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.
Erie Boulevard was closed under Interstate 90 due to a water main break or maybe bridge work. I don’t know, I was running a bit early and I figured it would be a nice day for a longer ride via the Menands Exit. Figure extra riding in the morning means less I need to do come the evening after work.
Good morning! Mostly sunny and 31 degrees in North Albany, NY. There is a south breeze at 8 mph. 🍃.
Got up early 😀 and rode in early, in part to take advantage of the nice day and because I was up early, as I didn’t sleep well. 💤 Not sure why I didn’t sleep well, maybe because it’s I’ve had so much to think about in recent weeks. 😟 At least my office has unlimited free coffee ☕ which is a big benefit over working at Alfred E Smith Building, which had a coffee club but I never joined. I bring in my own skim milk with mint extract, rather then use creamer. Sometimes if I’m feeling healthy wanting less calories, 🧊 I’ll go the route of just adding ice — we have an ice machine here — and then add vanilla, cinnamon and ginger I have in my desk.
Fresh bread 🍞 and baked butternut squash 🍆 this morning, was cooking in the oven and on the stove 🥞 was johnnycakes with lots of onion, shredded broccoli, spinach, and topped with cottage cheese for protein. A good start to the morning, after a bit of a rough night sleeping. 🛌 Because I was listening to podcasts in the wee hours of the morning, and then reading for a bit 📚️ I got all of the advertising for mattresses and BetterHelp every commercial break while I was riding into work listening to Fresh Air. I am not sure I like the idea of mental help over the internet or phone 📞 , I feel like you miss something when you can’t get people’s facial expressions and be in the same room with them. That said, that licensed mental health professional I saw a few years ago was downright creepy in the basement of a run-down office building on the outskirts of town. But then again, I guess talking about your thoughts is a bit creepy too. 👨⚕️ What, I just like burning shit and need to move back out to country. 🚜 🔥 Freedom, baby.
Today will be sunny 🌞, with a high of 46 degrees at 4pm. Six degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 18th. South wind 8 to 10 mph. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning, which became light snow by afternoon. The high last year was 39 degrees. The record high of 66 was set in 2017. 10.7 inches of snow fell back in 2005.❄
I am moved into my new private office 👨💼 which I’ve grown to like more and more now that I’m out of the temporary cubicle and made it more homey with a desk lamp that I found in the closet, my plants, and some other random decorations from my old office. I still have a lot of empty wall space, but I will be filling that with several photos and posters in the coming week, I am getting them delivered on Saturday and will pick up frames. I have two large pictures from West Virginia and a 24×34″ color aerial photo of the Capital Region that I plan to frame and hang in my office 🖼️ next week the next time I drive in or take the bus — probably next Wednesday when it rains. 🌧️ I am also thinking of getting a candle warmer, and one of those sent candles 🕯 to make my office smell good, 👃 especially if I have too many beans 🫘 for lunch or track in manure 👢 when I have my homestead. Also a brighter bulb 💡 for the desk lamp — Walmart has super bright 200 watt equivalent LED bulbs. I should bring in my desk fan, should be hot in here come the summer. 😅 I want my office to be a calming place when the shit starts to fly in the data world, you know when the SQL query breaks. 🔢 Still don’t know if I can technically keep the lamp, it might belong to a different department, but it was in the closet collecting dust. 🛋 If I have to buy my own lamp, then so be it.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:09 pm with sun having an altitude of 40° from the due south horizon (-30.8° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 7.1 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 5:08 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (254°). 📸 The sunset is in the west (261°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 5:46 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 56 seconds with dusk around 6:13 pm, which is one minute and 14 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 6:47 pm. At sunset, look for clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 44 degrees. There will be a south breeze at 10 mph. Today will have 11 hours and 18 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 51 seconds over yesterday.
Tonight will have increasing clouds ☁, with a low of 30 degrees at 2am. Eight degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 27th. South wind around 10 mph. Stlll not bad, not warranting turning the heat back on, as things will stay warm enough over night. In 2023, we had cloudy skies. It got down to 35 degrees. The record low of -04 occurred back in 1940.
Tomorrow will rain, mainly after 8am. 🌧 High of 45 degrees at 3pm. Five degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 15th. South wind 6 to 11 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning, which became light snow by afternoon. 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.❄
Looking ahead to Sunday, mostly cloudy, 🌥 with a high near 58. North wind around 6 mph. Typical average high for the weekend is 40 degrees. Sunday looks like a nice day for a ride, or maybe driving around in countryside, trying to carefully observe various properties. 🏘 I want to learn more how people live, what are realistic options, and not be stuck with the suburbanite crap.
I was sort of hoping to get out camping this weekend, 🌧️ but not with the rain expected. It will be a good weekend to research property some more 🏘 🌲🔍 and do some reading on buying land. I am not rushing things at this point, but I also don’t want to give up the goal. 🥅 I just want to make the right decision. Plus get caught up on sleep after last night’s bad night in bed. 🛌 I actually don’t know why I was so troubled by sleeping, I have my nice new office to work from today. I am going to text my friend from Boy Scouts tonight 📱 to see if he will be available this weekend. I’d love to learn more about how he financed and rebuilt his homestead. At this point, I’m just trying to sift through all the details. 🧁
Looking ahead, there are 2 weeks until Ides of March ✝ when the sun will be setting at 7:03 pm with dusk at 7:30 pm (Daylight Savings Time). Friendly strangers in black sedans be liking that day. 🖤 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.
25 years later it’s rather amazing to think about the dominance of GNU/Linux and how well the Unix text utilities and Unix pipelines work in a professional environment after all these years. It’s just so much fun to be getting paid to create reports and run data using things like GNU grep, sed, awk. All simple little programs, written by volunteers, free for all to use.
Somehow the politicians think it’s more likely we’ll vote for them if we extend the coldest, nastiest month of the year out a bit longer. Or maybe it’s just a distraction from what they are doing.
Good morning! February is almost done. Partly cloudy and 23 degrees in Delmar. 🌤 Light breeze from the northwest 🌬 . Things will start to thaw out at tomorrow around 9 am. 🌡️ I heard out in the hilltowns they’re getting snow squalls this morning. No so much in Delmar.
I turned the heat back on to 48 degrees for one more day, ♨️ as it’s cold enough out this morning that I don’t want to risk issues with the pipes. I can’t wait until I have a place with wood heat 🪵 so I’m not freezing my ass off while making the fossil fuel companies wealthy while cooking the planet in the process. 🌎 Once it’s above freezing, I’ll just embrace the cold, heck might even keep the windows open, as I like the fresh air and not breathing in so much mold.
I wasn’t going to ride in today, 🚲 but you know how that goes. I was like I’ll get up early, catch the early bus in, 🚌 and then walk laps on the plaza. But then I decided it really wasn’t that cold out, and I wouldn’t mind riding in. Saves onthe bus fare, you now that buck $1.30 that doesn’t really matter when you’re thinking of spending $250,000.00 or possibly more on a house. But I like the physical exercise and the feel of the cold on my skin. I don’t know if I will ride home but it’s early enough, I’ll take the long way into work via the Menands Exit for extra mileage. It’s going to be cold enough, tonight I don’t plan to necessarily ride all the way home, but will likely catch the express bus from the old train station home.
Today will have a chance of snow showers, mainly before 3pm. Mostly cloudy 🌦, with a high of 30 degrees at 2pm. 10 degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical Blustery, with a northwest wind 16 to 22 mph, with gusts as high as 32 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than one inch possible. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies. The high last year was 30 degrees. The record high of 54 was set in 1976. 4.0 inches of snow fell back in 2012.❄
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:09 pm with sun having an altitude of 39.6° from the due south horizon (-31.2° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 7.2 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 5:07 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (254°). 📸 The sunset is in the west (260°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 5:45 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 57 seconds with dusk around 6:12 pm, which is one minute and 14 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 6:46 pm. At sunset, look for snow 🌨 and temperatures around 28 degrees. The wind chill around sunset will be 15. ☃️ Breezy, 18 mph breeze ⛅ from the west-northwest with gusts up to 29mph. Today will have 11 hours and 15 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 51 seconds over yesterday.
Tonight will be partly cloudy 🌃 , with a low of 22 degrees at 1am. Typical for tonight. Maximum wind chill around 14 at 6pm; Blustery, with a northwest wind 15 to 20 mph becoming south 6 to 11 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph. In 2023, we had partly cloudy skies. It got down to 20 degrees. The record low of -09 occurred back in 1948.
Saturday now looks wet. 😕 Saturday, showers likely. Cloudy, with a high near 46. South wind 7 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. Sunday, partly sunny, with a high near 58. Typical average high for the weekend is 40 degrees.
As previously noted, there are 3 weeks until First Day of Spring 💮 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.
Louise E. Keir WMA – Albany
Gas Springs State Forest – Allegany
Hanging Bog WMA – Allegany
Karr Valley Creek State Forest – Allegany
Phillips Creek State Forest – Allegany
Mccarthy Hill State Forest – Cattaraugus
Rock City State Forest – Cattaraugus
Frozen Ocean State Forest – Cayuga
Whalen Memorial State Forest – Chautauqua
New Michigan State Forest – Chenango
Perkins Pond State Forest – Chenango
Mariposa State Forest – Chenango-Madison
Macomb Reservation State Forest – Clinton
Livingston State Forest – Columbia
Taylor Valley State Forest – Cortland
Trout River State Forest – Franklin
Beartown State Forest – Lewis
Frank E. Jadwin State Forest – Lewis
Grant Powell Memorial State Forest – Lewis
Indian Pipe State Forest – Lewis
Sand Flats State Forest – Lewis
Charles E. Baker State Forest – Madison
Popple Pond State Forest – Oneida
Rome Sand Plains Unique Area – Oneida 1
Huckleberry Ridge State Forest – Orange
Roseboom State Forest – Otsego
Gates Hill State Forest – Schoharie
Petersburg State Forest – Schoharie
Sugar Hill State Forest – Schuyler
Brasher State Forest – St. Lawrence
Helmer Creek WMA – Steuben
Calverton Pine Barrens State Forest – Suffolk
David A. Sarnoff Preserve – Suffolk
Otis Pike Preserve – West – Suffolk
Rocky Point Pine Barrens State Forest – Suffolk
Bashakill WMA – Sullivan
Hickok Brook State Forest – Sullivan
Mongaup Valley WMA – Sullivan
Roosa Gap State Forest – Sullivan
Wolf Brook Multiple Use Area – Sullivan
Wurtsboro Ridge State Forest – Sullivan
Hammond Hill State Forest – Tompkins
Potato Hill State Forest – Tompkins
Witch’s Hole State Forest – Ulster
In like a lion, out like a lamb in Albany, NY as we start meteorological spring …
March 1st
Average High – 40 degrees
Average Low – 22 degrees
Records:
Negative 9 below in 1940
66 degrees in 2017
March 31st Average High – 52 degrees
Average Low – 31 degrees
Records: 12 degrees in 1923
89 degrees in 1998
Nice temperatures are just around the corner. Daylight savings time begins a week from Sunday on March 10th — an average high of 43. The first day of spring is Tuesday March 19th — an average high of 46.
The fresh air is nice even if I don’t love all the road noise.
Good morning! Rain and 51 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☔ Breezy, ️18 mph breeze from the south-southeast 🌬 with gusts up to 28 mph 💨💨💨. The dew point is 50 degrees. Temperatures will drop below freezing at around 11 pm. ☃️
Pancakes 🥞 with fruit and maple 🍁 syrup this morning. I should get some locally bottled syrup as this point I’m sure the sugar houses are firing up. Coffee ☕ too but not to much as there is plenty in the office 🏢 to drink, lol 😂.
Rainy ☔ morning today, but I’m driving to work 🛻 as we are going to lunch to celebrate 🎉 the retiring director and I need a car to get to lunch plus I need to get money 💵. I also want to bring in some of my plants 🌿 and some of my other office stuff that’s been sitting at home while I’ve been in the temporary cubicle. 👞 I have big shoes to fill but I know I’ll do excellent work that I’m proud of in coming years. In some ways it’s a dream job – I’ve always loved working with computers and data – and I get to use the Unix text utilities and SQL every day. Plus lots of R and Python. 🖥 I miss the politics and working Capitol Hill but I’m hopeful to be more involved with that side of things come the autumn. 🗳 Those posters I’m sure once framed will be beautiful in my office. 🖼️
Today will have showers likely, mainly between 10am and 11am. Cloudy 🌦, with a high of 59 degrees at 2pm. 19 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 14th. Maximum dew point of 55 at 1pm. Breezy, with a south wind 18 to 22 mph, with gusts as high as 34 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. A year ago, we had light snow in the morning, which became mostly sunny by afternoon. The high last year was 36 degrees. The record high of 63 was set in 1903. 9.7 inches of snow fell back in 1948.❄
I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy 😊 to have my rent check clear 💵 but it seems like my new landlord didn’t delay in cashing the check. It’s good to know he got paid and he’s not going to play games with Venmo. 🎮 While I don’t view Delmar to be my home forever, and hopefully not into next winter it buys time. Even with the June rent hike, this is still my cheapest option to live here. I don’t think I’ll come out ahead owning a home compared to renting a cheap place on the bus 🚍 line and riding to work 🚲 most days.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:09 pm with sun having an altitude of 39.3° from the due south horizon (-31.6° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 7.3 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 5:05 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (253°). 📸 The sunset is in the west (260°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 5:43 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 57 seconds with dusk around 6:11 pm, which is one minute and 14 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 6:44 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and temperatures around 58 degrees. The dew point will be 54 degrees. Breezy, 22 mph breeze ⛅ from the south with gusts up to 37mph. Tomorrow will have 11 hours and 15 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 51 seconds over today.
I’m still looking at better housing options even though my rent check cleared as saving money isn‘t the only thing in this world, I’m rapidly getting older 👴🏼 and as I settle into what is likely my career for the next twenty years, I should look for a lifestyle that I really want to live. As I noted yesterday, few things scare me more than dropping dead at age 64 and not living the life I want before then. Life isn’t guaranteed forever. Plus I’m super jealous of all my friends and colleagues who have land out in the country. 🚜 I shouldn’t be but I am.
I am basically pre-qualified for a mortgage after submitting a ton of documents but I haven’t followed up with the banks to get it in writing or get a letter ✉ of pre-approval. Part of it is I might not get a traditional mortgage should a buy a fixer up property or have a cabin built to my specifications. To be clear, I don’t want to stall now that the pressure is off but I want to make the right decision on what may define the place I call home my remaining working year. I am continuing to read a book 📖 about custom home building ⚒️ and the contracting process. Is that the right option for me? I don’t know but I don’t want to be stuck in a house too big with features I don’t want with a life I don’t want.
Tonight will rain showers, possibly mixing with snow after 10pm, then gradually ending. 🌧 Low of 24 degrees at 5am. One degree above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 1st. Windy, with a south wind 23 to 30 mph becoming northwest after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 48 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. Little or no snow accumulation expected. In 2023, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 19 degrees. The record low of -2 occurred back in 2008.
Last night 🌃 I had more fried zucchini with onions and corn with spices. A good dinner followed by some mango and chopped apple 🍏 with cinnamon. Then I went for my evening walk 🚶. Rode both ways to work plus a short ride around North Albany. Been finalizing the details of moving into the new private office and getting the phones 📞 switched over to that office. Plants 🌿 are moving into that office today even if the retiring director still will be there a bit today.
Right now, a split verdict on the weekend. 😕 Saturday, a chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 51. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Sunday, partly sunny, with a high near 59. I still think it would be a nice night 🌃 to camp on Saturday if not too muddy. Today’s rain should reduce the fire risk though it also will reduce the snow. Typical average high for the weekend is 40 degrees.
One month 📅 from now the Average High is 50 🌸 when the sun will be setting at 7:18 pm with dusk at 7:45 pm (Daylight Savings Time). That sure will be nice when the heat is off and the windows open. And the evening commute much brighter 🔆.
I don’t know why I think that so scary but as I push further into my forties, dying in my mid 60s just prior to retirement seems so scary. Maybe because I’m working so hard and saving so much for my retirement but also because my fear that a life that exists in my imagination might never exist and that I’m forever stuck in Albany, the same drudgery of taking the bus downtown to the big office building downtown in the big city. A future dreamed about and saved for but never reached and only forgotten about.
While tomorrow is never guaranteed, somehow dying in your sixties before retirement or much of it seems like such a cruel thing. All the decades of work for no reward. The whole thing just really horrifies me each time I see it brought up in the news.
