The scurs and the Weather Eye are on a mission. Someone must’ve given Old Man Winter a stool softener Sunday. Is our early spring a wrong number or just on hold? Starting Wednesday, mostly cloudy with a good chance of snow Highs in the low 30’s with lows around -10. Yes, that’s a minus sign, Thursday mostly cloudy with a slight chance of snow. Highs around -5 with lows in the mid-teens below zero. Mostly sunny on Valentine’s Day with slight snow chances increasing later in the day. Highs in the mid-teens with temperatures rising overnight to near 20. Saturday, mostly cloudy with a moderate chance of snow. Highs in the low 30’s with lows in the mid-teens. Mostly sunny on Sunday with a modest chance of snow. Highs in the upper 20’s with lows around 20. Monday, mostly cloudy with a slight chance of snow. Highs in the low 30’s with lows in the low 20’s. Mostly sunny for Tuesday with highs in the low 30’s and lows in the upper teens. The normal high on Valentine’s Day is 27 and the normal low is 9.After running on fumes the scurs will replenish their goodie supply.
I missed the Full Moon last week for whatever reason although the period between the Full Moons is actually what counts. Last Sunday’s Full Moon is known as the Snow Moon as this is one of the snowiest months across North America. It also was known as the Full Hunger Moon by the tribes as deep snow made harvesting game more difficult and winter food supplies were dwindling. The Ojibwe called this the Sucker Moon as the fish were running in rivers and streams. The Sioux named it The Raccoon Moon as the raccoons became active along with their pals the skunks and opossums. At the ranch it’s the Full Sleepless Moon for obvious reasons.
We got plenty of snow from a system on Sunday that in some circles was being called a clipper system. Typically clipper systems dump a few inches of snow and are on their way. While it moved through quickly, this one was an anomaly with snow measuring up to 15” in places. At the ranch it was closer to 10” and in Bugtussle around 8”. It contained more water than it seemed. Part of that may have had something to do with the snow pellets or graupel that fell on the tail end of the storm. It was easy to deal with as far as shoveling or blowing. It was the first significant snowfall for us for February and none too soon. It was definitely time to blow some of the Ruby logs off the yard and into the ditch. Unfortunately the east wind prevented me from hitting the road.
Recently I’ve been inundated with calls from telemarketers. Google business listing is one of the worst. It’s to the point where if it’s a number I don’t recognize I simply don’t answer it. If it’s important, someone will leave a message and maybe I’ll call back. Some suggest you should answer the telemarketers’ calls and ask them to take you off their list. That only seems to encourage more of them to call as near as I can tell. Probably the most annoying incident was recently I received a quick succession of calls from someone in Winona with no message. Finally, curiosity got the best of me and I called the number thinking it might be an emergency or better yet, I might be able to chew someone a new one. It turned out some telemarketer was using my number making the person on the other end think it was me making the calls. With what they cost in time spent blocking their numbers and missed business opportunities there has become no place for these parasites in our society. I know what John Wayne would’ve done and it wouldn’t have been pretty, pilgrim.
We survived another shearing session at the ranch. It’s always preferable when lambing season rolls around as it makes for a lot more pleasant experience. The ewes stay drier, they go inside to lamb rather than dumping them in a snowbank and the lambs can get at the business end of the ewe more easily if they’re not battling the wool. It also keeps the barn warmer when all those bodies are in there letting off all that body heat instead of keeping it under 4” of insulation. Something else that’s a factor and it relates to a question several have asked recently about sheep dying if they get flipped on their backs.
Yes, it’s true that sheep can die if flipped on their backs. They lack the capability to right themselves easily and humankind probably hasn’t helped. For lots of chops, we’ve selected for animals that are wide and flat over the top. This is also where shearing comes into play. Let’s say someone strapped a couch cushion on your back. Think how much more difficult it would be to right yourself. Same goes for a heavy fleece. Factor in being plump, heavy with lambs and full of feed. A sheep is like a cow only the skidsteer or minivan version. That four compartment stomach system is crammed in there pretty tight. Now fill it full of feed and gas. Flip the sheep on its backs and it puts tremendous pressure on the lungs. If you find the sheep quickly enough and get them righted, there is no damage. If they’ve been that way for many hours and have been struggling, the results are seldom rewarding. If the sheep get flipped over on some ice, they melt themselves into the ice and become hypothermic. That stress alone is usually enough to kill them and if it doesn’t, pneumonia seems to follow.
Ruby’s three days of torment will have passed by press time. I’m referring of course to the Westminster Dog Show. Starting with the agility trials on Sunday and two consecutive nights of shows, it’s almost more than a TV watching Border Collie can handle. Certainly elicits large quantities of growling and barking. The effect of handlers circling their dogs around the ring seems to be the worst especially when the view shows the dogs close up on the move. It’s only three days though and the rest of the year, all it takes is to say the magic words, “dog on TV”. Ruby will awaken from a dead sleep and launch herself off the couch at one of the usual suspects. Instant entertainment.
See you next week…real good then