Another week of slow progress toward spring. At least it was largely dry. Will April showers dampen our spirits? Starting Wednesday, cloudy with a good chance of sleet turning into accumulating snow. Highs 35 - 40 and lows near 25. Mostly cloudy becoming partly cloudy on Thursday with a chance of light snow. Highs in the mid-30s and lows of 20 – 25. Partly cloudy on Friday and slightly warmer with highs around 40 and lows of 25 – 30. Partly cloudy for Saturday becoming mostly cloudy with a chance of a rain/snow mix. Highs 45 – 50 and lows near 35. Cloudy on Sunday with a good chance of rain. Highs 45 – 50 and lows dropping to the upper 30s. Continued cloudy for Monday with a moderate chance of rain. Highs of 45 - 50 and lows in the mid-20s. Little chance for sunshine on Tuesday along with another chance of light rain. Highs near 45 and lows around 35. The normal high for April 15th is 57 and the normal low is 35. Some are wondering how the government might tax the cold April weather. The scurs have faith in their creativity and know they’ll figure it out.
Spring is still dragging its feet. Nothing to get alarmed about as once the weather breaks it shouldn’t take long given the present dry subsoils for fieldwork to commence. There’s the issue of frost of course although there are places the frost appears to be out. Where it is measured at the SROC, the frost was officially out on April 8th. There are places where it is definitely not and the ice is still not off area lakes as of this writing. St. Olaf Lake had a ring of water around it about 15’ – 20’ wide as one looked from the road on the west. There are also some remaining snow banks in the fencelines, around groves and in particular on the north sides of building sites. It is obvious in some of those areas the frost is not out yet either as one can attempt to walk in the field there and sink to your ankles on the first step. A warm rain would help take the remaining frost out although there are few indications a warm rain will happen anytime soon.
It isn’t late yet and while some are getting antsy, the calendar says it’s still early April. Some are also getting nervous about rainfall amounts. While some rain would be nice, it is not necessary to have a full profile going into spring to produce a decent crop. We received about .54” from Friday through Tuesday a.m. at the ranch. Since it stays cloudy much of the time and doesn’t warm up, one has to believe we are making some progress on restoring soil moisture. And, we need to be careful what we wish for. The weather can turn on a dime as we’ve seen in the past, turning what appeared to be a dry spring into muddy mess. I can guarantee that if I decide to plant potatoes in a dry area that has a tendency to be wet it will soon return to its former condition, thwarting my attempt to outguess the weather.
Spring continues to arrive in the form of new birds and activity around the ranch. The rooster pheasant has set up shop less than 100’ from the house and he crows every morning starting before sunrise. On Sunday before the Lion’s Club pancake feed, a pair of wood ducks was scoping out the soft maple trees in search of cavities for a nest. There were none however and it made me wonder if the two houses by the pond were occupied already. The water level in the pond is high enough so water is running into the overflow intake and one of the houses is in the water, requiring waders to inspect it. It is tempting to install another wood duck house in the yard just to see if they’d use it. My guess is the answer would be yes.
Fortunately for the ground nesting birds, the “SkunkWar” at the ranch has reached a cease fire by both sides. The out-of-code pickled herring in the live trap worked to perfection and there were fewer skunks as of Tuesday last. The Norwegians and Swedes were catch and release. It’s much more relaxing to go outside at 10 p.m., not worrying about running across a black and white member of the weasel family with a built-in cache of chemical weapons. It’s even better not to have a dog being sprayed and dealing with the aftermath from that. Mr. Cheviot 3, Skunks 0.
Speaking of going outside after dark, Vista’s noted Swedish astronomer paid a visit last week and requested that I not use his name in my column. I would never dream of doing such a thing! There are several features to make note of in the evening sky in April. The most prominent is Jupiter, about halfway up in the western sky presently. Look for it to be to the right of the crescent moon on the 14th. Saturn will begin rising in the east about a half hour before sunset. It won’t be as bright and is more yellow than Jupiter. Saturn should be to the left of the Full Moon on the 25th and to the right of the still nearly Full Moon on the 26th. As we approach the end of the month Venus also reappears low in the western sky. Maybe by that time the ripped up road through Vista will once again be paved with gold.
It’s official: The gawker slowdown has officially started at the ranch. The snow and ice finally released their icy grip on the fence, allowing me to charge it. The lambs wasted no time in discovering their newly found track and were off to the races the first night. This caused passersby to tap their brakes as they slowed down to watch the young ovines do their little stiff legged hop. Along about 7:45 the ewes put a stop to their fun and games. Plus they’re about tuckered out. Makes me tired just watching them.
See you next week…real good then.