The scurs suffered a letdown after the Weather Eye’s temps were suddenly more January-like than November-ish. Do we regain some of our warmth or has Old Man Winter given us the permanent cold shoulder? Starting Thursday, mostly sunny with highs in the mid-30’s and lows in the mid-teens. Partly sunny Friday with highs in the low 30’s and lows in the upper teens. Partly sunny on Saturday with a slight chance of rain and snow in the overnight hours. Highs in the upper 30’s with lows in the upper 20’s. Sunday, partly sunny with a slight chance of rain and snow. Highs in the upper 30’s with lows in the low 20’s. Mostly sunny on Monday with highs in the upper 30’s and lows in the low 20’s. Tuesday, mostly cloudy with a fair chance of light morning snow. Highs in the low 40’s with lows in the low 20’s. Mostly cloudy on Wednesday with highs in the upper 30’s and lows in the mid-20’s. On December 3rd the sun will rise at 7:30 a.m. CST. The normal high for December 3rd is 33 and the normal low is 17. Uncharacteristically, the scurs have started their annual Christmas shopping procrastination early this year.
The fields are bare and there is quiet across the landscape once again. Even the Ten Man Dryer seems to have ceased its mighty roar. One never knows, however. Last week, it was running again after assuming the corn drying season was over. Field operations have ended as well with soils freezing solid once lows reached the teens and single digits. Precipitation is predicted to continue on the sparse side, with only .09” being measured at the ranch in November and .07” total in Bugtussle. No one is complaining after last year. Heard one weather pundit gleefully exclaim over the weekend that there has never been a November in his jurisdiction without measurable snow. As if on cue, we received an inch of greasy skid stuff on Saturday. The roads were slick, and it made our sloping dooryard so slippery that moving wagons, trailers, pickups, etc., suddenly became an adventure. Thanks a lot, fella.
At the ranch we continue our slow, steady but mostly slow transition to winter. The main decorating pumpkins made their way to the home pasture on Thanksgiving Day. The next day saw the corn shock and remaining pumpkins follow suit. The water tank in the main barn was cleaned, refilled and the heater installed again. Manure was stockpiled from the lambing barn lot for future reference. The well pit was also covered with bales after seeing low temps drop into the teens. Saturday was move hay feeders and troughs into their winter positions day in anticipation of the ewes returning from the kindly neighbors’ pasture. More lot manure was stockpiled in front of the main barn as well. If it’s thawed enough, it’ll get hauled yet. If not, it’s not going anywhere. Sunday morning meant getting a nice load of small square cornstalk bales for winter bedding. Despite everything being a battle with winds howling and snow squalls making life miserable, we still managed to bring the ewes home ahead of the coldest weather of the season. Something to be thankful for after their 23-week engagement there. Yet somehow the kindly neighbors keep allowing them back.
Still plenty to get done yet, although the weather should remain favorable. Don’t want to become complacent though as it can turn on a dime when you’re not prepared for it. Not one to be a victim of circumstance, but a few too many years’ worth of lengthy, unplanned events cropping up and shortened windows of opportunity have created a lengthy backlog of activities. Still some small squares of hay to be brought home yet and manure hauling to commence. The remaining equipment can be readied quickly, so barring breakdowns, there should be ample time to complete that task. After that, there are always trees to cut up, brush to burn, buildings to be repaired and/or taken down, dogwood to harvest, and the list goes on. The next thing you know, there could be early lambs on the ground. It’s happened before and given some of the low temperatures back in July, it could happen again over the next several weeks. As a local male Bandwagon star once told me, it’s not when they’re born, it’s when you find them.
There was more bird activity at the feeders starting last week when temps were warmer, and it ramped up even more this week. Consumption of all their favorites increased significantly, so Poppy and I have been busy trying to keep them happy. All the usuals were on hand and the number of male cardinals has swelled to three. Like most years they appear as it nears dark, feeding primarily on the ground. Not sure if a couple of them are this year’s hatch or just not as colorful. One of them is just striking, especially when one of those all too rare rays of sunshine happen to catch him before sundown. There were several reasons cardinals were one of my Mom’s favorite birds. That’s one of them.
Poppy continues cementing her position at the ranch primarily as a mascot. She does have the responsibility though of keeping the squirrels exercised. Most times she’s content to sit and gaze out of the sliding glass doors as the sheep graze on the slope below. When enough squirrels show up, however, it’s game on. She’ll put up a fuss and let you know it’s time to get after them. The squirrels have figured out that if they make it under the electric fence, they’re home free. With short days and more time being spent inside with Poppy, it’s been entertaining to see what kind of sounds set her off. Sneezing always gets her dander up as do doorbells, timers and buzzers when they go off. While it’s not quite like watching TV with Ruby when she’d launch herself at the TV, it’s still puzzling what the stimulus was that makes you scratch your head briefly. Once you figure it out, all is calm again and Poppy goes back to sleep. Good thinking when it’s cold and dark outside.
See you next week…real good then.