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.
No rain yet but it’s coming. The air feels damp but I’m hoping it will hold off until after I catch the bus downtown so I can bring my posters in without them getting wet or having to drive.
Good morning! Happy Tuesday. Clouds and 45 degrees in Delmar, NY. âī¸ There is a south-southeast breeze at 8 mph. đ. Temperatures will drop below freezing at Friday around 5 am. âī¸
I decided I definitely need some kind of air freshener or candle warmer đđ¯ for my office as yesterday they got a fresh delivery of cardstock to the print shop đ¨ below my office and the HVAC sucked in the hydrogen sulfide rich air from the fresh paper delivered đ đ and I wanted to gag half the morning. I know enough about human noses and sulfur that over time people get used to the smell and can’t smell it, and may even grow fond of it but at least right now it stinks!
I may run to Walmart later in the week, I also need razors and eggs đĒ đĨ. I eat a lot more eggs these days as they’re cheap and fairly healthy protein đĒđģand make an excellent binder in cornmeal and oatmeal pancakes đĨ. I actually had Johnny Cakes this morning with lots of onion, broccoli, chilli and cherry tomato. đ đ§ đļ đĨĻ It was good but that like so many meals requires eggs, and I won’t have enough come Friday or Saturday.
Today will rain. đ§ High of 46 degrees at 1pm. Five degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 18th. Southeast wind 5 to 8 mph becoming light and variable. Chance of precipitation is 90%. My windows are open but maybe I should shut them. đ˛ Not going to be super warm. New precipitation amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible. But wet! đ§A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 42 degrees. The record high of 71 was set in 1964. 8.6 inches of snow fell back in 1917.â If this was colder that would be a ton of snow. â But truth be told we need rain to reduce fire risk. đ§đ
Bussing it in this morning. đ I could drive but it’s much easier to catch the bus. It’s time I can work on my phone or catch up with folks. It’s relaxing to not have to deal with traffic. đ I am sure I’ll have plenty of alone time in an automobile once I build my off-grid cabin, as that naturally has to be a ways from the city so I can have freedom. đĨ đˇ đ Saves over the gas and no miles on my truck. People in my suburban office think it’s weird I ride my bike or bus it here, but it saves money and stress. Some ways I like the urban life, but I am also ready to get away.
Solar noon đ is at 12:08 pm with sun having an altitude of 41.6° from the due south horizon (-29.3° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 6.8 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour đ starts at 5:13 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (257°). đ¸ The sunset is in the west (263°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 5:51 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 56 seconds with dusk around 6:18 pm, which is one minute and 13 seconds later than yesterday. đ The best time to look at the stars is after 6:52 pm. At sunset, look for rain đ§ and temperatures around 46 degrees. There will be a north-northeast breeze at 5 mph. Today will have 11 hours and 30 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 53 seconds over yesterday.
I found some a nice property on Zillow that I’m investigating further. đ Not quite ready to buy at this point, and probably somebody else will get it first, but I’m not going to spend $100,000 on land that I don’t have a solid plan to make use of in coming years. But it’s worth it to develop my code and methodology to study the property đē as even if I don’t end up living there, it gives me an idea of what I should look for and avoid. I also started reading How to plan, contract, and build your own home by Richard M. Scutella to try to understand more of the owner-builder process. Once I get further along, I might reach out to friends with questions, but I want to take my time and do it right.
Tonight will rain likely, mainly before 7pm. Mostly cloudy đ§, with a low of 44 degrees at 1am. 21 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around May 3rd. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. In 2023, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 33 degrees. The record low of -21 occurred back in 1948.
Going to be a rainy night, so my plan is to do a lot more reading, đ and more work on my code to crank out vital information about a property that is listed. I have completed the LIDAR section that gives me total acreage by average slope and direction the slope faces, but also want to be able to calculate how much of the property is on DEC wetlands and/or 100 feet from waterway, what soils are on the land, and so forth. The more data I can obtain, the more leverage I have. While most sellers and real estate agents probably know topographic maps and have walked the property, I doubt many know how many acres are 5% slope, how many acres exactly are soil x, y, or z. Information is power. Or at least it’s interesting what I can crank out of a few lines of R code.
Today in 1970, Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty goes into effect after ratification by 43 nations. âī¸ It was really bad when they were blowing up nuclear bombs in the air, making the milk and corn radioactive across the mid-west. đŽ Some of it was willful ignorance by the federal government on how harmful such actions were. In 1933, during the height of the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declares a “bank holiday”, đĻ closing all U.S. banks and freezing all financial transactions.
Gonna rain again this weekend. â No camping đ for me. đ Saturday, a chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 46. Chance of precipitation is 50%. Sunday, rain likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 46. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Daylight savings time starts Sunday. Typical average high for the weekend is 43 degrees.
Looking ahead, there are 2 weeks until Last Day of Winter đ when the sun will be setting at 7:08 pm with dusk at 7:35 pm (Daylight Savings Time). On that day in 2023, we had partly sunny, snow showers and temperatures between 33 and 22 degrees.l Typically, the high temperature is 46 degrees. We hit a record high of 78 back in 2012.
One of my fears is that I will get stuck in the process of buying land and building a cabin on it. In many ways, it’s a much more complicated and drawn out process then simply looking at a house, going through a well established path of real estate agents, title searches, house inspection, and traditional mortgage but it also turns out not to be an impossible project without many construction skills or equipment.
In some ways buying raw or minimally developed land (such as an old trailer site or badly damaged home with some infrastructure), especially with cash is a much harder road to hoe. While I haven’t totally written off getting a mortgage — there are tax benefits, namely you can reduce your total income by the amount you pay in mortgage interest — the cost of money these days makes it seem like a waste. And I worry about getting ripped off, and regulatory issues more generally as all of this world is very new and complicated to me. I’ve always preferred to pay with cash, it’s generally cheaper though it will involve cashing out stocks and paying a shit ton of Capital Gains taxes.
Where I am today
Right now I am at the stage at studying parcels that are currently on the market and giving it some thought. What is out there without a home? What are the prices? How far from work? How close to neighbors or potential neighbors who could complain about things to the town? Since drafting my first draft of the homestead and cabin on Saturday, I think I have a better idea — the priority being having the right redneck kind of neighbors, general distance from neighbors, ability to homestead with livestock and have bonfires, ride an ATV around the property, heat with wood, compost, garden and use on-site solar to avoid being tied to growing expense of the dirty power of the electrical grid. Buy and build what I actually want, even if that’s somewhat more expensive then I’d like to spend and not what other people want from the property.
I’m teaching myself LibreCAD so I can draw my vision for the home and the property that I want in a way that is presentable to potential sellers or their real estate agents, town building officials, and architects. I am not a very good hand drawer, and knowing at least some CAD and floor plan design drawing techniques will be good to illustrate my vision to the appropriate people. While I am sure not all of my ideas can be implemented due to regulatory and cost reasons, being able to have a clear idea of what I want on paper, in an easily readable form will make it much easier to obtain what I want.
Maybe the best way to judge my progress isto have a rough time table :
Going forward
Late Winter 2024
Apply for conventional mortgage to learn more about the process, see what credit resources are available and investigate conventional properties in rural areas sold by conventional realtors.
Read library books on the process of buying a home
Start the conversation with friends about what their experience is on buying rural land and homesteads, what resources they used, what contractors and banks they utilized
Draft up on paper what I am thinking I want my “practical dream” homestead and house would like so I can present my idea to various friends, colleagues, realtors, and town officials.
Change from buying additional stock to saving in an a high-interest savings account
Spring 2024
Turn my paper draft of what my “practical dream” homestead into a CAD project that I can present to others to get feedback.
Learn more about the process of building a home by reading and talking to people, specifically the process of working with an architect, getting town approval, selecting a quality, reliable contractor.
Learn more about building materials and methods, including what is the latest in affordable off-grid solar.
Continue to study properties on the market and tax records, write code to analyze the pros and cons of various properties.
Grab the latest list of tax-delinquent properties from the county, match against county tax maps and records, and see if there are properties worth pursuing. Write owners listed on tax records via certified mail.
Drive the back roads, looking for abandoned or vacant properties then pulling up their owners from the tax records, searching to the internet to see if the owner passed away or what the story is about the reasons for being abandoned. Write owners listed on tax records via certified mail.
Summer 2024
Develop a list of properties that meet my desired criteria and have been preliminarily vetted using publicly available GIS data like tax maps, LiDAR, orthophotography — new and old. Run my analysis code on the slope and direction of the land, along with consulting DEC wetland maps, distance to other properties, especially other homes, and other potential nuisances such as junk yards, barnyards, dumping grounds.
Reach out to property owners and realtors to confirm the property is still available and to get tours of the land, sharing my vision for the land.
Work with an architect to draft plans for the cabin
Develop a short list of contractors to build the home
Develop a short list of companies to drill the well, put in the road/improve the road, put in the septic tank and leach field
Meet with town officials to discuss my vision for the property, including showing a draft architectural drawing, or at least my own concept
Fall/Winter 2024
Work to close the deal on the land after title searches, consulting with a real estate lawyer, getting the land perc tested for septic, speaking to neighbors about their experience with drilling wells and other potential nuisance concerns with the land, such as something they’ve heard about the land like dumped toxins or flooding that is non-obvious from public records and GIS data.
Do not renew my certificate of deposit but keep those funds in a Savings Account, possibly start cashing out some of the stocks and bonds I have saved, reserving funds to cover Capital Gains taxes.
Try to close the deal on property, paying with cash if possible. While I will have to pay a full year’s worth of taxes on the undeveloped property, having it on the bag with tentative approval for the cabin for plans would make it worth it.
Potentially have some infrastructure work done on the property — improving the road, water well, septic, etc. Might make sense to wait until the new year due to delay Capital Gains tax hit.
Late Winter/Spring 2025
End my lease for the rented apartment and move out onto the land, camping or using my truck camper (assuming this is allowed — it’s possible at that point that Big Red will be replaced but can be taken off the road, used for hauling gear around the site and camping out of).
Live on the land, getting to know it well. Maybe get chickens and rabbits for eggs and mea, a shed to store things including the well pump and gasoline generator.
Have finished the infrastructure improvements, especially the driveway/roadway to cabin, site foundation.
Work on getting the septic and water put in.
Work with contractor to get town permits secured to build the cabin.
Summer 2025
Work with the contractor to have the cabin built to the point it’s habitable with water and septic and plumbing but not fully complete inside, work with building inspector to get certificate of occupancy based on minimal legal completion
Get the cabin to the point where it’s waterproof and secure, start to move inside
Fall/Winter 2025
Get woodstove and propane heaters professionally installed and up to code
Have cabin fully insulated and ready for winter so pipes don’t freeze and I have a comfortable place to spend the winter
While I don’t anticipate having the solar done at this point, I can string up extension cords from the gas generator, a few small solar panels and batteries, use small portable lighting through the winter — rather live “without electricity” for a winter to really get to know the land and spread out the tax costs
Finalize the design of the solar equipment, inverter, and batteries
Work on completing parts of the interior such as flooring and walls, working with an electrician to do the breaker box, while doing some of electrical wiring myself with review of the electrician and town building inspector.
2026
Have internal electrical wiring and fixtures finished and approved by the electrician and building inspector.
Obtain, mount and install solar panels, inverter, batteries.
Work to complete inside walls and flooring
Secure a full-size, energy efficient 120 volt refrigerator and full-size gas oven and range for the kitchen
2027
Add additional solar panels to the system
Add a chest freezer for storage of meat in unheated shed or building overhang
Build a shed or small barn, start adding goats and/or maybe hogs to the homestead
Yesterday was not nearly as nice as the weatherman had argued it should have been. At times it was downright chilly outside. But it was a nice afternoon to spend out in country over at old friend’s homestead picking his brain on how he financed and put together his 10-acres of land with a beautiful farm house and barn from the 1820s. It was chilly and cloudy, as today also will be, but not so cold. I left the windows open last night, after I the smoke alarm went off again, but I’m hopeful to keep the windows open for most of the rest of the summer at this point. Only a few more weeks that there is a good chance of freezing weather.
Good morning! Monday’s come back around again. đ Mostly cloudy and 41 degrees in the land of the Delmartian, as I get ready to ride to work. â Calm wind. Temperatures will drop below freezing at Friday around 4 am. âī¸
Well maybe not a beautiful day today, âī¸ it should be good for riding to and from work. I want to bring my new artwork into the office đŧī¸ but I’ll wait until a rainy day later in the week when I either take the bus or drive in. đ I realized I need some more eggs đĨ and I should get some kind of candle warmer plate. I couldn’t find it in Walmart the other day but looking online, they have them in-store for $10 but I didn’t know the aisle. đ¯ Yes, the use electricity, but they don’t charge me for that at work, lol. Working above a printing plant sometimes smells like sulfur. đ You know, like Ticonderoga or Plattsburgh. Same thing for the brighter 200-watt light bulb I got for my desk, đĄ though it’s an LED bulb so it only uses 27-watts and is replacing the 60-plus watts of hideous overhead florescent lighting. đ So far I haven’t been asked to give back the lamp, but I was looking at Walmart, and they have many attractive desk lamps for sale, as will garage sales and paces like the Salvation Army should I have to give back the seemingly forgotten lamp I found covered with dust in the closet.
Today will have patchy dense fog before 9am. đĢ Otherwise, mostly cloudy đĨ, with a high of 55 degrees at 1pm. 14 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 6th. Maximum dew point of 47 at 1pm. Light and variable wind becoming south 5 to 10 mph in the morning. A year ago, we had light snow in the morning with a few breaks of sun the afternoon. The high last year was 37 degrees. The record high of 59 was set in 1919. 8.3 inches of snow fell back in 1971.â
Solar noon đ is at 12:08 pm with sun having an altitude of 41.2° from the due south horizon (-29.7° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 6.9 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour đ starts at 5:12 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (256°). đ¸ The sunset is in the west (263°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 5:50 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 55 seconds with dusk around 6:17 pm, which is one minute and 13 seconds later than yesterday. đ The best time to look at the stars is after 6:50 pm. At sunset, look for mostly cloudy skies â and temperatures around 54 degrees. The dew point will be 47 degrees. There will be a south-southeast breeze at 10 mph. Today will have 11 hours and 27 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 52 seconds over yesterday.
I plan to start my deep dive into the land đ¤ today, and am going to try to write some code to analyze parcels based on steepness of slope and direction of slope. Both of those have significant impacts on the ability to build and homestead on the land, plus I want to make sure if I do build a house đˇ that it’s built in a place that is resistant to excessive rainfall, that is certain to happen with the warming climate. đī¸ Also want to take a deep dive into CAD, and try to get to place were I can at least sketch out a house plan. Really want to go simple and low resource when I build, not so much as a cost measure but for sustainability and simplicity purposes — I want to spend the money up front and then have minimal out-year costs for maintenance and repair. That said, despite being conditionally approved for an excessively large mortgage to buy a conventional house, I am increasingly thinking about buying with cash đĩ and knowing my land and house is paid off and cheap to operate. Utility bills and repairs on my house scares me the most about it, more then the up-front cost. Plus I just hate how everything is plastic now. đĨ Have you ever burned plastic? Shit stinks and burns so black, especially some of common materials used these days.
Tonight will have a chance of rain after 5am. Mostly cloudy đ§, with a low of 42 degrees at 5am. 19 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 27th. Southeast wind 8 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. In 2023, we had light snow in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 33 degrees. The record low of -12 occurred back in 1948.
I really enjoyed meeting up with that friend of twenty years ago đ and learning more about how he obtained his homestead. It’s a ways out from the city, but it is a wonderful 10 acres and an beautiful old 1820s house. I really miss being out in the country, in the hilltowns. â° Since I got my big jacked up truck, and well the burn ban, I don’t cruise the backroads like I once did. đĨ He built quite the life for himself and his family. While I am still stuck, for now, in the suburbs in my dumpy apartment. Not that my dream off-grid cabin is what many people would call high-class living, but I won’t be paying rent and I’ll be able to do my thing, have fires, listen to the frogs on a warm summer night. đ¸ And see the mountains every day driving to and from work.
Today in 1985, Food and Drug Administration approves a blood test for AIDS infection, used since then for screening all blood donations in the United States. 𩸠In 1917, Jeannette Rankin of Montana becomes the first female member of the United States House of Representatives. đī¸ Pretty remarkable that was only about 100 years ago. And in 1957, S&P 500 stock market index is introduced, replacing the S&P 90. đ The market opened at a ceremonial $17.75 and at this point is well over 1,000.
Not a particularly nice weekend on tap. đ Saturday, a chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 46. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Sunday, rain likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 44. Chance of precipitation is 60%. The likelihood of camping this weekend seems fairly low. Maybe another good weekend to red and study about buying land, and continue my research. Typical average high for the weekend is 43 degrees.
Looking ahead, there are 4 weeks until April Fools Day 𤥠when the sun will be setting at 7:23 pm with dusk at 7:50 pm (Daylight Savings Time). 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.
I am thinking I would go all in for the rustic, early 1900s look when electrification was a new thing and buildings were often lit by a single bright light bulb hung from the ceiling with a wire with no fixture surrounding it, hung in the center part of the cabin near the wood-stove. There are so many great retro-LED bulbs, and it would so much like a poor cabin from that era when people had only a few electric lights. Plus very energy efficient to spread out the light over the majority of building, with only separate fixtures in the bathroom, kitchen, and then task lighting like table lamps by the rocking chair or next to the bed.
I was thinking I would do wood-plank style flooring, either over a post and beam floor or poured concrete slab foundation, to keep that rustic look, along with wooden shiplap and/or tongue and groove inside walls with the use of congregated steel in the bathroom and kitchen, and in front of the firewall where the wood stove would be located. I could certainly install those materials myself, and it would not only save money, but also put more sweat equity into the whole project. Plus, while I don’t hate drywall quite as much vinyl siding, plain drywall walls are so ugly, and far less sustainable then pine or even cedar shiplap or tongue and groove. Plus drywall is hard to keep from getting dingy with mud and muck I’m likely to track in from barnyard and hauling wood into the cabin, or the occasional smoke and ash from back-drafts and chimney cleaning. Plus then I could keep the scraps either for heat or bonfires out back. Burning hunks of shiplap in a bonfire out back with a cold beer is probably a hell of lot more fun then paying to landfill hunks of drywall. I guess you can chip and compost gypsum board, but they use fly ash in it which contains heavy metals. Yuck!
Fire safety people probably wouldn’t like the lack of walls in the center part of the cabin, and when I consult with the architect and town building inspector, I would have to figure out what the code requirements would be. Walls are good should a room flash over in a fire, as your bedroom could be closed off from the main section of the building. That said, having good smoke detectors and a nearby window for escape might be sufficient. I really like the idea of minimizing walls, outside of the bathroom, to ease heat dispersion from the wood-stove, simplify building, and be able to light more of the building using that single central light bulb. I want be warm in bed, even in the coldest nights. I don’t have privacy concerns, as I live alone and aren’t real interested in marrying anytime soon.
At least when we see the sun later on this morning. Going to be a nice, spring like day once the clouds part. Or so I hope. My shoulder is still sore and achy, like from the Lyme I got years ago now, but I am fine. I feel a lot better now that I got my initial ideas sketched out for my off-grid property and cabin, even if it’s just a sketch and years worth of work ahead. I certainly like it much better then suburbanite, high consumption crap covered with vinyl-siding that dominates the real estate classifieds.
Good morning! Happy Sunday. Mostly cloudy and 45 degrees in Delmar, NY. â There is a north-northwest breeze at 7 mph. đ. The skies will clear around 10 am.
I ended up opening the windows after heading to bed, đŠđ after I burned something on the kitchen stove cooking and it inevitably set off the fire alarm. đ It was actually nice sleeping with the fresh air, and I am feeling a lot better the past few days, thought still a bit achy. I think it also helped that I started to draft out what I really want when I own my own land and build my house, and the reassurance from others that it’s possible. It feels good to know I don’t have to be stuck in surburbia forever, and that the only option isn’t vinyl siding and drywall with a big natural gas boiler and a 3,000 square foot home full of things soon to be garbage with a big mowed grass lawn. 𤎠It is possible to build that off-grid cabin I really want for a budget I can afford. And on that note, đ´ suddenly I am sleeping better.
Today will be partly sunny đ, with a high of 55 degrees at 1pm. 14 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 6th. Maximum dew point of 47 at 12pm. North wind 7 to 9 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 40 degrees. The record high of 64 was set in 2002. 10.9 inches of snow fell back in 1994.â
On the list for today is buying the poster frames, đŧī¸ for the artwork to decorate my new office. Along with a brighter light bulb for the desk, maybe a candle warmer, and groceries for the week. đ My pantry is well depleted, I really need to get shopping. đ đ Amazing how fast food comes and gets eaten around this place. I think I must have a very big appetite, but some of it is lower calorie value of the food I eat so I end up eating more, especially after ride back and forth to work on my bicycle. âģī¸ I also need to return cans to get my deposit back and free up some space in the outside trash can.
Solar noon đ is at 12:08 pm with sun having an altitude of 40.8° from the due south horizon (-30° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 7 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour đ starts at 5:10 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (256°). đ¸ The sunset is in the west (262°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 5:48 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 56 seconds with dusk around 6:16 pm, which is one minute and 13 seconds later than yesterday. đ The best time to look at the stars is after 6:49 pm. At sunset, look for partly cloudy skies đ and temperatures around 54 degrees. The dew point will be 47 degrees. There will be a north breeze at 7 mph. Today will have 11 hours and 24 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 52 seconds over yesterday.
In the afternoon going out to see the family đ¨đŠđ§ and then over to my friend’s from Boy Scouts, to spend some time together, and learn what I can learn about how he put together his homestead outside of Greenville, rebuilding an old and vacant home. Now I’m thinking about building new, đˇâī¸ but I want to gain whatever insight I can in my options and what contractors he worked with the process with the town building inspector. đ§ The more I can learn about the process, the fewer costly mistakes I will likely make, or so I hope. For me, it’s so much about the money but living the life I want to live. đī¸đĨžđˇđ
Tonight will be mostly cloudy đĢī¸, with a low of 40 degrees at 5am. 18 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 22nd. North wind 3 to 6 mph. In 2023, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became light snow by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 32 degrees. The record low of -20 occurred back in 1950. I can leave my windows open again tonight! đŗ That’s great. I sleep so much better with fresh air.
Back in 1972, an airplane crashes in suburban Albany, off Holmesdale Ave in Albany (near Colvin Avenue and Washington Ave). Regional Carrier, Mohawk Airlines Flight 405 crashes as a result of a control malfunction and insufficient training in emergency procedures. đŠī¸ Also today in 1873, U.S. Congress enacts the Comstock Law, making it illegal to send any “obscene, lewd, or lascivious” books through the mail. đ đŦī¸ And in 1991, an amateur video captures the beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers. đŽâī¸
Looking ahead, next Sunday is Daylight Savings Time đ when the sun will be setting at 6:57 pm with dusk at 7:24 pm (Daylight Savings Time). On that day in 2023, we had partly cloudy skies with snow showers and temperatures between 44 and 20 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 43 degrees. We hit a record high of 72 back in 1977. Before my time.
Good afternoon! Rain and 44 degrees in Delmar. â There is a south-southeast breeze at 9 mph. đ. The skies will clear tomorrow around 9 am.
I’m feeling somewhat better today due to a fairly good night’s sleep đ , it was tough last week I’ve had my very severe sleeping disorder coming back. Figuring out my housing situation and how I want to live when I grow up is increasingly frustrating đ¤. I really don’t like what is out there on the market for homes đĄ and really want to do the simple, off grid thing.
This afternoon will rain. đ§ High of 45 degrees at 4pm. Five degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 15th. South wind around 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. A year ago, we had cloudy skies. The high last year was 41 degrees. The record high of 65 was set in 1991. 11.9 inches of snow fell back in 2018.â
No big plans for today, books planning on going to the library to get more books out on owner home building and sustainable design. đ Plus I’m interested in learning CAD – computer aidedto design – so I can better put my dream house down on paper which will help me present my ideas đ to contractors and builders. I’m really thinking radically simple. With a plan in hand đˇ it’s so much easier to get what I want rather than vague notions of land out in the country đ maybe with livestock and some green features. đ˛I don’t want to box myself in but I also don’t want to be flopping around with no idea đĄ what I want or much worse know what I want but lack words to describe it.
Solar noon đ is at 12:08 pm with sun having an altitude of 40.4° from the due south horizon (-30.4° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 7 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour đ starts at 5:09 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (255°). đ¸ The sunset is in the west (262°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 5:47 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 56 seconds with dusk around 6:14 pm, which is one minute and 13 seconds later than yesterday. đ The best time to look at the stars is after 6:48 pm. At sunset, look for rain đ§ and temperatures around 45 degrees. There will be a south-southeast breeze at 8 mph. Today will have 11 hours and 21 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 51 seconds over yesterday.
Tonight will rain, mainly before 10pm. Patchy fog between midnight and 2am. đ§ Low of 42 degrees at 4am. 20 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 27th. East wind around 7 mph becoming northwest after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an 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 -10 occurred back in 1950.
Today in 1989, Twelve European Community nations agree to ban the production of all chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) đĨĢâ by the end of the century.
Looking ahead, there are 8 weeks until Arbor Day đŗ when the sun will be setting at 7:52 pm with dusk at 8:21 pm (Daylight Savings Time). 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.
A lot of friends and colleagues are buying one, and indeed I think it’s a good investment if you have a family and need a larger dwelling that you plan to stay in for a long time. Paying a mortgage is a good way to be forced to build wealth, but it’s certainly not the only way – low-cost index funds, retirement funds and certificates of deposits with automatic deposits are other ways to build wealth.
While rent is an expense that is forever gone, you have to live somewhere. But lower-rent apartments can be quite affordable, allowing you to save and invest elsewhere. Plus a small rented space is going to be cheaper to heat and light, and the benefits to having access to public transit to get to work and walk-able neighborhood rather than having a car. Costs like utilities, transportation, repairs, mortgage fees and interest are non-recoverable even if you own your own house. Indeed, running my own numbers, I can’t find a way I would gain wealth faster owning a home with all the related expenses before renting.
While I concede I’ll probably stick around in New York State for a while longer, maybe a decade or so, I just can’t see setting down roots locally. Albany doesn’t feel like my home, and I’m not interested in community or local politics. I want an opportunity to reboot my life at some point, try a new community on for a change. I’m also not that interested in owning a fancy house, I’d rather have more land and not a fancy house. And I don’t want land for purposes of profit to sell it, but to use it for homesteading, hunting, and wildlife observation — any building should be just ancillary to provide housing but need not be permanent or appreciating in value.
