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.
Definitely won’t get so soaked riding in this morning. It feels almost spring like. I feel refreshed, even if it was a tough night with smoke detector problems again with my windows closed. Things are tough these days, but they’ll get better. I just got to keep pushing forward, I’ve worked hard to get where I am and have a lot of potential ahead.
Good morning! Yeah, it’s Friday! Sunny and 31 degrees in Delmar. ð Calm wind.
Riding to work on this beautiful morning. ðē Oiled my chain well after yesterday’s very wet ride to work. It was starting to bind up and click from the rust. Been a while since I last lubricated it. It was so wet riding in yesterday. The ride home wasn’t bad, and I even stopped and got eggs at the supermarket ðĨ and rode the rest the way home, the long way via the bike trail through Slingerlands with still some light left by the time I got home. And no eggs were broken in the process. ð
I’ve been complaining a lot lately, especially about my living situation, but there is hope. I love my new position as the Director of Data Services ðĻðž as it involves skills I’ve been using for a long time, and there is a lot of creativity and thinking involved in developing the queries and scripts to get the data outputted and delivered to clients. Plus, yesterday I got the official position description, and it somehow strokes my ego ðŠ the way it’s written.
Today will be sunny ð, with a high of 53 degrees at 3pm. 11 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 2nd. Light and variable wind. A year ago, we had cloudy skies. The high last year was 39 degrees. The record high of 68 was set in 2012. 6.5 inches of snow fell back in 2013.â
Continuing to read and research buying land to build a house. ð To get a mortgage or pay cash is one of the big questions on my mind, but I’m trying to get hard facts on the costs of doing it both ways. I am determined to do it right, even if it takes time. âē Spend the money that is necessary, pay the right professionals a fair amount. Everybody has a different opinion! But that’s good, I will weight what is right for my situation. I would like to close on land before the winter, and move out to the land and camp there ð until my place is built next year if at all possible.
Solar noon ð is at 12:07 pm with sun having an altitude of 42.7° from the due south horizon (-28.1° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 6.5 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ð starts at 5:17 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (258°). ðļ The sunset is in the west (265°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 5:54 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 55 seconds with dusk around 6:22 pm, which is one minute and 12 seconds later than yesterday. ð The best time to look at the stars is after 6:55 pm. At sunset, look for mostly clear skies ð and temperatures around 50 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Today will have 11 hours and 38 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 53 seconds over yesterday.
Closed my windows as it was cold last night and the damn smoke detector went off two or maybe three times from accumulated smoke, dust and humidity in my apartment. ðĐð This really is killing me, I only replaced the alarm a few months ago and I don’t want to go without a smoke detector in case of a real fire. Plus the air quality is so bad it’s hard to sleep with the windows closed, though I don’t have the visible mold problems my apartment once had since the landlord fixed all the leaks and I got serious with the bleach, but it’s still not good. Maybe I got to try to clean more though I’m not convinced that’s the problem.
I tell myself, I got to get out of this place. ðĄ That’s what I tell myself. Now is the time I can make that change but it’s going to take time â as moving is complicated especially if I want to live in my dream place out in the country off grid. At least soon it will be warm enough most days to have the windows open which will help with the moisture and air quality issues. ðē It would be nice if I could point to something that was wrong, but nothing obvious appears to be wrong. Maybe I got to try to clean better. I guess I should probably reach out to my new slumlord before the fire department shows up.
Tonight will have increasing clouds â, with a low of 33 degrees at 5am. Nine degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 5th. Calm wind becoming south 5 to 9 mph in the evening. In 2023, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 28 degrees. The record low of -14 occurred back in 1943.
In 1965, Thirty-five hundred United States Marines are the first American land combat forces committed during the Vietnam War. ðŠ After promises in 1964 of no escalation in the conflict in Vietnam ðŧðģ one of the most decisive and arguably tragic wars underway.
Tomorrow will rain likely, mainly after 4pm. Mostly cloudy ð§, with a high of 49 degrees at 1pm. Six degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 25th. Breezy, with a south wind 10 to 15 mph increasing to 17 to 22 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 34 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. A year ago, we had cloudy skies. The high last year was 43 degrees. The record high of 81 was set in 2016. 6.9 inches of snow fell back in 1961.â
Looking ahead to Sunday, rain likely before 4pm, then a chance of rain and snow showers. Mostly cloudy, ð§ïļ with a high near 47. South wind 5 to 10 mph becoming west 13 to 18 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. Typical average high for the weekend is 43 degrees.
Friendly strangers in black sedans want you to know, next Friday is the Ides of March â when the sun will be setting at 7:03 pm with dusk at 7:30 pm (Daylight Savings Time). On that day in 2023, we had mostly sunny and temperatures between 37 and 29 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 45 degrees. We hit a record high of 72 back in 2019.
Yes, I do. And I’m doing all my research and trying to do it right to avoid getting screwed or facing too many hitches in the permitting, code and building process. And my list of steps to complete is pushing three digits, but I’m determined to do it right even if it costs real money. But first I’m riding my bike to work, possibly in the rain but duck the bus and shuttle or actually the state pool car as the shuttle got busted up.
Good morning! Happy Thursday. Rain showers pulling off and 40 degrees at Delmar. ð§ïļ There is a north breeze at 13 mph. ð with gusts up to 28 mph ðĻðĻðĻ. I really should close my windows, it’s cold but I like the fresh air. Tonight I got to close them for sure. Temperatures will drop below freezing at tomorrow around 2 am. âïļ
If I live through these weeks of pure insanity it’s going to be so awesome. ðĄ But the list is long and growing in the process of owning my own land and building an off grid home, for the next twenty years of my life or potential the rest of my life. ð But it’s a good distraction from the craziness of work. ðĪŠ I am so serious at work, getting results while trying to be as flexible as possible. A time for embracing, a time to refrain from embracing the Bible says and young Rock and Roller ðļ made famous 60 years ago.
Today will have a chance of showers before 9am. Mostly cloudy ðĶ, with a high of 46 degrees at 1pm. Four degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 18th. North wind around 14 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, which became light snow by afternoon. The high last year was 36 degrees. The record high of 62 was set in 1974. 10.3 inches of snow fell back in 1967.â
I’m riding to work and I’m happy about that. ðē âš I’m listening to the Byrds on the ride in ðĶ as I need a break from land and property research. ð I mean it can be all consuming at times and I need a break. But I’m going to do it and I’m going to do it right for me. âðž And if you don’t like it and you think I’m a fool then too bad. ð
Solar noon ð is at 12:07 pm with sun having an altitude of 42.3° from the due south horizon (-28.5° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 6.6 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ð starts at 5:16 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (258°). ðļ The sunset is in the west (264°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 5:53 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 55 seconds with dusk around 6:20 pm, which is one minute and 12 seconds later than yesterday. ð The best time to look at the stars is after 6:54 pm. At sunset, look for mostly cloudy skies â and temperatures around 44 degrees. There will be a north breeze at 13 mph with gusts up to 24mph. Today will have 11 hours and 35 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 53 seconds over yesterday.
Tonight will be partly cloudy ð , with a low of 30 degrees at 5am. Six degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 27th. North wind 7 to 11 mph. In 2023, we had light snow in the evening, which became cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 26 degrees. The record low of -2 occurred back in 1989.
Back in 1967, Bloody Sunday: a group of 600 civil rights marchers is brutally attacked by state and local police in Selma, Alabama. ðŪ I’m sure the cops have a different telling of the story. They’d probably call it a riot rather than a peaceful protest, but such things don’t happen in isolation. âïļ Unfortunately, we’ve done very little on civil rights despite all the ink spilled in writing laws. ð
Rain this weekend. â No camping for me. ð Saturday, a chance of rain after 1pm. Cloudy, with a high near 47. Southeast wind 10 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 29 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. Sunday, showers likely, mainly before 1pm. Cloudy, with a high near 47. Breezy. Chance of precipitation is 70%. Darn, I was so hoping to get away this weekend. Typical average high for the weekend is 43 degrees.
As previously noted, there are 2 weeks until First Day of Spring ðŪ when the sun will be setting at 7:10 pm with dusk at 7:37 pm (Daylight Savings Time). On that day in 2023, we had partly sunny and temperatures between 59 and 24 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 47 degrees. We hit a record high of 78 back in 1921.
I am glad I didn’t decide to drive to work, my windshield wipers are literally falling apart. I last replaced them in 2016. I should at some point think about replacing them, lest I decide to go driving on a rainy day or a muddy road. Maybe I’ll put on my shopping list this week.
As lately I’m changing everything, I thinking of switching to a new Linux distro and desktop environment come April. After 20 years of using Ubuntu and XFCE, I am thinking it’s time for a change, as I don’t like SNAPs or this Ubuntu Pro crap. My hard drive needs a good cleaning, as Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish is getting really long in the tooth.
I’m old enough to remember when neither of them existed. 25 years ago, back in the day when he choices were RedHat, Debian, and Ubuntu was the new kid on the block. Debian’s (and Ubuntu’s) apt-get package manager was nifty a quarter century ago, at least before yum and DNF. Ubuntu LTS only updates every two years, so I end up getting stuck with out of date GIS libraries, which I have to update, which sometimes causes symbolic error and other weird problems.
Some mornings I wake to the smell of pollution from the plastics plant in Fuera Bush. This morning I woke up early thinking about the Green Building book which seemed to be more concerned about building McMansion’s with green features, and things like closets and how many outlets you need for your smart television. I don’t want a television, I don’t care about schools or how many bedrooms. I just want a cozy little cabin with a lot of land.
Good morning! What day is it? Hump Day, of course. Cloudy and 43 degrees in Delmar. â Calm wind. Totally inappropriate but I have my windows wide open in my apartment. But I like the fresh air, and I’ve become increasingly feral after all these years wearing the suit and playing director for eight hours a day, with a dour but easy going nature it so I tell myself. As long as shit gets done and I don’t get a call from Capitol Hill, I’m good. will drop below freezing at Friday around 4 am. âïļ I guess at that point I’ll have to close my windows for a few days.
Woke up at 4:30 AM or so this morning and couldn’t get back to bed, ð so I started cooking down the 15-bean soup on the stove and a little after 5 AM got making some bananas and oatmeal, ð then some pancakes with mango and honey. ðĨððŊ Good stuff, the egg in the homemade pancake mix added some protein, and with the oats and wholewheat flour plus mango lots of fiber. Maybe not as much as Johnnycakes with spinach but still pretty good. ðĨĶ
I get a chuckle when they send a 115 person articulated bus with seats for 59 out to Voorheesville, ð but this morning it was remarkably full at 7 am. Probably standees wouldn’t be appropriate on a rural / suburban route and they needed to get the bus downtown at any rate for the next run. ðĪ·âïļ I do wish I could have ridden my bike to work ðē as the time on the bus seems like such a time suck. Better use of my time though then driving. ð Those days will be here before you know it, but hopefully by then I’ll have a fuel-efficient easy to drive vehicle.
As it’s going to be raining by evening ð§ïļ I’m walking the Plaza. ðķ I don’t do as much walking as I used to do being that most days I ride to work. ðē I mean I thought about doing the Meads Lane loop on my bike this morning but it’s kind of misting and foggy out. So I’m busing it and taking the shuttle ð out to the suburban office. I heard the normal shuttle got in a wreck so it’s been a state pool car lately. I don’t mind, as long as we can all squeeze in and I can get to work. Worse comes to worse, I can hop on the CDTA Route 22, though that’s another bus fare. It seems so petty when I’m planning to buy land and build a house, but every little bit helps. That’s how I got as far as I got.
Today will rain likely, mainly after 5pm. Patchy fog between 9am and 10am. Otherwise, cloudy ð§, with a high of 55 degrees at 3pm. 13 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 6th. Maximum dew point of 49 at 2pm. South wind 3 to 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 44 degrees. The record high of 63 was set in 1974. 10.5 inches of snow fell back in 1887.â
At times I get so fustrated looking at land, ð though I shoudn’t be as there are definitely options out there. The one I looked at yesterday, after studying the LIDAR and running the stats is really too sloped to build on. Another one has a nice price, but I’m not convinced it’s an all-season road, despite what the seller says, and there is other parcels proposed to be sold nearby. ð None of them is perfect, but I am developing a plan on what is important, learning what is out there, piece by piece. And I can’t fall too much in love with any one parcel, as it could disappear from the market before I’m ready to buy. âĪïļ I do worry a bit about winter driving, but if it’s bad, I can always call in or work from home. âïļ People may be pushing me towards things I don’t care about, like plastic houses and good school districts, or marble counter tops and closet size, but I know what I want — that basic cabin that complies with town codes — but is simple to maintain and uses wood and solar energy produced on site, and provides land for homesteading and having fires. ð ðĨ I get many people care about marble countertops and looking pretty, but that’s not on my list.
Solar noon ð is at 12:08 pm with sun having an altitude of 41.9° from the due south horizon (-28.9° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 6.7 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ð starts at 5:14 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (257°). ðļ The sunset is in the west (264°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 5:52 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 55 seconds with dusk around 6:19 pm, which is one minute and 12 seconds later than yesterday. ð The best time to look at the stars is after 6:53 pm. At sunset, look for rain ð§ and temperatures around 53 degrees. The dew point will be 49 degrees. There will be a southeast breeze at 6 mph. Today will have 11 hours and 33 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 53 seconds over yesterday.
Tonight will rain. ð§ Low of 39 degrees at 5am. 16 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 20th. North wind 5 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between three quarters and one inch possible. In 2023, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 27 degrees. The record low of -6 occurred back in 1950.
Today in 1857, Supreme Court of the United States rules in the Dred Scott v. Sandford case. ðĐâïļ Often said to be one of the worse decisions ever, conservatives cling to the idea that so-called bad liberal rulings like Row v Wade can be overturned by future courts. Honestly, I think the court should be getting the government off people’s backs, if anything overruling cases that limit liberty rather then expanding the police state by making it easier for the government to pass new laws. I don’t celebrate baby murder like some people do, but I also don’t think we should be in the business of ban everything.
Not going camping this weekend either. ð The sun ain’t going to shine anymore. At least on the weekends. Saturday, a chance of rain after 1pm. Cloudy, with a high near 47. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Sunday, rain likely before 1pm, then showers likely after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 45. Chance of precipitation is 70%. Typical average high for the weekend is 43 degrees. Still at least it’s mild and not much of a fire risk.
Looking ahead, there are 5 weeks until 8 PM Dusk ð when the sun will be setting at 7:33 pm with dusk at 8:01 pm (Daylight Savings Time). On that day in 2023, we had sunny and temperatures between 67 and 30 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 57 degrees. We hit a record high of 86 back in 1922.
I bet the Emerald Ash Borer was created for the benefit of Multiflora Rose, which exists for benefit of the deer tick and Lyme diease. Just a thought. #conspiracy
