The scurs missed the Monday snow but nailed just about everything else to a “T.” This past weekend served as a reminder that it’s still winter and will be until it decides to be spring. What’s in store this week? Starting on Wednesday, partly cloudy becoming mostly cloudy with a chance of snow in the evening. Highs near 40 and lows around 20. Partly cloudy on Thursday with a slight chance of snow and/or light freezing drizzle. Highs of 35 and lows of 20. Partly cloudy Friday and Saturday with highs both days of 35 – 40 with lows Friday of 20 and lows on Saturday night of 25. Partly cloudy becoming mostly clear on Sunday with highs of 35 and lows of 25. Washington’s Birthday (observed), mostly cloudy with a chance of a rain/snow mix. Highs near 40 and lows around 25. Continued cloudy on Tuesday with a chance of icy drizzle. Highs near 35 and lows near 25. On the 15th we will be at 10 hours and 30 minutes of daylight, about the same amount of daylight we see on October 26th. The normal high for February 19th is 29 and the normal low is 11. The scurs will be cleaning the pool soon and setting out the beach umbrellas.
The trend of sparse precipitation with above normal temps followed by cold snaps of short duration continues. However, anecdotal information coming from the fields indicates there has been some recharge in the top foot of soil. Monday’s snowfall was the first measureable precip recorded at the ranch for the month. It added about 1.7” of snow and another .16” of liquid equivalent to the seasonal total. Personally, not having to move snow around every day is still not breaking my heart and having livestock to tend morning and evening in the dark has been a treat after last winter. There was an interesting note in Mark Seeley’s weekly WeatherTalk in regard to planting in February. In 1878, temperatures were in the 40s and 50s for half the month. With soils thawed and dry enough for tillage, much of the barley, oats and wheat were sowed. He goes on to say that this was the only time in history that a large portion of the state was planted in February. There was one instance of wheat being planted in late February locally back in 1987 although the ground re-froze after it had germinated. While this caused some concern, prying the layer of frozen soil off the top of the wheat with a screwdriver, one could see it was still alive and well. It went on to produce a decent crop.
In the heavens there have been some evenings recently that have been good for stargazing. At about 7 p.m. the Big Dipper is in the lower part of the northeast sky pointed almost straight up with its handle down. Some nights there have been enough thin clouds to make finding the North Star (Polaris) a little difficult. When skies are clear, one can draw an imaginary line from the front lip of the Big Dipper across the sky to Polaris, which is also the star at the end of the handle on the Little Dipper. Mars has also become a more predominant feature in the eastern sky, having risen high in the eastern sky by 10 p.m. during lamb check. Look for the Red Planet along the same general track as you would for the moon or the other planets. As long as the sky is clear, it’s probably there even if you aren’t out checking for lambs.
The goldfinches were absent at the birdfeeders during the cold end to last week. There was however usually some activity at our birdfeeders. The suet was popular with the nuthatches, downies and hairies while the chickadees were delighted that they could pluck sunflower seeds from any hole in the feeders after they were filled. Even the squirrel decided it was time to venture down out of his nest and consume some corn. Tormenting Ruby was also part of his grand scheme to be sure but there wasn’t much time for her to give him some exercise. Shearing on Saturday took precedence over everything.
Shearing day was cold although with the crew we had, it was one of the most no-nonsense shearing’s we’ve ever had. The shearer brought a super catcher from the Nicollet area who in turn had his girlfriend along to help. There were also some folks from near Austin who graded and tagged the fleeces on a table as we were going along, bagging those that fit their specifications separately and putting the rest in the main wool bag. One of our 4-H kids stopped by to assist us with the shots, the delousing procedure and re-tagging some ewes as well as helping get dinner ready when we got closer to that. Add to that the most professional shearer I’ve ever seen who also happens to be a neighbor and friend doing his usual exceptionally smooth job and a dreaded task suddenly doesn’t seem so bad anymore.
We didn’t get started until almost 9 a.m. and had to set up again down in the big barn once we had the brood ewes shorn. By 1 p.m. though we were done, had everything put away and 45 sheep were shorn for the season. It was interesting to hear the comments as they were grading the fleeces because there were some obvious differences in them. These fleeces were likely to be made into socks so we’ll be curious to see how they turn out. Even though everyone kept moving and busy, it was time to get inside the warm house where hot food and coffee awaited us. As usual the warmth and aroma of the house were in stark contrast to being out in the barn. We got cleaned up and sat down to the feast Mrs. Cheviot had put together. It consisted of barbecue sandwiches, cheesy potatoes, cherry salad and dessert baked by my Mom. Little did she know when she’d given them to me earlier in the week that the bars would be the hit at dinnertime. They of course were especially delicious as they were made with black walnuts supplied by none other than a local Bandwagon star. The meal was just as special as some of those I recall from nearly a half-century ago. Why? It was enjoyed by folks who’d shared in the hard work and the homespun humor only sheep people can appreciate.
See you next week…real good then.