The scurs and the Weather Eye tag teamed another week of gorgeous spring weather away from Old Man Winter. Does he come back with a vengeance or continue his long winter’s nap? Starting Thursday, mostly cloudy with a good chance of snow. Highs in the mid-30’s with lows in the upper teens. Mostly sunny Friday with a slight chance of p.m. snow showers. Highs in the upper 30’s with lows in the low 20’s. Partly sunny on Saturday with a good chance of snow. Highs in the upper 30’s with lows in the mid-20’s. Sunday, mostly cloudy with a good chance of a rain/snow mix. Highs in the low 40’s with lows in the low 30’s. Mostly cloudy on Monday with a continued good chance of a rain/snow mix. Highs in the upper 30’s with lows in the low 20’s. Tuesday, cloudy with a slight chance of snow. Highs in the mid-30’s and lows in the upper teens. Mostly cloudy on Wednesday with highs in the mid-30’s and lows in the mid-teens. On the 23rd, the sun will set at 7:30 CDT. The Full Moon is on the 25th and we see over 12 hours and 30 minutes of daylight on the 27th. The normal high for March 27th is 45 and the normal low is 27. The scurs are awaiting Easter to replenish their goodies. Valentine’s Day is a faded memory.
As mentioned the Full Moon occurs on the 25th. It is most commonly known as the Full Worm Moon as the earthworms begin coming to the soil surface and leaving their castings behind. Earthworms serve as a reliable food source, particularly for birds whose young are looking for a source of protein. It is also called the Crow Moon as the crows begin their habit of spring calling. Sometimes known as the sap moon for the maple syrup commonly made during this moon. In medieval times it was called the Full Chaste Moon as one of the sacrifices made during Lent. The Ojibwe knew this as the Snow Crust Moon and the Sioux called it The Moon of Sore Eyes as the sun angle shining off the snow resulted in snow blindness and sore eyes. At the ranch, we like to call it The Final Lamb Moon, although this year it’s more apt to be The Moon of Tried Patience.
Our early spring appears to be on hold at least temporarily. A messy forecast on the horizon promises to give us some snowfall, although just how much remains to be seen. One thing remains fairly certain, any snowfall will likely contain a fair amount of moisture. With no other snow on the ground, it should provide some welcome moisture for this year’s crops. Aware of some corn planted here and there, although the amounts are minuscule. It’s not surprising to see the weather turn like this and it certainly isn’t the first time. It’s unrealistic to think that planting corn in the middle of March has suddenly become the new norm. After all, we haven’t made it past the state basketball tournament yet.
I remember in March of 1974, our high school boys’ basketball team was playing in the district tournament in Rochester. The weather was gorgeous, not unlike our recent stretch of warm weather. We were in our shirtsleeves and had the windows down on the pep band bus when we rolled in. It was very warm in the gym as well. Of course as kids, we thought that it would transition from spring into summer by April. Our basketball team lost, but I remember farmers were sowing oats while visions of corn planting danced in their heads. Not long afterwards, the weather did an about face. It got cold again, and we had at least one major snowstorm. Corn planting was delayed. Temps cooled. Hopes were dashed.
That fall, it froze in late August. My Dad borrowed the neighbor's corn binder, and we shocked about 7 acres of corn. After that, he bought 8 or 9 beef heifers we fed corn bundles to over the course of the winter. Going out to the field in the winter to get the bundles was a workout, especially when the snow got deeper. Head out to the field with the tractor & hayrack, park strategically between shocks, unhook, knock the shocks over with the bucket on the tractor, pitch the bundles onto the rack with a pitchfork, fill it up, re-hook and pitch them off in the lean-to. Rinse and repeat. Couldn't say I was sorry when the snow got too deep to retrieve the shocks. Just felt lucky I’d clawed my way home with chains on the tractor & a heat houser to stay semi-warm on the last trip.
At the ranch there was a fair amount of bird activity ahead of the recent cooldown. Most obvious were the robins feeding heavily in the crabapple trees. With the ground cold and frozen in places again, earthworms were not an option. There was heavier feeding by several other species, including goldfinches, chickadees and house finches. The suet feeders were busy as well with numerous woodpeckers including downies, hairies and red-bellied woodpeckers. Plenty of red-winged blackbirds as well, taking advantage of the sunflower feeders. The birdbath, however, isn’t a heated model, so it was hard for them to bathe or get a drink once it became a miniature skating rink.
With some of the 70-degree highs earlier last week, some of our perennials sprang to life. The miniature daffodils flowered as anticipated in last week’s installment, along with crocuses in another bed. The rhubarb responded to watering and was starting to put out leaves last week. The regular daffodils that came from Mom’s yard opened up inside on the 19th. Mrs. Cheviot cut them and brought them in, so they weren’t damaged. We also covered the rhubarb with straw. All remaining spring bulbs and lupines were covered using the upside-down flowerpot trick, the same as we’d done earlier in the spring. It isn’t supposed to be as cold, but the plants weren’t as far along as they were this past Sunday. Rain might not hurt the rhubarb, but a hard freeze might not do it any favors.
Poppy has been busy outdoors keeping her squirrels exercised and the cats herded. Indoors, she keeps busy by playing with her toys, the ones we can find anyway. Lately there’s been one orange Chuckit ball and a pink kong missing in action. We searched high and low, under furniture, in wastebaskets, in our shoes, behind doors and no sign of either. Her two favorite toys are the blue squeaky Chuckit ball and the pink kong. While I was gone Monday night, Mrs. Cheviot located the pink kong way under the couch. Poppy was overcome with joy when she fished it out. She tore around and did zoomies around the couch to celebrate. She’s generally a pretty happy little dog anyway. Even happier when the lost is found.
See you next week…real good then.