Since this doesn’t go to print until after the New Year, the scurs are vacationing for a week at an undisclosed location. This forecast sequence runs from Wednesday. They are loving this latest edition of the Weather Eye however. Justifiably so. After the lousy October and November weather we had, anytime one can take a bite out of December with normal to above normal temp, one takes it. Is there a fly in the weather ointment for the New Year or is it just a peppercorn from the pickled herring? Starting Wednesday, mostly cloudy with a chance of snow showers. Highs in the upper teens and lows in the low single digits. Thursday, sunny with highs in the mid-20’s with lows near 10 above. Mostly cloudy on Friday with a slight chance of forenoon rain showers. Highs in the mid-20’s with lows near 5 above. Saturday, mostly cloudy with highs in the low 20’s and lows in the mid- single digits. Mostly sunny for Sunday with highs in the low 20’s and lows around zero. Monday, partly cloudy with highs in the low 20’s and lows near 10 above. Mostly cloudy for Tuesday with highs in the low 30’s with lows in the mid-teens. With their airing of grievances in the rearview mirror, the scurs can focus on starting the New Year off right, most likely with a long winter’s nap.
It’s pretty difficult to write about weather we haven’t actually experienced yet, so we’ll comment about what we’ve had. The week before Christmas was as mentioned another week of generally favorable conditions. Aside from the snow earlier in the month, not much happened. Temps were warmer than in much of November and the precipitation has been trace amounts. Freezing fog iced roadways and surfaces were slick. The storm forecast for after Christmas will be history for those of you who are print viewers. It promised to be more of the wetter snow we experienced earlier only with colder air to follow. Not unexpected. As we head into January we experience the coldest part of the winter generally. Hopefully the cold will make any accumulated snow easier to move. The heavy wet stuff is disliked by blower and bucket guys alike.
We’ve been blessed with a nice assortment of birds this winter while discouraging the house sparrow horde that has monopolized the feeders in the past. Some observations to thwart the sparrows: Putting some spacers roughly 3/8” in the horizontal suet feeders makes it more difficult for sparrows’ shorter beaks to access. It doesn’t bother the woodpeckers and nuthatches with their longer beaks. On the wooden suet feeder, one strand of monofilament line with a bell sinker attached keeps the sparrows at bay there. Trying florist wire is next as it is rumored to be effective and less likely than fishing line to to harm the other birds accidentally. Something else that I’ve done is to allow the one sunflower feeder they dominate to run empty except when the weather conditions dictate otherwise. I keep the smaller feeders full. It’s not wasteful yet still gives chickadees and other desirables plenty of access to sunflower seed. While not totally eliminating the sparrows, these and other measures have noticeably decreased their mob rule.
Ahead of the potential late December storm, all the backyard birds were kicking it up a notch. I filled all the bird feeders up after chores on Christmas Day. While grilling dinner it was very calm and still. In the background there were always several woodpeckers tapping away along with chickadees scolding and goldfinches waiting for me to go back inside. Once I was inside it was game on. The blue jays and nuthatches were busy at the sunflower feeders, while the cardinal and juncos picked up underneath. The resident male red-bellied woodpecker was active on the suet, then switched over to his favorite, kernels of corn. He appears to be stashing them someplace, then returning quickly to pick another kernel off the ear.
The brood ewes had the life of Reilly in December after the weather straightened out. Even though their pasture has largely been covered with snow, they’ve been content to grind away on their round bales and lounge around in their lot on the waste hay. Lately with the snow having subsided they’ve ventured into the pasture again. The remaining snow is so hard they can totter across it. At least it’s good to see them getting some exercise. They’ve been sleeping outside much of the time. Most mornings when we head out to do chores in the dark they’re still bedded down and chewing their cuds. They look at us as though they’d really rather not be disturbed from their slumber and warm beds. This time of year I feel their pain.
Ruby has been a faithful little companion and helper throughout this last year. In true Border Collie fashion, from lawn mowing to manure hauling to hay baling to moving ewes with lambs, she’s always by my side, ready to help whether I want it or not. Recently we struggled with an aftermarket quick hitch, trying to make it to cooperate so it wouldn’t be such a pain in the butt to drop the snow blower and put the bale spear on. Upon finally convincing the bale spear to fit, the quick hitch frustrated me after spending more time than I wanted on it. It absolutely refused to work on the blower or vice versa. Whoever designed it obviously didn’t see this one coming.
The quick hitch was built heavy enough to withstand tornadoes and nuclear blasts, so you need to eat your Wheaties when putting it on or removing it. Ruby hung right in there through my suddenly expanded vocabulary though, making sure the hitch didn’t run off. Fat chance. To reward her loyalty she got her favorite present for Christmas: a couple packages of microwave popcorn. With a full slate of upcoming Gophers sporting events on TV, she’s more than happy to share while we watch, as long as she’s not barking at any dogs or any other deplorables.
See you next week…real good then.