Another week of mud coming to life during the day and freezing back up at night as per the scurs and Weather Eye. Will late March showers be in liquid or frozen form? Starting Wednesday, partly sunny with highs in the upper 30’s and lows in the mid-20’s. Thursday, mostly sunny with highs in the mid-40’s and lows in the upper 20’s. Mostly cloudy on Friday with a good chance of rain and snow. Highs in the mid-40’s with lows in the upper 20’s. Saturday, mostly cloudy with a good chance of rain and snow. Highs in the mid-30’s with lows in the mid-20’s. Partly mostly cloudy for Sunday with a moderate chance of rain and snow. Highs in the upper 30’s with lows in the mid-20’s. Monday, mostly sunny with highs in the low 40’s and lows in the upper 20’s. Mostly cloudy Tuesday with possible snow/rain mix. Highs in the low 40’s with lows in the upper 20’s. On the 23rd, the sun will set at 7:30 and on the 27th we’ll have 12 hours and 30 minutes of daylight, the most since last September 15th. The normal high for the 27th is 46 and the normal low is 27. The scurs are seeing the days getting longer and wondering how much longer before the ice goes out on the cement pond.
Ice is showing little sign that it’s leaving area lakes anytime soon. With daytime highs in the upper 30’s and low 40’s followed by sub-freezing nighttime temperatures it’s like thawing a frozen turkey in the refrigerator. It seemingly takes forever. The good news is the snow melt has come off very gradually and for the most part the rivers and streams have flowed steadily yet well inside their banks. The frozen mornings have been handy for those with pack manure to haul as the ground will carry the tractor and spreader until it’s too greasy. After that it’s best to park it and wait for the next frozen morning. Likewise for most dooryard activities. Moving bales or equipment around when the ground is solid is preferable to closing up the ruts and cleaning mud up where it isn’t wanted. There are signs that frost is out in areas where standing water has suddenly disappeared. In other areas, one can slide on the mud that’s on top of the frozen soil underneath. If one isn’t satisfied turning an ankle on frozen ruts, the slippery mud is the next best thing.
Even though we’re clamoring for some warmer temps, the birds are returning in a big way. Large flocks of geese are seen and heard daily. Some tundra swans were over the ranch last Saturday and there are numerous reports of bald eagles. Numbers of these majestic birds are on the increase and as more becomes available to eat, (think roadkill) the more seem to be seen. Many larger groups of robins and they’re adding to the morning bird song from the male cardinals. The robins have been feasting on the remaining crabapples and the American cranberry as the ground in the yard and pasture is still frozen, meaning no earthworms. No killdeers yet though they can’t be far behind. We heard what sounded like sandhill cranes late last week and by Sunday they were flying overhead and playing around by the wetland area. Rooster pheasants continue using our backyard as a staging area to court the hens. They even tried using the small garden to dust bath, but alas the mud was not allowing it.
More lambs have been moved to the loafing barn where they have access to the creep feeder. The creep feeder panel has rollers spaced such that only the lambs can pass through it and excludes the ewes. Ideally anyway. The rollers keep the lambs from rubbing their wool off when entering and exiting. The creep feeder is essential to get the lambs started on a high-protein ration that is to their liking. It’s pretty hot stuff for the brood ewes, tending to make them sick if they consume a large quantity. Moving the smaller lambs into the group reasonably quickly tends to make them follow the older lambs into the creep feed area where they catch on to solid feed by the monkey-see monkey-do principle. One more ewe left to lamb, although we’ve given up on guessing when it’ll happen. She’s content to grind away on the round bale and look balefully (pun intended) at us when we check on her. If she keeps eating like that she’ll be the size of a round bale.
In between moving sheep Sunday it was time to prune fruit trees. The ground was a little soft but using the Gator makes a stable platform to operate from while keeping tracking to a minimum. We’ll save massive lawn destruction for the late snowfall moved with the tractor and bucket. So far so good on the pruning. I got two of the apple trees done, then did battle with five of the unruly crabapple trees. Trying to whip those into shape is akin to pruning a rosebush tied in a knot. The branches are tangled every which way interspersed with sharp spines. The frustrating part is they’re pruned severely every year and the next spring they come back for more.
Usually I start at the bottom and work up, focusing on branches that are potential face slappers and eye gougers during lawn mowing season. From there it’s anything that looks out of place, especially branches or twigs growing up or down vertically and those growing towards the inside of the tree. Those are the easy targets in hopes of opening the tree up enough so one can throw a football through it. Well, a small one anyway. And lastly especially with the crabapples, one strives to impart a graceful form to the tree. I like to think I have a little grace. Not as much as Jackie O…
See you next week…real good then.