More hate mail once again for the scurs and their vaunted Weather Eye. Will their Christmas forecast be met with more scorn and derision or will they deliver like The Magi? Starting Wednesday, mostly cloudy with a slight chance of snow. Highs in the low 30’s with lows in the upper teens. Yes, above zero. Thursday, sunny with highs in the low 30’s with lows in the low 20’s. Mostly sunny Friday with highs in the low 30’s and lows in the mid-teens. Christmas Eve Day, partly sunny with a modest chance of snow in the evening. Highs in the mid-20’s with lows in the upper teens. Cloudy on Christmas Day with a good chance of rain, ice and snow. Highs in the mid-30’s with lows in the low teens. Monday, partly sunny and colder. Highs in the mid-teens above zero with lows near 5 above. Mostly cloudy for Tuesday with highs in the low 20’s and lows near 5 above zero. The normal high for December 25th is 24 and the normal low is 6. The scurs are thinking since there is still plenty of time left to shop they should sit a spell and read the fake news.
We witnessed a bit of a blast from the past last weekend, temperatures reminiscent of the good ol’ days growing up back on the farm. Only thing is it really didn’t have the staying power that some of those systems of old had. Not that anyone is complaining. There was plenty of ice made on area lakes so ice fishing should commence locally soon. Soils are frozen so dooryards are not being re-landscaped when moving snow. Area roads have generally been decent to drive on. Even in the P.R.S.C. (People’s Republic of Steele Co.) I’ve had to pinch myself to see if what I was witnessing was real or imaginary. Snowplows clearing roads off before 10 a.m. Imagine that!
Staying warm during chores has been a chore. Many of the chore clothes I’ve worn over the years tend to be hand-me-downs or things others didn’t want or didn’t fit. Except gloves and boots. My hands tend to get cold though when the duct tape comes off the holes in the gloves so off I went to Hope to rectify that situation. A week earlier I’d had enough of the snow leaking through my chore boots so purchased a new pair. I’m pretty sure the proprietor must’ve checked to see if the cash I gave him for those smelled like mothballs. When I showed up to buy a couple pairs of gloves the next weekend he probably decided it was time to buy lottery tickets.
The moon back on the 14th had some special significance as it was surrounded by moon dogs, crystals of ice much like the sun has when colder weather is on the way. When viewed that evening the moon was still on the horizon making it even more spectacular. A halo around the moon is not all that rare once it rises and there are snow or ice crystals aloft. Colder weather was definitely on the way. To see the moon coming up such as it was made it memorable as I closed the barn door and headed for the house.
It was like Wild Kingdom around the ranch this past Saturday. First, I watched as eight deer moseyed along one at a time just to the north of the building site, cautiously crossing the road and making their way to MH’s CRP. Next, a rooster pheasant was strolling through the backyard, looking for anything left under the birdfeeders. And with the cold night approaching, the rest of the feathered guests were active as well. The feeders were seldom empty as the fox squirrel feasted on its ear corn, watching to see that no cats or hawks were in the vicinity.
Had a little dampening of the holiday spirits when I took Fudgie to the vet last week. She wasn’t eating and I suspected she had a potential urinary tract infection. Her exam revealed she has a large tumor in her abdomen and the vet seemed surprised she wasn’t sicker. He dispensed some pills to give her after delivering the rather grim news. The thing that stumped me was that her behavior otherwise was still relatively normal. After watching her devour the last of the leftover Thanksgiving turkey, I decided to get some canned food and made some gravy to soak up the dry food. It was clear she wanted to eat, just not the same old routine. Mom had indicated that Fudgie had always been finicky about food and taking pills so I knew I had my work cut out for me. Little did Fudgie know I’d been down that road with her brother Gus many moons before. There aren’t too many tricks I haven’t seen a Border Collie pull in that department. No question she’s doing better. She’s eating well and it’s tougher to pry her jaws open to stuff those pills down her throat. Go figure.
Since it was cold over the weekend, it was generally wise to stay inside except at choretime of course. We managed to get in our allotment of Christmastime movies such as Christmas Vacation, Trading Places and The Sound of Music. Ruby voiced her dislike for Julie Andrews once again. I was working in another part of the house and hadn’t realized the movie was even on until I heard her barking. Sure enough, as soon as Ms. Andrews started singing her first song, Ruby had one of her patented tirades. I thought it was hilarious, but Mrs. Cheviot was less than amused. The Sound of Music is one of her favorite movies. Ruby not so much. I can empathize with Mrs. Cheviot though. I’m not impressed when Ruby decides to lay into Clint Eastwood for riding horses and shooting bad guys, especially when I’ve dozed off.
As has been the case in the past, I go shopping for the Star Eagle crack management staff as only the scurs and I can do. It’s tradition and I’m sure they all look forward to it just like Clark Griswold waiting for his bonus. I had it purchased and was so proud of myself. Then I went to check on it: It was gone. The Russians must’ve hacked the DNC server and taken it! But take heart; just as in How the Grinch Stole Christmas, getting “stuff” isn’t what this is all about. It’s the thoughts that count. And as always, those warm thoughts can be treasured while performing feats of strength and during the airing of grievances. Yet another Festivus miracle!
Happy Festivus!
See you next year…real good then.