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.
I went to bed early last night noting the ice we were getting and not wanting to deal with the risk of losing power. The power did go out and is still out so I’m shaving and showering in the dark this morning. Fortunately it’s going to warm up by midday though most of the coming week will be a bit below average.
Good morning! Happy Palm Sunday. Sunny and 19 degrees in Delmar, NY. 🌞 🌴 I bet a lot of church halls are cold and not very well lit this morning ⛪ though the sunlight through the stain glass must be beautiful. There is a north breeze at 10 mph. 🍃. The current wind chill is 5. There are 5 inches of snow on the ground. ☃ ️Things will start to thaw out at around noontime. 🌡️
I am a bit surprised how much snow 🌨 and ice I we got as I was thinking this would be just a wet rainy ☔ Saturday.Actually thebulk of the daywas just heavy rain but then around 4 pm the ground temperature dropped and it turned to ice then snow. For a while the tree branches were quite ice covered and things were quite pretty.
Today will be sunny 🌞, with a high of 39 degrees at 4pm. Nine degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around February 27th. North wind 6 to 10 mph. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning with more sun in the afternoon. The high last year was 51 degrees. The record high of 69 was set in 1976. 5.5 inches of snow fell back in 1956.❄
Laying in bed 🛏 not rushing this morning, because I don’t have coffee ☕ because my stove isn’t working nor do I have any way to cook breakfast 🍳 without power. I figure the more light ☀ with the sun in the sky the better for showering and shaving. 🚿🪒 I am not sure if they even have power 🔌 at the grocery store 🏬 so I’m thinking they may be closed though these days they probably have emergency generators. 🛻 Plus I got to scrape all that ice and snow off my truck.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:02 pm with sun having an altitude of 49° from the due south horizon (-21.8° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 5.2 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 6:36 pm with the sun in the west (267°). 📸 The sunset is in the west (273°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:13 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 54 seconds with dusk around 7:40 pm, which is one minute and 9 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Full 🌝 Moon in the east (98°) at an altitude of 10° from the horizon, 251,916 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:14 pm. At sunset, look for mostly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 33 degrees. There will be a north breeze at 5 mph. Today will have 12 hours and 25 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 54 seconds over yesterday.
Tonight will be mostly clear 🌃, with a low of 16 degrees at 6am. 13 degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around February 10th. Northwest wind around 6 mph. In 2023, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became light snow by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 29 degrees. The record low of 0 occurred back in 1875.
Looking ahead, there are 2 weeks until 7:30 PM Sunset 🌇 with dusk at 7:57 pm. On that day in 2023, we had mostly sunny skies and temperatures between 48 and 34 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 55 degrees. We hit a record high of 87 back in 2010.
One of the things that ended my house and land search was the lack of a hybrid-work schedule were I worked. Many of the places I considered living would have been doable had I only had to commute to work 2-3 times a week, but a five day week commute would have been difficult at or above the 30 mile range from my office, which is where most of the properties I found that even somewhat sparked my interest — at the edge of “deep rural”.
With my job, there really is no reason why I couldn’t work remote at least a few days a week, and indeed I may seek out some opportunities come the fall, especially when I need to be switching between my state job and data work I do on the side for the campaign committee. Indeed, plenty of other state agencies are now offering hybrid-arrangements, but not my employer. Instead, we are only remote-work with a granted exception to the full-time in-person schedule.
The thing is this may have to change. When I was recruiting and hiring people, several people turned down the position due to the mandatory in-person schedule. Some may have sought work at lower-pay with our competitors — other state agencies — because they offered greater flexibility with their work-from-home policies. Full-time in office for positions that can be done remotely is not only an enormous waste of time and fuel for employees when commuting, it also is very anti-family. Especially for as an employer, where we always try to put people’s families first, with allowing people to take-off when they need, or when they have a reason to work from home. But still, it would be nice if we could guarantee everybody could work remote at least a few days a week. It’s getting hard to competitive without a hybrid-option on the table.
I get the benefits of being in-person, at least a few days a week. You build connection in-person, especially during meetings and when talking to one and another. You develop close bonds and friendship. Much is lost over cold-written email and phone calls. It’s hard to learn or understand office-culture without being in-person. Zoom meetings aren’t a good substitute for real meetings, as they drag on too long and it’s too much about image, not interpersonal conversation. But in-person meetings don’t have to happen every day.
Alas, if I was permanently hybrid, I would have to get at home internet. But let’s face the truth, it would still be cheaper then commuting each day, save a ton of time, and it would open up so many more possibilities for living arrangements then the mandatory in-office 5-days a week.
The world continues to change, not always towards the better, but at least the John Denver music continues to play on my phone. Even if I can’t make the world a better place, I can work for a better tomorrow for myself.
A good day for staying home, doing some reading and some cleaning. Maybe some thinking and writing about where I am currently, now that’s I’ve put my house and land search on ice, I’d say suspended it but I’m still going to keep learning, will keep my eye on Landwatch and Zillow and keep my options but I think my preferred option is now focused on early retirement.
Good afternoon! Started out as snow, turned to rain, and now looks like it’s more freezing rain and 32 degrees here in Delmar. 🌧️There is a north breeze at 5 mph. 🍃. There are 2 inches of snow on the ground. ☃ ️The skies will clear tomorrow around noontime.
I honestly thought it was just going to be a rain event locally. 🌨️ I was wrong. It’s really much more of a mixed bag, a lot of slop locally but now I’m watching the trees ice up. They’re getting a fair bit of snow up north, but I think with the warmer temperatures next week, maybe some will be left up north prior to camping but it won’t be a major hindrance as most should melt this weekend. 🏕️ I confirmed that For the Love of Bacon is going to be open on Good Friday, so I can get bacon 🥓 prior to camping. Yum. 🐖 I won’t buy store bought bacon but as an occasional treat, farm bacon is great.
This afternoon will rain or freezing rain before 3pm, then rain and sleet between 3pm and 4pm, then rain, snow, and sleet after 4pm. High of 35 degrees at 2pm. 13 degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around February 13th. North wind 5 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total daytime ice accumulation of 0.3 to 0.5 of an inch possible. Total daytime snow and sleet accumulation of less than one inch possible. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning with more sun in the afternoon. The high last year was 56 degrees. The record high of 80 was set in 1938. 6.1 inches of snow fell back in 2020.❄
Thursday knocked my derailleur badly out of alignment fighting the wind heading home, didn’t discover until Friday commute. 🚲 Couldn’t even get it into high. Ended up driving in on Friday but it’s fine as I brought in a better desk lamp and one of my re-potted plants. Had a root rot issue or maybe over fertilization. 🥀 Wasn’t a difficult adjustment, took five minutes with a hex key but I didn’t have time on Friday to adjust. When the rain stops I’ll take for a test ride to verify. I ended up getting an inexpensive stick lamp for my desk at work 🛋️ because the lamp shade on the old lamp I found in the closet was falling apart. Lamp shades were close to same price, plus that old lamp I found in closet kind of was on it’s last legs. This new lamp is super bright with the 200-watt LED bulb, and the not aged-plastic on the lamp shade.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:03 pm with sun having an altitude of 48.6° from the due south horizon (-22.2° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 5.3 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 6:35 pm with the sun in the west (266°). 📸 The sunset is in the west (273°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:12 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 54 seconds with dusk around 7:39 pm, which is one minute and 9 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Full 🌝 Moon in the east (100°) at an altitude of 20° from the horizon, 252,272 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:13 pm. At sunset, look for snow and freezing rain 🌨 and temperatures around 35 degrees. There will be a north-northwest breeze at 14 mph. Today will have 12 hours and 22 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 54 seconds over yesterday.
At one point I had more ambitious plans for today, 🧹 but I really should spend time cleaning in my apartment, especially the bathroom. And I want to do some reading, this time not about real estate, building a house or land. 🏠️ It was fine when I was doing it, but it became a bit overwhelming to say the least. I’m not going to stop learning, but it’s not going to be primary focus now that I’ve moved that goal into my retirement years when I can have lots of land and in live in a state that shares my values. 🧭 I wanted to make New York work, but I just don’t see the state’s values as being consistent with my own.
This afternoon I am thinking if the library opens I’ll go down there for a while to get on the internet, 🖥️ and maybe drop off my Early Voting Ballot to the Early Voting site. Totally voted for Dean Phillips, as I think we need new blood in government, 🫀 even if the 79-year old Joe Biden has nomination locked up. If I don’t get it done today, 🗳️ I can do that tomorrow when I run to the grocery store for my weekly shop already — can you believe tomorrow is already Sunday? 🛒I am thinking Thursday I may take half a day off from work and head up to Adirondacks before rush hour 🚗 , although if the weather is bad, I think I’d be better off to go up early on Good Friday, maybe doing a hike in the morning. 🏕️
Tonight will snow, mainly before 8pm. 🌨 Low of 21 degrees at 6am. Eight degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around February 29th. Northwest wind around 17 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible. In 2023, we had light rain in the evening, which became cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 34 degrees. The record low of 0 occurred back in 1875.
Looking ahead, there are 5 weeks until Arbor Day 🌳 when the sun will be setting at 7:52 pm with dusk at 8:21 pm. On that day in 2023, we had partly cloudy, patches of fog and temperatures between 62 and 40 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 65 degrees. We hit a record high of 91 back in 1962.
People keep warning if I put off what I want to do until tomorrow, it will never happen. And I will regret it. I push back, noting:
You have no regrets once your dead.
Regret is something you have in the twilight hours of one’s life. Something you have when you realize there is little time left, not enough to do all the things you want to do in your final hours of living. Still I get that someday never comes. If you put off something for tomorrow, you should have a solid plan for doing it tomorrow and be making steps toward tomorrow, or it will never come.
It would be a struggle to walk away from one’s highest earning years of their lifetime, in a job I truly enjoy. At the same time, alternative half measures, like the ones I’ve been contemplating seem to be at best half measures and in many ways inferior to way things are currently. All the best evidence suggests I should wait, take my time, use caution, but not procrastinate. Build things in my mind, continue my research, save and invest. Work to grow my skills and my ability, excel at my job, be the leader I am destine to be.
Maybe I’ll end up running out the clock. That’s a risk. But also there is a lot of reward towards waiting, and not giving up all I’ve built as I move into my prime earning years.
Second rent check is on the way to the new landlord via auto pay. It’s working out fine, this is the least expensive, most flexible living arrangement.
Good morning! Yeah, it’s Friday! Mostly sunny ☀ and 21 degrees in Delmar, NY. There is a northwest breeze at 11 mph. 🍃. The current wind chill is 9. There is a dusting of snow on the ground. ☃ Starting out real cold for late March, the heat is back on. Things will start to thaw out at around noontime. 🌡️
Slept until almost six o’clock this morning, 🛏 at which point I got up and made up coffee ☕ and some good hardy pancakes 🥞 with blueberries and pineapple 🍍. Kind of a cold morning, I turned the heat on for a bit and enjoyed my time under the heated blanket. Should be a better day for riding to work but still cold but somewhat less windy. 🚲
Today will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 37 degrees at 3pm. 11 degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around February 20th. Northwest wind 5 to 11 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 63 degrees. The record high of 81 was set in 2012. 7.0 inches of snow fell back in 1887.❄
Yesterday was super windy 🌬️ riding back home, but it was excellent cardio. ♥ Sweet potatoes 🍠 and a fried onions with corn with turmeric was dinner last night. 🍽 Then I went upstairs, read 📖 and wrote 📝 a bit for the blog. There’s been a lot to think about these days. At one level I feel like a failure walking away 👣 from building a house 🏗️ but it wasn’t going to end well building I’m New York. If leaving immediately was a good choice, I would take it but it’s not. So I’m just going to stay the course for now. I’m not giving up on the dream, I’m delaying it until I have the necessary resources.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:03 pm with sun having an altitude of 48.2° from the due south horizon (-22.6° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 5.4 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 6:33 pm with the sun in the west (266°). 📸 The sunset is in the west (272°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:11 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 54 seconds with dusk around 7:38 pm, which is one minute and 10 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Full 🌝 Moon in the east-southeast (103°) at an altitude of 30° from the horizon, 251,954 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:12 pm. At sunset, look for mostly cloudy skies ☁ and temperatures around 34 degrees. There will be a north-northeast breeze at 5 mph. Tomorrow will have 12 hours and 22 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 54 seconds over today.
There is some profound happiness in finding closure ☺ and reverting back to my original plan of moving out of state at retirement or possibly sooner. Age 55 at this point isn’t that far away and it’s a destination I can get to. 🏡 The whole house search thing was kind of silly, I told myself that I could live with being in New York State but I knew that was a profound lie 🤥 I told myself. I want to keep on my savings path 🏦, continue my education 🎓, work hard and produce results in the meantime. The whole house search things really got started when I was super jealous that the head of programming I work with has a house in Westerlo. Stupid reason and it’s not me.
I do need to be more open about who I am but I face profound rejection for being who I am in the community I currently live in. 🤷♂️ I get what people mean by coming out of the closet when many don’t fearing both the personal and legal ⚖ ramifications of being true to oneself. Some of the ways I want to live in activities I want to participate are serious criminal offenses in New York State even if they are perfectly legal and commonplace other places. 🔥 🔫 🚙
Tonight will snow and sleet likely before 3am, then sleet likely between 3am and 5am, then freezing rain, possibly mixed with sleet after 5am. 🌨 Low of 30 degrees at 1am. One degree above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 24th. Northeast wind 5 to 9 mph becoming southeast after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 80%. Little or no ice accumulation expected. New snow and sleet accumulation of less than one inch possible. In 2023, we had cloudy skies. It got down to 39 degrees. The record low of -04 occurred back in 1875.
This weekend is certainly starting out wintery. ☃️ I think it’s the final last blast of winter at this point. Hoping for better weather for the Easter holiday weekend next weekend 🐰 and actually a little snow on the ground in the Adirondacks is not a bad thing come next weekend as it reduces the fire 🔥 risk. I’m so looking for a few nice nights in the wilderness. ⛺
Tomorrow will rain or freezing rain, becoming all rain after 7am. 🌧 High of 38 degrees at 11am. Eight degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 2nd. South wind 6 to 10 mph becoming north in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 22 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Little or no ice accumulation expected. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 56 degrees. The record high of 80 was set in 1938. 6.1 inches of snow fell back in 2020.❄
Looking ahead to Sunday, mostly sunny, with a high near 40. ☀ North wind 13 to 15 mph. Definitely a pretty bitterly cold day. Typical average high for the weekend is 48 degrees. I’m hoping for better warmer weather next weekend to spend in the Adirondacks.
One month 📅 from now will be Earth Day 🌎 when the sun will be setting at 7:47 pm with dusk at 8:15 pm.
Often scientists intentionally confuse politics with provable scientific fact. Just because one option involves less death and destruction, doesn’t neccessarily mean it’s the option to choose. All costs must be weighted.
