More love for the scurs and their forecasting companion the Weather Eye. What’s not to love about a 61-degree high on December 4th? Has our luck run its course or will we get one more chance? Starting Wednesday, mostly sunny with highs in the low 20’s and lows in the upper single digits. Thursday, mostly sunny with a slight chance of evening snow. Highs in the low 20’s with lows in the low teens. Mostly cloudy on Friday with a moderate chance of snow. Highs in the mid-20’s with lows near 10. Saturday, partly sunny with highs in the mid-20’s with lows in the mid-teens. Mostly sunny on Sunday with a modest chance of snow. Highs in the mid-30’s with lows in the low 20’s. Monday, mostly cloudy with a moderate chance of snow. Highs in the low 30’s with lows in the low teens. Mostly sunny Tuesday with highs in the low 20’s and lows in the mid-single digits. On the 8th, we’re back to 9 hours of daylight. That’s the bad news. The good news is we only have about 6 more minutes to lose before the winter solstice. The normal high for December 8th is 29 and the normal low is 12. The scurs are starting their Christmas shopping procrastination and not a moment too soon.
More crop farming was accomplished this past week with unseasonably warm temperatures and frost-free ground, allowing more anhydrous ammonia applications. It also meant more manure applications as one could definitely tell when heading outdoors in areas. Tiling jobs that would’ve likely been postponed until spring had the early November weather stayed in place were suddenly a reality. Those who have had the opportunity to venture forth across some of these fields as I have concur that the ground is amazingly friable. The surface is also relatively dry as the scant November rainfall, above-normal temperatures plus freezing and thawing have made it unlike the soil conditions from recent falls.
The lambing barn cleaning was completed on Saturday. Like most things at the ranch it isn’t one of those open-the-gate-and-have-at-it deals. Old buildings like the chicken coop we lamb in were never designed for ease of cleaning; this one is no exception. The fact it is sagging makes it even less so and if you’re going to clean it mechanically, it requires the use of a skidloader without a cage on it. That also requires you know a guy and are real careful while you’re using it. Luckily, my local sheep shearer was gracious enough to loan me his for the three loads of fun and games. True to form, getting everything ready to go and torn apart first takes far more time than the actual loading and hauling. If you’re a wheel man, you’re going to be sadly disappointed. Once it was done, though, we took advantage of Sunday’s warm temps and breezy conditions. We left it open but locked the sheep out of it to allow the building to dry out completely. Tossing the bedding in on top of the dry concrete before buttoning it back up is always a positive. Animal health experts would tend to agree.
Time also to bring the ewes back from the kindly neighbors’ pasture on Sunday. They had a long run there this time around, one of the longest stretches ever. We put them in the pasture on May 21st if I wrote it down correctly and they came home December 3rd, almost 6 ½ months. Interestingly enough, there was still enough grass left in the pasture when I checked recently that I wasn’t concerned about them running out of feed. They had also been supplemented with some corn screenings over the past month, so they weren’t hurting. They were almost as plump as the kindly neighbors’ cats!
After the Lions Club pancake benefit and putting several things away around the yard, it was time to head for the pasture and load the sheep up. It was about 4 o’clock, so nearing their normal feeding time. A quick look around as I pulled up found them milling about close to the building; never a bad sign. Made sure the sliding door on the barn was functioning and climbed over the gate with their screenings. All of them came in the barn and I was able to slide the door shut behind them. I backed the trailer up tight to the door so they had little alternative other than to go anywhere but in the trailer. Several of them suddenly did just that when I slid the barn door open. Not unusual. Of course, not unusual for the first ones in to turn around and come right back out again. Moving them in a deliberate manner around the pen after that, one got the picture and they all jumped in, allowing me to quickly pull the trailer door behind them. I put them in the front compartment, loaded up their equipment and took off for home before dark. Had to be satisfied everything had gone as smoothly as it had. Almost like they knew it was time to go home.
Once home, we unloaded the ewes and put the ram lamb in a pen with some other ram lambs. A major brawl broke out as they established a pecking order. No surprise there either, although it’s preferable that no one gets hurt and nothing gets wrecked. We got equipment put away and did the chores. The next evening, following the 61-degree daytime high, temperatures plummeted into the 20’s and the snow began to fly. By morning the ground was white and the wind was still howling. What a relief to have all the barns cleaned, all the animals home and everything under wraps. Still, as freakishly warm as the weather had been, I really didn’t want it to end. A lot more that could be done at least more comfortably. However, seeing a large number of goldfinches at the birdfeeders Monday afternoon and the forecast of impending doom made me think our mid-October highs might be toast. It was just a matter of choosing to believe it.
See you next week…real good then.