The scurs got the part they needed and the Weather Eye performed like a Swiss watch. Will it keep time, or will our time run out? Starting Wednesday, partly sunny with a modest chance of showers. Highs in the upper 50’s with lows in the low 40’s. Thursday, sunny becoming cloudy with highs in the mid-60’s and lows in the mid-40’s. Partly sunny on Friday with highs in the upper 60’s and lows in the low 50’s. Saturday, mostly sunny with a slight chance of late day rain. Highs in the low 70’s with lows in the upper 40’s. Sunny on Sunday with a modest chance of rain. Highs in the upper 60’s with lows in the mid-40’s. Monday, mostly cloudy with a fair chance of rain. Highs in the low 60’s are with lows in the low 40’s. Mostly cloudy for Tuesday with a modest chance of rain showers. Highs in the low 60’s with lows in the mid-40’s. Saturday is May 1st. On the 4th the sun will rise at 6 a.m., the first time since last July 30th. The normal high for May 1st is 64 and the normal low is 42. The scurs are cleaning out the spacious back seat of the Gremlin to haul all their May baskets booty.
Major planting progress in the fields after the lingering snow early last week made people wonder if they were doing the right thing Temperatures warmed and in spite of the Thursday rain, people were able to go over the weekend once it dried up again. A majority of the corn is in the ground locally as farmers took advantage of some of the best soil conditions overall in many moons. Average soil temps at 2” in the mid-50’s allowed corn planted early last week to sprout and a continued favorable forecast is at least giving us something positive after numerous tough spring planting and fall harvest conditions. Pop up showers over the weekend made conditions dicey but we prevailed and should be in decent shape for now.
Around the yard things are looking and sounding more like spring all the time. The grass is greening up, radishes are emerging, the rhubarb is getting closer to ready and there’s a greenish tinge to the trees. A toad was crawling across the yard on Friday and one can hear them starting to call in the wetland area. The pheasants continue to use the yard as their stomping ground, racing past the windows then back again. The white-throated sparrows finally made themselves visible over the weekend after hearing their song for the past week. Talking to TP at Wagner’s, she was ready to put her oriole feeder out. I purchased a jar of jelly and need to follow suit. If she says it’s time and the white throated sparrows are back, who am I to argue?
At the ranch it’s been a time to catch up on a few things that weather had delayed for a while. The last of the purchased hay was hauled home and tucked away. It’s nice to start the season out with a cushion for a change rather than wondering where the next bale was coming from. The chains were removed from the tractor between showers on Sunday, one of those jobs that could be done even if Mother Nature was incontinent. The sod torn loose after the Easter snowstorm was replaced and watered in. Hopefully it takes quickly, hiding the scars resulting from operator error. Moving snow when the ground is thawed is one of my favorite jobs and replacing the sod is even better, said no one ever.
The last of the bottle lambs were shuffled around to their new accommodations on Sunday. Lynch, the black lamb who had been living in the garage got a roommate in the form of a disowned triplet. They’re both obnoxious so it was a perfect match. It should help cut down on the amount of crushed rock Lynch was consuming as well as starting to convince him that he is indeed a sheep, not a human. His little companion is well versed in eating solid food so competition as well as the monkey see monkey do principle should also benefit him. All I know is it’s nice to have him out of the garage and not squealing on me when I sneak ice cream treats out of the freezer.
After moving the sheep around it was time to move something else out of the garage: The Studebaker. After a fall that cut short opportunities to drive around, it had been a long spell without a ride. I’d charged the battery and done the once over looking for any serious issues. Seeing none it was okayed for the trip to Waseca for takeout from El Molino. The dust from the layoff was still evident when the sunlight caught the long nose of the hood. We weren’t going to a show though, just glad to be out after all the COVID-19 hoopla. Also nice to have some culinary variety after eating our own cooking for the past several weeks.
For having set since October, everything on the Silver Hawk operated as smoothly as when it was parked. Oil pressure running about 50 psi, temp around 180, the ammeter showing a nice steady 5 amp charge and the fuel gauge working, displaying a quarter tank. The overdrive performed as it should, kicking in when letting off on the accelerator. It kept us running at the speed limit with minimal effort on the 259 V8’s part. When we got there the order was ready and the cashier who rang it up admired our ride from the window, asking what year and make it was. I was just happy being the first time out that we’d made it there in uneventful fashion. With a little luck it’s an omen of better things to come.
See you next week…real good then.