Fencelines (269)
The scurs were a little low on their temperature predictions for Monday and Tuesday but no one aside from the ice fishermen are complaining about it. Will we head back into winter for a while? Starting Wednesday, mostly cloudy with a chance of snow. Highs of 35 and lows around 10. Thursday, partly cloudy with a chance of some lingering flurries in the morning. Highs topping out at 15 and lows dropping to 5 above. Mostly clear on Friday with highs around 20 and lows near 10. Partly cloudy on Saturday with highs of 30 and lows around 15. Sunday, mostly sunny with highs of 25 and lows of 10 – 15. Mostly sunny on Monday with highs reaching 30 and lows falling to 0 to 5 above. Partly cloudy on Tuesday with a chance of snow. Highs of only 10 – 15 and lows hovering near zero. Days are getting longer and we are gaining daylight at about 3 minutes per day now. The normal high for January 15th is 22 and the normal low is 4. Hopefully it’ll snow so the scurs can make the best of the cold snap by making snow angels. Otherwise they’ll be dirt angels.
Through press deadline time anyway we have continued our trend of above normal temperatures and sparse precipitation. So far at the ranch we have only managed .19” of precip since January 1st and roughly 1.2” of snow. We’ve tallied three days with highs of 40 or above with several others above freezing. Including the Tuesday and Wednesday recorded highs, it will likely make five days with highs above 40. We are now heading into what is typically the coldest part of January for our area. If the forecasts hold true we will likely experience colder than what we’ve been used to but it isn’t likely to be anywhere near record cold. This has had some interesting impact in the area. I know for instance that there was some primary tillage that occurred on an area field and there are still very few people willing to venture forth on the ice relative to what we’d typically expect for this time of year. I also know there are almost daily reports of someone going through the ice somewhere in Minnesota as the ice simply is generally unsafe for motorized vehicles much larger than small pickups around here. Even with those, it’s probably not worth the risk of calling a tow truck to fish them out if they fall through. And if you insist on driving your automobile to get some fish, at least for a while going to the grocery store is probably your safest bet.
According to information supplied by Vista’s noted Swedish astronomer, in the month of January we will continue to be blessed by Jupiter and Venus as they come closer together in the early evening sky. Venus is a little farther east each night and Jupiter while fading slightly is a little farther west. One is supposed to be able to look at Jupiter with a decent set of binoculars and see four of its moons at this point. Mars is showing up earlier as well. Look for the Red Planet around 9:30 p.m. on clear nights in the eastern sky. By dawn it should be high in the southwest sky. It will become brighter and will rise earlier every night, rising about 8:30 on the 31st. Saturn is visible at dawn high in the southern sky and is getting brighter like Mars as our planet gains on its orbit.
It has been an absolutely dreadful past 12 months for watching Minnesota sports on TV with the possible exception of the Golden Gophers men’s hockey team. However even they are showing signs of developing performance issues in recent games. First, the Twins play uninspired baseball losing 99 games and the Vikings follow suit matching their all-time worst season record at 3 - 13. Now the Gopher men’s basketball team has picked up where they left off during last year’s Big Ten season, losing all their conference games thus far. Not to make excuses but every time I watch the Purdue men’s basketball team no matter who they play, the amount of hand checking referees allow them to get by with astounds me. I don’t recall that much groping going on since the days of the old drive-in theater in Spring Valley. Although, like other young lads in my class, being the mild-mannered, serious-minded, chaste individual I was, I always just watched the movie and ate popcorn in the Studebaker when on a date there. Someone told me about all that other stuff though.
This warmer weather seems to suit many just fine however including moi when it comes to choretime. It doesn’t bother me in the least not to be cleaning out feed bunks and their lot or smashing ice out of buckets daily. It’s also nice that the brood ewes are able to stay outside most of the time. It cuts down on the need for bedding and keeps them from filling the barn full of manure. Since they’re dry, all the fresh air has been good for their overall health. There are days when I don’t even have to drain the hose during the day, something that sure didn’t happen very frequently last winter. And, it should also make for easier shearing if this dry pattern holds for another month or so. The shearer should appreciate that.
Speaking of shearers, the local barber at the Mall for Men was recently put on the injured reserve list. Coincidentally, not long after that happened, the local sheep shearer was seen casing the premises in between jobs. Too bad he’s so darn busy shearing sheep or he might’ve been able to cash in on an economic goldmine. Rather than only charging a few bucks a head, he could’ve made it into the double figures. Would be a lot quicker for people too. Once the catcher grabs you and plops you on your butt, the shearer pulls your ear and safely tucks your melon under his arm. He wears deodorant though so not to worry. Given the speed and precision with which he can shear an entire ovine, a haircut would be over in a matter of seconds. Toss in a little wormer plus some pour-on insecticide once he lets you up and you should be good to go until you’re turned out on pasture.
See you next week…real good then.
High wind warnings inside and out at Mall for Men
Written by Jim LutgensThe scurs were on target with the Thursday/Friday precipitation events but failed miserably to predict the New Year’s Eve. Oh well, at least they got the New Year’s Day flurries right. Will we continue on our warm streak? Starting Wednesday, mostly clear with highs of 35 and lows of 25. Thursday, mostly sunny with highs of 40 – 45 and lows around 30. Partly cloudy Friday and warmer with highs of 45 and lows dropping to 25. Partly cloudy and cooler on Saturday with highs of 30 - 35 and lows near 20. Sunday, partly cloudy with highs of 25 – 30 and lows near 20. Partly cloudy on Monday with highs around 35 and lows near 15. Tuesday, cloudy with a chance of snow developing. Highs of 35 – 40 and lows of 10 – 15. The normal high for January 9th is 23 and the normal low is 5. On January 4th we will be back over 9 hours of daylight, having gained a whole 7 minutes since the winter solstice. We’ll keep gaining about a minute a day until about the 15th. The scurs will be putting out that patio furniture before you know it, the stuff that didn’t blow away last fall that is.
The Full Moon for the month of January falls on the 9th and is known by several names. Most popular among them is probably the Full Wolf Moon, due to the wolves that could be heard howling outside the Indian winter encampments. It has also been known as the Old Moon or The Moon after the Yule. The Ojibwe called this the Great Spirit Moon and the Sioux by several names, including the Moon of Strong Cold, Moon When Wolves Run Together and the Moon When Frost is in the Teepee. Am guessing the frost in the teepee didn’t have anything to do with being out carousing with their little fat buddies in those days.
Speaking of the little fat buddies, a special thank you to all of those who supplied extra Christmas goodies at the Mall for Men. They were so numerous it’s tough to remember who brought what in but were most appreciated by all of us. With all the slippery conditions and high wind warnings (both inside and out) there’s no question we needed all the additional ballast we could get.
What a confusing holiday season we’ve just been through. With Christmas and New Year’s Day both on Sunday, it was difficult to tell what to do on Monday. Since banks, the Post Office and many other businesses were closed, it didn’t make a lot of sense to go into work. However, it always makes for guilty feelings that you really should be there, NOT! Given the amount of leftover stuff to be done after both holidays, those days were reserved to play catch up and to visit with family. It still seems strange to see bowl games played after New Year’s Day. Used to be that day was reserved for the major bowls and the national champion was decided. Now it stretches on for weeks and without some heavy duty channel surfing, one never knows what is on when anymore. Guess what? If you thought the 2011 holiday season was screwed up, wait until December. With 2012 being a leap year, Christmas and New Year’s will be on Tuesday. Oh goody!
The goldfinches are becoming more faithful at the bird feeders once again. The strong winds had them holed up somewhere but once they subsided, the little olive birds were back after sunflower and thistle seed. There are still a few of the regulars such as juncos, blue jays, nuthatches, downies and hairies but the chickadees are AWOL again. The squirrels appear content to clean up under the feeders and ignore the ear corn set out for them. Rather than face Ruby’s wrath, they drag ears from the field up in the yard. Others have mentioned similar goings on at and around their feeders. Perhaps with a little consistent snow cover we’d see a resurgence in bird numbers and variety.
The lack of snow has also impacted something one wouldn’t think of: the sheep. Since there is no automatic waterer, only a large water tank with a heater in it, one knows approximately how much water they go through on a daily basis. With our brood ewe numbers down from last year one would think the water consumption would be down as well. Wrong-O! Apparently they were eating a fair amount of snow last year so the tank only needed to be filled about every three days. This year filling the tank and draining the hose is an every-other-day occurrence.
Since the days are getting longer it was time to take a look at some of those garden catalogs that arrived. There are a few new items that caught my interest although nothing really new in the winter squash department. There are some new gourds that could be fun to grow. Because they are so competitive, producing gourds is a little growing weeds; the level of management required is pretty low. In honor of all the seed catalogs arriving, I decided on New Year’s Day to plant the amaryllis bulb Mrs. Cheviot had given me for Christmas before it popped its head out of the box. It’s amazing how that coconut growth medium expands to fill a container after adding warm water. Once planted, the amaryllis was placed in the south-facing living room. After a night of celebratory respiration in the newfound moisture, the sprout began showing signs of phototropism the next day, attracted to the morning light. This is a live one and will need to be turned regularly.
Mrs. Cheviot and several other acquaintances have contacted the alien once again. With the amount of barking she was doing though, I was debating about hauling her down to Little Jerusalem to see Ruby’s veterinarian. It’s easy to get run down this time of year and even easier to not eat right. There are so many sweets and high carb foods around without much for fruit and veggies typically. Oh well, after a week or so of me doing it all she’s starting to come around. When Ruby does her hot potato impression and sleeps on Mrs. Cheviot’s lap, it helps keep the veterinarian away.
See you next week…real good then.
With the slight chance of snow last Wednesday circling the bowl, the chances of our white Christmas went down the toilet as predicted by the scurs. Are our odds any better for the New Year? Starting on Wednesday. Partly cloudy with a chance of overnight snow. Highs of 35- 40 and lows around 30. Partly cloudy for Thursday with a slight chance of a rain/snow mix in the afternoon into the evening. Highs once again of 35 – 40 and lows near 30. A slight chance of rain and snow for Friday under mostly cloudy skies with highs reaching 40 and lows of 25. Partly cloudy on Saturday with highs near 45 and lows close to 25 for New Years Eve. Partly cloudy and slightly cooler on New Years Day with a slight chance of flurries. Highs around 35 with temps dropping to a brutal low of 20. Monday mostly sunny and cooler with highs around 30 and lows of 15 – 20. Slightly warmer and mostly sunny on Tuesday with highs of 35 and lows of 15 – 20. Our normal high for New Years Day is 23 and the normal low is 5. We will have gained four minutes of daylight since the winter solstice so things are looking up. The scurs will be putting their party favors in storage for another year.
Quite the winter we’ve been having so far or lack thereof. If you wanted a white Christmas you needed to look for snow on the north side of a building or grove. The warm trend seems to be hanging in there although some forecasters are indicating that by mid-January our luck may have run out. We shall see although at the same time we’ve burned up quite a chunk of what we typically consider winter. This one is beginning to remind me somewhat of the winter of ’86 – ’87 when it stayed relatively open and warmed up enough so that wheat was drilled into some area fields as early as late February. Something that was also typical that winter was blowing soil in the peats such as was seen in areas on December 26. Some snow cover would be welcome not only from a moisture standpoint but to help decrease the amount of wind erosion.
Minnesota Nice? It apparently doesn’t exist once we get behind the wheel of an automobile anymore. This past Christmas demonstrated the lack of courtesy many are displaying toward their fellow drivers. On the way to and from New Hope on Christmas Eve, it was almost epidemic the number of times I was passed while moving with the traffic flow only to have a driver cut in front of me at the last second to get off at the next exit. To make matters worse, on Christmas Day while travelling in excess of the speed limit myself on bumpy and rough Fillmore Co. 1, someone was on my tail until they turned off a few miles north of Spring Valley. Not to be outdone, while on Fillmore Co. 2 west of Chatfield, someone rode my rear bumper on the sloping, blind curves that were showing signs of becoming frosty as temperatures fell below freezing. I finally pulled over and let the clown by then followed them into Chatfield where they very immaturely stayed stopped once the light turned green to prove a point. They sure did alright. They proved to me as a result of their stupidity they arrived no sooner than they would have had they slowed down for the icy conditions and we have a growing problem with people who think the roadways are a racetrack and they’re self appointed NASCAR drivers.
Here’s a novel concept for the New Year: Let’s back off and drive more courteously. The few seconds you think you’re saving by riding someone’s tail could turn out to be among your costliest and deadliest. Deer can and do suddenly appear on a roadway in a fraction of a second. I know because I’ve hit them. That and you just never know who you’re messin’ with. When I was living in rural North Dakota, it was assumed that everyone was driving around with a loaded weapon because basically everyone actually was driving around with a loaded weapon, including me. I’m not advocating that here but oddly enough, the aforementioned poor driving habits were never an issue. Same holds true in regard to some of the unmarked cars (plain brown wrappers) floating around. You don’t know when they’ll show up either. I’ve stumbled across them a few times making my heart sink once the grille lights came on only to discover they were after someone far ahead of me who was making my own speeding look like I was in a Roman chariot race. If you’re offended by what I’ve written, good. I hope you’re ticketed appropriately and your insurance rates are jacked up big time if you’re unable to control yourself behind the wheel. Some of us are getting real tired of this type of behavior. I have a feeling I’m not alone.
On to a more pleasant automobile related note: The Studebaker project. The factory production order as they were known by Studebaker arrived last week. By supplying the serial number to the Studebaker National Museum I was able to obtain a copy of this informational document. Studebaker apparently kept fairly meticulous records of their production. The production orders from prior to 1959 are on microfilm and from 1960 – 1966 are original paper so the document I have is a direct copy of the original. It tells me the car was ordered on March 22, 1960 and the final assembly date was April 6 which coincidentally happens to be Bert Blyleven’s birthday. As I guessed, the paint color is the latter color blue that Studebaker used that year, Pacific Blue. Gulfstream Blue was discontinued on March 1, 1960. The serial number, the body number and the engine number all match those listed on the production order as do the key codes. The codes used for the various packages and options are exactly as they appear on the car with only a few minor add-ons from the dealership. This was not a high-end automobile and the Lark was never meant to be. Considering that this was Otto Hendrickson’s last car when he ordered it, that’s exactly what one would expect.
See you next week…real good then.
The snow last Friday took the scurs by surprise. Luckily, by Sunday the surprise disappeared. Are we in the running for a white Christmas? Starting Wednesday, partly cloudy with a slight chance of overnight snow. Highs of 35 and lows around 25. Partly cloudy on Thursday and slightly cooler. Highs of 30 and lows near 15. Friday, mostly clear and cooler. Highs 25 – 30 and lows of 15. Mostly sunny on Saturday with highs near 30 and lows of 20. Christmas Day should be partly cloudy with highs of 25 – 30 and lows around 15. Monday, partly cloudy with highs of 25 and lows of 20. Mostly sunny on Tuesday with highs of 35 and lows around 15. The normal high for December 25th is 24 and the normal low is 6. The scurs will be making a list and checking it twice so they can be the model of efficiency given the vast amount of time left to Christmas shop.
The 21st will mark the first day of winter and the shortest day of the year for us as far as daylight is concerned at 8 hours and 54 minutes. The actual day of the solstice can vary from year to year from the 20th to the 23rd. The amount of daylight varies from day to day by a matter of several seconds. Days will be getting longer eventually, although not easily measured for several days following the winter solstice. Part of the issue is the sun keeps rising a little later until well into the first week of January following the solstice while it keeps setting a little later at the same time. Eventually the time begins to offset and there becomes a noticeable difference.
In the heavens during the early evening hours, Jupiter continues to be present relatively high in the eastern sky while the even more spectacular Venus continues to stay out a little longer each night before setting in the southwest. As bright as it is, it actually twinkles somewhat and gets some rose coloration when it approaches the horizon. This has prompted some over the years to phone in calls about UFOs. Of course it’s never reported what kind of holiday cheer might have been involved prior to the sighting.
The snow from last week probably wasn’t as surprising as the rain was. At the ranch we recorded .46” of rain on Thursday, which was followed up by another .08” from Friday evening’s 2” snowfall. So far for the month of December we’ve tallied .92”, the most since September’s .99”. While we’re nowhere near to setting any records, we are making some slow progress toward getting enough moisture to get a crop started next spring. Soils are slightly frozen now, but they weren’t when the rain fell. Additionally, on the rough surfaces found in many area fields, most of the water finds its way into the ground. Virtually none of it is running off at this point.
You knew it couldn’t be too far off: The annual Christmas gifts for the crack management staff at the Star Eagle from yours truly. For Fearless Leader (aka “Jim”) a new camera after I broke the old one while being photographed by the corn shock a few weeks ago. For the Kingpin (aka “Jody”), the full boxed set of McHale’s Navy. It should bring back fond memories. Given his rapier wit, I have a feeling that might have been an accurate depiction of life during his tour of duty. For Reed, new shoes for pounding the streets of Bugtussle searching out those crucial school board stories. For Kugie, the famed ‘CCO cough button. Maybe it’s just my radio, but he always sounds a little like Patrick Reusse, sorta like he could hawk up a greenie any minute. For Rachel, the Star Eagle’s very own Cabbage Patch Kid, a new reference book called How to Speak Farmer. This will come in handy for future articles when you have to write about farm equipment. For example, it explains that a “stripper plate” is a part of a corn head, not something an exotic dancer eats off of.
Ruby is getting ready for Christmas. She’s like a furry little four-legged kid in a lot of respects. She’s perceptive and knows something is up although not exactly what. Decorations, Christmas trees, presents and human treats all over her turf are all probably clues. She is helpful when something sweet hits the floor during a cooking bomb session. Definitely saves on clean up time. We’re debating whether to get her a Wii-Fi so she can practice herding sheep in the house or a trail camera so she knows when her squirrel is down out of the tree. Either way I think she’d be happy. Or, more likely, we could go the cheap route and buy her a new kennel bed and another batch of play balls. Guess what? She’d be happy with that too. One nice thing about dogs and Border Collies in particular: They’re easy to please. Never had one complain they didn’t get what the neighbor’s dog got.
Happy Festivus…see you next week.
There’s plenty of time to think about Christmas shopping
Written by Jim LutgensWith most of the snow now gone, the scurs can focus on getting the temperatures right. Will our snow-free luck continue? Starting Wednesday, mostly cloudy with a good chance of rain becoming snow after midnight. Highs of 40 and lows near 25. Thursday, partly cloudy and cooler with highs of 30 and lows of 15. Partly cloudy on Friday with highs of 25 and lows around 15. Partly cloudy and warmer on Saturday with highs of 30 and lows of 20. Sunday, warmer again with a chance of overnight rain/snow mix. Highs of 35 – 40 and lows near 25. A slight chance of snow Monday with highs near 30 and lows around 20. Mostly sunny for Tuesday with highs of 30 and lows of 15. The normal high for December 15th is 26 and the normal low is 9. The scurs will be taking some time off from preparing to get mentally prepared for Christmas shopping. Lots of time yet.
The December 10th early morning eclipse largely was a disappointment in this area of the state, although it was probably more interesting than what we’d been led to believe. From the view at the ranch, about ¾ of the moon was covered by the earth’s shadow when it disappeared under a cloud deck before setting. That’s O.K. If we can wait until November 28th, 2012, we can see a penumbral eclipse at moon set. In 2013 we’ll see a penumbral eclipse on May 25 and a total eclipse again on April 15th, 2014. Of course if the Mayans are right we won’t have to worry about it.
The snow has largely disappeared from the landscape and much of it has ended up in the ground as dry as it is. Add some of the forecast rain to the mix and we may be starting to recharge our soil moisture. There is still a long way to go and anything at this point is welcome. Looking at many of the small wetlands and shallow ponds in the area certainly makes one aware of that. Interestingly enough, St. Olaf Lake has opened back up again amid reports of other area lakes still maintaining a cover of ice. The geese that stayed on the lake until the initial freeze up and the strong winds over the weekend probably had a lot to do with it. There is still an ice shelf in the NW corner of the lake visible from the road however, reminding one that it won’t take long once it gets cold to refreeze.
The chickadees are back again at the ranch! Yeah, it’s no big deal to some but to those of us loyal birdfeeders; it’s like it just isn’t winter if those little guys (and gals) don’t show up. The birds in general have been keeping a much lower profile at the feeders than some winters in recent memory. Others who are avid bird feeding fans are reporting much the same. It does keep the bird seed budget more in line to be certain. The irruption of redpolls and siskins a few years ago is still fresh in my mind when filling the thistle feeders. Trying to keep up with them was almost impossible and makes the weekly trek to fill the feeders seem like a cakewalk.
Slow steady progress is being made on the Studebaker project. The carburetor is getting a thorough going over at Pete’s Service. A wise idea before discovering the mouse urine found in the air cleaner also damaged the carb. More literature has also been procured to help expand knowledge of the model and trim package. The most recent yet-to-arrive purchase from the Studebaker National Museum includes what’s known as the factory production order.
By supplying the VIN#, this basically will tell me what options the original car was equipped with, date of manufacture, the destination (likely Marzolf Implement in Spring Valley, the local Studebaker dealer), the paint color (there were two different colors of blue used on 1960 Larks) and other info to hopefully make the restoration go more smoothly. There are some items on this vehicle that were likely add-ons such as the hood ornament, some additional trim and a side-view mirror. Studebaker was big on having some options installed at the dealership as they felt it helped keep the dealers’ shops busy. In addition, it allowed customers to purchase some options at a more reasonable price than if they had been installed at the factory.
We’re hoping it refreezes soon. With the recent thaw, Ruby really stinks after running around in the freshly cleaned barn. Somehow she enjoys frequenting the areas where the spreader traffic was heavy and there is thawed manure. Add a little moisture from the melted snow and voila! Her favorite eau de cologne!
See you next week…real good then.
The scurs’ slight chance of snow on Saturday turned out to be our first major snowfall event of the season. Will we add to the accumulation or are the snow gods content with this amount? Starting Wednesday, partly cloudy with highs of 25 and lows of 15. Thursday, partly cloudy with highs around 20 and lows of zero to 5 above. Mostly clear and cooler on Friday with highs of only 15 and lows again of zero to 5 above. Warmer on Saturday under clear skies with highs of 25 and lows near 20. Mostly cloudy and warmer on Monday and Tuesday with highs of 30 – 35 and lows of 20 – 25. On the 10th we slip below 9 hours of daylight with sunrise at 7:37 a.m. and sunset at 4:36 p.m. The normal high for December 10th is 29 and the normal low is 11. The scurs will be retrieving the Festivus pole from the crawl space and readying themselves for feats of strength.
Winter has come to Bugtusslians one and all. Snow covers up the ugly brown and gray as well as brightening the landscape. This past weekend’s snowfall generally brought accumulations of 4” – 6” of wet snow. It came down gently though and blew around very little after falling. The moisture content of the snow was welcome, with .38” worth of water being melted out of the snow at the ranch. The new snowboard for measuring snow and determining moisture content associated with it saw its first use of the winter. It proved to be more accurate than just catching the snow in the gauge as in the past. The more accepted official method is to place a piece of board 16” x 24” on the ground in an area where it is representative, avoiding trees and buildings yet be somewhat sheltered so the wind doesn’t blow the area clear. Using the gauge as a cookie cutter, a “biscuit” is cut out of the snow accumulated on top of the board then melted down to be measured. How much more accurate is it? Just a for instance when comparing the two methods of measurements, only .27” of water was melted out of the gauge located in its usual position. Over the course of the winter, those differences can add up.
There are lots of things happening astronomically this month, not the least of which is the Full Moon on Dec. 10th. This Full Moon is known as the Full Cold Moon, the Full Long Nights Moon or as the Moon before the Yule. The Ojibwe called this the Small Spirits Moon while the Sioux referred to it as the Moon of Popping Trees or the Moon When Deer Shed Their Antlers. At the ranch it is the Moon Where We Don Longjohns.
After consulting with Vista’s noted Swedish astronomer, it turns out there are lots of planets to be viewed this month as well. Jupiter continues to be prominent in the eastern sky at dusk and remains visible most of the night. It sets in the west in the early in the morning. Jupiter, however, has been upstaged by our sister planet Venus and is the brightest object in the evening sky other than the moon. Check low in the southwestern sky at dusk and it should be easy to spot. As the month wears on it will rise higher in the sky and by the New Year will shine for 2 ½ hours after sunset. Mars and Saturn are also visible, with Mars rising in the east just before midnight and Saturn in the southeastern sky well after midnight. Saturn’s rings have opened to about 15 degrees from horizontal so this is a good time to view the planet with a small telescope. As the noted astronomer and I discussed, it would probably a good time to awaken your wife or girlfriend (but not both at the same time) so they can enjoy the planets too.
It has been the time of year to sell off this year’s lamb crop and bring the feed bill back down to reality. The lambs were fairly cooperative about loading, but as is sometimes the case, a couple of the buck lambs we held back decided staying in a pen wasn’t their idea of a good time. Upon arriving in the barn for chores that night, I noted neither was in their pen. Of course they were in the pen with some ewes we’d kept open. Doing it all, I corralled one of the escapees only to see it jump over the wood panel as I attempted to catch the other fugitive. That meant the pen needed major reinforcement, which I did before finishing chores. Afterwards I decided if they were out again by morning they would have new names to replace the unprintable names I’d just given them. Their new names: Sausage and Tube Steak.
Not all rams are difficult to get along with however. Friday afternoon before the snow was forecast, it was time to get the ewes back home for winter. Luckily for me the kindly neighbor himself was walking about the pasture as I pulled up with the pickup and trailer. Best of all he offered to help load them. Ruby was along, but her services weren’t needed. Being the stealthy guy I am, I’d slipped the sheep some hay on my way by earlier and snuck around the end of the barn to close the door behind them. Direction to back me in perfectly to the door was provided and we moved a panel around so the sheep had no other place to go but in the trailer. That doesn’t necessarily mean they go in easily, although this time luck was on our side. The ram we call BernaRRd has always been a big teddy bear and easy to catch so I latched onto him. Leading him over to the trailer door we had a quick one-sided conversation that went something like, “I know you probably don’t want to go in there but just this once let’s pretend.” He must’ve read my mind or can understand English because he suddenly jumped right in. As sheep will do, the 10 ewes followed right behind him. Once the last one was in the trailer I quickly slid the door shut. The kindly neighbor looked on in amazement as I laughed, telling him that sheep were put on the earth to make turkeys look intelligent. After witnessing that I think he probably believed me.
See you next week…real good then.
After pulling away from the Thanksgiving dinner table the scurs fell into deep slumber only to be awakened Friday night by the pitter patter of raindrops on the roof. Will we see more liquid precip or are our options about to dramatically change? Starting Wednesday, mostly sunny becoming partly cloudy in the afternoon. Highs of 40 – 45 and lows of 25. Thursday, mostly cloudy with a slight chance of snow in the morning and a chance of snow in the afternoon. Highs near 35 and lows around 15.Mostly sunny on Friday with highs reaching 30 and lows around 20. Partly cloudy Saturday and Sunday with a slight chance of snow both days. Highs 30 – 35 and lows around 20. Monday, partly cloudy and cooler. Highs of 25 and lows of 10 – 15. Tuesday, mostly sunny and cold with highs of only 20 and lows near 10. The normal high for December 1st is 33 and the normal low is 15. The scurs have solved all the problems associated with Black Friday shopping. It’s called Black Christmas Eve shopping.
We did actually receive some liquid form precipitation this past week on Friday night/Saturday morning. At the ranch we recorded a whole .22” and in the rain gauge we’d forgotten to bring in at the Mall for Men, there was a strong .2”. In town we’ve shattered the previous month’s precip record by a tenth and at the ranch we’re within a couple hundredths of catching up to October’s precipitation. It still hasn’t done anything as far as contributing to soil moisture recharge but at this point, beggars can’t be choosers. Some have asked the burning question: With the soils as dry as they are, will the soil tend to freeze more deeply or shallower than we’d expect under more typical fall soil moisture going into freeze-up? I put this question to someone who would know, namely MN State Climatologist Mark Seeley. The answer: “Research shows that the dry soil will freeze deeper in the absence of snow cover than wet soil.” There ya go.
The recent light rains did make it less dusty in the fields of course. Amazingly though it didn’t even track mud back out of the field when hauling out the last of the main barn’s manure at the ranch. That was another mission accomplished. Who knows, we may even get the sheep back from the kindly neighbors pasture before they take their Christmas lights down. Seems like I get a little slower at doing it all with each passing year. It sure feels that way after barn cleaning too. Trying to move around the next day reminds me I’m not 18 anymore. I feel more like the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz asking for my oil can.
Before Thanksgiving last week there was already a rash of Christmas decorating as evidenced by the holiday lighting on an evening drive. Too early I thought although with the warm temperatures it was understandable. Still, it’s hard to get in the festive spirit with the fields bare and lawns brown. No hurry, there’s plenty of time to get some snow and brighten the landscape. As most winter forecasts agree, we have an above normal probability of a colder and wetter winter than normal.
Mom visited for Thanksgiving and we made it all the way and back to Spring Valley in the Soccer Mom van all in one piece. I even went sans my driving wig as I figured if someone saw me they’d figure the van belonged to Mom. The highlight of her stay was probably the trip to the store that carries everything that the store where you go to the bathroom in the big orange silo doesn’t. Still don’t know how Jim does it but am sure glad he does. Thanksgiving Day itself came off with only one major hitch: About the time I was ready to head for the sliding glass door and out to the grill, the bottom of the blender containing the basting sauce for the turkey gave way, spilling a half gallon of seven secret herbs and spices all over the kitchen floor. With her cat-like reflexes, Mrs. Cheviot quickly started mopping up the mess and I got the food processor out in an attempt to create another batch of sauce before the turkey progressed too far. Got out there just in time as the bird was beginning to turn a nice golden brown. After narrowly averting that disaster, the meal was exquisite, thanks to Mrs. Cheviot’s diligence in preparation and patience with Mr. Cheviot.
We were also blessed with Auntie Mar Mar’s presence after all on Thanksgiving, even though there were no blueberry bars. She did arrive in time for the annual dumping of the pumpkins however. A little disappointing though because the sheep that usually spend the afternoon chasing them as they roll down the hill weren’t cooperating. They were content to lie around the lot chewing their cuds. The pumpkins really didn’t roll either as they’d lost much of their integrity. Being thawed out and flattened on one side will tend to do that. Not to worry, the sheep found them the next morning and within a few hours reduced them to a scattering of orange scraps.
Mar Mar to the rescue on the blender; a Black Friday special at the store that has less fishing tackle than Betsy’s Dad had one to replace the 30 year-old model that had succumbed. Mar Mar had to take one for the team on her shopping venture though. Her nephew Ben devoured the leftover turkey we’d sent with her while she was in the store.
See you next week…real good then.
The scurs got their ducks in a row, although the Saturday rain turned to greasy skid stuff. No matter, it was precip and it should be gone by the time this hits the streets. More importantly, what’s in store for Turkey Day? Starting with Wednesday, mostly clear with highs near 50 and lows around 35. Mostly clear Thanksgiving Day with highs reaching 55 and lows of 40. Partly cloudy on Friday with a slight chance of a rain shower. Highs once again of 55 and lows of 35. Mostly cloudy on Saturday with a chance of a rain/snow mix in the morning and a chance of rain in the afternoon. Highs around 40 and lows of 25. Mostly sunny on Sunday with highs of 35 – 40 and lows of 20 – 25. Monday, mostly sunny with highs of 40 – 45 and lows falling to 10 – 15. Mostly cloudy on Tuesday with highs of 30 – 35 and lows of 15 – 20. The normal high for November 24th is 36 and the normal low is 19. For the 24th we will see 9hours and 21 minutes of daylight. The scurs will be firing up the Weber by the crack of 10 a.m. so the turkey will be nice and golden brown by noon.
As mentioned, we did see some precipitation over the past weekend and even if it was in the form of snow, it still counted. At the ranch, it amounted to .11”, the most precipitation recorded since October 13th. It was enough to get highway crews out spreading car carcinogens (salt) on area roads, although by afternoon most roads were relatively free from snow and ice. Most fieldwork is complete, although there is still some manure being applied and an odd anhydrous rig being spotted here and there. Soils remain dry and we may be at the mercy of the spring rains to recharge our soils before planting season.
Barn cleaning has commenced at the ranch. Saturday was just a tad nasty to sit out on a tractor without a cab, so oil was changed and the heat houser was attached. In other words, you have me to thank for the warm up! At least I didn’t have to put the chains on to get out to the field through the snow like last year. Sunday brought about a nicer day from a precipitation standpoint, so it was time to tear into ‘er. As usually happens, it takes almost as long to get everything ready and move stuff around as it does to actually clean the barns. Everything needs to be hooked up, adjusted and get its annual greasing and lubing, this in addition to noting how bad things are leaking here and there. While I know the equipment probably came greased, it still makes me feel better if it gets done. There was still enough daylight after all that to allow five monster sized loads with probably three more to go in the rest of the large barn. Who knows, if people leave me alone long enough during the early part of the week, one just might be able to sneak in a couple more loads. Just can’t get enough of that barn cleaning I tell ya…
While out with a load of nature’s finest, I spied three pheasants, two roosters and a hen. The roosters came out of the new tree planting and the hen was in some brushy habitat in the fenceline. It was good to see them as there has been some question as to whether pheasants even exist anymore. Not much new in the bird department otherwise, except that the chickadees have been AWOL for a few weeks now. It could be the leghorn-sized blue jays scared them off. It’s probably getting about time to put out some suet soon. The starlings should have found someplace else to eat by now and if they come by here, they face increased odds of eating some lead. After the leaves dropped it became apparent why we have so many squirrels: we have five or six squirrel nests. They haven’t started tackling the ear corn as rapidly as one might expect and are content to clean up under the sunflower feeders instead. Their main function is still to drive Ruby nuts with their treetop acrobatics.
Once barn cleaning has been completed it will be time to work on the Studebaker Lark again. It’s inside the heated garage this winter where it can be worked on in comfort. Parts are accumulating, so hopefully once it’s running, the restoration project can get underway. The most recent addition was a NOS (new old stock) air cleaner found in CT from some Studebaker swap pages. It was a lucky find. As anyone who has restored a car can attest, one of the first parts mice will destroy is the air cleaner body. They love to stuff them full of things like seat cushion material and as a result of their occupation, the mouse pee corrodes the bottom. Sometimes it can be repaired with JB Weld, but some are just plain ruined. To find one still in the box unused, especially for a car as old or as rare as a Studebaker, is a little unusual. However, it fits the mold.
Studebaker was an unusual automobile company. Some looked down their nose at the company because they tended to make products either ahead of their time or behind the times. The Lark fit into a time where the country was in a recession and people were looking for an economical automobile. Cashing in on what the Rambler had started, the Lark took the automobile market by storm in 1959 and put Studebaker into the black for the first time in many years. It apparently got the Big 3’s attention for it wasn’t too long and products such as the Ford Falcon, Plymouth Valiant, Mercury Comet and Chevy Corvair began hitting the roads hoping to re-capture the market share they had lost. Unfortunately for Studebaker, the Big 3 succeeded. Combined with some bad luck and blunders in management, it marked the beginning of the end for Studebaker. By December 1963, the plant in South Bend, IN was closed and automobile production was moved to Canada. In 1966, the company ceased manufacturing automobiles. I still think it would be a good idea as my bumper sticker says to “Bail Out Studebaker!” It would sure make it easier to get parts.
See you next week…real good then.
The dry cleaning continues as the scurs predicted, although we did manage to scrape together a couple hundredths at the ranch on Sunday. Are we looking at any more rainmakers in the near future? Starting Wednesday, partly cloudy with highs of 35 – 40 and lows dropping to 20. Partly cloudy on Thursday and slightly warmer. Highs of 40 – 45 and lows of 30 – 35. The nicest day of the week should be Friday with partly cloudy skies becoming mostly cloudy by evening with a slight chance of a shower. Highs around 50 and lows of 35. Mostly cloudy Saturday with a fair chance of a rain. Highs around 50 and lows near 35. Partly cloudy on Sunday and colder. Highs of only 30 and lows of 20 - 25. Partly cloudy on Monday with highs of 35 and lows around 20. Partly cloudy and warmer on Tuesday with a slight chance of showers. Highs 35 - 40 and lows near 30. A sneak peak at Thanksgiving Day looks mild but mostly cloudy. Highs of 35 and lows of 30. The normal high for November 19th is 39 and the normal low is 21. The scurs are busy thawing their deluxe turkey from Wagner’s in the fridge.
There is still some anhydrous ammonia being applied here and there, although the days for that are likely numbered. That and fields where it works adequately are becoming fewer and farther between. It has been a struggle this fall all the way around when it comes to tillage. With the dry soils, wear and tear on equipment has been ferocious. Snapped bolts, shanks, springs and plow lays wearing rapidly have been a hallmark of one of the driest falls in recorded weather history. Worst of all, there appears to be no relief in sight, making it likely that we’ll go into freeze up with very little moisture in reserve for next year’s crops. Counting on snowfall for much help is probably wishful thinking. Living from rain to rain with a crop teetering on the edge of starving for water is nerve-racking to say the least. Oh well, as predicted, it will rain again. Put your money on roughly 10” somewhere around April 14th.
The wind has also been a factor this fall. It is either dead calm or it’s gale force winds howling with not much in between. When it was calm, the maple lost its leaves in the road ditch and they cascaded down the road cut, giving the appearance of a lemon-colored waterfall. The wind has played to my advantage however. The leaves I was convinced needed to be ground up with the lawnmower have largely disappeared so there’s no need to do that. And of course, any that happen to bounce their way across the lawn into the sheep pasture are quickly devoured by the woolies.
It’s getting time for one last push to finish fall work at the ranch and to button things up for winter. The nice weather over the weekend presented a wonderful opportunity to change over to winter oil in the skid loader. It’ll be barn cleaning time any day, so it’s always a good chore to have done prior to that. Repairing the last of the storm-ravaged hay mangers was another activity to check off the list as well as piling up some of the storm-related brush that had accumulated. The perpetually burned out light in the barn caught my eye too. Up the ladder I went with bulb in hand only to discover another of the “Made in China” marvels was broken off at the base inside the fixture. Gee, what a shock.
It also was a good time to harvest the winter radishes, some of which turned out about the size of pullet eggs. They were nothing compared to some of the baseball-sized bulbs raised by Shannon Schoenrock’s uncle, but they were adequate. What was disturbing though was the fact the rabbits had chewed the tops on some of them right into the ground. They had treated the snap peas rudely too, although since there was primarily foliage and not much for pods, it really didn’t hurt anything, yet. It did make me think about the new crabapple and pear trees we’d planted however. From those observations one could deduce it was time to wrap and water them before matters got away from us. Not much for green tissue to munch on so those little trees were apt to be first on their menu. The rabbits may be on our menu if they don’t knock it off.
Birds were more numerous at the feeders this past week. More goldfinches as their numbers have swelled to nearly a dozen. They are particularly fond of the sunflower at this point, probably because the wind doesn’t blow them off the feeders as easily as some of the thistle feeders that become parallel with the ground. Seems to be more blue jays and woodpeckers too, leading one to believe that wintertime is just around the corner.
Looks like we’ll be hosting Mom and Fudgie again for Thanksgiving. Should be a good time to relax, watch the birds at the feeders and do as little as possible other than gorge ourselves. It’ll be time for the tossing of the pumpkins as we ready ourselves for another Christmas holiday season. The Cheviots are always appreciative and make short work of the pumpkins and out of code squash, if they’re not too frozen that is. Of course, it’s not quite the same when auntie Mar Mar is absent. I think her activities in the Chaz Bono Fan Club must be taking up most of her free time these days. That’s too bad. Always looked forward to those blueberry bars...
See you next week…real good then.
The scurs may have missed the snow in the forecast but as of this writing, it remains to be seen whether the weather will rinse us off a tad or continue to dry clean us as it has become fond of doing the past several months. Starting Wednesday, mostly cloudy with a slight chance of showers in the morning with skies clearing in the later afternoon. Highs of 40 and lows around 25. Thursday, clear skies with highs back to 40 and lows once again near 25. Clear skies again on Friday and warmer, marking the start of another warming trend. Highs of 45 and lows of 30. Partly cloudy on Saturday and warmer with highs of 50 and lows of 40. Partly cloudy becoming cloudy by evening with a slight chance of an overnight shower. Highs near 50 and lows around 35. Cloudy on Monday and continuing warmer than normal. Highs of 50 and lows once again staying above freezing at 35. Remaining cloudy on Tuesday with a chance of a shower. Highs staying near that 50 degree mark with lows around 30. The normal high for Nov. 11th, Veterans Day is 44 and the normal low is 25. The scurs will be flying the flag in honor of those who fought for their rights to freedom of the press.
The 10th brings us the Full Moon for the month and it is named the Full Beaver Moon for the trapping that was part of the fall ritual for the fur traders this time of year. It is also a time of year that beaver are actively storing up food for the long winter ahead. It is also known as the Full Frosty Moon. The Ojibwe called this the Full Freezing Moon and the Sioux knew it as the Moon of Falling Leaves. They likely weren’t too worried about the impact the leaves would have on their lawns.
Around Greater Bugtussle, there are a few remaining trees exhibiting some color, most notable among them being the hard maples that are bright yellow this fall. Surprisingly enough the strong winds didn’t manage to totally dislodge all the leaves from their branches and Monday morning it was still interesting to look at the trees, some still stubbornly clinging to their autumn cloak of many colors.
Jupiter is still a fixture in the sky both morning and evening, showing up at dusk in the east and shining brightly as the most prominent feature aside from the moon. Now that the time has changed, we’re not seeing it in the morning in the western sky as easily because it’s light out. Check an hour earlier however and it can still be seen, cloudy weather aside.
The birds are starting to return in slightly greater numbers now. There are half a dozen goldfinches making regular daily appearances and the red-bellied woodpecker has made herself at home with the ear corn. More blue jays are announcing their presence and some house finches are becoming common guests. The nuthatches have been loyal visitors and have company as downy and hairy woodpeckers help themselves to the sunflower seeds. Of course, the juncos are always present, ready to clean up under the feeders, especially where the squirrels have essentially made cracked corn from their corn feeder.
The Orange Army took to the woods and fields this past weekend. It didn’t sound like there was much gunfire however so most of the deer were safe. It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise as it was extremely windy both Saturday and Sunday. Like most wildlife, deer tend to stick close to cover and don’t venture forth any more than they have to. Not being able to hear something coming eliminates one of the tools they use to escape predators. This is also why the little fat buddies are holed up at the Mall for Men during inclement weather. In addition to forestalling a honeydew list, there are usually cookies to be consumed.
One might think the gardening season is over with but there are still some winter radishes yet to be harvested. The snap pea planting turned out to be about like the rain needed to make them a success, disappointing. There were a few pods on the earlier varieties but they were pretty rubbery by the time they were spotted. The frost and dry weather had already taken their toll. The winter radishes that have been sampled while small certainly pack a punch. They’ve fared slightly better than the peas with the dry weather but if I had it to do over again, I’d opt to plant both crops a week or so earlier to take advantage of any rainfall in the earlier part of August.
There are still a lot of things to be done at the ranch before the inevitable sets in due to some of the as yet imaginary precipitation that’s been forecast. On the way out to do chores the other night I heard something go zipping by my feet in the shadows. A bunny was making tracks as fast as he could for the electric fence with Ruby in hot pursuit. That reminded me that I needed to get the tree wrap on some of the small trees that were planted or they’ll be cottontail candy. Of course if we get 24 feet of snow like we had in 1936 as the white bearded Cockshutt owner points out, my problems will be solved. I may be tunneling under the snow to get to the barn like they purportedly did, but at least the bunnies won’t eat my trees.
See you next week…real good then.
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The scurs keep predicting relatively dry conditions and with this kind of accuracy, it makes them want to buy some lottery tickets. Will their luck hold another week? Starting Wednesday, cloudy with a good chance of rain. Highs of 40 - 45 and lows of 25. Mostly clear on Thursday with highs reaching 45 and lows dropping to 30. Mostly sunny and warmer for Friday with highs of 50 and lows around 40. Another slight chance of rain for Saturday with cloudy skies, highs of 50 and lows near 35. Mostly clear on Sunday and Monday with highs reaching 45 - 50 and lows around 30. Mostly sunny Tuesday with highs of 45 – 50 and lows near 30. We slip below 10 hours of daylight on November 7th. Incidentally the normal high for November 7th is 46 and the normal low is 27. The sun will set before 6 p.m. on November 5th and through the wonders of government intervention in our personal lives, it will magically set at 4:58 p.m. the following day. Then, after rising at 7:59 a.m. on the 8th, it will rise at 7 a.m. on the 9th. The scurs will be hiding their Halloween booty to avoid paying capital gains while waiting to set their clocks back at 2 a.m. on Sunday morning. It’s a long time yet until Thanksgiving.
Yes it’s time once again to set those clocks back and put the time change folly to bed for yet another year. Our bodies will respond in kind to having an extra hour to play with, generally positive and exactly the opposite of how they respond when we are shorted an hour in the spring. The data are quite clear on this point. With more and more research indicating that sleep is more important in a healthy lifestyle than was once thought, it is time for our elected officials to quit messing with the clocks and our health. Someday someone is going to look back and say to themselves, “Hey, he was right.” That is if they ever have time enough to stop diddling around text messaging, Tweeting and playing on Facebook to read it.
Fall harvest should be all but complete in this area by the time it reaches the press on Wednesday. Yes there may be a few who aren’t completely done but there isn’t any award for being done first. The worst thing about people being done this early is they have a lot of free time on their hands. That free time can be a dangerous thing when it comes to recreational tillage. Working these dry fields down this fall could lead to dust storms of the Great Depression proportions if we’re not careful. Leaving them in a somewhat roughened state may not only help stop soil from blowing it may also catch more snow, something that could become more important if we don’t start getting precipitation soon to replenish our stored soil moisture before winter. Speaking of precipitation, in the SROC’s final installment of their Crop Weather Update for the season, it was noted that this has been the driest August-September-October period since they began keeping records in 1915 at 2.22 inches. At Bugtussle in the official Mall for Men rain gauge, we fared slightly better at 2.3 inches. At the ranch, we tallied a whopping 2.53 inches for the same timeframe. We must be living right.
The pockets of color remained through much of last week although when the thermometer dropped to 25 at the ranch on the morning of the 29th, things began changing more rapidly. Some of the green leaves still on the trees were suddenly in a free-fall and the sheep of course were loving that. The pin oak and northern red oak leaves went from a deep red to a dull red in a matter of a day. It won’t be long and the leaves on the red oak will fall off and the leaves on the pin oak will be a rusty brown, hanging on until spring. The Autumn Blaze maples around town added some late color to the boulevards of Bugtussle even though they too were starting to fall on Saturday, making those who are obsessed with their lawns perhaps a bit perturbed. Even some of the hard maples that stay green then brown when it freezes then lose their leaves are showing some color this fall. What an odd year it has been.
We sold a ram that we weren’t sorry to see go on Saturday. Weighing in at around 250 lbs., he was a big, muscular, brute as Cheviot rams go with a penchant for jumping over panels and getting into places he didn’t belong when penned up. He had an attitude and wasn’t real pleasant to deal with when it came shearing time either. Knowing he was a pain to handle, we had limited his escape routes and had a stout wooden panel he’d think twice about jumping over ready to move in behind him in the alleyway. When we opened the pen he came out in a hurry as I grabbed the panel. He decided to suddenly turn on me and wouldn’t have thought twice about trying to flatten me with the panel on top. About that time 30 lbs. worth of Ruby had crawled under the trailer and sprang into action. Diverting his attention, she got in behind the bruiser and drove him toward the trailer. This allowed me to move expeditiously with the gate, severely limiting his options. In the trailer he went as we looked at each other in disbelief when Mrs. Cheviot slammed the door behind him. We expected to be winded after chasing this ram around the yard for a half hour. Instead we were ahead of schedule and able to enjoy a breather thanks to the little dog’s bravery. Maybe that dog food and treat expense is worth it after all.
See you next week…real good then.
The scurs made it through another week unscathed. Their forecast for tiny chances of showers were true both from an amount and odds standpoint. What’s in store this week? Starting Wednesday, partly cloudy with highs of 50 and lows of 30 – 35. Thursday through Saturday, clear skies with highs around 50 and lows near 30. Sunday, partly cloudy and slightly warmer with a small possibility of a shower. Highs of 55 and lows of 35. Mostly sunny on Halloween Monday, warmer again with highs near 60 and lows around 40. Tuesday, mostly cloudy with highs once again near 60 and lows of 40. The normal high for Halloween is 51 and the normal low is 30. The scurs foresee no repeat performance on the 20th anniversary of the Halloween Blizzard for trick or treaters.
Harvest continues to streak towards the finish line. Some anhydrous ammonia has been applied and like anything else, if you’re the one doing it, it went on perfectly. If you’re not, it probably is too early yet. Some areas did receive more rain than others in the October 13th rainfall event so it is quite variable. Soil moisture continues to be a question mark though as the hard soil conditions, particularly on the higher, lower organic matter parts of fields, are making it difficult for tillage implements to penetrate to full depth. With little rain falling one may want to be a little picky about where and when ammonia is being applied. As one who spends many hours afield this time of year, even where more rain did fall, there are still places the soil is extremely hard and anecdotal evidence from those doing fall tillage tends to make me believe I’m not seeing things.
What I am seeing fortunately for the pheasants, both of them, is a lot of corn on the ground behind the combines. Some are in denial that there is much field loss. Given the extremely dry corn and ear droppage that occurred when the snapping rolls grabbed the stalk along with the whirring chopping corn head blades, it makes one wonder why there wasn’t more in some cases. It doesn’t take much corn to add up to a significant loss. For instance, if you see only four kernels per square foot on the ground, that’s almost two bushel per acre. In many cases this year, it’s not unusual to see 10 – 20 kernels per square foot.
Rainfall continues to be a concern. We are far short of what we’d normally expect at the ranch with only .37” of precipitation falling thus far. In town it’s even worse with only a 10th for the month. Last week’s report from the SROC in Waseca summed it up nicely when they reported they were at only 42% of field soil moisture capacity or about five inches less than we would expect for this time of year. Dryness abounds.
It has been slow at the ranch on the bird watching front lately, but there were a couple rooster pheasants that flew out of neighbor Mark’s corn as he was harvesting the other day. His grove is one of the nicest in the area when it comes to winter shelter for them. Made me feel good to see they were still around. Once the corn is off there always seem to be more pheasants out there than we once thought on this side of Bugtussle anyway. Oh sure we still have a few chickadees, juncos and blue jays along with the occasional smattering of a goldfinch or two but certainly nothing like we had in August. TP has reported similar findings at her feeders in town. Give them time. With a colder and wetter winter predicted it won’t take long if that happens for many birds to be looking to press the “easy” button. The squirrels have already done that. Putting some of the ear corn collected out in a feeder last week, the one lone fox squirrel made the first couple ears last several days. Replacing it one morning, I was shocked to see it all gone the next morning. Deer perhaps? The following morning there were 3 fox squirrels taking turns so it came as no great shock that the corn was disappearing as fast as it was.
Sunday finally meant a long awaited trip to Mom’s with Ruby in tow. Luckily Ruby had worn off the powerful odor of whatever it was she rolled in earlier in the week. She definitely earns her nickname, Stinkpot, when that happens. It was our annual vegetable delivery trip, taking some of the bounty we have been blessed with to share. We brought a sampling of most of what we produce including Haralson and Fireside apples, Pontiac and Norkotah potatoes, three kinds of squash, carrots, Indian corn and gourds. Since we had recently butchered lambs there were also some packages of that to be shared. Ruby and Fudgie were off for their run around the yard. When it came to deciding what to fix for dinner, there was plenty to choose from so I grilled some lamb steaks while Mom cut up some carrots, micro waved some squash and baked a couple potatoes. There was already a pie baked when I arrived so the aroma was enough to make anyone hungry. Can’t top Mom’s apple pie with the brown sugar crust with plenty of cinnamon and some ice cream on top. Apple pie just isn’t apple pie without both. Best of all I got to take the rest of the pie back home along with a freshly baked loaf of banana bread as well as a bag of pretzel M&M’s. Think I got the better end of that deal.
It will soon be time for the little fat buddies to start their winter training sessions. The chairman of the board seems to be mired in tillage operations at this point so we’re waiting until he gets that out of his system. In the meantime there will be plenty of tales about the wild cropping season we’ve just been through and the endless honeydew lists that await the little fat buddies after they’ve made all their daily scheduled appointments. There are also likely to be lots of goodies with Halloween and the church bazaars (or is it bizarres?) to supply us with nourishment for the long winter ahead.
See you next week…real good then.
The scurs were on top of their game last week, telling us it would start to cool down. Somehow that shouldn’t come as a surprise the second week in October. More fall this week? Starting Wednesday, mostly cloudy with a high of only 45 and lows dropping to 30. Thursday, mostly clear skies with highs of 50 – 55 and lows staying above freezing at 35. Warmer on Friday with mostly sunny skies. Highs near 60 and lows of 40 – 45. Saturday, partly cloudy with highs again around 60 and lows near 40. Minute chance of an overnight shower. Partly cloudy on Sunday with a tiny chance of a shower. Highs near 60 and lows around 40. Cloudy and cooler on Monday with a slight chance of a shower. Highs of 50 and lows around 30. Mostly sunny Tuesday with highs around 50 and lows near 35. The normal high for October 21st is 58 and the normal low is 34 so temperatures will be seasonal. The scurs are eyeing the candy dish sure in the knowledge it will soon be full of Halloween treats.
The area did manage to garner some rainfall this past week as well as more wind. Rainfall was extremely variable with 2” falling near Easton and only a 10th in Bugtussle proper. West of town in suburban Matawan nearly an inch was measured while at the ranch we manage to scare up .3”. At least the fire dangers have subsided somewhat, although there was a fire again last Friday during some of the windy conditions. Eventually this will come to a halt once everything is in the bin or hauled to town. What a difference a week made temperature-wise though. Last weekend folks were cruising around in their shorts and this weekend it was time to break out the coveralls. Harvest progress finds many finishing up with corn, a nearly unprecedented feat. With the army of tillage implement operators working the fields seemingly right behind the combine, area fields follow the season; they get dark pretty fast.
Road construction season has been never ending in this area, seems like. With Highway 30 and 83 under construction, it’s been difficult to get around easily. The harvest season plus the number of people detouring around the construction has put additional pressure on the gravel side roads. The washboards it has helped create can rattle your dentures loose and with little rain, it’s difficult to grade the roads.
Around the yard at the ranch sure signs that summer is over include the sudden bright coloring of the flowering kale and cabbage. Some prefer the purple while others are sold on the white centered varieties. It’s nice to have some of both, me thinks. The 4 o’clocks have pretty much thrown in the towel for the season. There is still an occasional bloom but they are small and inconspicuous. The plants have been focusing most of their time on producing the grenade-shaped seeds that usually mean lots of volunteer plants next spring. Ditto with the morning glories. Some flowers yet as the plants begin to degrade into the twisted, tangled mass that catches snow if not removed. The surprising plants include the impatiens that after a watering and a little rain, continue to bloom far past what we’re use to.
The fall birds are making a subtle return to the feeders as well. A hairy woodpecker was the most recent returnee to the sunflower feeder. The red-bellied woodpecker has made himself at home on the ear corn even though he sometimes has to wait for the squirrel to leave to gain access. The juncos are back and seem to like the fact the summer vegetation is still intact, making wonderful places for them to hide from would be attackers such as a sharp shinned or Cooper’s hawk.
What a difference a week makes. The weekend of the 8th and 9th I was manufacturing a corn shock with a pair of shorts on. This past weekend though it was a good idea to get bundled up while finishing the last of the vegetable harvest. The potatoes, onions and carrots were dug. The onions were disappointing as expected. Planting them in June was probably not a best management practice although while small in size, they still do the job when fried up with some of the new red Pontiac potatoes. Still tough to beat Pontiacs for frying. Some of the stabbing victims made it from the garden to the pan in under an hour so they don’t get much fresher than that. The carrots were exceptionally nice again this year and yielded a large washtub full. Best of all since it has been dry, there was very little soil clinging to them. Some of them were so long that they broke off in the dry hard soil when trying to extract them with the potato fork. Didn’t seem to matter when they were scrubbed up and microwaved.
Ruby got to help with the vegetable digging process. As each forkful of soil was lifted to expose the potatoes, she was right on top of it, waiting for one of those spuds to make a false move. Picking tomatoes meant a lot of watching too as some of the damaged fruit made its way over the fence to the sheep. Yes sheep will eat just about anything including overripe tomatoes. Something being thrown and sheep to watch as a result. A little red and white Border Collie can’t ask for much more than that.
See you next week…real good then.
Another week of warm and the scurs may not have the heart to tell folks that it will change. Will it change this week? Starting Wednesday, partly cloudy becoming mostly cloudy with a good chance of showers. Highs of 70 and the low should be near 50. Partly cloudy on Thursday with a slight chance of a shower. Highs around 65 and lows dropping to 45. Friday partly cloudy with highs of 55 – 60 and lows near 40. Saturday partly cloudy with a slight chance of an evening shower. Highs of 60 and lows of 40. Partly cloudy and cooler on Sunday with highs 55 and lows dipping to 35. Mostly cloudy on Monday with a slight chance of a shower. Highs of 60 and lows around 35. Jack Frost pays a visit again on Tuesday night. Highs of 60 and lows dropping to 30. The normal high for October 15th is 61 and the normal low is 37. The scurs will be picking out their pumpkins soon for the end of the month gala.
As of the 16th we will be at 11 hours of daylight, having lost an hour and eight minutes since the autumnal equinox. The sun will set before 6:30 on the 16th and rise after 7:30 on the 17th. Time flies when you’re having fun. The Big Dipper continues to occupy its place in the northwest sky after dark as is the case when autumn is full blown. Someone asked the other day what the object was relatively low in the eastern sky not long after sunset. The answer to that would be Jupiter. In the morning relatively high in the western sky an hours or so before sunrise, Jupiter can be spotted shining brightly on the way to the barn. Probably even if you’re not on the way to the barn.
Another week of above July-like high temperatures has moved this crop beyond what anyone would’ve imagined even in mid-September for the calendar date. 99-day maturity corn planted the first week in May was coming out of the field at 12.7 percent moisture. Waxy corn, known for its slow drying characteristics was down to 15 percent. It is almost eerily quiet however with very few dryers running across the countryside even though one knows that harvest is moving along at warp speed. Moisture in the soybeans fell too. Too dry, yes but unavoidable given the circumstances. It’s simply not possible to combine all the soybeans in the area within a couple days, which is about how quickly the moisture fell from 12 percent to seven to eight percent. Rainfall continues to be sparse and spotty with the first measurable precip at the ranch for the month falling on Saturday at .01”. Fire danger in the fields has remained very high and for last week there were at least five fires noted while out and about. The light showers that fell on Monday afternoon did help alleviate it some. If we keep burning up high priced combines, it doesn’t take much anymore for even these light drizzle events to be considered million dollar rains.
Harvest at the ranch is nearing completion. The last of the squash and the gourds were harvested on Sunday. Always amazing how well some of the gourds can hide, not unlike the little fat buddies when there are honeydew projects to do this time of year. The Indian corn was picked and the ears were probably as nice as we’ve ever grown. The stalks somehow withstood the high winds and were tied into bundles allowing me to fashion them into a corn shock. I cheated of course by pounding a steel post into the ground first so those high winds wouldn’t flatten it. Something about a corn shock just says fall is here, especially when surrounded by pumpkins, gourds and Turks Turban squash.
With all the wind, leaf watching turned out to be a situation where if you blinked you missed it. Sure, there are still localized pockets of color with some oaks retaining their leaves such as the pin oak and red oak trees in our yard. Most of the area has been pretty well denuded however. The sheep don’t seem to mind as they’re busy keeping the pasture vacuumed and free of leaves.
Birds continue to move through although activity at the feeders has been slow. There are occasional nuthatches, blue jays and chickadees but no sign of the goldfinches that threatened to eat us out of house and home. It was a good weekend to take down the nectar and jelly feeders however. The orioles have been gone for the better part of a month and the hummers haven’t been seen for a couple weeks now. That and the winds have emptied them for me so there’s little to dump out. Bluebirds have been migrating along with more robins. It’s not unusual to look out the window in the morning to see a robin gobbling down crabapples. In the fields killdeers are numerous and Juncos were spotted in a customer’s grove on the 6th telling me these nice days won’t last forever.
The warm weekend caused me to open the windows once again. It was downright warm in the house Saturday night so the cool breeze felt good as I hit the sack. About six in the morning one of those unpleasant odors wafted inside. Apparently Pepé Le Pew had either been struck by a car or was alarmed about something and nearby too, judging by the strength of the odor. It was also about the same time Ruby had been let outside for potty so it was a little touch and go when Mrs. Cheviot let her back in. No run in this time but given a Border Collie’s propensity to herd cats, birds, lawnmowers etc., it won’t come as a surprise if/when it happens.
See you next week…real good then.