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.
Tomorrow officially starts spring on the calendar, but as usually is the case in New York State that doesn’t mean tulips and warm weather is right around the corner — though with El Nino and climate change in control I’m not convinced in a few days it won’t get real warm quickly. Remember, the record books are littered with 80 degrees over the years throughout March. No ninety degree days so far, but the climate is warming.
Good morning! Monday’s come back around again. Mostly sunny 🌞 and 32 degrees in Delmar, NY. There is a west breeze at 7 mph. 🍃.
Up and going a little after 5 AM ☕️ after running to Stewart’s to get more of the moo juice for my coffee. 🐄 Carrot pancakes this morning 🥕🥞 with fresh maple syrup and blueberries that were pretty damn good. It was a beautiful morning when I went out to Stewart’s, and now I’m sitting at my desk here in my apartment looking out the window. As usual, I am going to ride to work today. A bit cool of a day, but so be it. I will wear gloves and a winter jacket if necessary. 🚴♂️
Today will have increasing clouds ☁, with a high of 45 degrees at 3pm. One degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 17th. West wind 7 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning with a few breaks of sun the afternoon. The high last year was 44 degrees. The record high of 69 was set in 2012. 8.0 inches of snow fell back in 1977.❄
I’m hoping to talk to my neighbor about the growing pile of garbage bags 🗑️ next to his apartment. I didn’t say anything last week, as I assumed on Saturday he’d be making a trip to the transfer station. ♻️ I assume he doesn’t give a rats ass 🐀 about the landlord at this point because he’s moving out with the rent hike coming in search of greener pastures, but I don’t want rats in my apartment nor do I want the fire risk 🔥 that piles of garbage bring. The new month-to-month agreement is pretty clear that not allowed — I had to ask for special permission to have my kayak outdoors. 🚣 If he doesn’t clean it up soon, I’m going to email the new landlord, and if he doesn’t take action, I’ll call the town. 🏛️
It’s obnoxious to deal with, because I normally wouldn’t care, especially if the garbage was in cans, 🛢️ as sometimes it’s a while before I get it burnt up, taken to my parents trash pickup, or hauled to the transfer station, but I don’t leave it sitting out where animals can get to it. 🐿️ Already I’ve seen some garbage strewn around. I need to get out of this dumpy apartment before it burns or I get evicted in pursuit of redevelopment of the land — but I want to buy myself whatever time I can, especially if I want to build my dream solar homestead. ⏳️🏠️ That said, I won’t complain too much, as I’m kind of loud with my food processor and smoke alarm — to say nothing of cussing out the world when drop a pot on my foot, dirty and generally obnoxious too. 🤬 Trust me I can be vulgar at times, sometimes even a bit downright racist.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:04 pm with sun having an altitude of 46.7° from the due south horizon (-24.2° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 5.7 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 6:29 pm with the sun in the west (264°). 📸 The sunset is in the west (270°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:06 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 54 seconds with dusk around 7:33 pm, which is one minute and 10 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Gibbous 🌔 Moon in the southeast (136°) at an altitude of 70° from the horizon, 244,770 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:07 pm. At sunset, look out for snow showers 🌨 and temperatures around 39 degrees. There will be a west-northwest breeze at 11 mph with gusts up to 21mph. Tomorrow will have 12 hours and 10 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 55 seconds over today.
I am coming to realize how abusive Rosa the substitute dental hygienist was on Friday. 🦷I am not going to pay somebody to get abused — even if my insurance covered the visit. I appreciate constructive criticism 🪥 and I’m thinking about getting an electric toothbrush for better cleaning, but Rosa was downright abusive. I get she had her new toy that showed how bad my teeth were in high-resolution colored pictures, but I did not deserve to be berated for a half hour about how bad my oral care is despite my attempts to each healthy 🍎 and floss regularly. 😁 She scheduled with me for a follow up visit, but I am the customer so I have every right to cancel that appointment 🛑 and find a hygienist who is professional.
Tonight will have a slight chance of snow showers before 3am. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 29 degrees at 6am. Two degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 24th. Northwest wind 10 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. In 2023, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 22 degrees. The record low of -10 occurred back in 1967.
More reading and studying about building a house tonight. 🏠️ The usual of checking Zillow and Landwatch for new parcels and houses to come on them market, expanding my circle out a bit 🛞 looking at different acreage and locations to determine what would be the best place to live. I mean if I see a small house on acreage, I would be willing to consider it, it as it’s greener to reuse an existing structure and not develop new land, but the flip side is such a property would be likely very poorly insulated and grid-tied. 🏚️Plus if at all possible, I want to avoid vinyl siding, which I despise to no end.
Right now, a split verdict on the weekend. 😕 Maybe it’s too early to really determine for sure. Saturday, a chance of rain and snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 44. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Sunday, mostly sunny, with a high near 41. I have some other places I want to check out this weekend, plus find time for some hiking and fun, as I have to keep living while building my dream homestead. 🏃♂️ Typical average high for the weekend is 48 degrees. 🌻 There is hope for spring. The following weekend — Thursday evening through Easter Sunday I’m hoping to camp in the Adirondacks unless there is a shit ton of snow or rain is promised all weekend.
As previously noted, there are 2 weeks until April Fools Day 🤡 when the sun will be setting at 7:23 pm with dusk at 7:50 pm. On that day in 2023, we had rain and temperatures between 74 and 41 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 52 degrees. We hit a record high of 77 back in 1986.
Rather then building all of these casinos in New York, wouldn’t it be a better policy to eliminate the long-term capital gains tax on middle class families? This way, if people had the urge to gamble, they could strategically invest in our economy, and if they invested in the right way, rather then gambling, could improve their economic situation.
I used to listen 👂 to headphones a lot when walking in woods. Nowadays I rarely do. I prefer to walk slowly, stop a lot, look around and listen. There is so much to see and hear in the woods. 🐦
You know it was worth an exploration, I tell myself even if it didn’t have the right feel for me. Pointed Rocks on the Batten Killhad been on my bucket list for a long time to hike – it’s a surprisingly long and steep hike outside of Adirondack and Catskill Park and the whole area around the Batten Kill is quite spectacular, full of birds and nature if not a pungent this time of year from themanuring. Shits gotta grow come the summer.
Good morning! Rain and 44 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☔ There is a south breeze at 7 mph. 🍃. Temperatures will drop below freezing at tomorrow around 4 am. ☃️
Honest, I wasn’t planning on going to Washington County yesterday 🏞 but I ended up that way after looking at some houses, properties and land in Hoosic, Pittstown and Valley Falls. Rural country out that way but it didn’t have the right feel in my mind. I totally get why that former Research Services director used to live out in White Creek but that’s a bit too far away from work especially having to drive through Troy and all those other little speed traps and hick towns. 🚓 Of course he did move to Pennsylvania as soon as he could retire.
I had wanted to hike Pointed Rocks and explore the area along the Batten Kill for some time now. 🚶 🏞️ but somehow I never got up that way as there isn’t any place right nearby to camp, except maybe for the Green Mountain National Forest on the other side of Bennington. Nice country up along the Batten Kill State Forest and along NY 313, but certainly too far from Albany too commute. 🚦🚙🚗🚚🛻 There was an interesting property along NY 22 that was 20 acres of moutainside and woods, with a steep creek for micro-hydro that looked quite attractive from the road and on paper, if not for all those damn traffic lights, hick towns and NY 7 traffic cluster. Had a nice little mobile-home sized site on a ledge over the road, with a somewhat steep driveway but partially cleared. I think it was a former hunting camp. 🏠️ Looked like the neighbors would have been good, they’re distance away, have horses and a small pre-fab house. Price was good, but it’s all about the location.
And I didn’t have the natural attraction to Grandma Moses country that I have to the Heldebergs, and I don’t know anybody who currently lives out that way. 👨🚒 I’m sure if I got involved in the community, maybe became a volunteer firefighter I could make friends, but it’s still tough. Plus, despite all the kitsch Grandma Moses Painting, that area of state is quite poor. 🐐 But I kind of like that, those are probably good friendly people who work hard, not yuppies.
Today will have showers likely, mainly before 8am. Mostly cloudy with some clearing later on 🌦, with a high of 51 degrees at 4pm. Six degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 29th. South wind 7 to 15 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning, which became light rain by afternoon. The high last year was 47 degrees. The record high of 75 was set in 1990. 4.1 inches of snow fell back in 1982.❄
The major plan for today is to go to the grocery store and get more groceries 🛒 fairly early on. I am as shocked as anyone that it’s already Sunday again and my pantry is fairly bare, although not as bad as some weeks in part because I stopped and got a few more things on the way home when driving in on Friday, as that was when I had my dentist appointment with that mean hygienist.🦷 I am not going to put up with her abuse, she was abusive in that dentist chair how she treated me. I am going to cancel my next appointment and see if I can reschedule with my usual dental hygentist Hamid.
I might head out to Coeymans to do some more poking around later on the back roads. 🛻 That said, I’ve checked out many of the listings, and I’m kind of tired after all the driving and exploring yesterday. Hell of it is because I decided to head up to Washington County to hike, 🚶 never made it down to southern Rensselaer County to explore some of the homes and properties around Lebanon Valley that are for sale. The thing is down there, you’re getting into the Taconics ⛰️ which are quite nice, but land prices go up there, and you start mixing with a lot NYC pukey-pukes down that way. Get south of the Berskshire Spur Thruway and there is some shit ton of NYC money that way, thanks to the Taconic Parkway. Not only is land is expensive, you know who is going to be living next door, people closer to Elliot Spitzer who is responsible for the burn ban, then some dirt-farming goat-rising good ol’ boy. 👛
Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:04 pm with sun having an altitude of 46.3° from the due south horizon (-24.6° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 5.7 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 6:28 pm with the sun in the west (263°). 📸 The sunset is in the west (269°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:05 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 54 seconds with dusk around 7:32 pm, which is one minute and 10 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Gibbous 🌔 Moon in the south (172°) at an altitude of 75° from the horizon, 241,964 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:06 pm. At sunset, look for partly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 45 degrees. There will be a west-northwest breeze at 10 mph. Today will have 12 hours and 4 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 54 seconds over yesterday.
Another work week ahead, 👨💼 back to being a professional rather then a cowboy-hat wearing good ol’ boy or so I play on the weekends. One more week until the long Easter Weekend when I’m hoping to get to the Adirondacks to camp 🏕️ and have a big ol’ fire 🔥 with flames mostly less then 3 feet high and not too much plastic, because you know the burn ban and stuff. 🤣 Ah, New York State. I should bring my .22 rifle and make some noise too while I’m up in the wilderness. It’s been too long since I’ve spent much time in the woods. 🌲
Tonight will be partly cloudy 🌃 , with a low of 31 degrees at 5am. Four degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 30th. West wind around 8 mph. In 2023, we had light rain in the evening, which became cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 28 degrees. The record low of -08 occurred back in 1900.
As previously noted, there are 3 weeks until 7:30 PM Sunset 🌇 when the sun will be setting at 7:30 pm with dusk at 7:57 pm. On that day in 2023, we had mostly sunny and temperatures between 48 and 34 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 55 degrees. We hit a record high of 87 back in 2010.
I like this PHP geocoding script I wrote to use with SAM, as it’s so simple, just six lines. Should I have used Python or Perl? Probably and it would have probably been 3 lines in Python or in case of Pathologically Eclectic Rubbish Lister probably one line. Basically you call this on command line with a text file list of addresses, and spits out a CSV file with the addresses followed by the coordinates from the NY State Address Management system. Most other states have something similar, as it’s kind of important that the fire truck and your Uber show up at the right house.
Get your motor running, head out on the highway, looking for adventure and whatever comes my way.
Good morning! Happy Saturday. Going to be a beautiful start to the weekend for doing some driving around. Partly cloudy and 39 degrees in Delmar, NY. ⛅ There is a west-northwest breeze at 6 mph. 🍃. Temperatures will drop below freezing at Monday around 2 am. ☃️ I do wish I could go out camping, but things are going to be muddy after the rain, plus I’m thinking a week from next Thursday of heading up to the Adirondacks for a three-day weekend, assuming they don’t get a shit ton of snow up north in the meantime or it’s pouring rain all Easter weekend. 🐇
Things are going better since I’ve been doing more research 🛖 on housing options, and realizing I have to be more flexible on my thinking — even if it means a longer commute then is ideal to live rural. 👨🌾Spending a lot of money on gas ⛽️ and burning through cars 🚗 every 8-10 years ain’t fun, but I may have to push closer to 35 mile commute rather then the less 30 mile commute I was going for. The thing is in 8 years from my next car purchase in 2025, I’ll have built up my solar system and there will be far more options for electric vehicles. 🔌 I really like some of the options for modular cabins, especially the smaller ones built to code for residential use at a factory and delivered to the site with full interior built. Right now I’m quite enthralled by the Zook Settler and similar style small-one floor code-compliant pre-built residential cabins. I am thinking one floor, no basement, smallest size for a smallest possible electrical and heating demand. I like the wood-walls, that won’t sure the dirt like drywall, and the metal roof for fire safety and insurance savings, lest an ember fall on the roof.
Then get an EPA-certified, efficient wood stove and a small heat pump and use one of the bedrooms as a mechanical room — for batteries, split-phase inverter, well pressure tank, and maybe eventually a washing machine and computer equipment. 🔋 If I get serious about the map making business, I might eventually get an used plotter. I am thinking the heat pump can be used when I’m not there to keep things from freezing in winter. ♨️ Wouldn’t run much though, as I’d keep the temperature low on the heat pump in the winter, 🌨️ and the thing is a cabin built to 2018 federal energy standards, as required by NY State, passing blower efficiency tests, 🌬️is going to have minimal heat loss. I am going to need a quality gasoline generator like a Honda, which will have remote start, which can be triggered off inverter on low battery, which can keep things from freezing up in winter if I’m away for an extended time. Plus as much as I personally loathe air conditioning, the climate is warming 🌎️ and it sure would be nice to come home to on that sultry summer nights, especially when the batteries are full and it makes sense to be keeping the cabin cold rather then wasting the solar energy. 🧊 Use a standard electric refrigerator and probably a gas stove converted to use propane — and in winter, sometimes use the wood stove to atop. If I’m only using propane for the stove, I can get away with 30 lb propane tanks, that I can throw in the pickup and get filled at any propane retailer rather then paying a big truck to come out there and be dependent on one supplier. That said, it’s going to be a lot of money, but I’ve saved for a long time, done well in the markets. What I’m building is far smaller then your typical suburban home and will consume far less energy, especially fossil energy.
Today will be partly sunny 🌞, with a high of 54 degrees at 5pm. Nine degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 5th. West wind 5 to 8 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 51 degrees. The record high of 82 was set in 1990. 13.4 inches of snow fell back in 1956.❄
At any rate, that’s all fun and games, 🕹️ though first I have to find land that I love ❤️🔥and is a good fit for me. The commute thing sucks, but I want to find a place that feels like and will be my home for the rest of my life. 🚗 I am exploring Rensselaer County today, not because that’s necessarily where I will move, as I’m biased towards the Hilltowns of Albany County, but as far as birds eye distance goes 🦜 there’s more remote country, closer to work then in the Hilltowns, being that work in Menands. 🐐 The roads kind of suck and traffic in Rensselaer County, (Hoosick Street and NY 7) but as a property owner, the conservative politics of land of Joe Bruno would suit me well. 😃 What’s good for my business, as I like to say, might not necessarily always be good for myself. Not only do I want to look at a list of parcels I’ve seen listed in Hoosick Falls, Petersburg and Grafton, I also want to explore some of Petersburg State Forest for mountain biking, hiking and camping 🏕️ 🥾 in the future. It’s fun to drive the back roads.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:05 pm with sun having an altitude of 45.9° from the due south horizon (-25° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 5.8 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 6:26 pm with the sun in the west (263°). 📸 The sunset is in the west (269°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:04 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 53 seconds with dusk around 7:31 pm, which is one minute and 10 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the First Quarter 🌓 Moon in the southwest (215°) at an altitude of 73° from the horizon, 239,018 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:05 pm. At sunset, look for partly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 50 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Tomorrow will have 12 hours and 4 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 54 seconds over today.
For the Easter weekend, 🐰 as I was noting, I really want to get out of town to go to the Adirondacks. The burn ban doesn’t apply to small campfires, and I don’t think it’s going to be bone dry up north at that point based on the forecast. 🔥 Plus I really want a good fire to help myself sleep better 🛌 and burn up some of the accumulated papers. I have nothing but disdain for the burn ban, but I understand the fire risk this time of year, as I know how easy it can be set your yard on fire, and as a future property owner I don’t want that to happen. 😐️ You can say what you want about New York State, but it pays my bills and it’s my home. Building standards mean I will end up with a quality, energy efficient building even if I have my views on the gun laws and open burning restrictions. Happy March 16th.
Tonight will have showers, mainly after 2am. 🌧 Low of 41 degrees at 6am. 14 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 22nd. Light southeast wind becoming south 6 to 11 mph in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. In 2023, we had partly cloudy skies. It got down to 32 degrees. The record low of -1 occurred back in 1916.
One month 📅 from now will be Average High is 60 🌷 when the sun will be setting at 7:40 pm with dusk at 8:08 pm.
Plus, despite all the kitsch Grandma Moses Painting, that area of state is quite poor. 🐐 But I kind of like that, those are probably good friendly people who work hard, not yuppies.
