Fencelines (269)
The scurs got untracked again last week; when they said it was going to rain it did. What are they saying this time around? Starting Wednesday, partly cloudy with highs around 80 and lows near 70. The heat is on for Thursday and while the Twin Cities blow combs are calling for highs near 100 the scurs are hedging their bets, forecasting highs near 95 and lows of 70 – 75. Friday, partly cloudy and cooler. Highs near 85 and lows of 65. Cooler on Saturday starting out with clear skies then becoming partly cloudy with a slight chance of evening showers. Highs of 80 and lows of 65. Partly cloudy on Sunday with highs of 80 and lows of 65. Mostly sunny on Independence Day and slightly warmer. Highs around 85 and lows near 65. Clouding up overnight with a good chance of showers and thunderstorms for Tuesday. Highs of 85 and lows near 55. The normal high for July 4th is 83 and the normal low is 55. The scurs will be celebrating with Jim Morrison who most think died 40 years ago on July 3rd. Rock on Jim!
Lucky for us the rainfall that fell last week was as spread out as it was. At the ranch we recorded measurable precipitation 7 days in a row but only totaling about 1.6 inches. Sure there are some tough looking areas in some fields but when one looks at the big picture, things look pretty good. The corn has been getting into the nitrogen and the color in general remains a deep dark green. Given the heat and sunshine forecast for this week, the height of the corn should skyrocket. By the time the 4th rolls around most corn will be far past knee high and more like waist high. While soybean development has been less dramatic, there are subtle signs when looking closely that they too are progressing. Blossoms were noticed in some fields on Monday the 27th, right on schedule.
The garden at the ranch is playing catch up but is making progress. So are the weeds. This has been a good summer thus far for waterhemp, a prolific pigweed family species. It’s estimated that one large plant is capable of producing nearly a million tiny black seeds. That can keep yours truly busy for many hours and keep the repellent manufacturers in business. Some other noteworthy items include the first firefly of the season seen while mowing the windbreak in the dark on the evening of June 23rd. This also corresponds roughly with the hatch of corn rootworm larvae, a longtime nemesis of those growing corn. No cucumber beetles yet but they can’t be too far off. 4-legged “bugs” have been a far greater problem thus far. A hastily improvised fence however seemed to do the trick. One has to protect that high dollar zucchini crop from the long-eared rodents.
Some of the plants needing protection included the salvia that had been transplanted. The tag on the packets said the plants would attract hummingbirds. They weren’t kidding as 5 minutes later when gazing out the patio door, there was a little male working the red blooms over in a businesslike manner. Another bird discovery that made me happy was the sighting of the male orchard oriole once again. With all the stray cats and other predators around one always fears the worst.
The soccer mom van has been up to its old tricks again. Decided it was easier to drive that to get feed than unhook the trailer from the pickup. I grabbed Ruby to go along for a ride, popped the blonde soccer mom wig on my head, then put the van in reverse. As it came down the slant I heard the distinct sound of running water. Indeed it was as water cascaded under the dash and drenched my left foot. Obviously the van was expressing an opinion concerning my decision to use it as an implement of husbandry. Oddly enough, as it rained all the way to the store, it actually behaved in almost eerily normal fashion. We got to Hope, ditched the wig, tossed the feed in the back and headed for home. About the time we got to the intersection, the door locks began to pop up and down intermittently. At first I blamed Ruby, but she was as far from any of the doors and sleeping on the floor. Fortunately the van was running fine so turning the music up louder seemed to cover the annoyance of the door locks. Pulling into the driveway I made sure when I got out to get the mail that I left the door open. With no spare key there was no telling what might happen if I shut the door with the thing playing games like it was.
No problem there so we unloaded the feed and parked the van back in its favorite spot. Mowed some lawn and after Mrs. Cheviot returned home from a sheep junket, we went outside to do chores. We could hear music coming from what sounded like the neighbors to the north. Thought nothing of it as there are occasionally some gatherings in the area. Odd that there wasn’t more traffic I thought. On the way in from doing chores, I decided to investigate the source of the music more closely. Sure enough, it was coming from the van! The key was off yet the radio was blaring away. I turned the ignition off, then on then off again, pulled the key and shut the door. No difference so I turned the radio off and crossed my fingers that it wouldn’t run the battery down and would still start Sunday morning when I went to church. Next morning it popped right off and away I went. I made the turn towards church and sure enough the door locks started jumping up and down again. Good thing I was going to church I muttered to myself. This van doesn’t need a mechanic, it needs an exorcism!
See you next week…real good then.
The scurs took a chance that it wasn’t going to rain last Wednesday and lost. Will they have better luck this week? Starting Wednesday, cloudy with a good chance of showers. Highs near 65 and lows around 55. Partly cloudy on Thursday with a chance of a shower. Highs once again 65 with lows of 55. Partly cloudy and slightly warmer Friday with a slight chance of rain. Highs around 70 and lows of 55. Warmer again on Saturday with a moderate chance of evening showers. Partly cloudy with highs of 75 and lows of 60. Partly cloudy Sunday with an increasing chance of showers. Highs 75 – 80 and lows of 60. Partly sunny Monday and Tuesday with slight chances of showers and thunderstorms both days. Highs of 80 and lows around 60. The normal high for June 25th is 82 and the normal low is 58. The sun will rise on June 25th at 5:33 a.m. a minute later than it did on the summer solstice and on June 27th we will experience 15 hours and 27 minutes of daylight, one minute less than we did on the summer solstice. Hint: The days will be getting shorter already. That can be good news or bad news depending on your point of view. The scurs aren’t fretting about laying in their firewood supply just yet. Lots of time.
Crops made tremendous progress this past week despite the heavy rains of the 15th and 16th. Some corn has reached 8 collars and is about knee high on everyone with the exception of vertically challenged individuals. It may have been knee high 2 weeks ago in some cases. Most soybeans had 3 fully expanded trifoliates with some of the very earliest planted fields in the area showing a 4th and in some cases 5th trifoliate. Spring wheat has headed out and some have made their last pass with a fungicide. Peas have shown good color to this point although with some of the excess moisture received and forecast to come, that tune may change before too long. All in all to this point, we have been very fortunate compared to some.
The garden is getting closer to planted. There are some flower transplants for the hummingbirds to go in yet and some of the plants like the morning glory and bachelor’s buttons reseeded themselves. At some point one just gives up though. There were a few gourds that probably won’t get stuck in the ground. Given the number of gourds that get tossed over the fence after the fall decorating season, that’s probably not a bad thing. The muskmelons are flowering so hopefully we get enough heat to actually produce the number we’re capable of. The onions and sweet corn that were planted last week are wasting no time getting going. The string beans, tomatoes and peppers are in the ground and so are the zucchini. There weren’t enough transplants to be had so we had to resort to direct seeding, running the risk of hills being dug up by the striped gophers living in the yard. After laying down withering fire, one of the culprits was mortally wounded and hasn’t been seen since. There are hills in a couple different locations as well so the odds of them finding all of them are in our favor.
The gray catbird has decided that this grape jelly thing is a pretty good gig. “It” (the sexes are tough to tell apart) has been frequenting the feeder more often than the orioles as of late. Spotted a male and female bluebird at the kindly neighbors pasture on Monday while admiring the annihilation of the musk thistle population there. The royal blue of the male contrasted against the dark green backdrop of bur oak leaves in the evening sun was almost stunning.
Not so surprisingly, mosquitoes have sprung to life with all the rain. Spraying the pasture fence was done in record time. When the project was started the wind was working to my favor. Once down behind the windbreak however, I was at their mercy and they showed none. It was walk all the way back to the house and douse myself with repellent or tough it out. I chose the latter and lived to regret it. Every step through the long grass sent forth wave after wave of the pesky little bloodsuckers. Luckily as fast as I was moving there were few welts and very little itching resulted. Tough old hide I guess.
Ruby went along on the excursion and proceeded to find something dead in the pasture to roll in. I paid little attention to here rolling as escaping with my life was my primary focus. It wasn’t noticeable until we got back in the house and there was this awful dead animal stench emanating from someplace nearby. Ruby of course wagged her tail once I determined the source of the problem. Judging by the look on her face, she wasn’t impressed when bedtime came as the kennel door closed behind her.
With Mrs. Cheviot on the road for a week, I’ve been left to my own devices. Translation: I have to do it all. It does however mean I can shoot gophers out the window without worrying about repercussions, although Ruby hides behind the couch when this happens. Was placed in charge of making sure things all came back home after the 150th anniversary celebration of the Le Sueur River Lutheran church, which in turn was also very important to the little fat buddies. There was the better part of a pan of bars that made the training table. A faithful reader from Oregon introduced himself at the celebration and was wondering who these little fat buddies were. Well, there’s Otisco’s noted Swedish astronomer, PH’s husband, a German who the Norwegians have so far unsuccessfully tried to convert, a tractor salesman (a.k.a. “Mr. Haney”), a real live fertilizer salesman, a full-blooded Swede, Betsy’s dad, a guy who farms from the Mall for Men and other occasional mystery guests. That should pretty well narrow it down I reckon.
See you next week…real good then.
Not a lot of rain last week, but enough to keep things going after the mini-heat wave. In spite of the cool start, the scurs are thinking perhaps it’s looking like we will eventually have a real summer. Starting Wednesday, mostly cloudy, highs of 70 and lows near 55. Thursday, partly cloudy with a slight chance of evening showers. Highs near 75 and lows around 60. Partly cloudy on Friday with a chance of showers. Highs again near 75 and lows around 65. Saturday, partly cloudy again with a moderate chance of shower and thunderstorms, Highs of 80 and lows of 65. Partly cloudy and warmer on Sunday with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs around 85 and lows near 65. Monday, partly cloudy and remaining warm. Highs around 85 and lows near 65. A good chance of showers and thunderstorms for Tuesday with mostly cloudy skies. Highs of 85 and lows around 65. The normal high for June 21st is 82 and the normal low is 60. The scurs will be remaining under their beach umbrella in case that rain shows up for the summer solstice.
Yes, the 21st is officially the first day of summer, although most will say that meteorological summer actually begins June 1st. Last Tuesday’s heat is gone and with it the nearly desert winds. There have been a few warm days, but it’s been difficult to call it much of a summer so far. There have been many days in June where a jacket is a wonderful thing to have along just in case. Heck, I still have the chains on the tractor yet. Not sure if I’m that far behind or just getting a jump on winter the way the temperatures have been going.
Cooler temperatures have meant slower growth in the crops and the flip side of that is weed growth hasn’t totally been a runaway either. In between gale force wind events, there has actually been time to apply herbicides. This past week saw some corn exhibiting a sixth full collar, although five collars on a field-wide basis were more the norm. The second trifoliates on the largest soybeans were nearly fully expanded, although there are soybeans all the way from there to just planted. Most hay was put up in good shape and the quality looks to be excellent. Feeding some of the newly baled hay delivered by the Hay Fairy, the lambs would tend to agree.
Miraculously, all the vine crops planted in the garden survived the blast furnace of a week ago. Apparently, having good stock and watering heavily as we went when transplanting paid off. The ground became so hard that tilling the remaining ground was like tilling concrete. After the roughly half-inch Thursday night rain, however, that changed and the soil worked up better than it has all spring. This allowed for the onions to go in, the cucumbers to be planted and for another planting of sweet corn. There are still tomatoes, peppers and string beans to plant, but these fortunately won’t take long after work some evening. Then, maybe, kind of, perhaps we can put all the seeds away and focus on weed control. There are some snap peas blooming and with any luck in another three weeks we should be able to sample some of those delicacies. The Haralson and Fireside apple trees are loaded in the yard at the ranch and there are even a few on the Snow Sweet tree that was planted only a year ago. Am curious if any of them make it to harvest so we can see what they taste like. The crabapples we planted were roughed up a little by the heat, but after a little extra TLC, it appears they’ve escaped the heat relatively unscathed.
The birds have become more sporadic in their appearances at the feeders, particularly the orioles. They now go through about a jar of jelly a week as opposed to their earlier antics of nearly a jar a day. One faithful customer has been the male orchard oriole and even the female makes an occasional visit. She seems to enjoy the orange slices as well as the jelly. When they leave, they always seem to head for the same group of trees, so something tells me their nest is in the yard someplace. Hummingbirds have become more numerous as Mrs. Cheviot has planted the pots and baskets again. Time to get some of those fly and ant guards for the nectar feeders as the insects are wasting no time making a mess of them.
Ruby had another big weekend where we travelled to my mom’s to see my oldest brother. This was the first time she’d met him as I don’t recall bringing her along at Christmas time. She was very glad to meet someone who would scratch her tummy and she played that for all it was worth. Ruby played outside with Fudgie too, blowing off steam just as they’ve become accustomed to. Looking out the window was a little like watching one of those comedy skits where the parties take turns chasing each other. These two are a little like the monkey see-monkey do routine as well. Mom has some hard plastic decorative birds, chipmunks and bunnies she likes to place in the flower beds around the house as well as on the porch. Oddly enough, every one of them was scattered around the yard not much differently than children’s toys left for the parents to clean up. Fortunately nothing was chewed on so no harm, no foul. Just have to be thankful there are no diapers to change.
See you next week…real good then.
The scurs were steamrolled by the Monday-Tuesday temperatures. Of course so was almost everyone else who was forecasting the weather or heaven forbid trying to work in it. Temperatures soared to the century mark on area bank thermometers, car thermometers and our official Edna thermometer. Will we see a return to more moderate temperatures? Starting Wednesday, partly cloudy with a slight chance of a shower or thunderstorm. Highs near 85 and lows of 50 – 55. Partly cloudy Thursday and cooler with highs near 70 and lows of 50 – 55. Partly cloudy Friday with a good chance of a shower or thunderstorm by evening. Highs near 70 and lows of 55. Mostly cloudy Saturday with a good chance of showers. Highs around 70 and lows of 50 – 55. Sunday, partly cloudy with a slight chance of a shower. Highs around 75 and lows near 60. Mostly cloudy on Monday with a slight chance of showers. Highs around 80 and lows of 55 – 60. Mostly cloudy again on Tuesday with a good chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs of 70 and lows of 55 – 60. The normal high for June 12 is 80 and the normal low is 55. The sun rises at 5:31 a.m. on the 10th and will continue doing so until June 22nd, the day after the summer solstice. The scurs will be setting their alarm clocks so they can enjoy the best part of the day the only way they know how: By rolling over and going back to sleep.
Next Wednesday ushers in the Full Moon for the month and since those in the country don’t get their paper until Thursday, we’ll cover it this week. It is nearly unanimous between the Farmer’s Almanac, the Ojibwe and the Sioux: This Full Moon is known as the Full Strawberry Moon and rightfully so. While perhaps slightly behind this year, area strawberries are about to come online in full force. This moon is also known as the Moon When Bread Gets Moldy Fast at the ranch.
What a dynamic week for area crops! Corn fields actually look like they mean business following a week of warm temperatures and some much needed sunshine. Many area fields were starting to sport a fully exposed 4th collar and knee high won’t be long. Soybeans are progressing as well although not as rapidly as the corn. The few pea fields in the area looked good last week although it will be interesting to see how they behave following the extreme heat we saw on Monday and Tuesday. Forage harvest was in full swing with the warm dry weekend and many and area hayfield was baled or chopped. Still tough to beat the smell of curing hay as it wafts in the window at night.
The garden is coming along finally. This past Sunday witnessed the planting of the vine crops. They were watered in well but nothing prepares them for 100 degree heat with strong breezes. There are still some cukes and one zucchini to plant. That one plant is usually enough to supply most of a five-county area. Oh well the sheep like them. The bigger the better.
As mentioned while the sun is rising at 5:30 a.m. the birds are rising about 4:30 a.m. Starting with the robins, followed closely by the chipping sparrows who seem to wake up the wrens, the common yellowthroats, tree and barn swallows, the mourning doves, the orioles, a few goldfinches and an occasional blue jay. It gets loud for about 45 minutes and then before sunrise they must be feeding their young or going back to sleep. There were some newcomers noted this past week at the ranch including a bobolink, a dickcissel, and a warbling vireo. There continues to be a pine siskin at the feeder making one wonder if it plans on taking up residence or just appreciates the free breakfast included in the price of the lodging. A gray catbird apparently liked the length of the headed out bluegrass I’d munched off with the weedeater and was busily stuffing its mouth. It didn’t take long to figure out it was heading into the thick brush on the edge of the yard where it could build a well concealed nest.
Ruby had a newcomer this past week as well. In addition to her squirrel and the grackles she detests, we were exposed to some of the fiercest growling one morning we had ever heard from her. She stood at her spot in front of the sliding glass door and just trembled as something had her full attention. Once we got there to see what the commotion was about, a small chipmunk was on the porch taunting her as it scampered back and forth. This is the first one we’ve ever seen at the ranch. Once it saw me it took off and where it wound up I wasn’t certain. The next day however there was a hole with some freshly shelled sunflower seeds outside of it not far from where Chippy had been seen. Luckily for the chipmunk, Ruby is more of a chaser and not a catcher. She is however a digger so that situation will need to be monitored carefully.
See you next week…real good then.
The scurs’ crystal ball become cloudy once again on Memorial Day, but the rest of the week was pretty much as advertised, cold. Will we finally break out of our cooler-than-normal trend? The scurs are thinking we will. Starting on Wednesday, mostly sunny becoming mostly cloudy by evening with a good chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs near 75 and lows around 60. Thursday, mostly cloudy with a chance of showers in the morning, becoming partly cloudy with a slight chance of showers in the afternoon. Highs around 80 and lows of 70. Warmer on Friday under partly cloudy skies with a slight chance of an overnight thundershower. Highs of 85 and lows near 65. Saturday, partly cloudy with a slight chance of a morning thundershower. Highs around 80 and lows near 60. Partly cloudy and slightly cooler on Sunday with a small chance of a shower or thunderstorm in the overnight. Highs of 75 – 80 and lows near 60. Monday, partly cloudy with a slight chance of a shower or thunderstorm. Highs around 80 and lows near 65. Partly sunny and warmer on Tuesday becoming mostly cloudy with a chance of afternoon or evening thunderstorms. Highs around 85 and lows near 65. The normal high for June 1st is 77 and the normal low is 52. On June 1st we will have 15 hours and 15 minutes of daylight, with only 13 more minutes to be gained by the summer solstice. The scurs will be bottling some of this heat for January.
Crop growth was relatively slow last week, but this week should help to make a dent in the lagging progress. Some two-collar corn was observed and soybeans that had been planted a week to 10 days prior were emerging. It should come as no surprise that we are somewhat behind what we’ve come to expect in recent years. For starters, in May at the ranch, rain was measured on 16 and what will likely be 17 days out of the 31 by the time this reaches print. In addition, there were six days where trace amounts of precipitation were detected. This is getting to sound like a broken record as the same thing happened in April. Lots of cloudy, cool days with precipitation and as a result only a narrow window of time during which the ground was semi-fit for planting. There are some areas of fields this past week that were definitely not fit as witnessed when a local farmer planted soybeans through a wet corner. As I went by the newly planted area, there was water standing in the planter tracks already. Within 20 minutes, it was raining. Not a good sign. We are fortunate however. Most of the crop has been planted so there is plenty to smile about.
There are lots of changes finally in the garden at the ranch. The potatoes are almost entirely emerged now, making a solid row to follow from one end to the other. The peas, carrots and lettuce are coming along nicely as well they should. This has been some decent weather for these cooler-season crops. The Indian corn is emerging finally, as is the sweet corn. It’s a little uneven, but with the heat and a little rain it should be fine. One good thing about the sweet corn is it can be planted for several weeks yet if it fails to emerge. The pear trees are taking advantage of the warmer recent days and the leaves are really starting to pop. While there are some small pears on the Patten tree it’s doubtful they’ll amount to anything. Still, it’s good to see them. Makes me hopeful that we will someday enjoy fresh pears. The peach tree also seems to be making up some time as the new growth in just the last several days has about doubled in length. It won’t be long and peach farming will become a way of life in greater Bugtussle and environs.
Lawn mowing has become serious business across the landscape, what with Memorial Day and numerous graduations. No one wants to be known as the neighborhood slob so just like clockwork, when the sun comes out the hum of lawnmowers can be heard far and wide out here in the country. Oh yes, I suppose one could plant it all into native prairie or something so it would be low maintenance. It would be except for the fact you still have to control the weeds as well as putting up with the vermin that seem to enjoy having cover as they dig tunnels and dens around the foundations on the buildings. Think I’ll keep mowing, thank you very much.
The birds were active this past week. Not a lot of new arrivals, although we did have a male cardinal on May 28th that graced us with his presence and song while he was at it. He cleaned up under the feeders and helped himself to a little of the orioles’ grape jelly. Speaking of the orioles, the orchard orioles appear to be staying around as both a male and female are coming to the feeders yet. Nest building for the Baltimore orioles was in full swing so I decide to supplement their raw materials with some of the cotton strings we generally discard from the feed sacks. Cut into 8” – 10” lengths and placed on the woodpile. They had the string all picked up by the time we were done with chores the next morning. Found some more string and decided to see who was taking it all. A rather dull colored male oriole appeared and wadded several pieces in his mouth and departed for what was likely neighbor David’s yard. Hopefully he doesn’t end up with lots of 8” long pieces of string stuck in his lawnmower.
It was about a year ago I made a trip to Illinois to pick up our new red and white Border Collie Ruby. Seems like only yesterday she was a little eight-week old ball of fur. Ruby’s a small Border Collie weighing in at a little over 30 lbs. She makes up for that small size with the same intensity and tenacity she demonstrated even as a puppy. On the ride back from Illinois, she took down an older male puppy almost twice her size that I was delivering to another buyer. It’s been a fun year and her vocabulary is larger than some people I know. Just ask the squirrels. Recently she’s learned how to shake hands, one of the talents a dog must have if they’re going to be a member of our family. Now if I could just teach her how to type.
See you next week…real good then.
The scurs’ woes continue with the farther out forecasting while making good on the nearby once again. What kind of weather are they mustering up for the last week in May? Starting Wednesday, mostly cloudy with a good chance of a shower or thunderstorm. Highs around 60 and lows of 45. Partly cloudy Thursday and slightly warmer. Highs of 65 and lows near 45. Friday, partly cloudy becoming mostly cloudy with a chance of showers and thunderstorms in the evening. Highs reaching 60 and lows of 45 - 50. Mostly cloudy on Saturday with a chance of s shower or thunderstorm. Highs of 70 and lows near 50. Sunday, partly cloudy with a slight chance of a shower or thunderstorm. Highs of 70 and lows around 50. Memorial Day and Tuesday, mostly sunny with highs near 75 and lows around 55. The normal high for May 30th is 76 and the normal low is 51. The scurs are on the record, predicting no snowmen such as we saw in 1992 for this year’s Memorial Day.
As predicted, progress was made in the fields both in the corn that was already planted and in the soybean fields that hadn’t been. Four days without precipitation from the 16th through the 19th allowed many who had soybeans left to plant to get the job done. Corn emerged rapidly last week and one could row many fields from the road last Friday. Herbicide applications were made possible during this same timeframe and the ensuing rainfall should be beneficial to the efficacy of those herbicides. Rainfall at the ranch pushed close to 2 inches from Friday through Sunday and fortunately it came in about four different rainfall events, so washing was minimized. We are behind on GDUs, however, so it’s going to take a warmer trend to get us close to average in that department. Some are comparing this year to 2009 and while it may just be, seldom are any two years exactly alike.
Gardening has been slow as well. More than one farmer has indicated that while the crop is in the ground, on farms where drainage is limited or snow sat for lengthy periods of time this spring, it still didn’t work up perfect. Ditto in the garden at the ranch. The garden here is situated in an area that catches a lot of snow. Drainage on most of the plot is decent in the area that is Clarion soil. The Webster soil lobe that extends along one side is a different animal and it’s been difficult to get it to dry out, let alone make a decent seedbed. Fortunately, many of the transplants will be headed into that area and once they spread out, the ground will get its tilth back. Amazing how vine crops will do that. In spite of all the wet weather, we did manage to get some Indian corn planted along with some later sweet corn. Trouble looming on the horizon, however, judging by the numerous little flies detected, otherwise known as seed corn maggots. The seed is treated with one of the neonicotinoid insecticides, but it will have a challenge. Tilling a lot of green material into the soil, in this case annual bluegrass, is a magnet for insects such as these. Will it work? We shall see.
Lawn mowing has taken center stage around the rain showers. It’s been a catch as catch can affair and one can work from 7 until 11 to get it done. It takes a couple hours to dry off sufficiently and when it does the roar of mowers can be heard across the landscape. At the ranch, one has to consider where on that landscape it is safe to mow. After Saturday forenoon’s downpour, I decide it had dried enough to attempt mowing the high ground. Looking down into the road cut, there was water running across the bottom of the ditch. Rather than risking winding up in St. Olaf Lake, I opted to avoid the rushing torrent for the time being. If matters got out of hand down there I figured one could always get out the boat and weedeater.
The birds slowed down a lot from last week and that’s a good thing. There was simply no way to keep up indefinitely with an oriole invasion such as we had. As it is, there appears to be at least one pair of Baltimore orioles in nest-building mode. It’s also encouraging to see there is a pair of orchard orioles that have both been faithfully enjoying grape jelly and nectar from the feeders. In years past there has been no positive ID of the female. One newcomer to the feeders this week was a lone pine siskin. Not sure exactly why he or she was here, but the familiar little striped body was hard to mistake after the irruption of two winters ago. One other new arrival that stays in is the common yellowthroat. They take up residence in the plum and sumac thicket and their song compliments that of the house wren this time of year splendidly.
See you next week…real good then.
The scurs’ forecast was consistent, although the week we’re on should be an improvement over that. Hey, the Twins are consistent too. Starting Wednesday, mostly sunny becoming partly cloudy, highs near 65 and lows of 50 – 55. Partly cloudy Thursday, highs of 65 – 70 and lows of 50 – 55. Friday, partly cloudy becoming mostly cloudy with a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs around 70 and lows of 55 – 60. Partly cloudy on Saturday with a chance of rain. Highs of 75 and lows around 60. Sunday, partly cloudy with a chance of rain. Highs near 75 and lows around 55. Monday and Tuesday, cloudy with a chance of rain, with the better chance being on Tuesday. Highs around 80 and lows near 55. The normal high for May 21st is 73 and the normal low is 48. The scurs will finally be putting away the toboggan and looking forward to the warmer temps.
What a topsy-turvy week for temperatures last week was! We topped out with a high last Tuesday of 93 at the ranch. On Saturday the high reached an astonishing 44 with a nasty, wind-driven cold rain to add insult to injury. That’s the high we’d typically see on March 22nd. Field progress was steady by jerks, with precip being recorded on five out of seven days at the SROC. Shades of April. If the forecast for this week holds, some steady progress should be made with many farmers able to finish up soybean planting. The pattern continues where we receive precipitation frequently without accumulating large amounts. For now it’s a blessing, but we may be hoping it changes once the crop progresses into July and August.
Gardeners have suffered much the same fate. The rich soil has been anything but fit to play in. I did plant some snap peas, lettuce and carrots on the 10th, but I wasn’t proud of the way the seedbed worked up. Just as the tried and true area farmers do, sometimes a little patience needs to be exercised. Conditions have improved greatly and this week should allow those of us who want to get at it to do so. One bright note, the vine crop seeds I planted and entrusted to Bill, Debbie and Amy’s care look fantastic. Every single pot in the seven flats grew, even a few planted with leftover seed from last year. I still don’t totally trust the weather yet though. Perhaps another week of warm weather will change my mind.
It has been a banner spring for recording bird sightings at the ranch. Thank you to TP for clueing me in about some of the birds she was already seeing a few weeks ago in town. It gave me the incentive to find some of the feeders and get them put out. We had been getting used to seeing the female rose-breasted grosbeaks but no males. Finally on May 10th there were three of them. This was also marked about the last day of the sparrows migrating through. On May 11th, one of the small colorful warblers, a redstart, was flitting around the new leaves on the silver maple, apparently looking for small insects. At first glance because of their coloration they almost appear to be a Baltimore oriole in miniature. This was followed by a goldfinch barrage on the 12th. The feeders and ground underneath were covered with dozens of bright yellow males. Also noted on the 12th was the first ruby-throated hummingbird (a male) and we counted 11 Baltimore orioles. On the 13th they were joined by a lone male orchard oriole.
On the rainy, cold 14th, there was a Baltimore oriole explosion. I counted as high as 20 orioles with eight of those being full colored males. Of the group of 20, there were two orchard oriole males. All told they consumed four orange halves, two bowls of jelly and a nectar feeder worth of sugar water then had the audacity to scold me and ask for more! Fortunately part of that circus left the next day, leaving behind 10 or so. It would take a full time person to keep up otherwise. Last but not least on the 15th, a lone male indigo bunting made an appearance and hasn’t been seen there since. Last year I don’t think we saw one and this poor guy may have been confused. Several of the big trees that graced the yard last spring were gone, changing the appearance greatly.
Weaning the ewes and lambs was accomplished the first time on Sunday after lawn mowing by moi and a day of work at the greenhouse was put in by Mrs. Cheviot. It was a battle royal the same as it usually is and I have the black and blue badges of courage (or stupidity) to prove it. We hauled a group off to the kindly neighbor’s and Ruby got to ride along. We were made aware of some sad news while there. Ruby’s playmate and friend Sophie had been struck by a car and killed since our last visit. She almost seemed to sense it as we put the panels back in place, got the fence back up and hooked up the water. Amazingly enough everything worked as we waved bye bye and pulled for home. There the sound of bellering could be heard as I opened the door. Not good for sleeping, I thought, and it wasn’t. I think it even triggered a response from the Dubya’s beef cows down the road as I was awakened several times through the night by the racket. This from one routinely capable of sleeping through severe thunderstorms that blow trees through the side of the house.
The next morning from my throne in the oval office overseeing my little kingdom, I spied what appeared to be a buck lamb mixed in with the ewes heading out to pasture. To make matters worse there was a second one! What the…??? I put my clothes on and rushed down to the barn. Sure enough, there were three ewes that had managed to get back in with the lambs as well! I discovered the spot where they had managed to blow through the fence, so with some fence posts, wire and a hog panel, remedied that situation. There was still the matter of getting ewes and lambs back where they belonged, which would have to wait until later when we could lick our wounds and regroup. They may get loose but never get away.
See you next week…real good then.
The scurs covered the bases last week, which is more than you can say about the Twins recently. What’s on tap this time around? Starting Wednesday, partly cloudy becoming mostly cloudy with a good chance of thunderstorms. Highs of 80 and lows near 60. Mostly cloudy on Thursday and cooler with a good chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs near 70 and lows around 50. Friday cloudy and cooler with a chance of rain. Highs of 55 and lows dropping to 45. Slightly warmer but remaining cloudy on Saturday with a moderate chance for showers. Highs of 60 and lows around 45. Partly cloudy Sunday with a slight chance of a shower. Highs of 60 – 65 and lows near 45. Partly sunny on Monday with highs of 65 and lows of 55. Partly cloudy becoming mostly cloudy with a good chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs of 75 – 80 and lows of 55. The normal high for May 15th is 71 and the normal low is 46. Sunset will occur after 8:30 on the 13th, the latest it’s been since last August 7th. The scurs are mailing their property taxes in with an IOU.
May 17th will mark the Full Moon for the month of May. This one goes by several names, the Full Flower Moon, the Full Corn Planting Moon and the Full Milk Moon. It was at this time that many farmers could curtail the feeding of hay and turn their cows out on pasture to graze as the grass had finally become lush and thick enough to support them. This was not a good time to stand directly behind the cows while they were in the stanchions however, for obvious reasons. The Ojibwe called this moon the Full Blossom Moon and the Sioux, after horses had been introduced of course, the Moon When Ponies Shed.
Soil conditions this past week definitely shaped up in the greater Bugtussle area as farmers were planting corn in earnest. Some were fortunate enough to finish planting corn and in some cases, managed to get their soybeans planted as well. The drier April in this area turned out to be in their favor as temperatures allowed little drying in that timeframe. To the north and west, farmers were less fortunate with rains slowing and stopping progress on Friday night then again on Sunday morning. Monday morning brought more general and substantial rain across Waseca and adjacent counties. It’s tough to venture a guess as to what percentage of corn is planted. Around Bugtussle it’s probably close to 75%. Not far to the north it’s probably closer to 15%. Just not enough rain-free days and hours of drying weather to allow for much more than that.
The weather has been allowing for a lot of bird migration however. This past week about the time I’d sent the copy to press, of course a white-throated sparrow showed up amongst a group of Harris’ and white-crowned sparrows. They usually do and this year was no exception. A brief stop at the kindly neighbor’s pasture revealed the bluebirds had returned to their favorite nesting box again for what is probably the fifth year in a row. On 5/6, the song of the first house wren was heard at the ranch and on 5/7, there were several female rose-breasted grosbeaks but as of yet, no males here. On 5/8, the first two Baltimore orioles were at the jelly feeder that had been put in place a few days before their arrival.
May 9 brought a mixed bag with a rooster pheasant trying to migrate through the side of the house. The house won of course but the pheasant managed to break a hole in the vinyl siding before breaking his neck. The electric fence was grounded out so it was time to track down the ground and take a peek in the wood duck house while I was at it. Opening the observation door on the side I could see it was occupied. A brown feathered tail with black bands was evident so I calmly slipped my hand over the body of the nesting kestrel and slowly brought her out where I could see how many eggs were in the nest. She looked at me and my leather-gloved hand with total amazement and disbelief as I counted the three eggs, then gently replaced her on the nest. She didn’t get excited and fly out as expected. Amazing how small these little falcons are, even smaller than a robin when you actually get your hands on one.
Ruby had another busy weekend of appointments to keep. First she went to the Heartworm Clinic in Little Jerusalem where she received many compliments on how pretty and well behaved she was. I must have a little of my mother in me as I wasn’t particularly amused by some of her antics since she isn’t real used to being on a lead rope. She minded, but just barely. After all the attention it was time to get the lawnmower fired up and as most Border Collie owners will attest, that usually fires the dog up. Time for the time honored tradition of biting the lawnmower tires passed down from generation to generation. That was followed of course by herding the lawnmower back and forth across the yard, getting her nice white socks all grass stained. Lawn mowed, the chores were next and after that, playing in the garden dirt. The tiller occupied Ruby’s attention while she wisely kept her distance from the rotating tines. Now her socks were not only grass stained they were muddy too. Sound familiar to you moms out there in the audience? We finished up in the dark and went in the house to scrounge up some food and refreshments. I sat in my chair and Ruby flopped down on the rug a few feet away while I petted and stroked her back. We were both tired and knowing there was another long day ahead, we both needed our beauty sleep.
The next morning she was ready for chores and then, up for planting the potatoes. Since we were heading to Mom’s for Mother’s Day, I made her stay in the house. Planting what turned out to be 40 hills of potatoes (I thought there were only 30 until I added the 10 hills of Norkotah russets) she would’ve started out the trip all mud. As it was she played with Fudgie again and had another long day of seeing the world outside of Bugtussle. She must adapt more rapidly than we do though. When we arrived back home, I was tuckered and she wanted to play ball until almost 11 p.m. There may be a Tommy John surgery in my future if this keeps up.
See you next week…real good then.
While the scurs were celebrating their newfound popularity after forecasting no snow last week, things turned ugly. Readers looked outside late last week to see snow falling as they were watching another Twins defeat on the tube. Hate mail ensued. Will the scurs redeem themselves? Starting Wednesday, partly cloudy skies with a high of 65. Clouding up overnight with a good chance of rain and lows near 45. Cloudy becoming partly cloudy on Thursday with a slight chance of showers during the day. Highs near 60 and lows around 40. Partly cloudy on Friday with a slight chance of a shower during the day and a better chance of showers overnight. Highs Friday of 65 and lows of 45 - 50. Cloudy on Saturday with a slight chance of showers. Highs near 65 and lows of 50. Partly cloudy Sunday with a chance of lingering showers. Highs around 65 and lows near 45. Monday partly cloudy with highs of 65, lows of 50 and a slight chance of showers. Becoming cloudy on Tuesday, warmer, with a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs near 70 and lows around 50. The normal high for May 5th is 67 and the normal low is 42, about the same as we experience on October 2nd. The duration of daylight, however, is the same as that on August 7th. May has continued the April trend of cooler than normal. On May 2nd, the high was 37. This is the normal high for March 6th. The sun will rise before 6 a.m. on May 6th so hopefully the longer days will start to warm us up. The scurs will be celebrating Cinco de Mayo with some cactus juice.
Wow! What an ugly April that was and as we said last week, a throwback to the days of my youth. Seems like those were more the norm in the ’60s and ‘70s. I still recall sliding down the hill at home on the 29th of April after a spring snowstorm dumped 6” or so. Some details on this April at the ranch: we measured precipitation of one sort or another on 20 of the 30 days. We recorded a trace on three more. Logic tells you if it’s precipitating, it’s generally cloudy. With little sunshine it was also cool. On any given day, it seemed temperatures were off the average mark by about 10 degrees, more March-like than April-like. Cloudy and cool led to little drying in the fields and very little fieldwork was accomplished. On the flip side, while it rained and/or snowed frequently, the amounts were moderate. At the ranch the gauge tallied a total of only 2.54” with slightly over an inch of that falling last week. Given some sun, warmer temperatures, breezy conditions and a little luck, we still have a decent chance to get this crop planted in without resorting to extraordinary measures. Plant in the mud, the crop is a dud. Plant in the dust, bins will bust.
Gardening has followed suit with fieldwork progress. Difficult to make any headway in areas where drainage is lacking and fall tillage was not performed. Wednesday’s rain pretty much put the kibosh on any gardening plans. So when the weather deals you a lemon, you make lemonade. Tree planting needed to be done and the beauty of it was they didn’t need watering. There was already water in the bottom of the hole in places. There are still a few potted shrubs to put in, but one needs to ease into these things so as not to burn out on them. I did manage to get all the vine crop transplants seeded into the flats thanks to Bill, Deb and Amy. Mighty nice to have everything ready for me then just show up to plant. It’s even nicer to get a jump on the season when it includes Bill’s favorite and mine, those sweet Mooregold squash.
The little male goldfinches are close to full color now and the rooster pheasant we call Little Jerry II is biding his time courting the young ladies on the edge of the lawn. Some of the travelers are moving through to their summer homes far to the north and some are arriving here for the season. It’s that time of the year. Included in this week’s sightings were the barn swallows on April 27 and a brown thrasher in the backyard on April 30. A half dozen white-crowned sparrows and a Harris sparrow were spotted on May 2, and all were glad I didn’t decide to torch their favorite brush pile over the weekend. It was alive with activity and makes an excellent place for them to conceal themselves when there are no leaves on the trees. Chipping sparrows are picking out potential nesting spots in the evergreen plantings. Some of the trees are measuring more than 7 feet tall now. Not sure if it’s the same one, but a robin is back in the barn adding to the top of the same nest that has been used for at least the past three years. It’s starting to resemble a chimney and if they keep coming back, eventually we’ll have to cut a hole in the roof.
With spring planting season here, the little fat buddies are on sabbatical once again or at least until the rainfall that knocks us out of the field. To send us off in the right frame of mind, CS recently made a pan of caramel rolls, still almost too warm to eat when they arrived. Lynne S. brought in a cake to thank those who had taken Davey to his appointments in addition to those with whom he shared those morning bomb sessions. Without that nourishment for our bodies, it would be difficult for us to nourish our minds. What’s more, it would be nearly impossible to convey all that wisdom and knowledge accumulated over the course of a long winter to the masses.
See you next week…real good then.
The scurs should redeem themselves this week: no snow in the forecast! That said, will we see more seasonable temperatures? Starting with Wednesday, mostly cloudy with a slight chance of showers. Highs near 45 and lows of 35 – 40. Thursday, cloudy becoming partly cloudy. Highs of 55 and lows near 40. Partly cloudy Friday becoming cloudy by evening with a chance of overnight showers and thunderstorms. Highs of 65 and lows of 45 - 50. Cloudy Saturday with a chance of showers. Highs of 55- 60 with lows near 35. Sunday, partly cloudy with a slight chance of showers. Highs around 50 and lows of 30 - 35. Mostly sunny both Monday and Tuesday with highs of 55 – 60 and lows of 40 – 45. The normal high for April 30th is 65 and the normal low is 40. The scurs are looking to cash in two weekends in a row, sure in the knowledge that May baskets are headed their way on Sunday.
The weather hasn’t been conducive to fieldwork for most of the month, but that could be about to change. Rather than being obsessed with the upcoming royal wedding, most farmers are tuned in to weather forecasts. Fortunately those of us in greater Bugtussle and environs have been spared the heavy downpours thus far. As of the 25th at the ranch for the month of April we have only recorded 1.37” of liquid precipitation. All it would take would be for some dry, warm breezy days and most would be able to get moving. It’s not early anymore, but the stretch of winter we’ve experienced since last November has been a throwback to the days many of us grew up with. Yes, those days when we walked to school uphill both ways in snowstorms during the month of April. Somehow we always managed to get a crop and sometimes surprisingly good crops when corn was planted in May. The data indicating we lose very little in yield before May 10th still has a great deal of validity. The restraint most have demonstrated to this point has been admirable. Sure, we might burn more dryer gas, but we need to keep things in perspective sometimes.
The weather has been affecting more than just crop farmers. It’s also having a negative impact on the movement of garden and nursery stock as well as making it tough to move ewes to pasture at the ranch. No sense to put animals out there if it isn’t sufficiently greened up to carry them. It’s getting time though. One muses how much longer the body can take the greedy, aggressive ewes pounding on knee joints that are designed to move primarily back and forth. What’s worse is some of the lambs are getting big enough so they can potentially inflict the same kind of damage. Snap! Crackle! Pop! It’s not just for breakfast anymore.
Gardening has been on hold too. Potato planting on Good Friday didn’t happen, nor did the radish, onion, pea, lettuce or carrot planting. There is still time however. Would rather do it once the right way as opposed to mudding it in and having to do it over. It takes time and money to do that too. There has been time for some tree planting. Think I mentioned the Patten and Parker pear trees we planted. We also got our Red Splendor crabapples planted. After the big ash tree landed on the nice one we’d planted about 20 years ago, it was great to plant some wonderful replacement stock in case that one bites the dust due to fire blight or other assorted maladies. Hopefully we get a chance to finish planting the Freeman maple and Nigra green arborvitae this week.
Some time was made for cleaning out the bluebird nesting boxes, although they usually are occupied almost immediately by tree swallows. This year was no exception and within minutes of seeing any mouse nests or last years leftover nests removed, the swallows were circling. A quick trip to the pond while on the birdhouse cleaning excursion revealed about a dozen blue-winged teal and a pair of giant Canada geese who took loud exception to my presence. The wood duck house needed to be cleaned too. The kestrels that nested in it last year were not particularly tidy tenants and removed all the cedar chips from the box before they constructed their nest. Due to the horrible mosquito infestation last year, I never did get back down there to see how many babies there were. Judging by the mess, there must’ve been several. The goldfinches are slowly but surely changing into their summer outfits. It won’t be too long and the orioles should make an appearance. One can only hope we don’t have to put heaters in their nectar feeders.
Ruby had another big weekend, this time travelling with us to visit my mom and her Border Collie Fudgie near Spring Valley for Easter. The two red and white dogs picked up right where they left off last fall with lots of running, growling and chasing. They genuinely seem to like each other as evidenced by Fudgie allowing Ruby to drink out of her water dish and eat her food. All dogs have distinct personalities, but Border Collies seem to take it to an extreme. One can definitely see that Fudgie and Gus were out of the same litter as some of Fudgie’s head tilts and expressions leave no doubt they are closely related. While Ruby is not as closely related, she has the same drive that her great grandmother did along with her same desire to play ball 24/7 if you’d let her. It’s time to get Ruby checked out for heartworm soon and would encourage those who haven’t done so to do the same for their dog friends. Mosquitoes are starting to show up with greater frequency. The last thing anyone wants to see is their favorite pet, companion or in our case little helper, suffer, and possibly die from that highly preventable affliction.
See you next week…real good then.
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Looks like the scurs will be out of the running for Miss Congeniality if they continue to deliver forecasts predicting crummy weather. Such is life. Starting Wednesday, cloudy with a chance of snow in the morning and early afternoon. Highs near 40 and lows of 25 - 30. Thursday, partly cloudy with highs climbing to a balmy 45 and lows dropping to 35. Chance of a rain/snow mix by evening. Cloudy on Friday with highs once again near 45 and lows of 35. A chance of rain and/or snow in the morning, a chance of rain in the afternoon and a slight chance of snow in the evening. Saturday, mostly cloudy with a slight chance of afternoon showers. Highs of 50 – 55 and lows around 35. Partly cloudy on Easter Sunday with highs of 60 and lows of 45. Monday, mostly cloudy with a chance of rain. Highs of 60 and lows of 45 – 50. Mostly cloudy Tuesday with a slight chance of a rain shower. Highs near 70 and lows around 50. The normal high for April 23 is 61 and the normal low is 37. We continue to add daylight at just a little under 3 minutes per day and on the 27th, we will have achieved 14 hours of sunshine, except for the fact of course that the sun only shines about 2 out of 5 days! The scurs will be eating the remains of their headless chocolate bunnies left over from Easter Sunday.
The weather continues to be stuck on the March cycle. There is a chance that we may actually register more snow at the ranch in April than we did in March, something that usually doesn’t happen. It has made fieldwork a bit of a challenge as the ground is not quite fit to plant especially as one moves north. The weekend snow/rain has also made life miserable with the sun shining only occasionally and temperatures remaining well below normal. Last Saturday’s high was typical for what we’d see the second week in March. Snow always makes for a special problem as it takes time to melt when it’s cool, thus keeping the soil surface wet and slimy for additional time versus the same moisture equivalent of a rainfall event with warmer temperatures following. All in all, this is shaping up to be a later spring than we’ve become accustomed to the past several years. We have been pretty fortunate.
Ruby got to ride along to the kindly neighbor’s pasture as it was getting time to work on the fence there. Winter had not been kind to the fence and as luck would have it, with the cool spring the grass has not grown rapidly enough to stock the sheep just yet. While I mended the fence, Ruby was having a blast with the resident standard sable collie Sophie. Last fall when Ruby came along she was intimidated and not real friendly towards her. After playing hard several times since then with Fudgie, this time it was a no brainer. Sophie and Ruby were immediately running at full speed and spent the whole time while there rolling, wrestling and romping. When it came time to go home, Ruby was almost reluctant to get in the truck, not unlike some kids I recall who were playing at someone’s farm while their Dad was in the house conducting business.
There were plenty of bird sightings this past week. Monday night the backyard ash trees were crawling with woodpeckers and the like. They were host to four downies, a couple hairies, a white breasted nuthatch, and a male red-bellied woodpecker while a red-headed woodpecker was nearby in an aging silver maple. At the kindly neighbor’s pasture, the calling of male cardinals was present from many points and the chickadees kept a close eye on the dogs as the fence mending proceeded.
The entire town lost a great farmer, friend and public servant this past week. Davey Swenson unexpectedly passed away last Tuesday. He had made his morning breakfast excursion to the café and from there had stopped at the Mall for Men for coffee just as he’d done so many, many times over the years. There was paperwork to do and I didn’t get a chance to go back to the training table to be with the little fat buddies, gleaning the kind of wisdom and knowledge that only comes with experience. About 9:45 as I was on the phone I saw Davey wave at me and smile as he was heading for the door. I waved back and went back to my phone call. About a half hour later the sirens went off and emergency vehicles left town heading north. Not long after that there was a call trying to determine what time he’d left the Mall for Men. It was confusing to try to piece together details of what had happened, but it was apparent after a few hours that he’d suffered a fatal heart attack.
I kicked myself that I hadn’t taken the time to go back to have coffee that morning. After all, it went against the grain of one of the most important lessons he taught me. Davey always took the time to take a break and visit and encouraged others to do the same. I can’t recall a time over the years when planting or harvesting plots at his place when we didn’t stop to have something to eat and visit for a bit. Sure, he usually had lots of crop left to harvest, but he always said not to worry, it would get done. And he was right. This was always a man who I could count on to pick me up when I was having a bad day too. He’d sense it and before I knew it we were having coffee and conversing. The next thing I knew the problems suddenly didn’t seem so significant. Perhaps his practice of taking time to care drove some area workaholics nuts, but I’d contend that the results were reflected in the huge crowds present for the visitation and funeral. And perhaps it was meant to be that I was among the last people to see him alive. It served as a reminder of the lesson he taught me, and like Davey himself, one I won’t soon forget.
See you next week…real good then.
The scurs have had a hard time predicting the warm weekend temperatures as of late. Does this mean from now on we’ll only see warmth on the weekend? Guess again. Starting Wednesday, cloudy with a chance of showers. Highs of 50 – 55 and lows around 35. Cloudy on Thursday with an increasing chance of rain by evening. Highs near 45 and lows of 35. Cloudy and cooler with a good chance of rain and snow on Friday. Highs of only 35 - 40 and lows of 30. Saturday and Sunday, partly cloudy, highs of 40 - 45 and lows dropping to 25 - 30. Cloudy on Monday with an increasing chance of showers by evening. Highs of 50 and lows around 35. Cloudy on Tuesday with a chance of more rain showers. Highs of 55 and lows around 40. The normal high for April 15th is 57 and the normal low is 34. On April 17th the sun will rise before 6:30 and will set at 8 p.m. The scurs will be double checking their taxes in the slim hope of getting enough money back to buy more firewood until the weather decides to change.
The Full Moon for the month of April occurs on the 17th, Palm Sunday. This moon has many names including the Full Pink Moon for the commonly occurring ground phlox in the woodlands. It also goes by the Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon and the Full Shade Moon for the fish that were running in the streams of what is now the Northeastern U.S. The Ojibwe called this the Broken Snowshoe Moon and the Sioux, the Moon of Greening Grass or the Moon of Red Grass Appearing, as particularly the warm season native prairie grasses such as the bluestems would commonly start off the spring slightly reddish in appearance. After the recent rains and warm temperatures, lawns and pastures have begun to green up, something one wouldn’t have bet on a month ago.
Spring made some significant progress this last week as there were signs that perhaps we have turned the corner. Temperatures at the ranch skyrocketed to 78 degrees on Sunday afternoon as we dodged a weather bullet from the strong storms that developed to our east. Rains were generally lighter than forecast, so that doesn’t hurt when it does decide to dry up so field work can be accomplished. Buds on trees are swelling and some such as the silver maples are showing signs of pollinating. Removed the protective barrier and tree wrap from the peach tree and it appears to be alive when peeling back some bark, revealing a lime green cambium layer beneath it. While the snow piles in the yard have all melted there are still some vestiges of snow banks on the north sides of fencelines and groves. By next week they should be a memory. The ice went out on St. Olaf Lake sometime on the 9th or 10th. Since it is a relatively deep lake, it takes a little longer than some in the area. The western chorus frogs are out in force now. Near Silver Lake on Thursday, they were already loud and after the weekend warmth, the noise was deafening when conditions were still. On the 5th, I saw my first striped gopher of the season. Pocket gophers had been digging for several weeks prior to this. The initial leaves are unrolling on the rhubarb and given some warm rains, a piece of warm rhubarb pie before a weekend afternoon nap seems all but assured.
The birds are coming back too. On the 6th, the first of the tree swallows was seen checking out the nesting box in the windbreak. Definitely need to get around to all the bird houses to clean them out and make sure they’re ready for occupation by our feathered friends. The goldfinches continue their change to summer plumage. Right now they’re blotchy looking with an occasional male getting closer to full power sunshine yellow. On the 10th, there were two brown creepers probing the bark on the ash trees for insects. These little guys make an appearance every year about this time but have never stayed. Too bad as there are lots of insects including those pesky multi-colored Asian ladybeetles that suddenly have sprung to life. There was a male mosquito in the pickup last week and Mrs. Cheviot swatted one in the house as well. On Monday the 11th while soil sampling near the Little Cobb River, I spied a dragonfly. Just what we need to eat up some of those early season mosquitoes. On the same journey, there were white pelicans lazily making their way north, highlighting an all too rare sunny weekday afternoon.
Tree wrap and protective coverings were removed this past weekend. So far so good. Everything came through the winter in good shape. Even the peach tree appears to be very much alive. The pruning mess from the apples was picked up and the grapevine that had become a nuisance was beat into submission for another spring. Sunday we picked up a couple pear trees so the spot still needed to be decided on, along with a spot for the winterberries and dwarf burning bush, yet to be purchased. This decision-making process makes me oh so nap-ish. Some things never change.
Ruby has kept things amusing during the wet weather, although some of the things she does make one wonder about being man’s best friend. After the most recent rains, when we let her out for potty, rather than use the wet grass, she’s decided the sidewalk looks like a better place to keep her feet dry while doing her business. Oddly enough, when it comes to running around down by the barn at choretime, suddenly it doesn’t matter how wide or deep the puddle is, she’d rather run right through it than go around it. Go figure.
See you next week…real good then.
The scurs did well in the near term and not so well in the longer term last week. Can they make amends with their latest prognostications? Starting Wednesday, partly cloudy with highs around 55 and lows near 35. Thursday, cloudy with a good chance of rain. Highs of 45 and lows of 35. Mostly cloudy on Friday with a chance of rain developing by evening. Highs of 50 – 55 and lows of 35 – 40. Cloudy on Saturday with an increasing chance of showers. Highs of 50 – 55 and lows of 35 – 40. Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers once again for Sunday. Cooler with highs of 45 – 50 and lows near 40. Mostly cloudy for Monday with a chance of thunderstorms. Highs of 45 – 50 and lows near 30. Cool with a wintery mix for Tuesday. Highs 40 – 45 and lows around 40. The normal high for April 10th is 55 and the normal low is 32. We will experience 13 hours of daylight on the 6th, the first time since early last September. The scurs will be hoping the forecast April showers will not produce snowmen.
The weather was on everyone’s mind last week. With the ground freezing in the mornings, spring was approaching ever so slowly. With Saturday’s warmth, one could sense the pace picking up as temperatures made it into the 50s. Just seeing the number of tractors pulling farm implements by the ranch was an indication that people were starting to get anxious. We were fortunate that March precipitation was relatively light. At the ranch we officially measured 1.16” which isn’t all that much. So far in April, as of this writing, we’ve only accumulated another .2” so the drier trend is continuing. The only problem has been that until Sunday, we hadn’t hit 60 degrees. Cloudy weather has been a hallmark of the spring thus far, further slowing drying. Last year at this time small grain was seeded and field conditions had allowed for fertilizer applications. The ice was off St. Olaf Lake the end of March and is not off as of April 4th. Many snow banks remaining in the fencelines and in the groves as well. Not to worry however. Given some breezy, sunny, warm days and the spring could turn on a dime. The only problem is getting it to cooperate.
The weekend made me antsy, that’s for sure. I got tired of waiting for the snow banks on top of the electric fence in a couple spots to melt so I dug it out with the scoop shovel. Afterwards it was time to check the fence to see how winter had ravaged it once again. About this time Ruby decided to disobey a key command in her operating system so, as we went strolling along fixing the fence, she was in learning mode. By the time we finished we came to an understanding. Charging the fence once confident that all the wires are back on the insulators and the wires are up off the ground is a little like the scene when Clark Griswold plugs in the Christmas lights: it usually doesn’t work the first time you plug it in.
Oddly enough, it did work this time, so the next step was to let the ewes with lambs out for the first time this spring. Removing the wire holding the overhead door down caused quite a din as they were convinced they were going to be fed. When the door opened up it was mass pandemonium as about 90 head surged out into the afternoon sunshine. Soon the lambs began to run and the ewes kicked up their heels as well. It was definitely a moment we had been anticipating for far too long. Of course with 70-degree temperatures Sunday, all the snow melted, making me think I should’ve shoveled that fence out back in January.
There have been some positive signs that spring is edging closer. Last Thursday evening while coming in from chores there were over 50 swans in various small groups of a dozen to 20 or so flying in formation to the northwest. A meadowlark was heard Saturday morning after getting the hay unloaded. As we made our way around the fence on Saturday afternoon, one could make out the slow, faint croaking of one western chorus frog down near the pond. Over half the pond surface was still occupied by ice so that must’ve been one chilly little frog. Two days later, however, and all the ice was gone, so the first warm night, the sound from the pond should be deafening. The juncos are everywhere. It seems there’s one in or under just about every brush pile, automobile, grill or any other place they could possibly hide. Some of those brush piles need to see a match before much longer, but will wait until the juncos are done with them first. Male robins are fighting for territory. Watched a couple of them tangling in the yard while grilling one evening. Obviously hadn’t heard the “plenty of fish in the sea” line yet.
At the Mall for Men, the little fat buddies were the beneficiaries of a colossal error. When Mrs. Cheviot got a birthday cake to share last week, the bakery where she purchased it misunderstood her order. The little fat buddies wound up eating the better part of a whole sheet cake. It was amusing watching a group of a dozen grown men sitting around a table peering at the cake like a flock of vultures. Sure, it was torture and took a couple days, but somehow they managed to struggle through it. Quite a feat considering one of the best eating little fat buddies was away on business in Atlanta. Luckily, it was pretty good cake and the only complaint was there was no ice cream to go with it. Oh well, sometimes we must sacrifice.
See you next week…real good then.
The scurs called for a cool week and a cool week we received. Will it rebound this week and be spring again? Starting Wednesday, partly cloudy with highs of 40 – 45 and lows dropping to 25 - 30. Thursday, partly cloudy becoming mostly cloudy with a chance of showers. Highs of 40 – 45 and lows of 35. Mostly cloudy becoming partly cloudy on Friday with a chance of morning showers. Highs near 45 and lows around 30. Saturday, mostly clear. Highs around 50 and lows of 35. Cloudy on Sunday with a chance of showers. Highs of 45 and lows of 35. Cloudy on Monday with a chance of rain. Highs near 45 and lows around 25. Mostly cloudy Tuesday with a chance of more showers. Highs of 45 – 50 and lows. The normal high for April 1st is 50 and the normal low is 28. The sun will rise before 7 a.m. for the first time since February 24th. At this rate the scurs think it will surely be spring by May or possibly June. No foolin’.
Last week could only be characterized as a real weather downer. Just when it looked like we were suddenly playing with the lead, temperatures decided to behave more like the last week in February. High winds and cold rain followed by snow as a coup de grace nearly sent some over the edge. At the ranch, it was cause to put the tank heaters back in the water tanks, to smash ice out of the water buckets and drain the garden hose after each use. The long handled underwear were dug out of mothballs as was the heavy chore coat. It was a bit of a double-edged sword in some respects though. It did allow for some seed deliveries on the frozen yards and made spreading a few loads of manure possible until the fields got too greasy. Oh, it can still be spread when it’s greasy, but the resulting mud on the road raises the ire of motorists and can be a safety hazard when it becomes too thick. The water in the rivers and streams has been metered somewhat by the overnight freezing and thawing. Some of the predictions of record flooding have largely been averted. March precip has also run below last year in this area, so that hasn’t hurt.
There were some positives at the ranch, however. The frozen ground keeps Ruby much cleaner, and for that we can be thankful. She doesn’t like having to stay inside when it’s muddy, especially when it’s time to feed the bottle lambs. Speaking of that, they are starting to get into the creep feed as evidenced by their occasional absence at bottle time. The end of that business is coming nearer to a close. Along those same lines, after what seemed an eternity, we found the lamb we were looking for: the last one born for the year. Last Friday morning there she was, no more than an hour old, with the ewe licking her off. Put mother and daughter in a pen, got the ewe a bucket of warm water, then went off to do the chores in the other barn. When returning with feed for the new mom, the lamb was already up nursing. That’s the way it ought to be.
On the bird front, a large contingent of goldfinches has settled in. Only a few are starting to show some yellow color again, but all are showing signs of being hungry. It had been a while since the thistle feeders had been filled, so that suddenly needed to be done. With the snow largely gone, the pheasants have dispersed across the landscape, although there is one large rooster who appears to have staked a claim to the brushy area on the edge of the yard. Sunday afternoon he pecked at the corn and other goodies, then sunned himself apparently waiting for Miss Right to show up. Monday morning he was up bright and early, drumming and crowing before sunrise. That close to the house, the drumming almost rattles the windows. Some of the sandhill cranes must’ve decided the water was too hard to wade in. Six of them were heading back south on Friday morning. Swans were spotted Saturday lumbering along after I’d procured some straw from the Dubyas’. There are some areas where there is deeper open water, so one can bet they were heading towards it. The swans, not the Dubyas. While at the Dubyas’ however, we determined that the LeSueur river Lutheran church steeple at 125 feet was taller than their silo. The swans were flying higher than that.
At the Mall for Men, after solving the world’s problems, the little fat buddies have been busy tackling local issues. Odd that at an establishment known only for the truth would train its thoughts on the wind. Generally wind is considered Al Batt’s turf, hence the reason most of those windmills were built in his backyard. The flashing lights on those windmills have been of particular interest to our panel of experts. There have been instances when those of us of who get up in the middle of the night to make sure they’re blinking have noticed they haven’t been. Some nights, the white strobe lights were on and that prompted even more discussion and speculation. Apparently there were some problems that arose from an ice storm and that had the lights all out of kilter. Now we’re focusing our attention on the two small windmills east of town, trying to determine why the blades are sitting still. Conclusion? It’s because they’re not turning.
See you next week…real good then.