Old Man Winter was up to his old tricks, wearing out his welcome. Will the scurs get the proper parts from Nash Rambler to repair the Weather Eye or will they have to resort to Misgen’s U pull it? Starting Wednesday, mostly sunny with highs in the mid-30’s and lows in the upper teens. Thursday mostly sunny with highs in the upper 30’s and lows in the mid-20’s. Mostly sunny on Friday with highs mid-40’s and lows in the low 30’s. Saturday, mostly sunny with highs in the mid-50’s and lows in the mid-30’s. Sunny on Sunday with highs in the low 50’s and lows in the low 30’s. Monday, sunny with highs in the mid- 50’s and lows in the low 40’s. Partly cloudy for Tuesday with a modest chance of rain showers, highs in the low 60’s with lows in the mid-40’s. On the 17th the sun will set around 8 p.m. CDT. The normal high for April 17th is 58 and the normal low is 36. The scurs are penciling in a trip in the Gremlin to their favorite restaurant for takeout.
Another April snowstorm for the third consecutive year. Seems to be a pattern developing here. Snowfall across the area was general from 5” – 7” which melted out to somewhere in the range of .6” - .8” of liquid equivalent precipitation. Lovely when one needs it and not so much when one doesn’t. In 1988, it was a blessing on dry soils after corn was planted or even before. The moisture carried the crop for quite some time until August burned it up. In most years such as this one, however, it’s a time released type of moisture. Frequently as is the case, it stays cold for several days afterwards. The reflective snow and breezes blowing across it makes it feel even colder than it is. Fortunately, the ground was thawed and while snow tends to melt slowly this time of year, it has a chance to percolate through given the circumstances.
Social distancing was the order of the day last Saturday. Anhydrous ammonia was being applied and it was going on well. Suppliers had their hands full keeping farmers supplied with tanks. Rock picking was in full swing with soil conditions better than they’ve been for the past several Aprils. Reports were that some small grain went in here and there and alfalfa continued to show it had made it through the winter in good shape .Sunday’s snow may actually be a blessing in disguise in this case. With low temperatures expected to dip into the mid-teens, having a blanket of snow may offer some needed protection. Local quality hay supplies are still tight and this would not be a good time to lose the crop when it’s just barely getting started.
Back on April 7th, I saw tree swallows, had a garter snake slither through the garden and the chorus frogs were cranked up full volume. After a Saturday forecast that had earlier pointed to rain, we stole a day to work outside. I finished the last of the pruning around the yard. I looked at the winter bird feeders and thought perhaps it might be time to think more about putting oriole and hummingbird feeders out. I even planted three rows of radishes that evening. Then Sunday happened. It’s got to be frustrating to the robins. They’ve taken more than three snows on their tails. At least there are plenty of crabapples left on the trees along with plenty of American cranberries at the ranch and neighbor David’s down the hill. The goldfinches give us hope with their brilliant yellow color getting brighter by the day that this too shall pass.
It is frustrating is to look out the window when one wakes up in the middle of the night. In a fuzzy state of mind, it’s almost as though someone had played a not-so-funny joke. Reality would say otherwise. Yes it’s still white out there and there’s still snow on the ground. I did find some humor in it Sunday though when I went to feed three bottle lambs at noon. It was snowing harder and harder, but they needed to be fed. Ruby went along out to the lambing barn as she normally does. She typically waits outside until we’re done. When I came back out of the building, I couldn’t see her anywhere. I called for her; then all of a sudden I saw her get up and shake off the half inch of caked on snow. The old disappearing dog trick and I almost fell for it.
We were nearly in shock when we saw the People’s Republic of Steele Co. snow plows go by as the storm was winding down on Sunday. Normally the snow gets packed on, then they resort to loads of salt when they can’t scrape the packed on snow and ice off around noon the next day. This time, the next day their timeliness paid off. By noon the roads were already dry and clear with little evidence of any salt being used. Not the case elsewhere, so I’ll give credit where credit is due. Atta way! I knew they could do it!
The yard took a beating from my snow removal efforts. It’s never fun to move snow on thawed ground, especially heavy wet stuff like this last go round. No matter how one tires on a yard with only one small flat spot, it’s easy to tear up the sod and gravel. I’d done such a good job over the winter too. I had less than a scoop shovel of gravel to pick up, so I was feeling pretty good about myself. Looking at the aftermath from this last episode, could only shrug my shoulders. When the snow melts it’ll be time to get out the skidsteer and assorted wooden-handled instruments. Little like doing a jigsaw puzzle, finding the right hunk of sod and piecing it back in where it belongs. Not the first time and probably won’t be the last.
Was reminded how even though we are being separated by the COVID-19 routine, in many ways we are still close together. Auntie Mar Mar and Unkie Gregory made their way up to the ranch for a visit while I was trimming a hackberry tree. Ruby gave her greetings, then I turned Lynch, the attack bottle lamb, loose on them. So mean he eats rocks. He was a hit and liked his new company so much I thought he’d wind up in the car. We received homemade candy, blueberry coffee cake, a sheep coffee mug and designer face masks to protect us from the onslaught of the virus. Agnes even donated some of her fresh homegrown brown eggs to the cause. Not sure what we did to deserve such generosity, but we’ll return the favor. Betting this summer we can freeze a mess of aronia berries for Auntie Mar Mar. Keep them right next to the freezer burned egg rolls and frozen waffles.
See you next week…real good then.