Turn on CCC Road
Ruffled Grouse in New York State
The ruffled grouse, often referred to as the partridge, is a medium-sized game bird native to North America. Its name, “ruffled,” aptly describes its appearance, characterized by a tuft of feathers on its neck that can be raised and fanned out during displays of courtship or when the bird feels threatened. These grouse are renowned for their remarkable camouflage, allowing them to blend seamlessly into their woodland habitats. They are primarily found in mature forests with a mix of hardwoods, conifers, and dense underbrush, as these environments offer them protection, food, and suitable nesting sites.
Ruffled grouse are omnivorous birds with a varied diet. They consume plant matter such as berries, buds, leaves, and seeds, as well as insects and small invertebrates. They are most active during the day and spend their time foraging on the forest floor. Their unique drumming display during the breeding season, produced by beating their wings against the air, is an auditory spectacle that resonates through the woods and is integral to their courtship ritual.
The ruffled grouse serves as a symbol of New York State’s natural beauty and biodiversity. Their existence is closely tied to the health of our forests, making their conservation essential. Through restoration efforts, like those undertaken by the CCC during the 1930s, and ongoing initiatives focused on sustainable forestry and habitat preservation, we can ensure that future generations have the opportunity to appreciate the unique charm of the ruffled grouse in New York State’s woodlands.
New England Astors
A nice morning after a cool and windy weekend at Rennselearville State Forest 🌀
It was nice to get away for two nights, only a quick trip from home. Not a lot of gas or costs which is good plus some great views, chances to ride and walk in the woods.
Good morning! Mostly sunny ☀ and 52 degrees at the Rensselaerville State Forest. There is a west-northwest breeze at 8 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 49 degrees.
Nice morning today 🌅 but a bit chilly. But it’s the second half of September and I’m in the high country of Albany County so it’s to be expected. Didn’t run out of propane which became a concern yesterday when I noticed the tank was getting light and it’s been about ten nights in the woods since filling the tank on vacation, though many did not involve using the heater much.
Today will have increasing clouds ☀ ➡ ☁, with a high of 65 degrees at 4pm. Nine degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around October 7th. Maximum dew point of 51 at 10am. West wind around 8 mph. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning with more sun in the afternoon. The high last year was 72 degrees. The record high of 89 was set in 1942.
Taking camp ⛺ down relatively early 🕒 as I’m thinking about exploring Huyck Preserve 🐸 for a while before going to the folks house 🏡 early to pick apples 🍏 and Sunday dinner. 🍠🍗 Going to be rain ☔ by evening and I don’t want to get home that late with the earlier sunsets.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:52 pm with sun having an altitude of 49.8° from the due south horizon (-21.1° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 5.1 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. Autumn is rapidly approaching. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 6:28 pm with the sun in the west (268°). 📸 The sunset is in the west (274°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:05 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 54 seconds with dusk around 7:31 pm, which is one minute and 47 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Crescent 🌒 Moon in the west-southwest (249°) at an altitude of 6° from the horizon, 244,955 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:07 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and temperatures around 60 degrees. The dew point will be 51 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Today will have 12 hours and 27 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 51 seconds over yesterday.
Yesterday was a somewhat slow day and by midday I was a bit cold 🥶 so I retreated to my truck cap, took a nap and watched YouTube. 📹 Then the sun came out and warmed up a bit, wind which was roaring slowed and went for a ride to the Hillicross Parcel 🏞 then around some of the dirt roads and haul roads 🚲 at the State Forest. Then came back, fried up some potatoes, spinach, snap peas and salmon 🐠 then went for a hike through the woods to the hill overlooking Camp Cass. Came back had a nice fire 🔥 until around ten. Very starry ✨ night, saw two shooting stars before retiring to bed around ten. With the breeze I kept the fire small as it was a rather sparky evening. Not worried about a grass fire but didn’t like all the sparks heading towards my truck for obvious reasons.
Tonight will have showers, mainly after 10pm. 🌧 Low of 53 degrees at 1am. One degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around September 19th. Maximum dew point of 53 at 1am. 🏖️ Light and variable wind becoming east around 6 mph in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. In 2022, we had partly cloudy skies. It became humid as the night progressed. It got down to 62 degrees. The record low of 35 occurred back in 1986.
I was hoping to get up to the Adirondacks next weekend for a long one, ⛺ but we’ll see with the weather. I doubt there is much color change yet 🍂 and as of now the long range for next weekend isn’t all that great. But September weekends are rapidly expiring and October is quickly coming. As of now I’m thinking of possibly taking a week the third week of October but things could change.
Looking ahead, there are 2 weeks until October 🎃 when the sun will be setting at 6:40 pm with dusk at 7:07 pm. Happens so quickly. On that day in 2022, we had partly sunny and temperatures between 69 and 46 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 68 degrees. We hit a record high of 90 back in 1927.
An unnecessarily antagonistic ammunition purchasing system 🔫
New York State now requires you to pay $2.50 and fill out a lengthy form and wait for a background check to buy ammunition. Just to make it as much of a taxing, pain in the ass process as possible for gun owners and hunters.
Most people whenever they can will certainly be planning to buy ammunition the next time they travel out of state to Pennsylvania or Vermont where you can buy ammo just by picking it off the shelf and going to the cash register and paying, most likely depriving state businesses and county and state tax revenues. Technically if you plan to use the ammunition in state your supposed to remit the sales tax to the state but few will.
How could it have been done better? For one, the process could have been automated and the fee waved. Most gun owners have drivers licenses or at least non-driver ids. Those could be scanned and an instant background check using a computer without paperwork implemented. There is no need for a fee, the cost of a database lookup is deminis and at any rate, reducing gun violence is a public purpose and there is no reason why a prohibited purchasers database couldn’t be maintained solely out of general funds.
The whole process would be a lot less objectionable had it been fully automated and free for ammunition purchasers. Maybe it could be pared tightly with the DEC DECALS system so that when you bought ammunition they could also sell you hunting and fishing licenses – or if your license was expired or soon to be expired, they could sell you a new license.