After a week where the scurs were starting to wonder if it was ever going to be spring, we were treated to some above freezing temps for a change. Will we continue our upward spiral? Starting Wednesday, partly cloudy with highs near 35 and lows around 20. Partly cloudy for Thursday and slightly warmer. Highs of 40 and lows of 20-25. Partly cloudy on Friday and warmer with a slight chance of a rain/snow mix. Highs in the mid 40s and lows around 30. Saturday, mostly cloudy with a good chance of rain. Highs near 45 and lows around 30. Partly cloudy for Easter Sunday with highs close to 40 and lows around 25. Partly cloudy for Monday and Tuesday. Highs near 40 and lows around 25. The normal high for March 31st is 48 and the normal low is 29. The scurs will be using a pick axe to plant their potatoes on Good Friday, then color their Easter eggs Saturday night. No foolin’.
The Full Moon for March falls on the 27th and is commonly known as the Full Worm Moon as the ground thaws allowing these invertebrates to leave their castings above ground, making yards rough for lawnmowers. There are other names as well, including the Full Crow Moon, the Full Sap Moon and the Lenten Moon, marking the last Full Moon of winter. The Ojibwe called this the Full Crust Moon as the snow begins to crust over with the freezing and thawing taking place. The Sioux knew this as the Moon When Buffalo Drop Their Calves. At the ranch we know it as the Moon When Gravel Appears under the Snow Piles. Didn’t realize there was still that much left on the driveway.
It seems like spring is coming slow and relative to what we’ve become used to in the past decade or so, it is. However, for those young whippersnappers who didn’t grow up in the ‘60s and ‘70s, this spring has been more typical of what we experienced during those years. Did I mention I also walked uphill in chest-deep snow both ways to school? When the first day of spring came, it usually was just a date on the calendar as the ground was snow covered and it was still cold. When it was nice on that date, one could almost count on a blizzard sometime after that to remove any doubt that spring really didn’t start until April. Even that wasn’t a given. I remember sliding down the hill in our pasture on April 29th and being disappointed when the snow melted so I couldn’t do it one more day.
The slow speed at which this spring is moving is not the worst thing in the world. The snow is leaving very gradually, which should allow more of it to remain on the landscape. Frost measured at the SROC in Waseca still showed 23” of frost in the ground as of the 25th. Slow thawing during the day allows some of the water to from the snow melt to soak in, particularly on fields where primary tillage has been performed. Freezing up overnight helps slow the potential for flooding, especially in areas to the north where a larger snow pack is in place. The sun has amazing power and it quickly burns holes in the snow-covered fields, then enlarges the areas of exposed soil daily. The fly in the ointment may be the snow pack to the north if we see another blocking high parked in Northern Canada. Without some southerly wind flow to warm us up, winds blowing from the north across that snow pack will make the odds of a quick warmup anytime soon lower.
There are some signs that spring is coming around the ranch in the bird department. There was a grackle in the crabapple tree on Palm Sunday and there were killdeers heard in the field during the latter part of the week. Chickadees continue their spring song as do the cardinals. The cardinals are almost always feeding under the trees after sunset, perhaps in order to avoid drawing attention from a hawk to the bright red males. And there has been a Cooper’s hawk visiting the yard lately so they are wise to avoid him. The redpolls seem to be taking the hint too that it might be time to start making their way back north. Their numbers are starting to decline at the feeders. There were a few goldfinches starting to in appear in their stead after having going most of the winter without seeing any.
Pruning the apple trees was accomplished on Saturday while the snow banks were still solid enough to allow good footing while reaching into the trees with the loppers. Some of the trees were in desperate need of a haircut as the amount of sapwood and suckers just since last year was atrocious. Some might think with the drought we had pruning the trees would be a bad thing. To the contrary, getting rid of some of the extracurricular growth becomes even more important if one wants apples and not just leaves. Besides, the apple trees were watered very well before freeze up last fall. Even some of the small crabapples were shaped up as it’s less time consuming to establish their shape now as opposed to waiting until they’re 20’ tall. Something that was also apparent was the time spent last October putting tree wrap around any small trees should pay big dividends. The cottontail population has continued to be a nuisance as evidenced by the chewed up wild plum and sumac on the edge of the yard. If I ever obtain my burning permit from the People’s Republic of Steele County, it’ll put a quick end to their fun and games.
It’s a mess after the fruit trees are pruned, of course, but some of the branches are cut up and used for grilling purposes. About time too because the first lamb burgers of the season came off the Weber grill just the other night. There was a little apple wood left in it from before and the smoky flavor came through. Of course those first burgers of spring are always the tastiest although one has to keep checking periodically over the course of the season just to be certain.
See you next week…real good then.