The scurs marveled as the Weather Eye continued the barrage of above normal temps last week. Are we to continue this charmed existence, or did we fly too close to the sun? Starting Thursday, partly sunny with highs in the mid-teens and lows around 10. Mostly cloudy Friday with a fair chance of snow. Highs in the upper teens with lows around 5, above. It gets worse. Mostly cloudy on Saturday with a modest chance of snow. Highs near 10 above with lows around 5 below. Sunday, mostly cloudy with highs barely above zero and lows around 5 below. Mostly cloudy on Monday with highs in the mid-single digits above zero and lows in the mid-single digits below zero. Tuesday, mostly cloudy with highs in the upper single digits above zero and lows around zero. Mostly cloudy on Wednesday with highs in the low teens and lows around zero. On January 13th we start gaining daylight at over one minute and 30 seconds. On the 14th, our sunset will occur at 5 p.m. CST. The normal high for January 14th is 21 and the normal low is 5 above. The scurs are ready to keep their wood burner stoked during this return of winter.
Old Man Winter reappeared as we saw the most snow in one event of the season between Monday night and Tuesday. With amount of only a couple inches that isn’t saying much. It certainly isn’t unexpected either. We’re entering what are statistically the coldest days of the year. Between January 16th and the 23rd, our average daily temperature is only 12.7 degrees. The number of below zero lows thus far hasn’t set our thermostat very well yet either with the prior lone below zero temp being recorded back on November 28th at the SROC in Waseca. We’ve led a charmed life so far. Snowfall in early winter was sparse. Most are still OK with that. Including October, 3” was measured at the SROC in Waseca, 2.5” at the ranch and in Bugtussle 2.6”. A lot of winter left. Frost depth as of this writing isn’t very deep with frost down only 2” under bare soil at the SROC as of January 2nd. St. Olaf and Beaver Lake only recently froze over after being open much of the winter. Meanwhile, some geese are attempting to forestall the inevitable.
Bird watching and feeding has been a little slower perhaps than some winters, but has its moments. With the lack of snow, it seems there are more opportunities for the birds to seek out natural sources of food, since they’re not buried. Still, the suet seems to be disappearing at a good clip. Part of that might be due to the reduction in the size of the suet cakes. Like most things, reduce the size and maintain or increase the cost. It’s the American way. Have fed a fair amount of corn as well. The cost on that: free. It’s what I carry with me out of the field after doing hand yield checks. The squirrels, cardinals, red-bellied woodpeckers, and blue jays enjoy it. Some aren’t blue jay fans. I like them as they’ll sound the alarm when the hawks show up. Not much activity at the feeders until the hawks leave.
The sheep have continued enjoying their relatively mild winter. There are days when I wonder if they’re getting enough to eat based on their hay consumption. Their body condition would tend to indicate otherwise. Another indication is their water consumption. When the days have been warm, water disappears from their tank at a markedly increased rate. Apparently wearing a wool coat 4” thick on a 50-degree day makes them too warm and they drink water accordingly. When it cools back down, their water consumption tails off. Same thing when snow falls, especially wetter snow. Sometimes I have to check the float mechanism on the tank to make sure it’s working. Clean, fresh water is critical to the survival of most mammals, including sheep.
January was an important month in the history of Studebaker. After officially announcing the closure of their plant in South Bend, IN on December 9th, 1963, Studebaker moved their operations to Hamilton, Ontario in January of 1964. The plant in South Bend continued to run until December 20th. All the 1964 Avantis and Studebaker trucks were produced in South Bend in 1963, as were the GT Hawk and Challenger models. The 1964 sales volume was 35,373, less than half of the year before. Fewer than half the Studebakers sold in 1964 were produced in Hamilton, ON, the majority having been built in 1963 in the US. After the 1964 model year, the engines used by Studebaker were either a Chevrolet 194 cu. in six or a 283 V8. The vaunted supercharged Studebaker 305 cu. in V8 “Due Cento” that Vince and Andy Granatelli had used to set speed records at the Bonneville Salt Flats was no more.
Poppy has been extremely excited to see the new snow. Her coat is so thick when running your fingers through it, it’s no surprise she likes being outside. So far we haven’t had enough snow at a time to impede her travels when out and about. Following her tracks is amusing though as she tends to bound rather than walk or trot through it. Much of the time there are gaps of up to four feet between sets of her tracks. It makes you wonder sometimes what kind of an animal made them and how she does that with her long wheelbase and short legs. Youthful exuberance, I guess. As I like to say, she’s young, she’ll get over it.
See you next week…real good then.