The Weather Eye doled out more above normal temps and the scurs could not be happier. Do we skate or swim this upcoming week? Starting Thursday, partly sunny with highs in the low 40’s and lows in the mid-30’s. Mostly cloudy Friday with a miniscule chance of forenoon rain. Highs in the mid-40’s with lows in the upper 30’s. Mostly cloudy on Saturday with a slight chance of evening showers. Highs in the low 50’s with lows in the low 40’s. Christmas Eve Sunday, mostly cloudy with a fair chance of rain. Highs in the low 50’s with lows in the upper 30’s. Mostly cloudy on Christmas Day Monday with a good chance of showers. Highs in the upper 40’s with lows in the mid-30’s. Tuesday, mostly cloudy with a fair chance of showers. Highs in the upper 30’s with lows in the mid-20’s. Mostly cloudy on Wednesday with a fair chance of snow. Highs in the upper 20’s with lows in the upper teens. December 21st marks the winter solstice, our shortest daylight period of the year. On the 22nd, we’re gaining daylight again. While the sun started setting later on the 16th at 4:37 p.m. CST, it will continue rising later until December 30th at 7:48 a.m. CST. The normal high for Christmas Day is 24 and the normal low is 9. The scurs are pressing the Christmas shopping easy button with donations to the Human Fund. Money for People.
The well above normal temperatures continue to delight those who are accustomed to working in much colder conditions. Those who relish the cold for recreational activities will have to wait their turn or venture farther north. It has definitely helped heating and electric bills as well as feed consumption for those with livestock. Hearing similar tales from others that their animals are carrying more condition due to the warmer temperatures. Normally, they’d be burning more calories trying to stay warm. We did pick up some precipitation in the form of rain this past week with .44” falling in Bugtussle and .37 total measured at the ranch. Frost depth remains variable with some noting very little on open, fall tilled ground, while north slopes, etc., still exhibiting signs of frost in the ground. No indications for substantial precipitation anytime soon. While a white Christmas might be pretty, it loses some of its luster when the snow removal equipment becomes involved.
At the ranch we’re certainly not missing the snow at all after last year. Even though temperatures were relatively moderate, working around snow and ice starting in mid-November was no one’s idea of a good time. It’s wonderful to do chores without moving snow first in order to get feed and bedding to where it needs to go. It’s also nice to have the luxury of a positive forecast for the remaining barn cleaning. After the Friday-Saturday rain event, it was decided, rather than track the yard up with mud to let it freeze dry a few days, fairly confident there will be no major precipitation in the forecast. It allowed me to go grocery shopping, burn up the ugly backyard brush pile and freeze the last of the buttercup squash. Should be plenty in the freezer to last until next season. The sheep were delighted to see the squash skins and innards from the process as well as some squash that had gone out of code. They’re not particularly difficult to shop for.
40 years ago, December of 1983 brought about one of the most intense blizzards of my lifetime. It was preceded by some mind-numbing cold where I lived at the time in north central North Dakota. Since my Little House on the Prairie (literally) was only about six miles from Canada, there was good cause. Overnight air temperatures plunged to -40 the week before Christmas, rising into the -20’s before dipping back to -40 again. The northern lights were spectacular, with velvet curtains of orange and green rippling across the northern sky. With Christmas approaching, I’d made the trek to visit the not yet Mrs. Cheviot in Charles City, IA. I drove my trusty Chevy Luv, complete with Offenhauser intake manifold and header. It made it growl like a small Corgi herding cats. It also had a defroster that only cleared off a diagonal strip on the side windows, making for a cold ride. It started, was 4-wheel drive and had good tires. Those were about the only positive things going for it. Roads were shut down on Christmas Eve as the storm dumped up to 20” of snow. The high winds reduced visibility to zero with drifts 10’ – 15’ deep in places. No one was going anywhere.
By Christmas morning we were finally able to get out of IA and head towards my family Christmas at Spring Valley, although many of the highways remained blocked. We were somehow able to sneak around via Harmony and, using the gravel roads, almost made it to our farm. As we climbed the last hill from the east, we came across Dad out in the road on the 656, trying to dig his way through a monster drift with the bucket. Given the size of the drift, it would likely be Christmas again before that happened. About that time, looking westward we could see a grader with a V-plow blasting through the huge snowbanks. Dad got out of his way and within minutes the snowdrift was reduced to rubble on either side of the road. What a relief. We were able to pull in the driveway, so festivities could begin. Unfortunately, due to cancer, there wouldn’t be another Christmas for Dad. I was only 25, but it was a special Christmas, one I’ll always remember.
Poppy continues her exposure to the whole Christmas experience. Every day it seems there are more decorations in the house and more arrangements going out the door. She has proven to be a curious dog, but one that resists temptation to mess with things she shouldn’t, especially after being warned once. Her overall obedience is vastly improved, and she simmers down when seeing visitors after a while. Watching her grow up so quickly in the past year serves as a reminder of how relatively short a dog’s life is. The early time spent with any of our dogs has been critical to their behavior and making them feel like they’re part of the family. Sure, they can be a burden at times, but then so can a lot of people. A faithful reader commented the other day that Poppy must mean a lot to us. Indeed, she does as there are many hours we’re by ourselves. With Poppy, we’re never alone. She makes sure of that.
See you next week…real good then.