Fencelines (269)
After a much more seasonal week the scurs set their sights on the third week in April. Will the cooler temperature trend continue or will we return to the St. Patrick’s Day heat wave? Starting Wednesday, partly cloudy with a slight chance of showers in the forenoon becoming mostly cloudy by afternoon. Highs 65 - 70 and lows around 45. Cloudy on Thursday with a good chance for showers especially in the daylight hours. Highs of 50 - 55 with lows of 35. Partly cloudy on Friday with highs of 50 - 55 and lows near 35. Partly cloudy Saturday with a slight chance of a shower. Highs around 55 and lows near 40. Sunday, partly cloudy a warming trend into next week. Highs of 60 and lows of 40 – 45. Mostly sunny on Monday with highs near 65 and lows of 45. Mostly sunny and warmer with highs of 65 - 70 and lows of 50. The normal high for April 21st is 60 and the normal low is 38. The scurs will be having a weenie roast with all the sticks and branches from the highs winds now that the trash fire police have lifted the burning ban.
Progress in the fields was localized with some completing corn planting, some getting a start and some holding off. Who is right? Everyone potentially. With ideal corn planting dates from now until the end of the month, everyone has a chance to cash in on our good fortune in the weather department. Rainfall has been more abundant especially to our west but with all the showers added together, it tends to average out. It has continued the tendency of spotty rains with accumulations of an inch or more being the exception and not the rule. Sunday’s sky and weather were definitely threatening in appearance although when looking at some of the suspicious low hanging clouds they were scud clouds with no rotation. On Friday there was rain off to our west that had a dickens of a time getting here as the air was so dry, much of it was evaporating as the moist air was meeting the drier air over the top of us. Now we have overcome that to some extent and it will be interesting to see if we’ve primed the pump or merely given ourselves some hope that timely rains will come.
The spotty rains did allow me to get the rest of the early garden planted. The potatoes didn’t make it in the ground on Good Friday but did this past Saturday along with Don’s onions, some sugar snap peas, lettuce and a packet of free radish seed. Oh, I’m sure I paid for it in the order somehow but it’s always fun to plant something you wouldn’t have otherwise tried. That’s part of what makes raising a garden so entertaining. You never know how it’ll turn out until you plant it. Take the first planting of radishes for instance. Planted the day after St. Patrick’s on ground with a south facing slope that has countless loader buckets of composted sheep manure, they emerged in less than 5 days. A slam dunk to have radishes in 23 – 25 days just like it said on the package, right? You are wrong, brassica breath. They responded negatively to the cooling temperature trend and the frost bleached the leaves to the point that it looked like they’d been sprayed with something. They’re alive, but in order to truly thrive they need to string together more than a day or two at a time with high temperatures over 60 degrees.
Frost did a number on some of the trees and other plants around the yard too. The rhubarb was a little droopy but has since recovered to its former grandeur. Likewise the apples appeared to have taken it better than initially thought as did the pears. There will be some fruit mortality but likely there will be some fruit set. Some of the trees really didn’t bloom that much this spring anyway after bearing heavily last year coupled with a dry late summer and fall. The wildlife may be the biggest loser in all this and it may translate farther than just our yard. The bur oak tree was just starting to leaf out and flower when the frost hit. All the leaves the size of a squirrel’s ear froze off and within days were crispy reminders that it was seriously cold. The story was similar on the northern red oak and pin oak although there are signs on some branches there may be some buds that weren’t completely damaged. On some larger trees, it appears in the upper stories that the frost didn’t hurt them as much. In other words the oaks may have taken a hit and that could translate into fewer acorns available for things like squirrels, deer and wild turkeys.
It’s doubtful the birds and squirrels will suffer too much at the ranch. The ear corn gathered last fall was virtually untouched so it should keep fine until it’s needed. The birds of course always have sunflower and thistle seed to snack on so they’ll be fine too. Speaking of birds, some new arrivals here in the yard as well as by the pond. A Brown Thrasher was doing his best Jimmy Page impression, hidden in the leaves atop of one of the poplar trees. Actually I think Jimmy Page probably does a brown thrasher impression with his guitar but I digress. A pair of Sandhill cranes made a brief visit, their eerily primitive sounding call echoing from the hollow below the hill. There was one more egg in our pet Kestrel’s nesting box at the edge of the pond. It appears five is all she’ll have. That’ll be plenty of little mouths to feed once they hatch. I wouldn’t want to be a small rodent out in the open during that timeframe.
Ruby had another big weekend as it was time for her annual pilgrimage to the vet’s office for vaccination and heartworm checkup day. There were doggies and owners of all kinds and it was good for her to get that exposure. She’ll remember it’s necessary to behave and listen in that scenario even more the next time out. Ruby did about as well as one might expect a two-year-old Border Collie to do. Her attention span isn’t perhaps what it could be, but there were other dogs that wanted to play and it’s tough to resist that urge with an active dog. Perhaps the best part of that day was that Ruby got to meet Agnes, one of my faithful readers. While she didn’t look like I’d told her she would, Ruby liked her anyway. On Sunday as a reward for all of the good behavior, Ruby spied leftover French toast and pancakes from another Lions Pancake Feed. She gobbled the first pancake down, tail wagging, sure in the knowledge that there would be many more to devour over the course of the week.
See you next week…real good then.
The scurs made the best of a generally nice but cooler week of weather. More seasonal temps again or back to June this week? Starting Wednesday, mostly sunny with highs around and lows near 35. Partly cloudy Thursday becoming mostly cloudy by evening with a good chance of showers particularly in the overnight hours. Highs around 60 and lows about 45. Friday, mostly cloudy with a good chance of rain. Highs again near 60 and lows near 50. Mostly cloudy and warmer on Saturday with an increasing chance of showers and thunderstorms into the evening hours. Highs 65 and lows around 50. Sunday, mostly cloudy becoming partly cloudy with a chance of lingering showers prior to evening. Highs 60 and lows of 50. Mostly cloudy on Monday and cooler with highs of 55 and lows near 40. Tuesday, partly cloudy with a chance of showers in the afternoon into evening. Highs near 60 with lows around 35. The normal high for April 15th is 57 and the normal low is 35. Sunrise will occur on April 15th and the sun will set on the 16th. There will be over 13 hours and 30 minutes of daylight on the 16th as we continue to gain daylight at about 3 minutes per day. The scurs will be sharpening their pencil to fill in their Form 1040 on the evening of the 16th.
After consulting with Vista’s noted Swedish astronomer, he informed me that Jupiter will be setting about the same as the sun by the end of April. At that point it will disappear from the evening sky until next winter. That might explain why I can no longer see it when I wander out to feed lambs shortly after 10 p.m. That or it’s cloudy out. Venus, however, is still very bright in the western sky, appearing as a “mini-moon.” Mars is overhead at 10 p.m., the reddish orange glow of the planet making it distinctive and easy to pick out. The Big Dipper is nearly straight up at 10 p.m. and upside down. As legend would have it, it reputedly pours out its water in the spring to bring life to the landscape after the long winter break. Only trouble is so far this spring, it must have a hole in it.
Some corn went in the ground this past week and whether that was a good or a bad thing remains to be seen. All data seems to indicate little benefit from planting much before the 21st and recent experience indicates an increased amount of risk from frost and reduced stands due to cold soil conditions. Small grains look absolutely fantastic as well they should with the planting conditions and dates. Temperatures recently have been to small grain’s liking and dry weather has meant that conditions are less favorable to the development of early season disease. Alfalfa continues to thunder along and depending on what the frost does to it, there is a good chance that first cutting could occur about mid-May. This is about two weeks ahead of what we normally would even consider.
Speaking of ahead of schedule, the yard and garden at the ranch continue to defy the calendar date. The rhubarb was bountiful for Easter dinner and there was plenty to send home. Best of all it was hard to tell any had even been picked. There is even some corn up, likely courtesy of one of the squirrels frequenting the ear corn feeder. Some disappointment too though as the radishes are progressing slowly and the sugar pod peas have emerged unevenly. Then what do you expect planted on March 18th? The pear trees planted last year have flowered like mad. One would think those flowers would smell sweet like an apple blossom: They don’t. They smell like the liquid fly bait we use in the fly traps in the barn. Odd but not so odd perhaps when one thinks about it. They flower very early and there are few bees around to pollinate them so they have to rely on other insects. Lo and behold there were lots of flies on the flowers during the warmer days. Let’s just hope the frost didn’t put a damper on the fruit set. Ditto on the apples. With a low of 21 at Waseca Tuesday morning, all bets are off for a while.
In the yard things are slowly changing over from the winter birds to our more permanent summer residents. There are still lots of downies, nuthatches, hairies, blue jays and a smattering of goldfinches occasionally. However the tree swallows are back in force, occupying almost every nesting box. A brown creeper showed up on Saturday, looking like a mobile know on the ash by the patio. The pond area has come to life too as a waterfowl hangout. Weekend observations yielded several pair of wood ducks, a dozen or so blue-winged teal, mallards and Canada geese. The kestrel is now setting on 4 brownish eggs with small splotches of darker reddish-brown on them. The eggs are huge considering this kestrel isn’t much bigger than a robin. The eggs measure a little over an inch long and about an inch in diameter. Seeing the wood ducks and knowing the lone wood duck house was being occupied by a kestrel again, it was time to put another house up on Sunday. It didn’t take long to do and there were still some prospective occupants in the area as of Monday night.
Easter was one of those made for memories. Thanks to the talents of a Mayo doctor, Mom’s eyesight had been recently restored to its previous level. It made the weekend very special as she could see and appreciate the visual part of the ranch more fully. Also one reason we spent more time cleaning up than we otherwise might have! My older brother brought Mom and her Border Collie Fudgie over on Saturday after the showers had passed. He got the dollar tour of the ranch and was on his way back to his castle north of the Twin Cities. Mom was so happy to feed the bottle lambs and they of course were more than happy to eat. Ruby of course was delighted to have Fudgie to play with.
On Easter Sunday we had my sister and nephew as guests along with Auntie Mar Mar. We all contributed something to the feast. I made lamb chops on the grill and luckily no one called the fire department. Mrs. Cheviot made a strawberry pie worthy of Martha Stewart and some gluten-free rhubarb bars that were actually extremely good. Mom made a large batch of her marvelous cherry fruit salad. My sister put together some mean potato salad. Auntie Mar Mar brought her exquisite but lethal bean recipe. They worked their magic too and by late afternoon I was blaming the strange noises on the icemaker again. Ruby kept everyone entertained and was her typical busybody self as there was always something going on she could be involved in. By the time the day was over and it was time for folks to go home, the time had flown by. With Fudgie packed up and good-bye’s said, the house became suddenly quiet as the Suburban rolled down the road. We were back to our normal routine. Ruby was back to hers as well, a red and white blur racing to the barn then back to the house, making sure we were on our way to do chores.
See you next week…real good then.
The scurs were talking more seasonal temperatures and that’s exactly what we wound up with. More of the same or does winter make an encore performance? Starting Wednesday, mostly clear with highs near 60 and lows around 40. Mostly clear becoming partly cloudy on Thursday with highs of 55- 60. Partly cloudy on Friday with a slight chance of rain by evening. Highs again near 60 and lows around 45. Mostly cloudy on Saturday with a chance of rain then clearing by evening. Highs of 60 and lows of 40. Partly cloudy on Sunday with highs again near 60 and lows in the 40 range. Partly cloudy on Monday with a slight chance of showers. Highs of 55 and lows dropping to near 30. Mostly cloudy and cooler on Tuesday with a good chance of rain. Highs around 50 and lows of 35 – 40. On April 6th we will see a Full Moon and will be above 13 hours of daylight for the first time since early last September. The normal high for April 8th is 53 and the normal low is 32. The scurs will have to wear their jackets when planting their potatoes on Good Friday.
The Full Moon for April 6th happens to occur on Good Friday. Traditionally it is known as the Full Pink Moon for the flowers that would bloom in the forest floor of the Northeast. It also goes by the Full Sprouting Grass Moon, The Full Egg Moon and the Full Fish Moon. The Ojibwe called this the Broken Snowshoe Moon and the Sioux knew it as the Moon of Greening Grass. This year there is no question the grass is greening and the ewes on pasture have been enjoying every sweet blade of it much to the chagrin of our hay supplier.
There has been some steady fieldwork but most are convinced there could be a price to be paid for corn planted much before mid-April. Such was the case in 2010 when the largest corn froze hard and made farmers scratch their heads for several weeks as it struggled to recover. Annual broadleaf weeds such as lambsquarters, giant and common ragweed are appearing on unworked ground so there will be an opportunity to remove them with the first tillage pass. Small grains are loving the weather conditions we’ve had and hopefully the early start will help the wheat get by the bacterial leaf streak that has hounded it the past two seasons. Alfalfa has also enjoyed the early start. If the weather stays warm and we get some beneficial rains, we could see some harvested by mid-May. Not that there is a hay shortage just yet but there could be by the time fall rolls around given the amount of hay ripped up in favor of planting corn. Every cutting counts. Rainfall continues to fall in small, measured amounts, a pattern that has been in place since late last summer. For the month of March at the ranch we recorded 1.33” and at the SROC in Waseca 1.93. In addition, temperature records were shattered although with four consecutive days at 79 degrees, we never did see an official 80 degree high there or at the ranch. It is still the warmest March on record though.
In the garden at the ranch, the radishes have grown but perhaps not as fast as one would’ve guessed. Windy, cooler cloudy weather this past week put a damper on their progress. The peas emerged very spotty although as was mentioned previously, there is still plenty of time to plant more. That’s the plan anyway as the seed order arrived Monday with plenty of snap peas for the early garden. The early potatoes will go in on Good Friday, weather permitting of course. Some new Yukon Gold and baby red Norland spuds sound mighty tasty come July. The rhubarb obviously has stolen the show. The green rhubarb plant is now about 3’ across and the juncos are using it as a place to hide. Combined with some stems from the red plants, there should be plenty to make a colorful Easter dinner dessert. On Monday, the first of the wild plums in the thicket bordering the yard began blooming as did the Patten pear. The Parker was right on its heels. Hopefully the smell of the plums in bloom should help the bees and flies to locate the pears.
The lawnmower was readied and just to say I’d done it, I mowed a patch in front of the house on March 31st. However, the fact it was only about 45 degrees and I could see my breath soon dampened my enthusiasm so I put the mower back in the garage. I mowed the rest of it the next day as Ruby picked up her favorite empty plastic bottle before I ran over it. I was almost done but not before TB and his band of merry men showed up out of nowhere to burn off the CRP. I’d known they were coming sometime this spring and they had tried to call, but I left the cell phone inside as I typically do when I’m trying to get something done outside. Off they went with me in tow to renew and restore what we had originally sown back in 2003. It was breezy on Sunday but not to the point where it would carry sparks long distances. They very carefully yet efficiently set the fire while protecting things like the fiberglass electric fence posts and the neighbor’s fenceline. Within a half hour, they had completely burned off the seven acres leaving it blackened and looking barren. Luckily it was pretty early for pheasants to be nesting and the teal made a beeline for the water again once the flames subsided. Little Jerry’s grandson has been camped in the yard most of the spring anyway, scaring the bejeezus out of us when we stumble across him crowing within yards of the house or barn. Checking on the burn after chores for hotspots, the wood duck house is occupied. A female kestrel flew out of the hole like a feathered missile then landed a safe distance away in a tree. The fire didn’t seem to bother her one bit. Between the kestrel, the geese and ducks, all was well with their world again as I pointed the Gator into the sun and headed towards home.
See you next week…real good then.
We managed to grab more above normal temperatures as well as a little rain as the scurs predicted this past week. Will we see a repeat performance? Starting Wednesday, mostly clear with highs of 60 – 65 and lows of 35 – 40. Thursday, more clear skies during the day but clouding up by evening with a good chance of rain. Highs 60 – 65 and lows near 45. Partly cloudy on Friday with a slight chance of showers. High near 60 and lows of 45 – 50. Partly cloudy and warmer with an increased chance of a shower or thunderstorm on Saturday. Highs of 65 – 70 and lows around 50. April Fool’s Day, partly cloudy with a slight chance of a shower. Highs near 65 and lows around 45. Partly cloudy on Monday with highs of 60 and lows near freezing. Clear and cooler on Tuesday. Highs around 50 and lows around 35. The normal high for April 1st is 49 and the normal low is 29. Due to the time change, we will see the sun rise once again at 7 a.m. on the 29th, the same as it did back on the 24th of February. The scurs remain puzzled by how moist the soils are. One would think with the recent extra hour of daylight, they would dry out faster.
Some of the zeal for early fieldwork last week was suddenly tempered by rainfall on consecutive days, cooler temperatures and cloudy skies. Soils dried slowly and tacky surface conditions didn’t improve much. Underneath soils remain in good spring working condition. Alfalfa really took off with the rain and is making some nervous that a dramatic temperature drop could spell its demise. This could be but in the foreseeable future none of that appears imminent. The unanimous opinion of those who have done some field work seems to be that soils are working up marvelously. The huge hunks of soil leftover from last fall seem to have disintegrated where there has been an initial tillage pass.
In the garden at the ranch, the radishes planted on March 18th were up already on the 23rd so they could be rowed from the patio window. The peas haven’t peeked their heads out just yet and that’s probably OK. They’re probably a touch more sensitive than the radishes to a frost anyway although in either instance, there is plenty of time to replant them even though crop insurance won’t pay for it. The green rhubarb is a foot tall and the red which is a little slower is about six inches in height. The lawn is getting about that tall too in places so that means Mr. Cheviot needs to get the mower ready for action once again. Sometimes it would be easier to just run about another 200 feet of electric fence and let the sheep do their thing.
More phenology at the ranch includes a little toad outside the lambing barn hopping around the night of the 21st.
The first tree swallows were seen around noon on the 23rd. Highly doubtful there is any correlation between their appearance and radish emergence however. There have been large groups of juncos around the feeders, likely making their way through to their summer abodes to the north. The trees also continue far ahead of schedule with small trees such as the nannyberries leafed out already. There haven’t been any blooms as of yet but with forecast temperatures continuing to run above normal it’s only a matter of time.
Received a call from one of my little fat buddies regarding the location of a nursery establishment. I was having a difficult time describing the exact how to get there as the landmark selection was somewhat limited. Anywhere a guy would go anyway. However, when I triangulated the site in relation to the local Dairy Queen the light suddenly came on. There was no question after that. Programming GPS units with that information should be considered essential.
Ruby has remained busy helping move ewes and lambs to the loafing barn. She is so proud of herself and rightfully so. The ewes respect her and she’s always in position to keep them under control. There has been more company too visiting the new lamb crop so she’s in doggie heaven. The last of the lambs hit the ground last Saturday, we think. There is still one big fat ewe that has nothing of an udder yet so wouldn’t count our chicks, er, lambs before they hatch. We thought we were done on Friday and then we saw the same goofball ewe I had slipped on the ice with a month ago suddenly bag up, almost within 24 hours. She was almost as cooperative about lambing too; deciding that a good place was behind the brush pile down in the pasture. I had other ideas thinking that perhaps closer to the barn would be a tad more convenient when attempting to coax her into a pen so we could monitor the situation. I chased her back up into the yard with the others and thought she’d stay there where there was a nice dry area to lie down. Wrong. A half hour later I looked and she was nowhere to be found. Common sense told me she’d go right back to the brush pile and that’s exactly where she went. I tried convincing her again she’d be better off up in the yard. This time she’d had enough persuasion, and tore off for the far end of the pasture! I finally got her headed the right direction and back up into the barnyard.
She then decided going behind the big barn was a safe bet only this time I stayed outside to keep an eye on her from a distance. She’d peek her head around the corner of the barn to see if I was still there then disappear again. After about a half hour of this baloney, I tired of the game and went back in the house, convinced she’d probably go back to her original plan. Besides, I was hungry. Within minutes Mrs. Cheviot arrived home so she went out to check on the ewe I had named Fruit Loop because of all her antics. About 20 minutes passed so I put on my outdoor clothes again as Mrs. Cheviot came in the garage and announced. “All done.” “All done what?” I asked. “The ewe lambed, followed me back to the barn, she’s in the pen, lamb is muddy but fine,” Mrs. Cheviot replied. Geesh, the ewe is half crazy, I wind up putting in a couple hours of roadwork chasing her around and Mrs. Cheviot comes home and just falls into it. Go figure. It has been a relatively easy lambing season though and we should be counting our blessings rather than wishing for bad luck and knocking on wood. Few bottle lambs, no pulling lambs and a very healthy group overall. Things could’ve been much, much worse.
See you next week…real good then.
The scurs were pretty sure we were in for a rare treat and were we ever! Will we head back into anytime winter soon? Starting Wednesday, mostly cloudy with an increasing chance of rain towards evening. Highs of 65 – 70 and lows of 50 - 55. Thursday, mostly cloudy with a good chance of rain. Highs of 65 and lows around 50. Partly cloudy on Friday with a slight chance of showers. Highs of 65 and lows of 50. Partly cloudy on Saturday with a high of 60 and lows of 40. Partly sunny Sunday through Monday with highs of 65 - 70 with lows around 50. Slightly cooler on Tuesday with a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs of 65 and lows of 35 – 40. The normal high for March 25th is 46 and the normal low is 26. Now that June weather has come and gone the scurs are thinking about setting off some fireworks. Surely the fireworks police wouldn’t expect anything yet.
What a week of record setting March weather! Every day brought more warmth and a little higher temperatures. At the ranch we topped out on St. Patrick’s Day with a high of 79. Several of our car thermometers read as high as 80. Pastures have greened up and as if on cue, several of the last ewes decided to lamb. One of the main reasons to shear the ewes before lambing in February is so they will lamb inside. However when it’s nearly 80 degrees, that goes out the window so they decide to drop them wherever it’s convenient away from the other ewes. Makes the lambs a dirty mess sometimes but the ewes lick them off so it’s all good. In the fields as expected, small grains were seeded and fertilizer applications have begun. Alfalfa has broken dormancy and so far the survival looks good.
The evening skies were also a treat as the planets Venus and Jupiter continued to impress, low in the western sky when coming in from the barn about 11 p.m. Mars has also been at about 10 o’clock in the sky around 8 p.m. in the evening. Vista’s noted Swedish astronomer recently phoned me with a startling discovery. The three planets as viewed through his telescope are still round!
There have been several firsts for the season as a result of the warm weather. A few Western Chorus frogs were first heard on the pond at the ranch on the evening of the 15th. The next night they were at full volume, with thousands of them all croaking at a fever pitch. March 15th was also the night I saw my first mosquito. The thing was huge, almost the size of a buzzard and I stared in disbelief as it landed on my arm and attempted to bite me. This meant one thing: It was time to start Ruby on her heartworm meds already. Trouble was, we’d given her the last dose back in December. Luckily good old Gus had left behind a couple unused tubes of topical material that also controls ticks, something else that will no doubt be running ahead of schedule. Am purposely staying out of the tall grass. I don’t want to know if the ticks are out there although tormenting them once discovered gives me perverse pleasure.
Ruby had another big weekend. The world’s largest Border Collie, Zip and his owner along with another friend were visiting so Ruby had someone to play with. In addition Ruby shared her sheep with Zip so he could enjoy staring and growling at them too. Ruby enjoyed to wrestling with Zip so it seemed like there was always some action somewhere. The wrestling matches were fine except when they took place inside the house. When they started crashing into the furniture it was time to take it outside. Not much different than a couple kids truth be told. Older dogs like Zip can teach younger dogs new tricks too. While watching TV we heard a strange sound the other night: Ruby lapping water from the toilet. She’s never done that. Monkey see monkey do.
The weekend brought with it a whole list of things to get done before spring. It was time to pick up the pruning mess from the weekend before, move ewes and lambs, take the tree wrap off, and plant some early garden. Again, there was plenty of dog help especially with Zip being a stick lover. Taking off the tree wrap is always a good way to take stock of the progress the trees are making. All the trees appear to be in excellent condition even the peach tree. The pears were heavily budded and close to breaking dormancy as were the apple trees. The nannyberries were starting to leaf out too. Outside the window where I work at my confuser, the Silver Maple was flowering. Spring has sprung.
The aforementioned weekend guests pitched in and helped out with chores including moving ewes with lambs. Unfortunately there were no newbies born over the weekend so the opportunity for them to witness a live birth went unfulfilled. The odds of seeing one are getting slimmer. There are only three or four ewes left to come in. After resisting temptation on Saturday, Sunday I had to plant some garden. The ground worked up beautifully with just one pass. Cherry Belle and Scarlet Globe radishes to put in along with some Oregon sugar pod peas. Will they make it? Hard to say but if they don’t, there should be plenty of time to plant more. If they do produce, being early season crops it should allow us to plant something after they’re done. Double cropping!
I would be remiss if I didn’t congratulate the NRHEG Panther girls’ basketball team. While we haven’t made any games this year we have listened in on the broadcasts on the radio. It probably doesn’t hurt that we’ve watched these young ladies grow up right before our eyes. Even though they didn’t bring home the big prize, they played well enough to bring home the third-place hardware, something no other basketball team has ever done here. And the not-so little-anymore neighbor girl set the single-game tournament scoring record at 48 as well as the three-game tournament record at 112 points. All in all, very impressive and important enough so that all things at the ranch came to a screeching halt as history was being made. That takes some doing. Congratulations ladies!
See you next week…real good then.
Those wily scurs were certain we were in for a warm up but were playing it a little too close to the vest again. Based on that, wait until you get a load of what’s in store for us this week. Starting Wednesday, mostly clear with highs of 70 – 75 and lows near 45. Mostly clear both Thursday and Friday with highs near 70 and lows of 50 – 55. Partly cloudy Saturday through Monday with a slight chance of rain on Monday. Highs of 65 - 70 and lows around 55. Tuesday, partly cloudy with a chance of rain. Highs around 60 and lows near 40. We will see over 12 hours of daylight on St. Patty’s Day. The normal high for St. Patty’s Day is 40 and the normal low is 23. The forecast highs and lows are more like May 17th. The scurs are wondering how long before we pay the price for all this nice May weather.
Yes, the vernal equinox will also occur on the Tuesday the 20th at about 12:14 a.m. so it’s that time of year once again when chicken eggs stand on end making the hens more vicious than ever. It’s also when we curse the government for its exceptional ineptitude. Time for road postings and to set the clocks ahead. The road postings I can understand but the time change? Leave the clocks alone already or at least for another month. Getting up in the dark for two or three weeks after just starting to enjoy sunlight in the morning is not only foolish, it’s dangerous. The number of traffic accidents suddenly spikes as do workplace accidents. Why? People are half asleep. Some would argue there is a corresponding decrease in accidents when the clock is turned back in the fall. Using that logic, we should periodically turn it back another hour so we could really reap the benefits!
The night sky this winter has been fascinating to watch. Jupiter and Venus have both been very bright and in close proximity of each other high in the western sky. Mars has become more distinctive as well and is a little higher in the eastern sky each night at 10 p.m. during lamb check. It has dimmed slightly however as it was closest to earth back on the 5th. With Daylight Saving Time, Mars now sets around sunrise. Several have asked about my apparent fascination with the moon and the night sky among other things. The night sky has been reminding me during chores since I was a boy that we are a part of something larger. Of course, sneaking up in the attic to get out our older brother’s Gilbert telescope probably helped stimulate our imaginations as much as anything. It was almost as much fun as playing cowboys and Indians.
There was lots of phenology worthy of note at the ranch this past week. A few geese were moving around Monday but it was tough to tell if they were locals or the scout team sent in to see if there was open water in which to land. Within about an hour of the deadline time for the column there were two robins bobbing along in the yard on the 6th. The next morning there were killdeers calling from the pasture. The 8th brought the first red-winged blackbird. The following day a striped gopher was observed on the shoulder of the road east of the substation on St. Olaf Lake. By Saturday the skies were full of wave after wave of red-winged blackbirds and wedge upon wedge of geese moving in a northwesterly direction. Interestingly enough they were not all Canada’s. Up high there was a familiar higher pitched honking, that of several hundred snows and blues. They were adult birds, all the snows with black wing tips and blues with white heads, a striking appearance against the blue sky. There was also one small group of white-fronted or speckle-bellied geese making their way noisily across the sky. Thought I was back in North Dakota again. As of Monday morning, St. Olaf Lake has a ring of water around it and the ice is dark. Won’t be long, folks.
Small area wetlands continue to hold water, providing migrating waterfowl resting areas and potential nesting sites. Apparently the small amount of snow we had didn’t go anyplace and runoff from the February rain certainly didn’t hurt. Still haven’t heard the Western Chorus frogs yet but one of these warm days it will happen. One of the rooster pheasants has staked a claim to the plum thicket, likely a descendant of Little Jerry. This one is a little coyer than Little Jerry was so hopefully he will be around for a while. The frost is largely out of the ground in the fields especially after Monday’s rain. Poking around the yard and pasture Sunday with the divining rod (a specially designed electric fence post) it was out already on the south-facing slopes. On the flat and on north facing slopes it was only thawed down two to four inches depending on where one probed. With continued warm temps, some small grain seeding is anticipated along with dry fertilizer and anhydrous ammonia application. There is a slight hint of green starting to show in area lawns and pastures. Alfalfa breaking dormancy is also a distinct possibility. This is not without its perils however. A sudden cold snap has killed alfalfa before after breaking dormancy early and the potential exists for that to happen. As Kermit the frog pointed out, “It’s not easy being green”.
Ruby and the sheep entertained a group of very well behaved youngsters and their parents in Saturday’s breezy conditions. The little Border Collie thrives on attention and being out with the sheep, so she was in her element. There was time to ride in the Gator as well until one of the adults riding in the back complained of waffle-butt. The next day meant catching up after being robbed of the hour of daylight. There were tags to install and tails to dock so ewes and lambs could be moved to make room at the inn. Of course there was Ruby help involved there too but that will soon be coming to a halt. There are only six or seven more ewes to come in yet. The lambs on the ground have grown extremely rapidly. The warm, dry weather has agreed with them insomuch as they haven’t needed to burn much energy staying warm. It helps too that some of the older ewes in the flock that probably aren’t milking as they once did are able to care for their lambs without supplemental help from the shepherds. Bottle lambs are only cute if you aren’t the one feeding several of them several times a day.
See you next week…real good then.
The scurs were on target once again although the high temps for Tuesday were a little cloudy in their crystal ball. What’s in store for this week? Starting Wednesday, mostly cloudy with a good chance of rain. Highs of 40 with lows around 25. Mostly clear on Thursday with highs around 40 and lows near 25. Sunny on Friday with highs near 45 and lows around 30. Partly cloudy on Saturday with highs near 50 and lows staying above freezing at 35. Partly cloudy on Sunday with a moderate chance of some showers. Highs of 50 – 55 and lows near 40. Partly cloudy becoming mostly cloudy on Monday with a slight chance of a shower. Highs 50 – 55 and lows near 35. Tuesday, partly cloudy with a possible lingering shower. Highs near 50 and lows near 35. The normal high for March 10th is 37 and the normal low is 35. The scurs remind you to get up at 2 a.m. to set your clocks ahead an hour as required by law.
The Full Moon for the month of March falls on the 8th this year and goes by numerous names. The most common is the Full Worm Moon because it is during this month that the ground thaws allowing earthworms to reach the surface leaving their castings, while providing food for birds such as robins and grackles. It also goes by the Full Crow Moon as crows are bunching up making my little fat vertically challenged Swede buddy’s trigger finger itch. The moon also goes by the Full Sap Moon as it is usually time for collecting sap for maple syrup. It is also known as the Full Lenten Moon, signaling the last full moon of winter. The Ojibwe knew this as the Full Crust Moon as a crust would form overnight on top of the snow after thawing during the day. The Sioux called this the Moon When Buffalo Drop Their Calves, a very important part of a culture relying on the bison for sustenance. At the ranch, this is known as The Moon When Stinky Little Red and White Border Collies Are Caked with Mud.
Rainfall amounts last week surprised almost everyone especially since there were no major power outages due to ice accumulations on the power lines. Amounts varied around the area from 1.96” at the SROC in Waseca, 1.82” west of Bugtussle and 1.37” at the ranch. 1.37” was also received in Albert’s Leaf. How much of this rainfall went in the ground? Guesstimates from people like Mark Seeley would suggest perhaps around half of it and perhaps more in areas where the ground was tilled last fall, leaving pockets in which it could collect. This bodes favorably for early season crop growth as we should have enough in the top foot to get a crop started without worrying. For others, it was just nice to know it could still rain that much in one rainfall event. The last time it rained that much at the ranch was during the 16th of July when 2.8” was measured.
Bird activity continues at a rapid pace although no robins yet at the ranch. Others have seen or heard them however and south at my brother’s place in IA, they showed up in numbers Tuesday morning. Something tells me by the time this reaches print, they should be plentiful here. The ground may not be totally thawed so earthworms may be a short commodity until it does. In the meantime at the ranch, our Indian Magic crabapple has plenty of fruit on it to tide them over. The building of house sparrow nests in the barn has already started which is a little peculiar. This is the earliest I can remember seeing the males build them. Is this an indication of global warming? Not necessarily but it is an indication they will be defecating on things in the barn earlier than usual.
Ruby had a big weekend as we moved ewes with lambs from the lambing pens into their new home in the loafing barn. She gets to impress us with her speed, footwork and uncanny ability to keep a ewe preoccupied while we bring up the rear so they don’t double back on us. Once in the shed she lets the ewe into the alleyway and becomes a drover, something that at least makes the ewe think twice about making a run for it until we get there. Ruby apparently looks forward to this activity if the celebratory whining and whimpering following heaps of praise is any indication. It’s short lived however as once each group is in their proper place, it’s time to move another bunch. Thus the process starts all over again. The nicest thing about all of this is we haven’t had to teach the dog any of it. After running through it a few times, Ruby knows the drill.
She was curious about what I was doing during lamb check the other night when we’d started for the house though. I heard a ewe bleating where it didn’t belong. Sure enough there was one off by itself in front of the east side of the barn. After corralling the ewe and getting an ear tag number, she belonged in the other barn so I started to drag her uphill across the yard. About that time I encountered a patch of ice, discovered I was airborne and gonna land on my back, hard. After impact I determined nothing was injured except my pride and lying on her side, the ewe had apparently found the same patch of ice. Looking up, there was Ruby staring at me quizzically wondering why I was lounging around on the ground. Her eyes were saying, “Get up, dummy! We have sheep to move!” I quickly dusted myself off, grabbed the ewe and Ruby tailed her as we made our way across the yard to the proper facility. All in a day’s work.
The little fat buddies missed out on a treat on Monday. Apparently their busy schedules got the best of them and they weren’t present when CS stopped in with fresh caramel rolls. They were just as scrumptious as I remembered. The fact there was no quorum present to sample them was fine. There were more for those of us who had become famished after a long morning of seeking wisdom and knowledge. And not necessarily the kind they taught in school.
See you next week…real good then.
The scurs were right about the chances of snow. It just wasn’t of the measurable variety for much of last week. Will our fortunes change? Starting Wednesday, cloudy with a good chance of snow. Highs around 30 and lows of 15 – 20. Thursday, partly cloudy with a chance of some overnight snow. Highs again near 30 and lows of 20 – 25. Friday, partly cloudy with a slight chance of snow. Highs of 30 – 35 and lows of 15 – 20. Mostly cloudy on Saturday with another slight chance of snow. Highs of 25 and lows around 15. Sunday brings partly cloudy skies with highs around 30 and lows near 20. Monday and Tuesday, mostly sunny with highs of 40 and lows of 25 – 30. The normal high for March 1st is 33 and the normal low is 16. The scurs are guessing there may be one more snowstorm of major proportions before March Madness is said and done.
Warm temps last week brought the boxelder bugs out to sun themselves on the south side of the Mall for Men. More precip last week too, but not much in the way of thawed ground yet to allow much penetration. The SROC in Waseca was still indicating a frost depth of 14” on bare ground as of February 27th. Some moisture in the snow we’ve had is lost to evaporation, especially with the high winds we received over the weekend. It’s a little difficult to gauge exactly how much, but one can surmise by watching the sidewalk in front of the house dry off it is substantial in the top inch or so. Is the weather pattern changing? Slowly perhaps, but it does appear to be. March may not come in like a lion per se but it may be more like a lamb that needs to be dried off.
Speaking of lambs, their numbers in the past week quintupled at the ranch. Fortunately Mrs. Cheviot was around to ride herd on them so they were well cared for and off to a great start. The creep feeder was installed over the weekend and more ewes with lambs were moved to the loafing area. This allows more space in the lambing barn, although when the temperature takes a dive, having enough body heat isn’t always a bad thing. Keeping the barn well bedded so it stays dry during wet weather is critical. Pneumonia is lurking just around the corner if you don’t. The ear tags arrived so it’s time to process the lambs and ewes, making note of who is who. Ewes that aren’t milking up to snuff get a red tag so they’ll be easier to spot when it’s time to cull them. Bottle lambs are cute but oh what a nuisance. There are few times when one of them actually manages to become a contributing member of the flock.
The bird activity continues to remain at a higher level than what we’ve seen for much of the winter. The consumption of black oil sunflower seed in the last two weeks primarily by goldfinches surpassed what was consumed in the past two months. They’ve also tagged the thistle hard so it’s probably about time for a new bag of that. The chickadees have been singing their little two-note “fee-bee” spring song. We haven’t seen any robins just yet, but they can’t be too far off. There are still some crabapples on the Indian Magic tree to tide them over until the earthworms make the soil surface.
The appearance of the little fat buddies this winter has at best been staggered and haphazard. Perhaps it’s the jet-propelled pop machine that keeps anyone from hearing anything other than loud grunts. Perhaps it’s just the weather too. It simply hasn’t been nasty enough to force them to come into town to tell everyone how bad the roads are just yet. Some signs their habits may be changing: a reappearance of Vista’s noted Swedish astronomer. He recently returned from a trip to Mexico and claimed the stars and planets were the same ones we see here. About in the same spot in the sky also. Who knew?
Something that may lure the little fat buddies back into the fold include the recent Girl Scout cookie sale. They do seem to work wonders. Last Friday I made a run to the accountant’s office and then stopped at the license bureau to purchase several license tabs, a boat license as well as to renew my driver’s license. It went smoothly and when it was all finished, the gal who had waited on me told me to have a good weekend. I took off feeling good about all the odds and ends I’d tied up to end the week. Upon returning to the office I got an envelope ready to mail then received a call that the hay supplier to the stars was about to drop a round bale off. I swung by the post office and then quickly home to watch the gate so the sheep didn’t go roundabout. It was late enough so it was about chore time so we got that done and went in the house to watch Gopher hockey.
During the first period something was bothering me. There was something I’d forgotten to do. Then suddenly it dawned on me. Had I paid the lady at the license bureau? I couldn’t remember writing the check, although I had seen the receipt in the package of stuff I’d procured. I fished through my wallet and sure enough, I still had the check! Their offices were already closed, but I felt terrible. Some poor lady had probably tried to reconcile the books for the day and they likely didn’t balance so she was probably wondering where the error was all weekend. Some may have thought, hey, I got by with one, I don’t have to pay. Not me. I’m just not wired that way. When Monday morning rolled around I made a call as soon as I could while en route to their offices to explain the situation. I apologized for spacing it out and they in true Minnesota Nice fashion said it was as much their fault as it was mine. They hadn’t discovered the error yet so when I got there I wrote the check out and left some Girl Scout cookies to atone for my sins. As I headed out the door I could hear them say, “Who was that masked man anyway?” “I don’t know, but he left this box of Tagalongs.”
See you next week…real good then.
It’s time for cheap sunglasses
The scurs managed another near flawless forecast period as we continue munching our way through February. What will they conjure up for this week? Starting Wednesday, partly cloudy with a slight chance of snow with chances increasing overnight. Highs of 35 – 40 and lows around 25. Mostly cloudy on Thursday with a chance of snow. Highs 35 - 40 and lows near 20. Friday, mostly cloudy with a continued slight chance of snow. Highs of 30 with overnight lows dropping to 15. Partly cloudy on Saturday with a chance of snow overnight into Sunday. Highs of 30 and lows around 20. Sunday, mostly cloudy with a good chance of snow. Highs 30 – 35 and lows of 10 - 15. Mostly cloudy on Monday with a chance of rain and ice. Highs of 20 - 25 and lows near 10. Mostly cloudy Tuesday with a slight chance of icy rain. Highs of 20 - 25 and lows around 15. The normal high for February 28th is 32 and the normal low is 15 so we should be seeing some rather seasonal temperatures. On the 26th we will be over 11 hours of daylight for the first time since mid-October. The sun will set at 6 p.m. on the 28th. The scurs will be enjoying a few more weeks before those insipid time bandit evildoers require us to set the clocks ahead.
Snowfall totals from the area varied but at the ranch we garnered roughly 2.5” of sticky, wet snow which melted down to a whopping .59” of liquid equivalent. Typically the snows from earlier in the season have run .07” - .1” per inch of snow accumulation. It looked pretty wet when moving it as the pile resulting from the snowdrift in front of the garage resembled a stack of white cheese curds. The weather pattern may be making a sudden change. This week marks one of the few times all winter that we’ve seen a forecast for precipitation nearly every day. Precipitation at this point is a good thing as some of it will likely find its way into the ground. What’s more as we get into March, the 30 day outlook is calling for better than even odds of above normal precipitation and temperatures. If that holds true, the trend of receiving more of our precipitation in March as rainfall rather than snow would be likely to continue.
The recent stormy weather brought about some noticeable changes in bird behavior at the feeders. Two pine siskins showed up on Saturday out of nowhere and made the goldfinches look large in comparison. Some of the suddenly numerous goldfinches are just beginning to exhibit a slight yellowish cast as they pick at the black oil sunflower and thistle seed. Two chickadees have become regulars as have the nuthatches. The blue jays seemed to be eating more corn than the squirrels while the downies and hairies continued to tap away on the suet. Rooster pheasants can be heard crowing here and there across the landscape and are spotted occasionally in the standing corn stalks neighbor Mark left across the road. Along area roads, large flocks of horned larks are noted. There’s been some debate as to whether they migrate or whether they’re here all the time. If they stay, it’s not always apparent everywhere as they first showed up in large numbers in early February.
Ruby has been keeping us amused. The Westminster Dog Show was a riot as she seemed convinced some of the dogs were coming right out of the TV screen. The growling and barking interspersed with her nightly ball playing meant constant activity until bedtime. Her vocabulary has continued to expand, especially when the Gopher’s basketball or hockey teams are playing. If you say “Gophers?” out of the blue she’s instantly on alert, probably because the word is frequently associated with “chores”. We typically announce to her we’re doing chores a little early on the game nights so we can get back inside to watch Gopher’s games. Apparently she’s picked up on it as she tenses up and cocks her head as if to say, “What are you idiots talking about? Chores are done!”
The lambing process took a couple week hiatus until last Saturday. We had a ram get sick last fall and apparently after breeding the first three ewes, he must not have been up to the task after that. We quickly put another ram in with the ewes so chores will become more time consuming with all the new arrivals. It’s always best for everyone including those doing chores to get the ewes and lambs moved out of the lambing barn and down to the loafing barn ASAP. Small pens and cramped quarters do no one any favors. The ewes would rather be in a group than in individual pens as sheep are naturally clannish. The lambs are happier to have more room to run as well as access to a creep feeder. The sooner they get on solid feed the sooner they can be weaned and the ewes put out to pasture.
With driver’s license renewal time looming large on the horizon, it was time to get the eyes checked out and order new glasses as well as trying out some daily wear contact lenses. After eight years your eyes can change I guess. Not wearing glasses is nice when going in and out of buildings as we do frequently this time of year. As anyone who has livestock can attest, steamed up glasses are a pain in the neck. However all this monkeying around meant with these older eyes I have to wear cheaters for reading and sunglasses for driving. Suddenly going from one pair of beat up glasses to four after repairing the beat up pair for a spare was quite a switch too. Remembering where I put them will be the challenge methinks. Checking out the selection I was surprised to find no cheap decent non-prescription sunglasses that were worth wearing. What’s more some of them were ladies’ glasses and they were all mixed together. I finally selected a pair that would suffice and was amazed the cheaters were cheaper than the sunglasses. Heck, there were even some cheater sunglasses for less than a buck although thinking about it, I’m not sure what they’d really be good for. Maybe for lounging around poolside reading back issues of some accumulated periodicals. Based on my bloated retirement fund from the NRHEG Star Eagle, that should happen any minute now.
See you next week…real good then.
The scurs missed the Monday snow but nailed just about everything else to a “T.” This past weekend served as a reminder that it’s still winter and will be until it decides to be spring. What’s in store this week? Starting on Wednesday, partly cloudy becoming mostly cloudy with a chance of snow in the evening. Highs near 40 and lows around 20. Partly cloudy on Thursday with a slight chance of snow and/or light freezing drizzle. Highs of 35 and lows of 20. Partly cloudy Friday and Saturday with highs both days of 35 – 40 with lows Friday of 20 and lows on Saturday night of 25. Partly cloudy becoming mostly clear on Sunday with highs of 35 and lows of 25. Washington’s Birthday (observed), mostly cloudy with a chance of a rain/snow mix. Highs near 40 and lows around 25. Continued cloudy on Tuesday with a chance of icy drizzle. Highs near 35 and lows near 25. On the 15th we will be at 10 hours and 30 minutes of daylight, about the same amount of daylight we see on October 26th. The normal high for February 19th is 29 and the normal low is 11. The scurs will be cleaning the pool soon and setting out the beach umbrellas.
The trend of sparse precipitation with above normal temps followed by cold snaps of short duration continues. However, anecdotal information coming from the fields indicates there has been some recharge in the top foot of soil. Monday’s snowfall was the first measureable precip recorded at the ranch for the month. It added about 1.7” of snow and another .16” of liquid equivalent to the seasonal total. Personally, not having to move snow around every day is still not breaking my heart and having livestock to tend morning and evening in the dark has been a treat after last winter. There was an interesting note in Mark Seeley’s weekly WeatherTalk in regard to planting in February. In 1878, temperatures were in the 40s and 50s for half the month. With soils thawed and dry enough for tillage, much of the barley, oats and wheat were sowed. He goes on to say that this was the only time in history that a large portion of the state was planted in February. There was one instance of wheat being planted in late February locally back in 1987 although the ground re-froze after it had germinated. While this caused some concern, prying the layer of frozen soil off the top of the wheat with a screwdriver, one could see it was still alive and well. It went on to produce a decent crop.
In the heavens there have been some evenings recently that have been good for stargazing. At about 7 p.m. the Big Dipper is in the lower part of the northeast sky pointed almost straight up with its handle down. Some nights there have been enough thin clouds to make finding the North Star (Polaris) a little difficult. When skies are clear, one can draw an imaginary line from the front lip of the Big Dipper across the sky to Polaris, which is also the star at the end of the handle on the Little Dipper. Mars has also become a more predominant feature in the eastern sky, having risen high in the eastern sky by 10 p.m. during lamb check. Look for the Red Planet along the same general track as you would for the moon or the other planets. As long as the sky is clear, it’s probably there even if you aren’t out checking for lambs.
The goldfinches were absent at the birdfeeders during the cold end to last week. There was however usually some activity at our birdfeeders. The suet was popular with the nuthatches, downies and hairies while the chickadees were delighted that they could pluck sunflower seeds from any hole in the feeders after they were filled. Even the squirrel decided it was time to venture down out of his nest and consume some corn. Tormenting Ruby was also part of his grand scheme to be sure but there wasn’t much time for her to give him some exercise. Shearing on Saturday took precedence over everything.
Shearing day was cold although with the crew we had, it was one of the most no-nonsense shearing’s we’ve ever had. The shearer brought a super catcher from the Nicollet area who in turn had his girlfriend along to help. There were also some folks from near Austin who graded and tagged the fleeces on a table as we were going along, bagging those that fit their specifications separately and putting the rest in the main wool bag. One of our 4-H kids stopped by to assist us with the shots, the delousing procedure and re-tagging some ewes as well as helping get dinner ready when we got closer to that. Add to that the most professional shearer I’ve ever seen who also happens to be a neighbor and friend doing his usual exceptionally smooth job and a dreaded task suddenly doesn’t seem so bad anymore.
We didn’t get started until almost 9 a.m. and had to set up again down in the big barn once we had the brood ewes shorn. By 1 p.m. though we were done, had everything put away and 45 sheep were shorn for the season. It was interesting to hear the comments as they were grading the fleeces because there were some obvious differences in them. These fleeces were likely to be made into socks so we’ll be curious to see how they turn out. Even though everyone kept moving and busy, it was time to get inside the warm house where hot food and coffee awaited us. As usual the warmth and aroma of the house were in stark contrast to being out in the barn. We got cleaned up and sat down to the feast Mrs. Cheviot had put together. It consisted of barbecue sandwiches, cheesy potatoes, cherry salad and dessert baked by my Mom. Little did she know when she’d given them to me earlier in the week that the bars would be the hit at dinnertime. They of course were especially delicious as they were made with black walnuts supplied by none other than a local Bandwagon star. The meal was just as special as some of those I recall from nearly a half-century ago. Why? It was enjoyed by folks who’d shared in the hard work and the homespun humor only sheep people can appreciate.
See you next week…real good then.
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Dr. Bernard, please report to the delivery barn
Written by Jim LutgensThe scurs were a tad too pessimistic on temperature and a little too optimistic about cloud cover. Stargazing this past week left a little to be desired. Will we stay out of the fog this week? Starting Wednesday, mostly sunny with highs of 25 – 30 and lows around 20. Mostly clear on Thursday with highs near 30 and lows dropping to 5 – 10. Mostly sunny and cooler for Friday with highs of only 15 and lows close to 10. Partly cloudy and warmer on Saturday. Highs of 20 and lows around 10. Sunday for Lincoln’s Birthday, partly cloudy with highs of 30 and lows of 20. Partly cloudy on Monday and warmer. Highs of 30 and lows near 20. Partly cloudy and slightly cooler for Valentine’s Day. Highs of 35 – 40 and lows of 20. The normal high for Valentine’s Day is 27 and the normal low is 9. The scurs remind you to get your sweetie pie something sweet or face the consequences.
More warm temperatures last week continued to make this a warmer than normal winter. And, about the time it sounds like it’s going to cool down, we get a few days as an added bonus like last Saturday. Permanent fish houses have become an endangered species on most area lakes. By Tuesday, only a small handful remained on St. Olaf Lake. The annual St. Olaf Lake fishing contest has been cancelled and reports of vehicles breaking through the ice elsewhere in the area continue to abound.
Bird feeding reports continue to parallel what we’re seeing at the ranch. Unless you’re in an absolute bird watching Shangri-La, you’re likely not seeing a great deal of activity and are probably saving money on birdseed this winter. Sure there are some birds and we are fortunate the chickadees have decided to hang around but it has gone up to two weeks between fillings on the feeders. Sometimes it changes from bird watching to “bird hearing”. One of the clear mornings when there was no fog, a rooster pheasant crowed down in the pond area right about sun up. Another one echoed his sentiments from neighbor Mark’s habitat area. While they’ve had a rough go of it, there are still some pheasants around. Plentiful food and cover along with lack of snow and ice should help get them by until spring.
Another Super Bowl is in the books and it was actually a decent, competitively played game with the outcome in doubt right down to the last play. It’s always nice to see some of these athletes reach their ultimate goal, like my relative Rocky Bernard for instance. He toiled many years playing for the Seattle Seahawks then came to the Giants a few years ago. He probably isn’t real closely related however as he doesn’t appear to be Irish.
Lambing season started off suddenly on Saturday. It was getting time to tighten the lambing barn up ahead of shearing and ewes starting to drop lambs. As I approached the building, one of the black ewes shot out of the door with a water bag trailing behind her. Hmmm…timing couldn’t have been much closer. After a couple hours of some painstaking measures to button up the building, there was already a little buck lamb on the ground outside in the mud. I grabbed the lamb and taking backwards baby steps was able to slowly coax the ewe back into the lambing barn. I then caught her quickly to strip her bag out and decided to let them bond for a while. It was warm out and sometimes messing with a lamb trying to get it to nurse is exactly the wrong thing to do. Besides, it was time to eat and I needed a break. Checking back in the lambing barn in a couple hours there was a little ewe lamb, making for a nice set of twins. By chore time, both lambs were up having supper. Said it before, I love it when a plan comes together. I love it even more when the shearer comes so the ewes lamb inside the buildings.
The next afternoon following the Gopher basketball game, it was time to move some oats around. Mrs. Cheviot’s boss would’ve marveled at my ingenuity and efficiency. About the time I was finishing up that project, I spied another ewe out back of the barn. This is never a good sign. Sure enough in the increasingly low light there was a little white blob next to the ewe. All the ewes were bellering as it was nearing feeding time. Mrs. Cheviot wasn’t home yet so it was up to Ruby and I to make a management decision. If we played our cards right, feeding the brood ewes would probably separate the freshly lambed ewe from the group as she’d stay with her lamb. This would give us an opportunity to move her through the gate into the loafing pen where we’d deposited the previous day’s ewe and lambs. We made the call and it was go time. Sure enough, the ewes nearly plowed me over to get at their grain. I grabbed the lamb and got the ewe to follow slowly but surely through the gate. I needed to set the lamb down to wire the gate back shut so Ruby took over running interference. Once that was done, getting her into the shed took some patience but once inside, I set the lamb down and quickly closed the overhead door. Ruby again distracted the ewe so she was more interested in her lamb than running off through the rest of the barn to escape. In under a minute we had the ewe and lamb moved into the loafing pen. All was well. The little buck was dried off and his tummy full as he drifted off to sleep under his mother’s watchful eye.
See you next week…real good then.
The scurs were right about the temperatures rebounding on Monday. They just weren’t aware that it would take the ball all the way to the hoop for a slam dunk. Will our January temps and relatively sparse precip last into February? Starting Wednesday and Thursday (Groundhog Day), partly cloudy with a high near 40 and a low around 25. Mostly cloudy on Friday with a slight chance of snow and/or rain. Highs of 35 and lows around 20. Partly cloudy on Saturday with a slight chance of snow. Highs again near 35 and lows of 20. Sunday partly cloudy with highs near 35 and lows of 20 – 25. Mostly sunny both Monday and Tuesday with highs of 30 – 35. Lows Monday night near 20 and cooling to 10 – 15 on Tuesday night. The normal high for February 2nd is 24 and the normal low is 5. On the 5th we will be back over 10 hours of daylight for the first time since early November. The scurs will not see their shadow on the 2nd meaning six more weeks of winter just like normal.
The Full Moon for the month falls on the 7th and generally goes by the Full Snow Moon. It was also called the Full Hunger Moon by the tribes of the northeast as the deep snow made hunting difficult. The Ojibwe knew this as the Full Sucker Moon as the suckers would be running. The Sioux called this the Raccoon Moon as frequently the raccoons would awaken from their slumber to forage for food during a February thaw. This also coincides with the little fat buddies beginning to forage for goodies after all the Christmas goodies have finally been consumed.
Other happenings in the February evening sky continue to include the nightly show by Venus and Jupiter. Venus continues to stay out a little longer each night and the moon’s recent conjunctions with Jupiter have been beautiful. The distance in the sky between the two planets will become less as the month wears on. Mars is becoming bigger and brighter with each passing night as earth catches up to its orbit. Mars will rise about three hours after sunset in the east on the 1st and by the end of the month, it will appear just after sunset. Saturn is rising just after midnight and by the end of the month, it will rise about 10 p.m. With clear nights predicted it should be a good time for viewing other members of our solar system. The sky will be crowded with all the planetary activity.
We continued back on our lower than normal precipitation track in January after being close to normal in December. At the ranch we’ve tallied .71” of liquid precip for January and roughly 7.7” of snow. Interestingly enough, last January we only generated about 3.5” of snow. The difference was it stayed cold and blew it around every other day. Compare that to the 30-year normal at the SROC from 1971 – 2000 of 1.39” and 13.1” of snow. What does February look like? So far NOAA’s predictions are for better than even odds of continued above normal temperatures and even odds of above or below normal precipitation. We continue to be classified in a severe drought, one that as of January 19th is predicted to persist through the end of April. That could change however if La Niña decides to disappear prior to planting season. Only time will tell.
A big “thank you” should go out to all those who bought snow blowers and other snow removal equipment this winter. We all owe you. A good percentage of the moisture we have had has likely gone into the ground. While we have lost some to evaporation, the thawing and refreezing has created some room for the snow melt. Along with that, there simply hasn’t been enough moisture for runoff to occur. Streams are not increasing in flow and wetlands are showing no sign of being recharged. The wetting followed by freezing and thawing we have seen should also help break down some of the large clods resulting from last fall’s tillage operations. One negative to all the warm weather has been the short stay on the ice for many of the permanent fish houses. Monday’s warm temps brought a mass exodus from area lakes. Not only can the ice become shaky with water on the ice swirling around the houses, the accesses can become rutted and not easily traversed. Time to get ‘em off while the getting’s good.
We did actually have some colder weather and snow on the ground this past week for a while, bringing more activity back to the birdfeeders. However, at the ranch we had a sharp-shinned hawk hanging around for a few days. That seemed to dampen the enthusiasm of the smaller feathered friends. Still, there were a half-dozen goldfinches, two white-breasted nuthatches, four of the leghorn-sized blue jays, some downies and hairies as well as a return visit from a couple chickadees. They seemed absolutely delighted by the smorgasbord of sunflower seed, thistle seed and suet, bringing a smile to my face while observing their antics.
Ruby spent much of the past weekend watching out the window for her squirrel. Just before I was ready to go to town for more tax paperwork work, she began growling loudly and frantically scratching at the sliding glass door to go out. At first glance there was no squirrel out there. Upon closer observation, there was no squirrel evident but suddenly there was a squirrel tail waving fanatically from the tree trunk in an attempt to taunt the little Border Collie. After Ruby made a quick trip out the front door, the squirrel beat it back up into the branches, thankful that small, lightning quick red and white dogs can’t climb trees.
See you next week…real good then.
Those wily scurs predicted the snowfall about right, although the low temperatures managed to elude them. Somehow people would’ve rather have had that forecast methinks. Will our good weather luck return? Starting Wednesday, partly cloudy with highs around 30 and lows around 20. Thursday, partly cloudy and slightly warmer. Highs close to 35 and lows back down to 20. Partly cloudy on Friday with a slight chance of snow. Highs near 30 and lows around 15. Partly cloudy on Saturday and cooler. Highs of 25 with lows near 5 above. Sunday, partly cloudy and cooler with a chance of snow. Highs of 20 and lows of 15. Mostly cloudy on Monday with temperatures starting to rebound. Highs near 25 and lows of 15. Mostly sunny on Tuesday with highs of 25 – 30 and lows of 15 – 20. The normal high for January 28th is 23 and the normal low is 4. The scurs are betting we haven’t seen the last of the below-zero temperatures for this winter and have laid in some additional long handled underwear just to be on the safe side.
It was interesting to see some snow accumulation for a change. As it was, the first snow fell and stayed put for almost 24 hours until it was blown away. It measured about 2.5” at the ranch and melted down, just a hair over ¼” of liquid equivalent precip at .26”. The freezing drizzle that ensued made it a little more challenging to measure when combined with the snow. That total from the Monday snow/drizzle combo came to about 2.4” at the ranch and melted down to .18”. This was a very dense snow, which became very evident when trying to move it. So far this winter, we’ve measured a little over 14” of snow, most of which melted not too long after falling. All things considered, the precipitation that has fallen January is still more than we received in the month of October or November. Of course that’s not saying much.
The snow wound up collecting in drifts after the Saturday night wind, leaving only wheel tracks and footprints where travel compressed it. The snow did manage to make itself a nuisance however. It collected at the ranch in front of the garage and between the barn and driveway. Oh sure, we could’ve driven through it I suppose, but I have yet to be sorry I moved snow out of the way. I’ve seen too many people pull into the yard thinking they could drive wherever they wanted only to get stuck in a snow bank someplace. The worst part of that is some dummy usually has to pull them out and that dummy is usually me.
The birds at our feeders have responded to the renewed winter conditions. The activity level has been reminiscent of some of the cold days last January. There were a couple dozen goldfinches at any given time along with white-breasted nuthatches, blue jays, juncos, downy and hairy woodpeckers as well as some recent newcomers, American tree sparrows.
Last week’s cold snap put one of the tank heaters out of commission so Ruby and I had to make one of those awful trips to the store where you go to the bathroom in the big orange silo. Ruby was only too glad to ride along in as copilot in the backseat. Her vocabulary continues to expand. She knows many words now such as “outside,” “hop up,” “go see Jo,” “go see Mark,” “get your ball” and “squirrel.” Ruby’s favorite phrase however is “let’s go do chores.” Her response is to immediately run to the entryway door and sit at attention with her ears on full alert. Any move towards the door results in celebratory jumping and once the door is open she is through it like a shot. She knows it’s time to head out so she can be around her sheep. In the morning she rousts them from their slumber and at night, she serves as the signal that bellering should commence.
Must be about time to get my eyes checked again. At a recent conference someone saw me reading and asked if I needed longer arms. A few weeks ago while putting the carburetor back on the Lark, I was having a devil of a time getting my head cranked around so I could get the linkage to the choke connector rod properly attached. Installing a trapeze so I could hang from the ceiling crossed my mind. About the only good thing: the small numbers on the sheep’s ear tags suddenly seem about the right size. Somehow I doubt that will count when I take the eye test to renew my driver’s license.
At least when buying a new confuser I went with a larger screen. Of course, with a new operating system and updated versions of the programs you were just getting used to, there’s always a learning curve. It’s almost as though someone came into your house and rearranged everything without telling you exactly where they put it. Some of it makes sense but some of it makes you scratch your head and wonder. Actually, aside from those issues it’s been a fairly smooth transition. The touch on the keyboard takes a little getting used to, although retraining the spellcheck will likely be the biggest hurdle. It still doesn’t understand what Fencelines or the scurs are yet. That makes two of us.
Speaking of that, this column marks an anniversary. It was 10 years ago that Lavonne Meyer accepted a manuscript I’d written. The following week another was requested and the rest is history. It’s meant some time commitment over the past 10 years. At approximately 1.1 pages per week, 52 weeks per year over 9 years with 2 – 3 hours per session, well, you do the math. We haven’t missed a week due to the alien since its inception. Hopefully readers still enjoy it as much as I do. To be sure, there are times the column is more difficult to write than others especially when striving to write new, original material each week. And as I’ve pointed out before, sometimes the columns I’ve struggled the most with and been the least impressed by have yielded the most positive response. Thankfully the crack management staff has allowed me as much latitude as they have. What to do with all the money this project has generated continues to be the problem.
See you next week…real good then.
The scurs missed the Saturday flurries but by Sunday no one knew they were here anyway. Will our snowfall fortunes change soon? Starting Wednesday, partly cloudy with highs near 25 and lows of 5 below to zero. Thursday, partly cloudy with a chance of evening snow. Highs of only 5 - 10 and lows from zero to 5 above. Partly cloudy on Friday with a chance of snow. Highs of 10 - 15 and lows near 0. Partly cloudy for Saturday with highs around 25 and lows of 20. Sunday, partly cloudy with a chance of a rain/snow mix. Highs of 35 and lows of 20. Mostly cloudy Monday with a chance of a rain/snow mix. Highs around 30 and lows near 15. Tuesday, partly cloudy and cooler with a slight chance of snow and rain. Highs of 25 and lows around 20. The normal high for January 21st is 22 and the normal low is 4. With the sun setting after 5 p.m. since the 15th, the scurs will be staying outside a little later each night to scrape up enough snow to build the prefect snowman. Maybe by month’s end.
Precipitation continues to be sparse while our temperatures continue to be above normal and moderate for this time of year. It’s always amusing to hear the blow combs and drama queens forecasting the weather from the Twin Cities talk about the “bitter cold” and gloss over the fact the cold snap will only last a couple days. Sensationalism sells so that’s why of course but after you’ve lived here long enough, you know when to count your blessings. No sub-zero cold in the Twin Cities? We had three nights below zero in early December here and we’re 80 miles to the south. Think of it this way: When we have highs in the single digits, that’s a shoe size not a temperature.
Measuring snowfall has been a challenge as of late. Without being around to constantly monitor it, the stuff tends to blow away within a few hours of falling. Not that what has fallen lately amounts to a lot of precipitation it’s just nice to be as accurate as possible. At this point every drop may count, with may being the operative word. At a recent presentation by Jeff Vetsch at the SROC, some interesting data to illustrate several points was presented. One, when fall moisture has been short as it was last year, we typically do catch up or it averages out. By the same token, when we have large amounts of stored soil moisture in the fall, the tendency is for it to either maintain roughly that amount or to dry out slightly. Most importantly, there is no consistent correlation between low fall soil moisture and corn yield the following year. Yes, it’s nice to have some gas in the tank going into the growing season but it’s no guarantee that above trendline yields will result. The growing season itself has more to do with that than stored fall soil moisture.
Once again I have reassumed my position as the largest producer of snot and phlegm in the free world. Yes the alien finally struck and after being coughed and sneezed on for the past three weeks I was actually amazed it didn’t happen sooner. I honest to God don’t know how schoolteachers survive until retirement. This one has been unique for the simple fact that it has affected my sleep patterns so severely. Over-the-counter drugs are much improved however. One can almost feel semi-human again, at least until they wear off. So far it hasn’t kept me from doing chores, running errands or being the physical plant manager around the house. There are always light bulbs to replace, fixtures to clean, water and furnace filters to change, feed to procure and trips to get replacement parts for all the stuff that wears out or breaks around the ranch.
One of my recent replacement purchases was a new handle for a pitchfork I’d broken several years ago. A new one would probably cost about the same as buying a replacement handle and getting it repaired. Rather than throw it away and buy a new one though, I’d kept it. It had some sentimental value as it was one my late father-in-law had given us for Christmas. Besides, the vision of the tang or tines from a rusty old pitchfork stuck in several implement tires over the years was planted in my brain. It was nowhere near as worn out as those were.
As anyone who is familiar with the inner workings of a pitchfork knows, there are some you like better than others. This model is a 4-tine manure fork that always allowed for good leverage on the sheets of sheep manure pack, possibly how it got snapped in the first place. Looking for handles at the store where you go to the bathroom in the big orange silo, there were several to choose from. I purchased what appeared to be the right one and took my prized possession to the proprietor of Dad’s Good Stuff the next day for repairs. I walked in the front door and the old wood floor creaked as I walked towards the back of the store. I spied the owner as well as the former CEO of the A & P Corporation. My lucky day: two characters in a building with character! I quizzed the latter to see if he could identify the item I held in my hand. Scratching his ear, he denied ever seeing one or knowing what it was used for. Oddly enough I believed him.
After presenting my “special project” to Double W he told me he might not get to it today and that was fine by me. There was another pitchfork we were using elsewhere in the barn; it’s just nice to have another one handy for peeling hay off the round bales we feed to the brood ewes outside. We’re very fortunate to have someone in town who still fixes things like windows, hammer handles and even fork handles. And once I discovered he’d done his tutelage under Tommy Bruzek, I was certain this was the right man for the job. About mid-afternoon I got a phone call saying the item was repaired and I could pick it up. The bill of sale was too cheap, worth at least twice the price especially when all the wisdom and knowledge gleaned was factored in. I had a nice visit, paid the bill, then took the fork and left thinking to myself, look what I would’ve missed out on if I’d thrown it away. With people nowadays looking to push the easy button and in a hurry to get nowhere, this is one of the parts of small town living that some can’t comprehend. What’s more, most of them will never appreciate the concept behind the proper placement of a finely tuned pitchfork.
See you next week…real good then.