The scurs may have missed the snow in the forecast but as of this writing, it remains to be seen whether the weather will rinse us off a tad or continue to dry clean us as it has become fond of doing the past several months. Starting Wednesday, mostly cloudy with a slight chance of showers in the morning with skies clearing in the later afternoon. Highs of 40 and lows around 25. Thursday, clear skies with highs back to 40 and lows once again near 25. Clear skies again on Friday and warmer, marking the start of another warming trend. Highs of 45 and lows of 30. Partly cloudy on Saturday and warmer with highs of 50 and lows of 40. Partly cloudy becoming cloudy by evening with a slight chance of an overnight shower. Highs near 50 and lows around 35. Cloudy on Monday and continuing warmer than normal. Highs of 50 and lows once again staying above freezing at 35. Remaining cloudy on Tuesday with a chance of a shower. Highs staying near that 50 degree mark with lows around 30. The normal high for Nov. 11th, Veterans Day is 44 and the normal low is 25. The scurs will be flying the flag in honor of those who fought for their rights to freedom of the press.
The 10th brings us the Full Moon for the month and it is named the Full Beaver Moon for the trapping that was part of the fall ritual for the fur traders this time of year. It is also a time of year that beaver are actively storing up food for the long winter ahead. It is also known as the Full Frosty Moon. The Ojibwe called this the Full Freezing Moon and the Sioux knew it as the Moon of Falling Leaves. They likely weren’t too worried about the impact the leaves would have on their lawns.
Around Greater Bugtussle, there are a few remaining trees exhibiting some color, most notable among them being the hard maples that are bright yellow this fall. Surprisingly enough the strong winds didn’t manage to totally dislodge all the leaves from their branches and Monday morning it was still interesting to look at the trees, some still stubbornly clinging to their autumn cloak of many colors.
Jupiter is still a fixture in the sky both morning and evening, showing up at dusk in the east and shining brightly as the most prominent feature aside from the moon. Now that the time has changed, we’re not seeing it in the morning in the western sky as easily because it’s light out. Check an hour earlier however and it can still be seen, cloudy weather aside.
The birds are starting to return in slightly greater numbers now. There are half a dozen goldfinches making regular daily appearances and the red-bellied woodpecker has made herself at home with the ear corn. More blue jays are announcing their presence and some house finches are becoming common guests. The nuthatches have been loyal visitors and have company as downy and hairy woodpeckers help themselves to the sunflower seeds. Of course, the juncos are always present, ready to clean up under the feeders, especially where the squirrels have essentially made cracked corn from their corn feeder.
The Orange Army took to the woods and fields this past weekend. It didn’t sound like there was much gunfire however so most of the deer were safe. It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise as it was extremely windy both Saturday and Sunday. Like most wildlife, deer tend to stick close to cover and don’t venture forth any more than they have to. Not being able to hear something coming eliminates one of the tools they use to escape predators. This is also why the little fat buddies are holed up at the Mall for Men during inclement weather. In addition to forestalling a honeydew list, there are usually cookies to be consumed.
One might think the gardening season is over with but there are still some winter radishes yet to be harvested. The snap pea planting turned out to be about like the rain needed to make them a success, disappointing. There were a few pods on the earlier varieties but they were pretty rubbery by the time they were spotted. The frost and dry weather had already taken their toll. The winter radishes that have been sampled while small certainly pack a punch. They’ve fared slightly better than the peas with the dry weather but if I had it to do over again, I’d opt to plant both crops a week or so earlier to take advantage of any rainfall in the earlier part of August.
There are still a lot of things to be done at the ranch before the inevitable sets in due to some of the as yet imaginary precipitation that’s been forecast. On the way out to do chores the other night I heard something go zipping by my feet in the shadows. A bunny was making tracks as fast as he could for the electric fence with Ruby in hot pursuit. That reminded me that I needed to get the tree wrap on some of the small trees that were planted or they’ll be cottontail candy. Of course if we get 24 feet of snow like we had in 1936 as the white bearded Cockshutt owner points out, my problems will be solved. I may be tunneling under the snow to get to the barn like they purportedly did, but at least the bunnies won’t eat my trees.
See you next week…real good then.