With a little more heat and sunshine, the scurs are confident they’ll be able to keep going with the present Weather Eye and not look in the junkyard for a replacement. Are we finally on the road to summer or just another wrong turn? Starting Wednesday, sunny with highs in the upper 60’s and lows in the low 50’s. Thursday, partly sunny and warmer with a moderate chance of rain by evening. Highs in the mid-70’s with lows in the upper 50’s. Partly sunny on Friday with a good chance of an evening shower or thunderstorm. Highs in the upper 70’s with lows in the upper 50’s. Saturday, partly sunny and cooler with a continued good chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the low 70’s with lows in the low 50’s. Mostly sunny on Sunday with highs in the low 70’s and lows in the low 50’s. Monday, mostly sunny with a slight chance of thundershowers. Highs in the low 70’s with lows in the mid-50’s. Partly sunny on Tuesday with increasing chances of developing thundershowers. Highs in the low 70’s with lows in the mid-50’s. The normal high for June 4th is 76 and the normal low is 55. The scurs will be checking the hammock out soon. Maybe string a rope above it and cover it with a plastic tarp. Can never get enough afternoon naps.
Finally, a warmer, sunnier week where crops progressed noticeably after wondering if they were ever going to get moving. Corn went from pale green to looking somewhat respectable for this time of year. Soybeans also got through some of the earlier concerns about their emergence and are easily rowed in most fields after the weekend. The temperature still plays games with us humans however. Looking at some fields over the weekend, I was glad I had a sweatshirt in the truck to put on. After one round on the four-wheeler, I was even gladder that I also had a hooded sweatshirt to put on over the top of the first one. It took until after lunch until it felt warm enough to start peeling layers off. That probably won’t be an issue once hay baling starts. Many fields of first cutting hay have been mowed in hopes that the rain will stay away and allow some high quality forage to be produced.
The lawns continue to roar along, following the 10 out of 11 days where measurable precip was recorded at the ranch. Trying to get a full hour where the lawn was actually dry enough was an accomplishment. One night I thought I had an hour before the rain so started in after chores. Turns out I had 55 minutes before I started to get wet. Now the worst part about mowing the lawn in pieces as I’ve done, by the time I finish the part I mowed first is ready to be mowed again. There’s something to be said for about 200’ more feet of electric fence to alleviate that problem.
It’s getting to be that time of year again-the cottonwood fuzz is starting to float around. Wood ticks are finally hitting full stride, or crawl. Getting into the long grass is just an invitation for one of them to visit when you’re not expecting it. It’s also prime nesting and nest building time apparently as one of the avian jelly consumers has been sticking hunks of wool in the jelly feeder. It makes a mess so I quickly put out some pieces of cotton string, hoping to placate the offender. Whoever was doing it stopped and some of the string is disappearing. Now my only worry is getting hunks of string wound up in the lawnmower.
It has been an active time for hearing and seeing new birds. Recently we’ve been hearing a warbling vireo at the ranch. Like many of the songsters, they tend to conceal themselves in a cloak of leaves, making it difficult to actually see them. And like some of the others, once you do see them, they’re really not all that spectacular. There are exceptions of course. The Baltimore orioles, cardinals and rose-breasted grosbeaks are eye-catching and sing beautifully to boot.
Saturday was just another day of work until some company arrived so we could decide which lambs we wanted to send out on the show circuit. This year’s lamb crop is really moving along, especially after weaning last week. They’re also an active group true to the Cheviot breed, always on the move especially when strangers are around. We got them in the barn to look them over and that automatically means they want to be out of the barn. It also means that when they run, they jump, and if one jumps they all jump from the point where the first one did. For several minutes it seemed like they were airborne much of the time. Livestock judges like to comment when an animal looks good on the move. Somehow I’m not sure flying through the air five feet off the ground is what they have in mind.
Memorial Day has come and gone for another year. Sometimes for me anyway it seems the holiday has just become another excuse to work more. At least I kept the pact I’d made with myself to take the time to go visit my parent’s grave site at the cemetery. I was also able to stop at the Spring Valley farm and load up a few items as we continue to slowly make progress towards cleaning the house out. I’d hoped there’d be enough time to make a cruise in the Studebaker late Monday when I returned yet that was not to be. As it turned out, there were numerous scattered showers, so instead I wiped the Silver Hawk down and checked it over, readying it for the next available opportunity. One of the items I brought back from Mom’s made its way into our dining room; a small desk manufactured by Peterson Art Furniture Co. in Faribault. Once we got it unloaded and in place, Mrs. Cheviot added her touch. Suddenly it almost looked like it had always been there. In some respects, maybe it always was.
See you next week…real good then.