.1%
79
94.1%
Democratic
94.1%
Democratic
0.1%
80
84.0%
Democratic
85.4%
Democratic
1.4%
81
81.8%
Democratic
82.2%
Democratic
0.3%
82
77.0%
Democratic
76.2%
Democratic
−0.8%
83
95.5%
Democratic
95.5%
Democratic
0.0%
84
92.9%
Democratic
92.6%
Democratic
−0.3%
85
92.9%
Democratic
93.0%
Democratic
0.0%
86
93.7%
Democratic
93.9%
Democratic
0.3%
87
91.4%
Democratic
91.2%
Democratic
−0.1%
88
63.9%
Democratic
61.2%
Democratic
−2.7%
89
84.0%
Democratic
83.5%
Democratic
−0.5%
90
62.2%
Democratic
63.8%
Democratic
1.6%
91
66.2%
Democratic
66.1%
Democratic
−0.1%
92
65.2%
Democratic
66.7%
Democratic
1.5%
93
62.9%
Democratic
62.8%
Democratic
−0.1%
94
42.2%
Republican
47.1%
Lean Rep
5.0%
95
61.8%
Democratic
64.7%
Democratic
2.9%
96
60.5%
Democratic
65.9%
Democratic
5.4%
97
58.8%
Democratic
51.2%
Lean Dem
−7.6%
98
43.2%
Republican
45.8%
Lean Rep
2.6%
99
43.5%
Republican
45.0%
Lean Rep
1.5%
100
52.2%
Lean Dem
43.6%
Republican
−8.6%
101
41.6%
Republican
48.4%
Lean Rep
6.8%
102
37.8%
Republican
42.6%
Republican
4.8%
103
56.6%
Democratic
55.3%
Democratic
−1.3%
104
56.6%
Democratic
55.9%
Democratic
−0.8%
105
38.3%
Republican
40.0%
Republican
1.7%
106
48.9%
Lean Rep
44.0%
Republican
−4.9%
107
44.6%
Republican
42.1%
Republican
−2.5%
108
54.1%
Lean Dem
51.6%
Lean Dem
−2.5%
109
65.8%
Democratic
68.4%
Democratic
2.6%
110
50.9%
Lean Dem
48.4%
Lean Rep
−2.5%
111
48.4%
Lean Rep
49.1%
Lean Rep
0.7%
112
42.1%
Republican
43.2%
Republican
1.2%
113
47.0%
Lean Rep
45.5%
Lean Rep
−1.6%
114
36.2%
Republican
38.6%
Republican
2.4%
115
46.3%
Lean Rep
45.0%
Lean Rep
−1.2%
116
41.6%
Republican
42.2%
Republican
0.6%
117
32.4%
Republican
35.5%
Republican
3.1%
118
31.5%
Republican
31.5%
Republican
0.0%
119
45.1%
Lean Rep
44.6%
Republican
−0.5%
120
33.5%
Republican
36.0%
Republican
2.5%
121
36.7%
Republican
38.6%
Republican
2.0%
122
40.0%
Republican
38.2%
Republican
−1.7%
123
49.7%
Lean Rep
49.7%
Lean Rep
0.0%
124
37.3%
Republican
37.2%
Republican
−0.1%
125
61.1%
Democratic
62.0%
Democratic
0.9%
126
42.7%
Republican
39.0%
Republican
−3.7%
127
47.9%
Lean Rep
48.3%
Lean Rep
0.4%
128
58.4%
Democratic
49.4%
Lean Rep
−9.0%
129
59.2%
Democratic
71.6%
Democratic
12.4%
130
37.5%
Republican
33.5%
Republican
−3.9%
131
38.8%
Republican
41.9%
Republican
3.1%
132
33.8%
Republican
33.3%
Republican
−0.5%
133
35.8%
Republican
42.4%
Republican
6.6%
134
35.4%
Republican
38.8%
Republican
3.3%
135
49.0%
Lean Rep
46.7%
Lean Rep
−2.4%
136
61.4%
Democratic
64.0%
Democratic
2.6%
137
69.1%
Democratic
82.3%
Democratic
13.2%
138
56.1%
Democratic
43.4%
Republican
−12.6%
139
31.1%
Republican
30.2%
Republican
−0.9%
140
54.6%
Lean Dem
55.1%
Democratic
0.5%
141
86.2%
Democratic
85.1%
Democratic
−1.1%
142
53.6%
Lean Dem
50.8%
Lean Dem
−2.8%
143
54.2%
Lean Dem
51.7%
Lean Dem
−2.5%
144
36.7%
Republican
35.6%
Republican
−1.1%
145
45.0%
Lean Rep
47.7%
Lean Rep
2.7%
146
53.4%
Lean Dem
43.6%
Republican
−9.8%
147
35.4%
Republican
37.7%
Republican
2.3%
148
30.1%
Republican
30.8%
Republican
0.7%
149
57.6%
Democratic
72.9%
Democratic
15.3%
150
37.8%
Republican
37.5%
Republican
−0.3%
Andy Arthur, 12/3/22. Created in RStudio using gt/dplyr/sf.
ADP calculated based on all competitive races in 2020 LATFOR data, by VTD intersected against each set of districts.
Sunny to start out the day but clouds pushing in later 🌤
Tomorrow is going to be wet for the Save the Pine Bush Hike, hopefully a few people will show up or otherwise I’ll just go for a hike in the rain. Some fresh air is always nice.
Today. Feels like … December 3rd.
Mostly sunny.
Light south wind increasing to 6 to 11 mph in the morning.
and
42 degrees
,
4:24 sunset.
Tonight. Feels like … November 7th.
A chance of rain, mainly after 5am. Increasing clouds.
South wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 31 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
and
34 degrees
,
7:06 sunrise.
Saturday. Feels like … November 6th.
Rain, mainly before 1pm, then showers likely after 1pm. High near 53. South wind 14 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 32 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.
and
53 degrees
,
4:24 sunset.
Saturday Night. Feels like … November 23rd.
Mostly cloudy.
West wind 8 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph.
and
29 degrees
,
7:07 sunrise.
Sunday. Feels like … December 9th.
Partly sunny.
West wind 5 to 8 mph.
and
40 degrees
,
4:23 sunset.
Sunday Night. Feels like … December 7th.
Mostly clear.
and
25 degrees
,
7:08 sunrise.
Monday. Feels like … November 28th.
Sunny.
and
44 degrees
,
4:23 sunset.
Monday Night. Feels like … November 13th.
A chance of rain and snow after 1am. Mostly cloudy.
Chance of precipitation is 30%.
and
32 degrees
,
7:09 sunrise.
Tuesday. Feels like … November 11th.
Rain likely before 1pm, then showers likely after 1pm. Cloudy.
Chance of precipitation is 60%.
and
51 degrees
,
4:23 sunset.
Tuesday Night. Feels like … October 9th.
A chance of rain before 1am, then a chance of showers after 1am. Mostly cloudy.
