Fencelines

[Dotch]

Sleep pretty darling do not cry
And I will sing a lullaby

Last week’s judicious use of PB Blaster on the Weather Eye heat control cable apparently paid big dividends for the scurs. Weather this past week was absolutely gorgeous. Will their new found remedy continue to yield results? Starting Wednesday, sunny becoming cloudy with a good chance of a shower developing after midnight. Highs in the upper 50’s and lows in the upper 40’s. Mostly cloudy on Thursday with a good chance of morning showers. Highs in the upper 50’s and lows in the mid-40’s. Then the beautiful weather comes back. Mostly sunny on Friday with highs in the upper 60’s and lows in the mid-40’s. Sunny on Saturday with highs in the mid-60’s and lows in the mid-40’s. Sunday, mostly sunny becoming mostly cloudy with a slight chance for an evening shower. Highs again in the upper 60’s with lows in the upper 40’s. Partly cloudy and cooler on Monday with a modest chance of a shower. Highs in the upper 50’s with lows in the low 40’s. Tuesday, mostly sunny with highs in the low 50’s and lows in the mid-30’s. The normal high for October 25th is 55 and the normal low is 34. In a month the normal high will be the same as the normal low for October 25th. With corn harvest upon us the scurs anxiously await the roar of Bugtussle’s very own ten-man dryer.

How our weather fortunes have improved! Progress in the fields picked up steam as the week wore on. Soybean harvest is now nearing completion in most of the area including the replants. Corn harvest has begun in earnest with moistures running in the low to mid- 20’s. Test weights have been a little on the light side with many reports of 52 – 53 lbs. Several potential reasons for this given the loss of nitrogen following the heavy June rains, an early frost in some areas and stalk rot, also catalyzed by the wet June weather. Standability has become an issue in some fields and as was mentioned in previous editions, one will want to stay on top of corn harvest and not be waiting for corn dry enough to put it in the bin. Travels over the weekend also revealed a potential major problem over much of southern MN. It appears we could be one 40 – 50 mph windstorm away from a lot more down corn.

On Saturday, with corn harvest commencing it meant getting the screening wagon back to its rightful owner for a refill. This is almost always more difficult than it should be. First the tractor wanted to be persnickety about starting. Seems the solenoid is going and it takes some finesse to get it started. Of course the skid steer that I had repaired the week before was dead as a stone. Again, after getting nothing from putting the battery charger on it and some head scratching I remembered a 30 amp fuse on it had blown 10 years ago. It exhibited the same symptoms so after fishing around the odds and ends drawer I located a 10 year old package of 30 amp fuses. Replaced the fuse and voila! Back in business and able to move the wagon out of the space it was cramped into. The trip to beautiful downtown Matawan was all that it could’ve been and more. The wagon trailed well and actually made it to the destination in one piece. Well almost. The piece of electric fence wire holding the chute up had broken. Luckily I always carry a spare. It’s an unwritten rule that if you borrow something and it breaks you’re obligated to fix it. The former mayor of Waldorf and his sidekick seemed pleased to see it was restored with factory original parts.

Bird migration continues to roll along. There are still lots of robins and now that it’s warmed up a little, they’ve focused their attention to the earthworms that have become more willing to some above ground. Oh sure they’re still feeding on chokeberries but they do enjoy their earthworms. Bluebirds aren’t as plentiful of course but their softly spoken call lakes one aware of their presence. It also reminds me of the broods that were fledged both at the ranch and the kindly neighbors. Hopefully next year will bring even more. The fox squirrels continue to give Ruby and Fudgie something to occupy their spare time. With a little help from the blue jays the little rodents have cleaned up all the acorns under our trees, eating some but probably distributing them to points unknown. Finding the flat cap from one of the red oak acorns on the patio, one can only imagine where the seedlings might turn up.

Gardening has slowed primarily due to lack of daylight hours after work. The snap peas have disappointed with only a couple rubbery pods resulting after the heavy frosts. There are still carrots to dig and they look promising. The longer they are left in the ground the sweeter they seem to be. Soil conditions are such that one of these weekend afternoons we’ll need to take advantage of that. And we’re still enjoying the last of the tomatoes while sampling more of the new spuds. One softball sized red Pontiac is enough for a whole pan of fried potatoes. Combined with onions and some fried eggs on the side, it’s a combination that always qualifies as comfort food when one runs out of ideas for a quick supper. There are still lots of apples remaining to pick too so there can be some pies and baked apples. Did manage a trade of some apples for some excellent pears. While small they were very sweet. Even after the trade it still didn’t look like we had picked any apples.

Sunday meant a whirlwind tour to SE MN, the land of rolling hills and limestone bluffs. Taking MN 30 to Stewartville, US 63 to Spring Valley and the back road to Chatfield via Fillmore is about as good as it gets. The return route west out of Chatfield on MN 30 made for an encore performance as we wound our way along the Root River valley and climbed up the Cummingsville hill. The entire journey colors were at their peak and with every turn and bend in the road, a new panorama unfolded. The red oaks combined with the flame orange maples and yellow basswood were breathtaking with contrasting green pockets of white pines interspersed. Our return to the ranch coincided with the firing up of the corn dryer at neighbor David’s. Some say that it seems awfully loud but it’s just part of the furniture. Actually it qualifies as a sleeping aid. Upon my head hitting the pillow and hearing the hum of the dryer, it’s like singing a lullaby to a baby. The evidence: Sunday evening within a matter of minutes I was out like a light. The perfect end to a perfect day.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

Time goes by so slowly and time can do so much

With another bonus week the scurs are convinced that the well-lubed heat control cable continues to produce warm temps from the Weather Eye. Nash-Rambler had it right! Will our good weather fortunes continue another week is the other shoe about to drop? Starting Wednesday, mostly sunny with highs near 50 and lows in the mid-30’s. Mostly sunny and warmer with a slight chance of an overnight shower on Thursday. Highs in the upper 50’s and lows in the upper 20’s. For Halloween’s ghosts and goblins, sunny and cooler with highs in the low 40’s and lows in the upper 20’s. Saturday, sunny and slightly warmer with highs in the upper 40’s and lows in the upper 30’s. On Sunday, mostly cloudy and warmer with a slight chance of a shower. Highs in the low 50’s and lows in the low 40’s. Monday and Tuesday, partly sunny and continued mild. Highs in the low 50’s and lows in the upper 20’s. The normal high for October 31st is 51 and the normal low is 32. The scurs are tuning up the 3.8 liter six in the pumpkin orange ’74 Gremlin X, the perfect vehicle for collecting Halloween treats. Good thing there is no clock in it to set back at precisely 2 a.m. on Sunday morning.

Luckily Mother Nature gave us a treat in the way of a warmer than normal last half of October. Corn that everyone feared would never dry down was suddenly at very acceptable moisture levels. Even waxy corn, renowned for hanging onto its moisture and drying hard has come down into the upper teens. Corn yields however have been fickle. Much of the corn on corn has been disappointing with yield in many cases in the mid-150 range when drown outs are factored in. Not surprisingly corn on prevent plant acres has yielded very respectably. The bias has also been towards corn yielding better as one goes east, partially because of the number of prevented plant acres but equally as important, rolling topography that allowed the heavy June rains to run off and not pond on those fields. Soybeans harvest is for all practical purposes complete but again, showed the same east-west bias as the corn yields.

The Indian summer had everyone feeling rather giddy in spite of the fact the breezes had largely taken our fall color and plopped it on the ground. Case in point being the bright yellow Norway maple leaves cascading down the road cut. The sheep are happy to see one more category of treat however in addition to the usual apple cores, peelings and misfit vegetables. There’s a distinct line where the fence divides the lawn and pasture. On the lawn: Leaves. In the pasture: No leaves. The mower will make short work of the leaves soon enough on our side of the fence, turning them to confetti for the earthworms and other soil dwelling invertebrates.

The last of the apples were harvested Sunday afternoon. After giving away a few bushels earlier, there were still 3 – 4 bushels of Haralson’s, a couple bushel of Fireside’s and about a dozen remaining SnowSweet’s. All have their fit and while some like their tart taste for eating raw, the Haralson is still a tough to beat cooking apple. They don’t turn to mush while the complex flavor comes through. The variety has been around a long time, released by the U of M in 1922. Fireside was released in in 1943 and is primarily an eating apple although it is not real crisp. It makes up for that with its sweetness and also works well for baked apples. SnowSweet is a 2006 release and is generally an eating apple that oxidizes slowly. It maintains the white flesh color as someone observed as I gnawed on one the other day. The apple can also be made into sauce but with caramel, some say they are better than (fill in the blank).

The fall birds are taking center stage more and more. More activity on the suet from downy and hairy woodpeckers as well as the red bellies. A nuthatch seems to always be on one of the sunflower feeders during daylight hours and the jays get their fair share not only of sunflowers but corn from the ear corn feeder. There are a few pine siskins hanging around too. Not sure why but they pick at the thistle seed and leave, only to return again from parts unknown.

The time change is upon us and not a minute too soon. I mentioned a few weeks back that the alien had struck and turns out it never left. I’ve been through numerous cycles of starting to feel better for a few days only to be dragged back down into feeling like crud for a few more. The coughing as Mrs. Cheviot mentioned was coming from down around my toenails. If that weren’t bad enough, no matter how much I’d sleep, I was still tired. After about a month of this nonsense, Monday I’d had enough and consulted the local doctor. As luck would have it the diagnosis was about what I figured: Walking pneumonia. Now, it sounds worse than it really is. There’s no high temp as one would have with regular pneumonia but as the name suggests, you just sort of keep going through the paces and the stuff keeps nagging you. With some wicked antibiotics and other tincture, I’m taking the gloves off so I can get back in the game. This seems to have gone on forever but there is no alternative. There are dozens of tasks to be accomplished before the snow flies. In the meantime, we get our stolen hour back for some precious extra sleep. I was beginning to think that day would never come.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

Oh oh, telephone line, give me some time, I'm living in twilight

The scurs were glad to get a few more days of warmer temps through early week but some strange noises emanating from the Weather Eye have them worried. Is the other shoe about to drop or will our charmed weather lives continue? Starting Wednesday, mostly cloudy with a good chance of rain changing to snow by evening. Highs in the mid-50’s and lows in the mid-30’s. Partly sunny for Thursday with highs in the low 40’s and lows in the mid-20’s. Friday, partly sunny becoming cloudy with a slight chance of rain changing to snow in the evening. Highs in the low 40’s and lows in the low 30’s. Saturday, mostly cloudy with a slight chance of snow. Highs in the mid-30’s with lows in the low 20’s. Partly sunny on Sunday with highs in the mid-30’s and lows in the mid- 20’s. Monday, mostly cloudy with a slight chance of snow. Highs in the mid-30’s and lows in the upper teens. Tuesday mostly sunny and slightly warmer. Highs in the upper 30’s and lows in in the mid-teens. On the 7th we slip below 10 hours of daylight again for the first time since February 3rd. The normal high for November 11th is 44 and the normal low is 27. The scurs will be flying Old Glory in honor of all those who have served.

November 6th brings the Full Moon for the month, known as the Full Beaver Moon. The time of year to trap beaver and other furbearers was important as it meant a plentiful supply of warm fur for the long winter ahead. The moon also goes by the Full Frosty Moon. The Ojibwe knew this as the Freezing Moon and the Sioux called this the Moon of Falling Leaves. At the ranch we’re content to call it the Moon to Plug in Water Tank Heaters.

Harvest is nearing completion in most quarters. Corn yields continue to be generally disappointing with occasional blips over 200 but yields largely in the 160 – 170 range. Simply too much water in June, nitrogen loss, poor root systems, stalk rot, and a mid-September frost that caught some of the same areas that were already in trouble due to the other factors. Add it all up and it’s a season most of us are glad to be done with and got on to another one. Heading into next season, conditions for fall application of anhydrous ammonia have been nearly ideal locally. The relatively light precipitation for the past two months has led to very friable soils. Fall tillage is also progressing well and despite the fact the corn started out wet, the relatively quick end to harvest was a pleasant surprise.

Some lows in the low 20’s did indeed bring out the water tank heater in the main barn as the water would’ve been frozen solid otherwise. It also meant draining hoses in order to avoid hauling water buckets around. Luckily that was short-lived although we know full well that won’t last. Banking the well pit with fresh bales will need to happen too before too long. The old ones make good cover for sensitive plants and decompose into the garden, enhancing the soil for upcoming seasons.

At the ranch, fall has also progressed rapidly. Carrots were harvested and being left in the ground this late they’re almost ridiculously sweet. Some of the small trees were wrapped as well as the bunnies don’t seem to care that there is still plenty of green grass they could eat. The leaves were ground up ahead of Monday night’s rain. Strong breezes allowed a few stragglers to sneak across the yard behind me. Fudgie and Ruby were both tuckered out after following the mower back and forth for much of the day. They enjoyed it as it will likely be their last tire biting and lawnmower herding session of the season.

The dense canopy of leaves suddenly being down revealed the typical large number of bird nests left behind every fall. As we’ve mentioned before it’s no wonder it gets noisy during the spring and summer months. There is the usual collection of robin, mourning dove, chipping sparrow and grackle nests along with some that after weathering it’s really hard to tell. Probably the most interesting among all the nests is likely one belonging to a catbird. It all makes sense now. Between the dense bushes and the 40 billion mosquitoes contained in them I could never locate the reason for all the scolding. Thanks Mike for the nice photos of the catbird nest from your place this summer to help cement that one!

Probably the biggest news coming out of the ranch though is the trenching in of the phone line that was residing on top of the ground for over 13 months. Not exactly sure what triggered the sudden recent activity by the phone company. Could’ve been the irate phone call from Mrs. Cheviot. Might’ve been the scathing complaint I filed with the MN Public Utilities Commission. Or perhaps it was my less than complimentary letter including the picture of Eddie Albert talking on the phone on the telephone pole. Whatever. I could go on about the actions or inactions of the phone company but somehow we are just relieved the debacle is over. Being able to mow the lawn straight through without moving the line or concern about chopping it up for the first time all year was a moral victory. And, seeing the cable lying alongside the road less than a week ago, having it buried again meant one less thing to worry about with winter closing in.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

Keep your eyes on the road, your hands upon the wheel

The scurs were right to be concerned about the Weather Eye’s unusual noises last week. It meant a major cool down was on the way. Will the thermostat stay stuck open or will we catch a break? Starting Wednesday, partly sunny with a slight chance of snow. Highs in the mid-20’s and lows in the low teens. Thursday, mostly cloudy with highs in the mid-20’s and lows in the mid-single digits. Mostly sunny Friday with highs in the low 20’s and lows around 10. Saturday, mostly cloudy and warmer with a moderate chance of snow. Highs in the upper 20’s with lows around 5. Partly sunny for Sunday and colder. Highs in the upper teens and lows in the upper single digits. Monday, mostly sunny and slightly warmer. Highs near 20 with lows in the upper single digits. Mostly sunny on Tuesday with highs in the mid-20’s and lows in the low teens. The normal high for November 15th is 42 and the normal low is 25. The scurs are thinking they should flush the Bar’s Stop Leak out of the heater core.

With an increased sense of urgency, farming largely shifted gears last week with fall tillage and anhydrous ammonia being applied in most quarters. Manure applicators were also busy as witnessed by the pungent aroma clearing nostrils across much of the area if the wind direction happened to be right. If weather forecasts are correct some of this activity will come to a screeching halt once the ground freezes up for the season. Tiling will continue for a while longer but again there are limits even though the equipment nowadays can pull tile plows and trench through some formidable frost. There are still some fields of corn left to harvest here and there though. Luckily we dodged the bullet of the snowstorm that went to the north. The ten-man dryer continues to roar in Bugtussle although the days of that too are numbered. One of the cool days last week when snow was predicted, there were what appeared to be flakes floating as I opened the pickup door. False alarm: Just pink bees wings from Bugtussle’s own ten-man dryer.

It looks like gardening is officially done at the ranch. Monday night a quick foray into the garden LED to grabbing the winter radishes as well as the last of the spring types planted in late summer. While the quantity wasn’t what we’ve come to expect the quality was superb. Like the carrots, the radishes are sweet yet they pack a subtle punch to complement the sweetness. All in all the garden and small orchard were a success. Even though we don’t can, in addition to carrots and radishes there are plenty of squash, potatoes and apples to savor over the upcoming months.

The day is drawing nigh when barn cleaning at the ranch will commence. First though the tractor needed some work. The solenoid, the starter button and the ground cable were replaced. By the appearance of the red paint on the parts they were original. Once replaced the International 263 six took off like a champ. After 43 years I could only shake my head and marvel. They just don’t make stuff like they used to.

In the yard at the ranch we’ve pretty much given up on mowing the road cut one last time. That’s fine as there just weren’t enough good days to allow it to happen. The little solar lights that have graced our patio all summer are reflecting the shortening days and the cloudy November weather. Seldom do they stay lit much past 8 o’clock.

The birds and squirrels really don’t seem to care. The squirrels are content to munch the hearts out of the corn kernels and clean up under the sunflower feeders. Some goldfinches have returned and expect if snowfall begins to mount, we’ll see more of them. Colder weather meant the nectar feeders needed to be taken in and replaced by an additional suet feeder. The cold has brought additional activity from the woodpeckers. The most faithful of our feathered friends though have been the blue jays. Some don’t like them as they can be mean to the other birds. Here however they seem to just do their own thing in addition to adding color to a suddenly gray landscape.

Road construction in Bugtussle seems to have lasted an eternity. Actually it’s only been since mid-July but it just never seems to be completed. We haven’t had to worry about communication because it’s been nonexistent. Luckily, if there were any assassins after me they’d have a rough time as it’s seldom that I’ve been able to get into the Mall for Men the same way two days in a row. The daily shell game of cones, barricades and construction equipment parked willy-nilly on the streets has taken its toll. Oh well, just as the fieldwork is coming to an end due to the cold weather, pouring concrete and laying asphalt that should’ve been done over a month ago has ceased.

The icy roads and snowfall issued a wakeup call across all of MN on Monday and Tuesday. Mrs. Cheviot found that out on US 14 the other day. Luckily she was paying attention to the rapidly deteriorating conditions on the bridge deck and made a nice recovery when the car began to fishtail. Not surprised particularly with all the diddling around people do on their cell phones while driving that there were as many accidents as there were though. Regardless of the reason for the accidents it’s winter and driving accordingly is on order. Time to listen to Roadhouse Blues methinks. Using hands free of course.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

Memories seem like yesterday

The scurs were beginning to think that someone flipped the calendar ahead a couple months. Obviously the part they received in the Kelvinator box was not meant for the Weather Eye. Will or will they get the wrong part again? Starting Wednesday, partly sunny with a small chance of snow. Highs near 20 and lows in the low single digits. Mostly sunny on Thursday with highs around 15 and lows near zero. Mostly sunny again for Friday only warmer. Highs near 25 and lows around 10. Partly sunny becoming cloudy on Saturday with a slight chance of overnight freezing rain. Highs in the mid-30’s and lows in the low 30’s. Sunday, mostly cloudy with a modest chance of snow and rain. Highs in the upper 30’s and lows in the upper 20’s. Mostly cloudy with a modest chance of snow on Monday. Highs around freezing and lows in the mid-teens. Tuesday, mostly sunny with a slight chance of morning flurries. Highs in the mid-20’s with lows near 10. The normal high for November 21st is 38 and the normal low is 21. On the 23rd we’ll see 9 hours and 30 minutes of daylight, the first time since back on January 21st. The scurs are hoping their new part for the Weather Eye arrives before then.

The weather took a turn for the worse last week as we saw temperatures plunge far below normal. How far? The daily highs have been below the normal lows for this time of year. In fact, the highs have been well below normal for the coldest part of winter which typically is January 8th – 22nd. The normal high in that timeframe is 22 and the normal low is around 3 above. Many lakes froze over on the weekend including St. Olaf and Beaver. So far at the ranch we’ve recorded 3.8” of snow. Enough bad news. Now for the good news: The weather according to some longer range forecasts indicate a warmer than normal December. That would be a welcome respite from the November that has largely been disappointing from a temperature standpoint.

There are still those battling to get the last of their corn in the bin. As one might expect, combining in the snow is not always pretty. Viewing some of the fields, seeing the snow on husks and leaves then watching the snow covering the snouts appear one could only imagine that plugged sieves might ensue. There were reports of some machines needing to find heated shops to thaw out. Also some reports claiming air filters were plugging with ice crystals from the fine snow. It’s just been one of those years when the fun never stops for some.

The birds at the feeders in the yard have kicked it up a notch with the extreme cold. As if on cue a male cardinal appeared after the snow began to fall Saturday. We’re blessed to see one this early and look forward to seeing more of him. Lots of woodpeckers and nuthatches focusing on higher density energy foodstuffs like sunflower seed and suet. Four fox squirrels are monopolizing the ear corn while keeping the dogs on alert. The bunnies are back as well, taking the night shift to clean up after the squirrels. And we’re seeing an occasional rooster pheasant sail through the back yard. We’ve heard them occasionally but this is the first we’ve seen of them.

At the ranch we were glad to get the sheep at the kindly neighbors’ back home on Saturday before the weather went completely in the tank. Nothing fun about getting stuck in the snow with a pickup and trailer either. Most had been there since mid-May so it was time. The ewes and ram loaded easily after some trickery on my part. Like the little fat buddies, food is a tremendous incentive when it comes to getting them to do what you want. I had the dogs at the ready ready back at the ranch but they wouldn’t be pressed into action until we came home. I must’ve been rather stealthy as the kindly neighbor came out in time to help me load up the last of the equipment. He had earlier in the week loaded up the corn screenings so the sheep and I were very grateful for all his efforts. We’ve pastured the sheep there now for at least 20 years. Seems like only yesterday.

Getting in the yard as the snow was starting to fall more heavily the ewes all unloaded off the trailer quickly except one of the three black ewes. As I was trying to hold the ram back I was becoming increasingly frustrated with her bleating and hesitance to follow the other eight that practically flew out of the back. Finally I was able to use the divider in the trailer as a pinch gate on the ram that was becoming annoyed with his inability to move. Finally the ewe got the hint and out the door she went. I let the ram out of the sleeper hold and proceeded to back the trailer up to the barn for his accommodations. Fudgie and Ruby were glad to see him as he rumbled off the trailer, nipping at his side to make sure he went straight into the pen. He should’ve been happy after a long stint wandering up and down the hills at the pasture. To make sure he enjoys his stay at the Cheviot Sheraton I left a mint on his pillow.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

Taking care of business and working overtime

The new part for the Weather Eye arrived just in the nick of time. The warmer weekend conditions were welcome. Will we see them continue or head back into January again? Starting Wednesday, mostly cloudy with a slight chance of snow. Highs in the upper 20’s and lows in the upper single digits. Mostly sunny and much colder for Turkey Day. Highs in the low teens and lows in the upper single digits. Partly sunny and warmer on Friday. Highs in the low 20’s with lows near 10. Saturday, partly sunny with a high near 20 and lows around 10. Mostly sunny with the start of a warming trend on Sunday. Highs in the mid-20’s with lows around 10. Monday, mostly sunny and warmer. Highs in the upper 20’s with lows in the mid-20’s. Mostly sunny Tuesday and much warmer. Highs in the low 40’s and lows in the mid 20’s. The normal high for November 27th is 34 and the normal low is 18, the same as we might expect on March 5th. The scurs will be keeping a drumstick in reserve so they can gnaw on it while all the Black Friday bargain hunters are out and about.

Cold conditions this past week put a damper on many folk’s activities. It was a good week to stay inside and hunker down by the fire. Cold temperatures this early while not unheard of certainly caught many of us off-guard and certainly not ready for it. How rapidly it does change however. The 50 degree high on Sunday at the ranch melted the bulk of the snow off the lawn and surrounding fields. The grass under the snow was just as green as it had been all fall. It even had me considering an attempt to finish mowing the road cut out front. There were still remnants of a few drifts but I bet I could’ve made it through them. Some tillage could still be accomplished yet in the remaining fields of freshly picked corn. The frost didn’t penetrate deeply there as snow and the insulation from the corn kept it at bay. Moisture in November has been limited as well. Roughly only .65” of liquid equivalent recorded at the ranch thus far for the month. On bare open ground it’s a little different story as you’ll read below.

Alas, there was barn cleaning to do and not a moment too soon. As I get older this activity gets a little less fun and it’s not like there was a lot of fun in it to begin with. The equipment needs to be maintained what with oil changes, hydraulic filter changes, greasing, oiling, adjusting, etc. Then of course there’s putting the forks on the skid loader. Then go grab a couple troughs and plop them over the fence since it’s easier than giving yourself a hernia. And in the main barn, taking gates and panels down consumes a fair amount of time before you get started. Almost seems like more time is spent on getting ready than actually cleaning the barn sometimes. Of course one can look at it from the standpoint that being prepared is one reason once underway, it goes pretty smoothly without a lot of surprises.

The weather was a surprise of sorts though. Warmer temperatures were expected but not to the extent that the fields thawed out entirely. It got to the point on Sunday after the first two loads that I was cutting in 6” – 8”. It was getting so bad that I wasn’t sure I was going to make it back to the yard. It’s kind of hard to hide a red tractor and spreader stuck in the field by the house from the neighbors. With discretion being the better part of valor I opted to back the spreader around by the compost pile and unload the last two loads out back in the pasture. Made for quick unloading and I was able to get the barn cleaned one more time.

Luckily before all this took place we were able to dispense with our lamb crop as well as the cull ewes. The timing couldn’t have been any better. Not only were there fewer critters to deal with during barn cleaning, it makes chores go a lot faster, not to mention using much less feed. What took 45 minutes to an hour was suddenly down to about 15 minutes. Makes one wonder what to do with all that new found free time. Not to worry I always tell myself. There’s no shortage of people who seem to think you owe them a slice of any free time you might have, especially this time of year.

Not a lot really in the way of new birds and animals to report at the feeders. On the 20th we had a female cardinal under the feeder. The male was nowhere to be seen and with no snow, it makes him more difficult to pick out. There are several mourning doves that have hung around and some of them have actually been showing up in the barn of all places. A group of grackles (blackbirds) appeared just ahead of the warm up and stuck around most of last weekend. The squirrels just keep munching the ear corn as well as digging in the yard for acorns or other goodies they may have stashed. Probably the most interesting animal though at the ranch is the frog living in the basement. I haven’t found him yet but can hear him croaking away from time to time. Just hope he’s not super large so we don’t smell him after he really does croak.

Ruby and Fudgie have been readying themselves for Thanksgiving. They got all perfumed from the barn although the exercise of following the skid loader and manure spreader back and forth wore them out. Both were down for the count Saturday night. With some of the baking Mrs. Cheviot has been doing lately both dogs noses have been getting a workout. It will reach a crescendo come Thursday. They can’t wait for that turkey to come off the Weber as their beaks will be working overtime.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

If I had a million dollars…

The scurs continue to have issues getting the Weather Eye to function properly as part of their weather forecasting equipment. They are beginning to wonder if this isn’t part of the reason AMC was in trouble. Are we in trouble with more cold or will we get a pass again soon? Starting Wednesday, sunny with highs near 20 and lows around 10. Partly sunny and warmer on Thursday. Highs in the mid-20’s and lows in the upper teens. Friday and Saturday, partly sunny with highs near the freezing mark and lows in the upper teens to low 20’s. Sunday, mostly cloudy with a slight chance of rain or snow. Highs in the mid-30’s and lows in the low 20’s. Monday, mostly cloudy with highs in the low 30’s and lows in the upper teens. Mostly cloudy on Tuesday with highs in the upper 20’s and lows in the upper teens. The normal high for December 7th is 29 and the normal low is 13. On the 9th we slip to 9 hours of daylight, the same as we saw back on January 2nd. The scurs are looking on the bright side: We only have about 6 more minutes to lose and the days will start to get longer on Christmas Day. Would Santa lie to you?

The Full Moon for the month occurs on the 7th and goes by several names including the Full Cold Moon, the Full Long Nights Moon and the Moon before the Yule. Indeed this moon includes the longest nights of the year not to mention typically some of the coldest temperatures. The Ojibwe called this the Small Spirits Moon and the Sioux called it the Moon When Deer Shed their Antlers. At the ranch it’s normally known as the Moon When Border Collies Continue to Shed. And shed. And shed.

More celestial planetary occurrences in the night sky if you’re willing to brave the cold long enough to take a peek. According to U of M’s Deane Morrison, Jupiter will be in the east and move westward as the month progresses. Mars will set about 3 hours after the sun does for the entire month. A conjunction with the crescent moon on the 24th may be interesting to see if the skies allow it. Both Saturn and Venus are visible as well, with Saturn appearing in the southeastern morning sky and Venus present in the evening sky to the southwest. Their presence will become more pronounced in January.

More snow this past week bringing the total for the month at the ranch to 8.8”. Luckily we’ve had some thaws that caused much of it to disappear. It wasn’t a month however without some severe cold with record low high temperatures set on the 17th and 18th of 14 and 12 respectively at the SROC in Waseca. We also had a bitter cold Thanksgiving Day with highs around 8 at the ranch after an overnight low of around – 8 with an encore performance the morning of the 28th. The SROC also tied the record low high temperature for that date in addition to setting a record low at -17. For the month, they also recorded a -9.1 departure from the normal average temperature. Reputedly we’re supposed to get a stretch of some 40 degree days in mid-December. We’d better see it soon if my faith in the global warming alarmists is to be reaffirmed.

Thanksgiving marked the coldest day I ever recall cooking a turkey on the grill. Of course with charcoal, one just adjusts the amount of briquettes accordingly. Luckily it was relatively calm and the 12 lb. bird was done in around two hours. In the meantime Brother Roger and his wife were busy fixing mushroom cap hors devours in the broiler. Yum! It was a great day prefaced by a card I’d discovered in my desk that Mom had written us back in 2010. In the note card, it relayed her excitement about her and Fudgie coming over for a Thanksgiving stay, thanking us for vegetables we’d dropped off, and a PS making Mrs. Cheviot know how much she loved the note cards. Simple things but it was always as if you’d given her a million dollars. While she wasn’t there physically, I have to believe Mom was watching. I know too she’d be happy Fudgie has a decent place to live and actually helps out every morning with the chores. It’s wonderful to open the gate, roll the feed cart through it and not worry about sheep coming out of it.

Ruby and Fudgie had several big days actually. The new snow Wednesday provided a perfect opportunity for them to roughhouse Thanksgiving morning. The turkey meant some giblets to be shared after sensory overload when it came in the door. There was a skid loader needing repairs (again) on Saturday during the warm up. Lots of tire biting and growling to be done once it commenced. That night after chores I came in and turned on the TV then was distracted with some errands. Ruby was barking her head off at something. I came into the living room only to discover there was a dog show on and she was lunging at the TV, upset with a black cocker spaniel. Thought about changing the channel to something I could watch. Unforgiven was on. That didn’t work. Between Clint Eastwood and horses it’s tough to tell which one Ruby hates more.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

And if I claim to be a wise man,
Well, it surely means that I don't know

The scurs borrowed a Weather Eye unit from an AMC Pacer thinking all that might make for a warmer weather scenario. There was a reason they were known as a “Greenhouse on Wheels”. Will this propel us into those warmer temperatures or just become one of those snow globes? Starting Wednesday, mostly sunny with highs in the low 30’s and lows around 20. Partly sunny Thursday with highs in the mid-30’s and lows in the upper 20’s. Friday, partly sunny with a chance of light sprinkles. Highs in the low 40’s and lows in the upper 30’s. Mostly cloudy on Saturday with a chance of daytime sprinkles and rain in the overnight. Highs in the mid-40’s with lows in the low 40’s. Sunday mostly cloudy beginning the start of a slight cooling trend. Highs in the low 40’s with lows in the low 20’s. Partly sunny Monday with a slight chance of rain and snow. Highs near 30 and lows falling to 13. Tuesday, mostly sunny and cooler. Highs in the mid-20’s with lows in the low 20’s. The normal high for December 15th is 26 and the normal low is 9. We begin our descent into the darkest days of winter with 8 hours and 55 minutes of daylight, with roughly only one more minute to lose before the shortest day of the year on the 21st. However the sun will have already begun setting later by the 14th. The scurs will have to draw the shades a tad earlier to reap the benefits of more sleep before starting their Christmas shopping bright and early the evening of the 24th.

Precipitation has been sparse so far in December with nothing measurable being recorded at the ranch. Not a big deal and as Mark Seeley has been fond of pointing out over the years, this is a good time of year for a drought if you’re growing corn and soybeans anyway. Something that is a little concerning however is the trend that started once again in July. We have had only one month at the ranch anyway since then where precip was above normal and that was due to a heavy rainfall event on the 31st. All the months since that time have been well below normal. With December off to a dry start and soils drier than they were last year at this time, it’s something to watch as we move into the New Year.

It has been one of the more bland winters to watch the birds at the ranch too. The relatively open meteorological winter likely is large part of that with many of the feedstuffs our usual visitors enjoy still exposed. There are still some faithful customers though. A red-bellied woodpecker makes a morning pilgrimage to the suet daily and the blue jays keep an eye on him and the ear corn. Juncos pick at the lawn in groups and congregate with the house sparrows under the feeders from time to time. They apparently are wary of the sharp-shinned hawks and kestrels that happen by looking for a little lunch.

More moderate temperatures were definitely on everyone’s pre-Christmas wish list. Spending some time in downtown Minneapolis last week, venturing out was not on my list so stayed in at the hotel to eat and write. With Mrs. Cheviot in charge back at the ranch, was hoping there were no calls about broken pipes or equipment not functioning. Fortunately some forward planning had been done and we were in good shape to settle in for the winter. The sheep devoured most of the fall decorations including such staples as pumpkins and gourds prior to my leaving. There was plenty of feed on hand so they were set. About one more short day of barn cleaning and that will be completed. Now if I could just find someone with a strong back and a weak mind.

Speaking of that, the reason I was in the Twin Cities was to attend the North Central Weed Science Society meetings. The last one I attended was back in 2001 so was curious to see what was being discussed. In 2001 the topics were largely centered on glyphosate resistant crops. In 2014, the presentations were largely addressing glyphosate resistant weeds. There were also people I hadn’t seen for a long time so it was great to catch up and dispel any rumors of my younger days. After sitting through 35 presentations in 3 days, I remembered why I was always so tired after those meetings. There was a lot of information to absorb and then there were the presentations.

Coming off the NCWSS meetings was the MN Lamb and Wool conference that Mrs. Cheviot convinced me to attend in Chaska. Back to another stay at a hotel and another set of meetings. The best part of this one though was the presentation the first night by the chef. He had raised lambs in 4-H and had some excellent ideas for cooking with various spices and techniques. We got to sample his creations along with some locally produced wine and sheep cheese. Impressive! Lamb is not something we as Americans consume very much of anymore. As sheep marketing guru Brett Oehlke pointed out in another talk, we Americans consume more pounds of garlic per capita than we do lamb. Just goes to show there’s so much to know and limited time to learn it. A lot of shepherds at this meeting and although not a lot claiming to be wise men.

See you next week...real good then.

[Dotch]

You make it hurt so good

The scurs got the most out of the Weather Eye from the Pacer last week. They were wondering if it was hooked up right however as when the lever was on cold, we got warm. Will sliding the lever the other direction make it cold? Starting Wednesday, mostly sunny with a high of 22 and a low in the low teens. Thursday, mostly sunny with highs in the mid-20’s and lows in the mid-teens. Partly sunny on Friday and continued warmer with highs in the upper 20’s and lows in the upper teens. Saturday, mostly cloudy with highs near the freezing mark and lows in the upper teens. Partly sunny Sunday with highs in the upper 20’s and lows in the upper teens. Monday, partly cloudy with highs again near freezing and lows in the low 20’s. Partly cloudy for Tuesday with highs in the mid-30’s and lows in the low 20’s. A sneak peek at Christmas Day looks like mostly sunny with a high in the mid-20’s and a low in the upper teens. The normal high for December 21st is 24 and the normal low is 7. Astronomical winter also begins on the 21st. We will see the shortest amount of daylight for the year at 8 hours and 54 minutes. By Christmas Day we will have already gained a minute back. The scurs will slather themselves with suntan lotion to celebrate. They may need to find a tanning booth first given the recent spate of cloudy weather.

Looks as though we are headed for what is likely to be a brown Christmas. Early week snow didn’t amount to much so sliding on any area hills may be difficult. The November snow seems to be a distant memory with only about .2” recorded on Tuesday. Several observations were made on a recent jaunt to get the electric fence up and running as the sheep were wandering the pasture. After a rooster pheasant gave me a start right by the barn, I noted the posts were easy to push in the ground in spots already on Saturday. Poking around the yard revealed very little evidence of frost. The grass is still green enough in the lawn to make one wonder if it would need mowing again. Finally, a trip to the pond area found that unsafe to walk on especially with a leaky pair of boots. Ice fishing activity seemed to have followed suit.

The recent warm spell has awakened the raccoons and many of them find their way onto area roadways where they seem to have a death wish. Not wanting the dogs to venture forth to investigate, I got the scoop shovel out and tossed one local casualty off the road into the field. Hoping to possibly see one of the eagles reported in the area. Some of the indoor pests have awoken as well. A big noisy fly fell out of the light fixture at the Mall for Men onto the table as I was tapping away on the keyboard. I was prepared as the flyswatter was still within reach.

Saturday made a good day to finally grab a Christmas tree. We were a little concerned that they would be picked over to the point that we would get the Charlie Brown tree but our fears were unfounded. Mrs. Cheviot was drawn to a nice Frazier fir right away so who was I to argue? I was just glad I wasn’t stuck with picking it out myself. I am more than happy to carry it to the vehicle which in this case was the venerable Soccer Mom van or Gus Bus. For some reason that even behaved. Since the weather had been dry it didn’t pee on my foot and the key fob remote even started working again. Oh well, at least the defroster fan still only works on the highest setting, roaring so loudly you can’t hear a thing when driving it. Not that I can hear much anyway.

Sunday after the choir Christmas service it was time to do battle and clean the lambing barn. When we had returned from Saturday’s tree purchasing excursion, I’d hooked up the tractor and spreader, as well as opening everything up so we could get at it quickly. It wouldn’t be possible to haul it to the field as conditions were too muddy so adding to the pile in the lot was our easiest option. I’d figured a load maybe two was all that was in there. I would be wrong. After attempting to fill the skidsteer bucket and back out, it was too slimy to even get enough traction to do that. Our only alternative was to use pitchforks and load the spreader by hand. If you’ve never pitched sheep manure you really don’t know what you’re missing.

On a good day, it’ll come off in big heavy sheets so progress can be made. Sometimes and this was one of those times, it’s stubborn and the top crumbles into pieces making it frustrating to handle. This is especially true if not much bedding was used over the course of the summer months to bind it together. Even though sheep are known for their packing ability, dried out, finely ground pieces of grass simply don’t bond very tightly. In this case, it often works better if the top freezes first and a pick axe is used to bust it loose. Fun for the whole family!

Mrs. Cheviot and I weren’t waiting around for that as we wanted it cleaned before the weather decided to change its mind. We were at it from about 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and wound up grinding through three large loads for the compost pile. The sheep are always happy once the lambing barn is cleaned out. Their water tank is cleaned out and moved inside. New straw is spread for the ewes to pick through and the barn becomes a comfy place to sleep out of the elements. Seeing all the little beds where they’d nestled into the straw overnight made me glad we’d completed the task. And despite our aches and pains, we might’ve kept the snow at bay while we were at it.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

Good men through the ages tryin' to find the sun.

The scurs were right in assuming they’d connected the cables for the Weather Eye incorrectly. Hot is cold and vice-versa. Sorta like those faucets some amateur plumber at a gas station hooked up. Will they switch the cables or continue to live on the edge for a white Christmas forecast? Starting Wednesday, cloudy and breezy with a modest chance of snow. Highs in the low 30’s and lows in the low 20’s. Christmas Day, mostly cloudy with a slight chance of snow. Highs near freezing and lows in the mid-20’s. Cloudy and colder with a slight chance for snow on Friday. Highs in the low 20’s and lows in the low single digits. Saturday, mostly sunny with a high in the upper teens and lows near 5. Mostly cloudy on Sunday with a chance for flurries. Highs in the upper teens and lows in the upper single digits. Monday, partly cloudy with a few flurries possible. Highs in the low 20’s and lows near 10. Continued cold on Tuesday with some occasional sunshine. Highs in the upper teens and lows in the mid-single digits. The normal high for Christmas Day is 24 and the normal low is 6. The scurs will be trying to find a sunny day so they can start Christmas shopping.

A dusting of snow last week made for a semi-white Christmas in spots if you look hard enough. Come press time however we may see enough to qualify as white although the accumulations forecast are not heavy for this area of MN. There’s time for that to change however. Just in case, several have mentioned putting snowblowers on and I may even decide to put the chains on the tractor. That usually is enough to make sure it won’t snow much. Some last minute tillage was accomplished last week in area fields following the thaw once the ground froze again allowing for better traction. A season that started with much promise is finally in the books for many.

A fellow weather freak sent me this link to a story from Science Daily detailing the activity of golden-winged warblers ahead of a major storm. Over the many years, I’ve noticed bird and animal behavior that seems to be weather related. For instance, the cardinal’s appearance at the ranch has been linked to recent precipitation events and the sheep seem to be able to detect rainfall before it arrives or is about to pass. Sometimes they’re just hungry so it doesn’t matter. While the article takes some liberty with presumptions about bird behavior related to climate change, the gist of the matter is that bird activity is indeed a harbinger of things to come, sometimes anyway.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/12/141218131413.htm

Around the yard at the ranch we continue to see sparse appearances of winter birds. A new “squirrel proof” feeder (believe it when I see it) has been employed and so far it has worked. Even the birds haven’t eaten out of it yet. It will take them a while to get used to it. It was time to make another attempt anyway after the squirrels finished off the last one by chewing through the cable. I guess if you’re a squirrel and have lots of free time that’s what you do. While watching for activity on the new feeder, we spied what is likely to be a Little Jerry progeny. This rooster pheasant was definitely one of the longest tailed models spotted in a long time. He came out of the plumb and sumac thicket then over to the brush pile. Then back to the plumb thicket. Yup, definitely a Little Jerry relative.

Was questioned by one of Al Batt’s Bruce’s the other day concerning the progress of the Studebaker restoration. Not much has happened since seeing 5 out of 6 exhaust valves stuck open back in June. A decision was made to have the engine overhauled however and a gentleman who works on flathead Fords in Mankato has been contacted. Interestingly enough, this particular Bruce was once a Studebaker salesman and mentioned the ’61 Lark VI that the dealer allowed him to use. According to him it was a well-made little car and he enjoyed driving it. I don’t doubt that a bit. The ’60 Lark VI was the same way and the ’61 should’ve been an improvement with the OHV Skybolt Six engine Studebaker put in it. The 1960 Lark VI still had a flathead six with its origins from their 1939 Champion model. If there’s been one common theme on this project though, it’s that the Studebaker folks I’ve run across loved their cars and are some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet.

Had the good fortune recently to attend not one but two Gopher women’s basketball games. Anything other than working sounded good after last weekend. Within a few minutes of each other last Friday I had two offers to go to The Barn and was able to accept both. First from friends whose company we enjoy and another from none other than Vista’s noted Swedish astronomer. It’s been cloudy so he had some free time on his hands. Can’t remember having more fun at a place that brings back memories along with people we have come to cherish. The icing on the cake was the Gophers and Carlie won both games! Gotta love it when a plan comes together.

Last but not least, presents for the NRHEG Star Eagle staff. Not sure if I’m missing anyone so don’t feel left out if I do. For Reed, a 1939 Superman comic book. Not as fun to look at as what Reed draws but worth some ching. For Jim, a discount on haircuts. I know Jim, my day is coming. Leo still likes to trick me by flipping the mirror over and showing me the back side of it when he’s done. For Tracy, memory pills and a note pad. If you write it down you’ll know when to take them. For Nicole, sweets for the sweet. Some of my signature hand-dipped pretzels, sans Ruby hair of course. For Al Batt, my old “squirrel proof” birdfeeder. I am a ‘re-gifter”. Works well especially if you don’t have any squirrels. For Kugie, my Sid Hartman bobblehead doll. I predict he and Don White will someday take over the Dave Mona and Sid Hartman show on ‘CCO.

Merry Christmas!

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

When I smile, tell me some bad news
Before I laugh and act like a fool

After getting lots of blank stares as they drove their burnt orange ’74 Gremlin X, Christmas shopping, the scurs manufactured a white Christmas for some. An encore performance more general in coverage followed on the 27th. Will we see additional snow or will the Weather Eye be blowing cold, dry air? Starting Wednesday, New Year’s Eve, mostly sunny with high temperatures around 10 and lows around 7. Thursday, New Year’s Day, mostly sunny with highs near 20 and lows around 10. Mostly cloudy on Friday with a slight chance of evening snow. Highs in the mid-20’s with lows in the low teens. Saturday, mostly cloudy and colder with a continued slight chance of snow in the forenoon. Highs around 20 with lows near 5 above. Partly sunny and colder for Sunday. Highs in the low teens with lows around 5 below. Monday, mostly sunny and continued cold. Highs of about 10 above zero and lows near zero. Mostly sunny for Tuesday with highs in the low teens above zero and lows around 5 above. The normal high for New Year’s Day is 23 and the normal low is 5 above. The scurs will be putting another log on the fire as they make their hot cocoa before settling in for a long winter’s nap.

The Full Moon will appear officially on Sunday the 4th and is generally known as the Full Wolf Moon. This was due to the wolves making their presence known near the encampments of the tribes in the northeast. The moon is also sometimes called the Old Moon or the Moon after the Yule. The Ojibwe called this the Great Spirit Moon and the Sioux knew it as The Moon of Frost in the Teepee. At the ranch, it is the Moon after Festivus. Bet you thought I forgot to celebrate it this year. The aluminum pole is already safely stashed in the crawlspace, awaiting next year’s feats of strength. Thank you to all who sent donations in my name to the Human Fund. I know they will be appreciated.

Saturday was one of those days that was good for musing as I froze my tail on the skidsteer moving snow. I mused so hard in fact that after my joints were stiff, I made a batch of soup, crawled under a blanket and took a power nap. Sometimes you’ve just gotta have one. Watching the Gophers dismantle UNC Wilmington on TV, the Kentucky-Louisville tilt looked promising. Problem was by the time I woke up, there was already another game on.

Warmed up and ready for more of the great outdoors, I decided there were some small trees still needing tree wrap. I sprang into action with massive amounts of dog help from Fudgie and Ruby. They graciously offer their help and I accept. Plus they never criticize. Can’t beat that. Oddly enough, between the crabapples, hackberries and Autumn Blaze maples, none of the trees had been bothered yet by the bunnies. Typically they’ve been chewing small trees in late October already. Has to be connected with global climate change. I did notice one of the pear trees had been used as a deer scrape although it hadn’t been damaged to the point where it should hurt it much. The other pear tree had a branch that was bothering me so I pruned it. That provided some pear wood to add to the arsenal for flavoring creations from the grill.

The trek before sundown took me into the windbreak and by the garden where I could check out the frozen vegetable crop. They don’t seem to be growing much but must be patient. There were lots of pheasant tracks and one set that were possibly from a long-tailed rooster. No pheasants were seen while I made my way from wrapping one sapling to the next. One could only gather that with twilight nearing, Little Jerry’s progeny were safely tucked away in the tall grass and cattails nearby. A good thing too as a great horned owl has been hooting away after dark recently, making me smile and chuckle each time I hear it. My guess is the cottontails don’t share my amusement.

Bird watching in the yard at the ranch has picked up a tad. It usually helps to change things up a bit or at least it helps maintain our interest. The cardinals have been steady customers and are more visible than ever with the fresh snow. A new squirrel-proof feeder is being tried out. As mentioned last week, the squirrels pretty well destroyed the last one. This is a Roller Feeder made in MN. It’s unique in that the outside of the feeders pivots to protect the contents of the feeder inside when the squirrels attempt to get into it. Not cheap but neither is feeding the squirrels. So far the feeder has indeed been squirrel proof as Mrs. Cheviot can attest. Was concerned after a week though that it was proving to be bird-proof too. Not to worry.

The nuthatches had been on sabbatical until hearing them on my way in from Sunday morning chores. I’d put a different seed blend in the feeder as the instructions suggested to increase our success. Wanted to see if we could coax something in for the guests to watch during Mrs. Cheviot’s family Christmas bash. Upon talking with one of our bird-loving guests before lunch, we noticed a white-breasted nuthatch routinely plucking safflower and sunflower seeds from the feeder. Not only that, it brought a friend. And so far, the sparrows have steered clear, concentrating their efforts instead on the suet feeders. Oh well, can’t win ‘em all I guess.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

Wintertime wind's blue and freezin'

The scurs managed a less than stellar performance last week as the heater core controlled by the Weather Eye must’ve been plugged. No heat for you! Will they have to wait another year for temps to rebound or is the New Year the beginning of the end for global warming as we now know it? Starting Wednesday, sunny but at least it will be blustery with highs near - 5 and a low around – 15. Thursday, mostly cloudy, blusterier but warmer with a modest chance of snow. Highs in the low teens above zero and lows near – 5. Mostly sunny and colder for Friday with highs near zero and lows near – 10. Temps rebounding somewhat on Saturday under partly sunny skies. Highs near 10 above with lows near – 5. Sunday, mostly sunny mostly sunny with highs in the low teens above zero and lows around zero. Similar temps Monday with a slight chance of ice and snow under mostly cloudy skies. Highs in the low teens above zero and lows around zero. Tuesday, mostly cloudy and warmer with a slight chance of snow. Highs in the mid-teens above zero and lows near 5. Yes, that’s above zero. The normal high for January 10th is 22 and the normal low is 4. After climbing back over 9 hours of daylight on the 4th, the scurs may have to re-learn the power of positive thinking.

The days are slowly becoming longer although until about the 9th of January, sunrise is stuck at 7:48 a.m. The sun continues to set later each day and we are gaining about a minute per day of daylight as a result. That pace picks up of course as the month wears on and within a month, we will have gained over an hour of daylight. The temperature too once we get past the 20th should begin to show signs of warmth if historical averages are any indication. Typically the period from the 13th – 20th represents the coldest days of the winter. What actually happens is anyone’s guess however.

Precipitation continued to lag behind normal as we start the New Year. For 2014, our snowfall has only amounted to 14.3” at the ranch. Compared to records at the SROC in Waseca, about 6.5” below normal. At the SROC itself they are 4.8 below normal as of December 31st. For 2014, their total precip was 35.60 “, about .12” below normal. The dry month of July along with the dry autumn had an impact after the deluge experienced in June. At the ranch the precip total was very similar at 35.03”. Our dry late year pattern continues.

As pointed put by Vista’s noted Swedish astronomer, the recent clear skies in the evenings make for excellent sky watching. Many planets will be on display in January if one is away from light pollution, the moon begins to dim and one can bear the cold long enough to find them. Anti-freeze is allowed. As Dale Niedfeldt from the Steele Co. Astronomical Society wrote in his recent column, Venus is low in the western sky and can be spotted for a half hour to an hour after sunset. Mercury will be very close to it from the 10th through the 15th. Mars is above the southwest horizon in the early evening hours. Jupiter rises in the east around 8 p.m. and a half hour after sunset at the end of the month. Saturn can be spotted in the morning sky an hour or two before sunrise. Some conjunctions include the planet Jupiter and the waning full moon on both the 7th and 8th in the eastern sky.

The end of the year marked the end of an era locally in several respects. The closing of Edna’s hardware store has made an impact. There’s no longer a place to buy assorted home repair products in town along with day to day items we often rely on. It was also the place to look for funeral arrangements on the small board placed in the store window. Now the quarantine has been lifted at the Care Center, it’s time to stop in to visit Edna. I miss those phone calls from her asking me about what the weather was going to do and when. It was one of the reasons I put NOAA weather and radar on my cell phone in the first place.

The closing of the Village Inn at Hartland also meant a major change for us at the Mall for Men. Some who gazed at the large office calendar on my door were curious what was penciled in on the second Tuesday of each month. “What does that say?” I was often asked to which I responded, “Why Rib Day of course!” We motored many Tuesday’s to Hartland for those delicious ribs, served with choice of salad, bread, a vegetable, along with mashed potatoes and gravy. If we were feeling particularly flush we’d have dessert too. A real farmer meal if ever there was one. I suspect it was frequently followed by a real after dinner farmer nap. Thanks Judy!

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

When I finally get myself together, I'm going to get down in that sunny southern weather

The scurs modest chance of snow turned into more than they bargained for. After the cold temps decided to stick around, the scurs added some Ex-Lax to the radiator on the Gremlin to see if it would warm up faster. Will it be effective? Starting Wednesday, Partly sunny with highs in the upper teens and lows around 10. Mostly sunny Thursday with highs in the upper 20’s and lows in the mid-teens. Friday, mostly sunny and warmer. Highs near the freezing mark with lows around 20. Mostly sunny Saturday and slightly warmer. Highs in the mid-30’s and lows in the upper teens. Sunday, mostly cloudy. Highs near 30 with lows around 20. Mostly cloudy Monday with highs once again near freezing and lows in the upper teens. Tuesday, mostly cloudy with a chance of snow. Highs near 30 and lows in the upper teens. The sun will set after 5 p.m. on January 14th for the first time since last November 3rd. The normal high for January 15th is 22 and the normal low is 4 above. On the 19th we will have gained 30 minutes of daylight since the winter solstice. After the recent cold spell the scurs are thinking the striped gophers hibernating in the lawn may be onto something.

With a week of generally below normal temperatures and some snow, it actually looks like winter. While the fields blew clear of snow, there is plenty in the road ditches. Small fish house villages have sprung up, dotting area lakes and while fishing may be slow, one can bet there are lots of cribbage games being played. We may have dodged a bullet by getting our cold weather out of the way the first half of January. Warmer temps are on the way in the near term. As mentioned last week, typically the coldest temperatures of the winter on average are from January 12th – 20th. Old Man Winter flexed his muscles last week to show us he still means business. While it wasn’t the blizzard of the century, it still managed to dump snow anywhere it would be inconvenient. This storm was a quick hitter though, causing whiteout conditions within a matter of minutes. It made for a potentially dangerous storm from that perspective.

Watching the critters in the yard during the storm provided some entertainment. The wind caught the crest of a male cardinal from behind, causing him to do a face plant in the snow. The squirrels made sure they consumed both ears of corn put out for them, becoming snow covered on their windward side. Once the corn was gone, the last happy customer headed off across the treetops to the safety of a hollow soft maple. The domestic animals behaved similarly. Once their hay was consumed, the Cheviot ewes were more than glad to retreat out of the wind to their barn. And the dogs wasted no time when the storm was at its peak, making their trips outside brief. Much more comfortable inside sleeping on a doggie pillow or couch.

Bird watching continues to be more challenging than some years. Another male cardinal and a mourning dove were new additions this past week but it’s nothing like some of the irruption years when we’d feed a hundred redpolls and pine siskins. The birds have been slow to warm up to the Roller Feeder although it has been so far “squirrel-proof”. Watching several fox squirrels make attempts at getting into it, they’ve all been unsuccessful. Bear in mind, these squirrels are very fat after eating ear corn from their feeder all winter so there’s little incentive to get into the bird feeder in the first place. The nuthatches that had shown interest in the feeder initially were suddenly absent until recently. A downy also used the feeder on Saturday so they’re coming around. A few chickadees or goldfinches might help matters.

The house sparrows haven’t bothered the feeder either but have become a real nuisance at the other feeders as well as hanging around the out buildings. They routinely empty one sunflower feeder while dumping the safflower on the ground. One annoying habit the sparrows have picked up is eating the suet. They aren’t good at hanging upside down to eat though so some horizontal-type suet feeders may help alleviate that problem. We’ll be trying a couple of different types to see what works. Nothing goes to waste though. The cardinals like the safflower in addition to the chips of corn left behind by the sparrows and squirrels.

Seed catalogs have arrived en masse so it becomes a near daily ritual to look through them. There aren’t a lot of new items to concern ourselves with though. However some of our old favorites are no longer being carried in favor of some products we don’t plant. It always amazes me how some of the new things we’ve tried and turned out to be less than desirable are still being heavily promoted. Who eats that junk anyway? Luckily there’s the internet so if there’s a variety we really want we can probably still find it.

There have been plenty of sporting events on TV during this cold snap to whet our appetite. Still it would be nice to see temperatures warm a tad so that some of the snow could be moved. Never a “gimme” that will happen anytime soon. The ewes are becoming girthier and the calendar continues to tick off days in rapid fire fashion. It may be an earlier than usual start to the lambing season if one of my gazes from the oval office one morning was correct. Shearing can’t be far off. I need a haircut too but am loath to get it cut as there isn’t as much covering my melon as there once was. One can always dream of warmer days and more hair. In the meantime, time flies when you’re having fun.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

On the turning away from the pale and downtrodden

The scurs smiled smugly about their use of Ex- Lax in the Gremlin radiator. Cleaned the Weather Eye out big time. They’ve liked this recent weather so much they’re considering putting aground up copy of the ACA in it next. Someone told them it says if you like your weather, you can keep it. Starting Wednesday, cloudy with a modest chance of snow. Highs near 30 and lows in the upper teens. Partly sunny Thursday with highs in the upper 20’s and lows in the low 20’s. Friday, mostly cloudy. Highs in the mid-30’s and lows in the upper 20’s. Mostly cloudy Saturday with a slight chance for evening snow showers. Highs around the freezing mark with lows in the low 20’s. Sunday, cloudy with a modest chance for snow. Highs around 30 with lows in the low teens. Cloudy on Monday with highs in the upper 20’s and lows in the mid-teens. Tuesday, cloudy with a modest chance for snow. Highs in the upper 20’s with lows around 10. We’ll experience 9 ½ hours of daylight on the 23rd, the first time since November 19th. The normal high for January 25th is 23 and the normal low is 4. After a trip to Wisconsin, the scurs are thinking they may be able to heat their abode for the remainder of the season with all the foam cheese head hats they found in area dumpsters.

What a welcome change in the weather from the week before. A January thaw was just what the doctor ordered. To be on the safe side, I purchased a couple pair of new long johns at the store where you go to the bathroom in the big orange silo. I am betting it will remain warmer now for the rest of the winter. Short term forecasts are trending that direction and depending on whose longer term forecasts you read, some of those would tend to agree. At choretime Jupiter greets us in the western sky in the mornings and in the evening we’re treated to Venus getting a little higher in the sky each night. Even Mercury was visible beside it marking one of the few times one could actually pick it out.

Birds are responding to the recent changes in the weather also. The cardinals have vanished again now the snow has largely disappeared. Even the bane of the feeders at the ranch, namely the house sparrows have suddenly been decreasing in number. Perhaps it has something to do with the recent feeder changes that were made. They did figure the Roller Feeder out as I suspected they probably would. However, it’s certainly not their favorite as perhaps it takes too long to make a big mess underneath. Apparently they don’t like having to compete with the blue jays and larger woodpeckers on the other feeder either. The red-bellied woodpeckers don’t take any guff off of anyone including the blue jays.

The horizontal suet feeders arrived last week so they were pressed into service. So far so good. The sparrows haven’t touched them and the starlings that showed up were having a tough time flying up to get a beak full. The woodpeckers were quick studies though, with the downies hanging upside down on the new feeders within minutes. One type of suet feeder we’re trying is made of metal so it makes it less attractive to the squirrels. A little tough for the larger woodpeckers to navigate although they got the hang of it after watching the downies. The squirrels on the other hand just sorta burp after filling up on ear corn, then climb farther up the tree where they can nap in the sun. Way too much work as fat as they are to put a lot of effort into messing with the other feeders.

Phone books arrived the other day and was shocked to see what they’ve become. They’re certainly a pale imitation of what they used to be. Mrs. Cheviot isn’t going to be able to sit on one of those to see over the steering wheel. In the Bugtussle phone book, there are now only 4 ½ pages of phone numbers listed. In 2007, there were 9 ½ pages of listings. Granted the font size is small but it’s likely a sign of the times. Many have dumped their land lines and after some crummy and complete lack of service, there are certainly more of us considering it. Cell phones have certainly been a major factor and I fear the telemarketers will have all but sealed Ma Bell’s fate in the not too distant future.

Some have wondered what happened to the little fat buddies. Not to worry. They’re very much alive and well. While gathering more clandestinely and in an impromptu fashion, we still have our gang signs and secret decoder rings. And of course, there are the meetings themselves. Some have asked what’s accomplished at these discussions. Plenty. Always some old business to hash over and new business as well. This includes arranging humanitarian aid for friends who have become pale and downtrodden. We just try to help out in any way we can. And we discuss interior decorating; especially now that Christmas is on the wane. Betsy’s dad was excitedly looking forward to putting his newfound favorite Christmas ornament on the tree for next season. Clark, that's the gift that keeps on giving the whole year.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

In your eyes the resolution of all the fruitless searches

While happy with the recent warm weather, the scurs are curious about the sudden appearance of 12 deflated footballs in the back of the ’74 Gremlin. Curious because they didn’t know it would hold that many. Will they remain flat or will warmer temps reinflate them? Starting Wednesday, partly sunny with a chance of rain and snow mix in the overnight. Highs near 40 and lows in the upper 20’s. Colder on Thursday under mostly cloudy skies. Highs near the freezing mark and lows in the mid-teens. Friday, partly sunny becoming cloudy with a slight chance of overnight snow. Highs in the mid-20’s and lows in the mid-teens. Mostly cloudy on Saturday with a modest chance for snow. Highs in the low 30’s and lows around 10. Sunday, partly sunny and much colder with a slight chance of forenoon snow. Highs in the upper teens and lows around 5. Continued colder under sunny skies for Monday. Highs around 10 with lows around 5. Mostly sunny with temperatures rebounding for Tuesday. Highs in the low 20’s and lows around 5. The normal high for February 1st is 24 and the normal low is 5. The scurs will see their shadow meaning there are still 6 more weeks of winter, minimum.

The second full moon for the month will occur on February 3rd and generally goes by the Full Snow Moon as this is the moon when the tribes of the northeast generally experienced the most snow. It also was known as the Full Hunger Moon as the once well-stocked larders going into winter began to run short. It was for this reason the Ojibwe knew this as the Full Sucker Moon. The Sioux were very observant or observative depending on your preference. They knew this as the Raccoon Moon as the raccoons would awaken and begin to move around in the warmer temperatures. At the ranch, it is the Full Shearing Moon or at least we hope it is sometime before the next one.

We’ve sawed off a large chunk of winter. January is about shot and if historic long-term normal temperatures are any indication, we should be on the downhill slide. At any rate, the duration of the cold spells typically becomes shorter and snowfall declines somewhat in February. March will usually bring more snow although December accumulations in the most recent 30 year normal have overtaken March as the snowiest month. The reason for this being that more of our precipitation is falling in March in the form of rain. How much snow have we had this winter? Since November at the ranch we have garnered 21.6”. At the SROC in Waseca, they’ve measured a whopping 25.7”. Normal for November through January at the SROC is roughly 30.3”. Much of our snow has melted and with the possible exception of the most recent thaw thaw, much of the precipitation has stayed on the landscape. This snowmelt is important for the recharge of shallow wetlands, many of which were low going into the winter.

Birdwatching at the ranch seems to hinge on the weather. When it snows the cardinals appear. When it melts, they’re nowhere to be seen. Warm temps have meant suet and sunflower seed consumption are both down. Even the squirrels are not eating both ears of corn on the warm days. It doesn’t stop their circus act as they go up, down and around the trees in the yard in rapid fashion. We did get a glimpse of a female pileated woodpecker Saturday as she tried to get on one of the small horizontal suet feeders. Upon seeing that, we replaced one of the three horizontal feeders with a cage type feeder. No luck we’re aware of as we haven’t seen her since. As fast as pileated woodpeckers can eat suet, we’d probably notice it. The same day, a more subtle change with the appearance of a half dozen goldfinches, the largest group we’ve seen since likely sometime back in August. Perhaps they’ve marked the spot with their GPS and will come back to it if it gets cold again.

The ewes continue their gestation, getting a little plumper each day. Their full fleeces obscure a good view of their udders so it’s anybody’s guess how close they are to lambing just yet. Their feed consumption varies with the temperature too. On the coldest days, they’ll burn through four slabs of hay from a big square bale. When temps are in the 30’s and 40’s, three will generally suffice. Of course there’s always Poofy, one of the ewes that was shown many years ago by the daughter of some friends in WI. Poofy seeks out whoever is feeding grain at night and sticks her head in the bucket. Not just a little; she buries her head in the grain up to her eyeballs while stuffing as much feed in her mouth as possible. Most of the other ewes probably wouldn’t get by with that. This one is special though. She’s old yet always manages to produce nice lambs as have many of her offspring we’ve kept. A true matriarch if ever there was one.

Fudgie and Ruby continue to enjoy the winter for the most part. They’ve supervised Mrs. Cheviot’s Christmas un-decorating of the house and the live tree now provides extra cover for their squirrels. There’s been some early season mud to play in so they need to be wiped down before coming inside. The dogs continue their daily gate watching duties as well, using their eyes to convince the sheep it’s really not worth their time to mess with them. They also use their eyes on us as we’re about to leave for work. And with a Border Collie, there’s no question about what those eyes are saying.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

She thinks my tractor's sexy

The scurs were thinking the Weather Eye had lied about the modest chance of snow over the weekend. Maybe they’d best put a little more trust in it as there is still a chunk of winter left. Starting Wednesday, partly sunny with a slight chance of snow. Highs near 15 and lows near – 10. Thursday, sunny with highs in the mid-teens and lows around 10. Partly sunny and warmer on Friday with highs around 30 and lows near 20. Mostly cloudy on Saturday with a modest chance of snow, again. Highs in the mid-20’s and lows in the mid-teens. Sunday, mostly cloudy with a slight chance of lingering snow. Highs in the upper 20’s and lows in the mid-teens. Partly sunny for Monday with highs in the mid-20’s and lows near 20. Tuesday, mostly cloudy with a modest chance of snow. Highs in the upper 20’s and lows in the upper teens. As we continue to gain nearly 3 minutes of daylight per day, we’ll see over 10 hours of daylight on February 4th, something that hasn’t happened since November 6th. The sun will set after 5:30 on February 6th. The scurs suspect it may be a tad early to put their lawn furniture out just yet.

The Saturday evening snowstorm turned out to be more than first advertised. At the ranch we measured roughly 4” of snow fell although as in many building sites around the area, it seemed like most of it was in large drifts in unusual places. It was fine snow too and with the wind made for some hard drifts. One individual had left for the weekend and when he came back, made a run through one into the garage. He wound up shoveling a large portion of it back out. At the ranch it was tough to move it efficiently. Large pieces of drift were constantly breaking off leaving pieces strewn around the driveway. The good thing about it though was the layer of snow stuck to the ice so one doesn’t go for a digger anymore.

As discussed with Vista’s noted Swedish astronomer, clear, cold nights lately have made for better stargazing. In the evening sky, Venus continues to climb farther off the horizon in the west at sundown. Conversely, Jupiter is getting a little higher each night at chore time in the east, rising around sundown. So where is the Big Dipper right now? In the northern US we are fortunate to be able to see the Big Dipper year round above the horizon. Looking at 9 p.m., Monday night, the Big Dipper is high in the northeast sky and is standing on the end of its handle during the winter months. It is also part of the constellation Ursa Major or the Big Bear, where the handle of the dipper makes up the tail of the bear and the dipper itself part of the hindquarters. The star on the front bottom of the dipper (Merak) and the one on the top leading edge of the dipper (Dubhe) form a line that points nearly directly to the North Star or Polaris. Polaris is the star on the end of the handle on the Little Dipper. It in turn in part of the constellation Ursa Minor or the Little Bear. Generally we have pretty good stargazing at the ranch although it’s best to get away from the yard lights in order to see the Little Dipper. Tough to do much about the nearly full moon though especially when there are high clouds.

More snow must mean more cardinals. Another male has joined the original male and female. Activity in general at the feeders increased with the colder temps and snow. It was a surprise over the weekend to see how much corn was being plucked off the cobs by the birds as opposed to the squirrels. Several blue jays and a red-bellied woodpecker consumed almost as much as the rodents did. And one of the squirrels seems to be dominant or at least takes exception to the attempts of the others to procure any corn while he’s occupying the feeder. That typically results in the squirrels doing a high speed chase and one little red and white Border Collie getting all wound up while watching from the sliding glass door.

Another Super Bowl is in the books. Actually it was another pretty good game. When I first came in from moving snow, Mrs. Cheviot was bemoaning the fact it was a low scoring affair and the Seahawks really hadn’t done much. That changed about the time I sat down to warm up. From that point on it was interesting right up until the last play. The entire weekend provided some good sports activity with Gophers and other teams competing. The live-streaming alternative while not perfect does allow us to watch programming we wouldn’t normally see. It helps keep us off the streets on cold winter evenings anyway.

The former mayor of Waldorf was in recently to see if I’d grabbed the screenings out of his shed and dropped off a current magazine with some interesting tractor trivia. Luckily I had already pulled the screening wagon home through metropolitan Matawan on Saturday. The magazine he left was chock full of tidbits I hadn’t realized. Did you know the first commercially available PTO on a tractor was on the International Harvester 8-16? John Deere replaced the Waterloo Boy with the Model D which remained in production through 1953? It took until 1954 for the number of tractors on US farms to surpass the number of horses and mules? One I knew was the 1st production true live PTO was on a 1946 Cockshutt 30. We had the American version, a Co-op E3 growing up. Pull the lever to engage the PTO. Push in the clutch and the PTO kept running. What will they think of next?

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

Games people play in the middle of the night

The scurs had the Weather Eye dialed in to perfection last week. Will that accuracy continue into mid-month? Starting Wednesday, cloudy with highs in the mid-20’s and lows just below 0. Cold sunshine for Thursday with highs near 10 and lows again around 5. Friday, partly sunny and warmer. Highs in the low 20’s with lows around 0. Partly sunny and much colder for Saturday. Highs in the mid-single digits above 0 with lows around 5 below. Sunday, mostly cloudy with temperatures rebounding and a slight chance of snow. Highs in the low 20’s and lows in the mid-teens. Cloudy and warmer on Monday with a modest chance of snow. Highs in the upper 20’s and lows in the upper teens. Partly sunny on Tuesday and cooler. Highs in the mid-teens with lows around 5. The normal high for Valentine’s Day is 27 and the normal low is 9. We’ll see over 10 hours and 30 minutes of daylight for the first time since October 25th on February 16th. The scurs can’t wait for their Valentine’s candy to show up after rationing the last of their fruitcake. They’ll have to find something else to chock the wheels on the ‘74 Gremlin now.

Last week brought about more of the roller coaster ride for temperatures. It’s tough to complain very loudly however as this winter has been a breeze compared to last year’s model. Tales of frozen pipes and hauling water buckets through deep snow much of last winter proved that enough was too much. This winter we’ve seen frost depth at the SROC at only 18” as measured most recently on February 9th. On the 5th we also experienced one of the coldest overnight lows of the season at -15 in Waseca and about -14 at the ranch. Only November 28th and January 6th were colder. Still, despite the temperature roller coaster ride, the cold snaps haven’t been prolonged and many days the temps have been well above normal. The snow as a result continues to do its disappearing act. It’s doubtful if anyone will gripe if it decides to leave entirely and take the ice in the dooryards away while it’s at it.

Lambing season officially started off on Thursday of last week at the ranch after a cold overnight. All the ewes came out to eat in the morning but by afternoon when Mrs. Cheviot arrived home, the black yearling ewe we’d been suspecting would go first had lambed. She had the lamb by herself and in spite of the fact she wasn’t shorn, she lambed inside. More than once we’ve had lambs born outside given that scenario. Frequently that means lambs with tails and ears frozen off. With those erect Cheviot ears though, apparently the windy conditions that day persuaded the ewe to seek shelter. The lamb was smart and had nursed by the time Mrs. Cheviot put them in a pen and checked the ewe for milk. On Sunday already we moved ewe and lamb to the main barn to a large pen. Of course Fudgie and Ruby were at the ready, keeping the ewe on track. The little lamb bounced around in celebration of her new found spacious accommodations.

We’ve fed some “odd” things to the sheep over the years including pumpkins, bread, cereal, carrots and squash. With a relative lack of acreage to grow much grain, we’ve focused on trying to improve the pasture and grow some hay where we can. However, it’s simply not a good idea to try to get by on forages alone especially with gestating ewes. We’ve typically fed corn screenings although this year has found us feeding some hard red spring wheat, harvested where it was underseeded with some hay. How has feeding wheat worked out? Actually quite well so far. Compared to corn, both the dry matter and TDN are very similar. While it is lower in fat, wheat is higher in protein, calcium, phosphorus and almost all the essential amino acids. Best of all, it doesn’t need to be ground or processed when fed to adult sheep. They tend to do their own processing by chewing the grain more completely than cattle do.

Bird watching continues to occupy much of the time we’re around the ranch after work and chores during the limited daylight hours. Upon taking some vegetable peelings out to toss over the fence to the sheep, 8 – 10 hen pheasants erupted from the garden area in the windbreak. The sweet corn leftovers seem to meet with their approval. Earlier in the day, a couple roosters were spotted on the way to Owatonna. It was good to see all of them especially the hens. The open winter has been a plus for pheasants. If we can get through the next six weeks or so without an ice storm, it looks optimistic for the pheasant population locally.

Last Saturday was absolutely gorgeous. It meant it was time to shovel off the patio and fire up the Weber again. Checking the grill out beforehand, it appeared the last time it had been used was at Christmas. The drip pan was still in the middle of the grill. After nearly giving up Auntie Mar Mar for dead, she and Unky Gregory made the pilgrimage to the ranch for an evening of fine dining. Lamb chops were grilled and Mrs. Cheviot had everything else covered including homegrown carrots and a delectable cherry pie for dessert. Mar Mar brought healthful cookies and fresh-baked homemade bread so there was no excuse for anyone to go hungry. Wine flowed, laughter ensued and a good time was had by all. Ruby regaled the guests with her disdain for the TV remote and astonished them with a sampling of her wide vocabulary. Next time they come up, we’ll showcase her talents at playing organized games. Only if we can get Ruby to stop messing around with her ball or on the computer long enough of course. Short attention span, that dog.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

Don't bother asking for explanations
She'll just tell you that she came
In the year of the cat

The scurs were afraid word of the accuracy of the Weather Eye would start to get around after another week of unwanted cold temperatures. Will people still be talking after this week or just muttering under their frozen breath? Starting Wednesday, mostly sunny with highs in the low single digits and lows near – 10. Mostly sunny Thursday with a slight chance of overnight snow. Highs near 5 and lows falling just below zero. Friday, mostly cloudy with a modest chance of snow. Highs in the low 20’s with lows in the low teens. Partly sunny on Saturday with highs in the upper teens and lows near zero. Sunday, mostly sunny with highs in the low teens and lows around 5. Mostly cloudy on Monday with a slight chance of snow. Highs in the upper teens and lows in the upper single digits. Tuesday, mostly sunny and warmer. Highs in the low 20’s and lows in the low teens. The normal high for February 24th is 31 and the normal low is 13. The sun will rise on the 24th before 7 a.m. for the first time since last November 7th. The scurs are not putting their long johns in mothballs just yet.

Weather has been trending below normal over the past week as evidenced by the normal highs and lows. Little accumulating snowfall has resulted in addition although the fluffy stuff that fell Monday was just enough to disguise some of the slippery spots around the yard. Definitely “greasy skid stuff” as Steve Cannon so fondly called it. The winds have howled as well, with Saturday being a good day to stay inside or at very least out of the wind. I am thankful we have planted as many trees as we have over the last several decades at the ranch. Speaking of that, The Waseca SWCD is hosting a “Tree Day” on Wednesday February 18th from 9-5 at the Waseca SWCD office. This is a great opportunity to obtain trees affordably as well as gain valuable information about establishing windbreaks and other wildlife plantings. Remember, the best time to plant trees was 20 years ago. The next best time is now.

Sheep shearing was accomplished on Saturday on what proved to be the coldest day of the week. Our neighborhood sheep shearer and his sidekick were there with bells on. After we got the sheep back in the barn we commenced to shearing and everyone stayed warm with all the activity. Shortly after 1 p.m. we had the job completed and the sheep looked very smooth, and happy to be rid of their heavy blanket of wool. Mrs. Cheviot had a splendid hot meal prepared so we could come in out of the cold, shed our stinky barn clothes and dig in. Nowadays with this hurry up, go here, go there rush everyone is in, it’s nice to sit down to a home cooked meal and relax after a workout like that.

As we’ve mentioned in years past, it may seem cruel to take the wool off the sheep at this time of the year but there are many reasons for it. With the relatively warm winter we’ve had, the ewes have been sleeping outside a lot. With all that wool, they’re too warm to be comfortable inside. That being the case they really don’t care if it’s snowing either. If one leaves the wool on them, they carry that moisture back into the lambing barn, setting up conditions conducive to pneumonia. Shearing now before lambing makes it more likely the ewe will lamb inside the building. It also helps keep external parasites in check. In addition, the lambs can access the ewe’s udder more easily and the ewe gives off more heat, keeping their babies warm. Indeed, after shearing, the water buckets in the lambing pens rarely freeze. And the lambing barn is a great little spot to get in out of the elements briefly to warm up just as it was when I was growing up. One takes advantage of those brief moments to make sure all is well in the lambing jugs. And yes, we do pick the little ones up for closer examination, much to the ewes’ dismay.

On the 19th the Chinese New Year rolls around and it fittingly happens to be the Year of the Sheep. As found on an internet site, characteristics of people born in the Year of the Sheep are tender, polite, filial, clever, and kind-hearted. They have special sensitivity to art and beauty, faith in a certain religion and a special fondness for quiet living. They are wise, gentle and compassionate and can cope with business cautiously and circumspectly. In their daily life, they try to be economical. Famous people born in the Year of the Sheep include Michelangelo, Mark Twain, Thomas Alva Edison, Rudolph Valentino, Pierre Trudeau, Barbara Walters, Orville Wright, Nicole Kidman, Julia Roberts, Amy Lee, Bruce Willis, Claire Danes, Jamie Lynn Spears and Matt LeBlanc.

I was actually born in the Year of the Dog. And it sorta fits, just like any of those sayings on fortune cookies do. I like dogs and usually they like me. Over the years I’ve had occasion to become acquainted with hundreds of them. Oddly enough, there is no Year of the Cat in the Chinese Zodiac. There is however in the Vietnamese Zodiac. The reason behind this is the domestic cat was not introduced to China from India until well after their zodiac was established. My take on all this: I like Chinese and Vietnamese food or at least food prepared by people whom I suspect are Chinese or Vietnamese.

Ruby has been watching the Westminster Dog Show starting with the agility trials over the weekend. In addition to making hockey easier for us to watch, high definition television must make dog shows appear sharper and more definitive for a small red and white Border Collie to observe. When the show is on, she frequently approaches the screen growling and barking at whatever breed happens to be making its way around the show ring. The Puli or Pulik as a group are particularly draw her ire. There is no discrimination though. She dislikes all breeds.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

Talk and song from tongues of lilting grace, whose sounds caress my ear

The scurs were wise not to mothball those long johns just yet and with the help of the Weather Eye, they made the right call. Will their reliance on the Weather Eye prove justified for another week? Starting Wednesday, partly sunny with highs in the low teens and lows slightly below zero. Mostly sunny and cooler for Thursday with highs in the upper single digits and lows slightly below zero. Friday, sunny and warmer. Highs in the upper teens and lows around 5 above. Mostly cloudy and warmer on Saturday with an increasing chance of snow. Highs in the low 20’s with lows in the low teens. Sunday, continued warmer with a good chance of snow for the first day of March. Partly cloudy with highs in the mid-20’s with lows around 10. Sunny on Monday with highs in the mid-20’s and lows in the mid-teens. Then mostly sunny and warmer for Tuesday. Highs in the mid-30’s with lows in the mid-teens. February 26th puts us back over 11 hours of daylight for the first time since October 15th. The sun will set at 6 p.m. on February 27th. The normal high for March 1st is 33 and the normal low is 16. The scurs have more free time on their hands since they skipped watching the Oscars, again.

When one looks at the temperature and precip records for February, all one will likely say is it was dry and cold barring a resurgence of 80 degree temps and a sudden deluge before the weekend. Temperatures have trended well below normal since the 12th. As a result the frost depth has actually increased at the SROC as the month has progressed, going from 20” on the 16th to 25” on the 23rd. Can usually tell when the frost gets to about 2’ at the ranch because the frame on the walk in door at the ranch begins to heave and it won’t close. Not until the frost goes out again anyway.

Bird activity has been steady with the cold we’ve had. We have an active group of woodpeckers and nuthatches. They’ve adapted well to the horizontal suet feeders. Fortunately the starlings and sparrows have not. The Roller Feeder has kept the squirrels at bay and while the house sparrows have increased their activity, it’s still hard for them to kick as much feed out on the ground due to the smaller size of the feeder. The cardinals continue to be pleasant additions. We see them almost every day although by the sound of things, they live at neighbor David’s if their singing in the early morning is any indication.

Watching the squirrels in the yard is a favorite pastime not only for Ruby and Fudgie but for me as well. While some are less taken with them I’ve always been amazed by these hardy little creatures. In Sunday’s wind, they were busy climbing the tree, grabbing their kernel of corn and getting to the leeward side of the tree to get out of the elements. They’ve eaten a fair amount of corn too over the course of the winter. At approximately two ears a day since November with roughly 480 kernels per ear average that’s about the equivalent of a bushel and peck’s worth of shell corn. I’m fairly positive they’ve “planted” a lot in the yard too. One could probably spray the lawn with glyphosate and produce a pretty good corn crop.

Lambing progress has moved slowly as of this writing. That will change. Only 4 ewes have lambed thus far and they are lined up like planes on a runway. The six lambs on the ground so far are healthy even though the weather hasn’t exactly been cooperative. There are some cold days when one wonders how they can take it. The lambs look a little hunched up and possibly cold. The next thing you know they’re bouncing off their mothers and using them as playground equipment.

Got to see the Gopher women’s basketball team’s last home game of the year and it didn’t disappoint. An old high school friend had invited us to join him and his wife so we had decided this would be a nice break. Mrs. Cheviot had at the last minute changed her mind with the ewes getting ever closer to lambing, she stayed behind. I went ahead anyway and Phil was able to find another taker for her ticket. The game was the stuff legends are made of. Zahui had 27 points and 27 boards, Kelley pumped in 23 and local heroine Carlie Wagner added 21 in a double overtime victory. What was probably most interesting to me though was how the game was a catalyst for a day with an old friend.

Phil and I had been friends throughout high school. We had been in FFA, band and choir together and had done our level best to have a good time. When we graduated high school, we went our separate ways. Phil went to Augsburg where he met his wife Janine. I went to the U, where I wasn’t serious about much of anything other than agriculture. Phil and I saw each other at class reunions but hadn’t had an opportunity to do much socially until getting together with another friend a few years ago. Saturday it was as if the friendship hadn’t skipped a beat. Driving to their house, having a scrumptious late breakfast they’d prepared and attending the game made for reminiscing as well as catching up. Meeting their dogs was an honor too as I have a well-known soft spot for furry friends. Also got to meet their friend David who was the lucky recipient of the spare ticket. I couldn’t tell if he was furry or not because he kept his hat on. By the time the day was over, it was time to go home and it had been a “10”. One set of twins was all that had been born so Mrs. Cheviot hadn’t been inundated with ewes coming in and I was able to get home in time to help finish the chores.

Later that night as I was flipping through the channels I found the 2007 Led Zeppelin Celebration Day concert. Couldn’t help but think how there were probably some similarities between the band members and the bond that Phil and I along with several others had. We were all musically talented and while we certainly weren’t in the class of a Zeppelin, it didn’t stop us from playing together and enjoying each other’s company. As Jimmy Page cavorted with his Les Paul, Robert Plant wailed and moaned, John Paul Jones kept pace on the keyboards and along with John Bonham’s son Jason on drums, there were parallels. Each performed their part seemingly effortlessly. After the last bows were taken and they walked off stage, you could sense they still got along, and that was all that mattered until the next time.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

My back is broad but it’s a hurting

The scurs received much hate mail last week after below normal temperatures for January continued to plague us. Fortunately they were able to burn it to stay warm. Will the Weather Eye bail them out this week or will readers continue to supplement the scurs heating bill? Starting Wednesday, mostly sunny with highs in the upper single digits and lows around 10 below zero. Rebounding for Thursday under sunny skies with highs in the low teens and lows around 10 above with temps rising overnight. Mostly sunny for Friday with highs in the mid-30’s and lows in the upper teens. Slightly cooler for Saturday under partly sunny skies. Highs in the low 30’s with lows near 20. Sunday, mostly sunny and warmer. Highs in the upper 30’s and lows in the low 20’s. Continued sunny and pleasant for Monday. Highs in the mid-30’s with lows in the low 20’s. Partly cloudy and seasonal for Tuesday with highs in the mid to upper 30’s and lows in the mid 20’s. The normal high for March 8th is 36 and the normal low is 27. On March 8th, we will experience 11 hours and 30 minutes of daylight for the first time since back on October 5th. On the 8th, the scurs will be setting their clocks ahead an hour under protest of the nanny state’s infamous Daylight Wasting Time.

The Full Moon for the month falls on the 5th and goes by several names, the most common of which is the Full Worm Moon. Reputedly the ground actually thaws out and worm castings begin to be seen. It also goes by the Full Crow Moon as the tribes of the northeast made note of the crows calling this time of year as a signal that winter was over. It also is known as the Full Crust Moon for the freezing and thawing making the snow crusty and the Full Sap Moon for the sap running and being collected from the maple trees. Early settlers also knew this as the Lenten Moon, the last moon of winter. The Ojibwe knew this as the Snow Crust Moon and the Sioux as the Moon When Buffalo Cows Drop Their Calves. At the ranch, it’s the Moon When Ewes Drop Their Lambs. Smaller ruminants but the principle remains the same.

In February, the weather continued to frustrate those who wanted to see some warmer temperatures. In other words, all of us. The first half of the month was tolerable but after Valentine’s Day the wheels came off. Ice conditions on area lakes continued to thicken and there were reports of up to 30” of ice before the mass exodus of fish houses this past weekend. The frost depth at the SROC measured 25” on March 1st. Their average daily temperature for the month of February was colder than what was recorded for this past January by 7.3 degrees. It was also below average by 9.5 degrees for the month. The most recent NOAA 30 day outlook is calling for lower than normal temperatures for March and the near term forecasts seem to bear that out. Still, there is little snow cover and the moisture profile is not at capacity in the top 5’ anyway. That was noted last fall when we saw many area shallow wetlands lower than normal. In other words, we still have a chance to see an earlier spring than perhaps the last two years at this point. Think warm thoughts.

As expected, the lamb population exploded since last week. 14 ewes came in and 3 of those were at chore time ahead of Tuesday’s predicted storm. Not unusual for ewes to drop their lambs when the pressure begins to fall as it did. Almost needed a catcher’s mitt to keep up as fast as they were coming. The rapid increase means more chores of course. What was taking 20 minutes for the two of us suddenly balloons to over an hour per session. As cold as it’s been, there has been a lot of warm water hauled from the house to the barns in 5 gallon pails. It helps keep the buckets thawed and sheep actually like drinking lukewarm water. As the saying goes, a ewe that drinks well milks well and under stressful conditions, we want to enhance the odds of that happening. A person begins to feel like a beast of burden after a while though. A dozen buckets a day takes its toll. Thankfully we aren’t wading through snowdrifts like we were last year at this time.

Ruby and Fudgie truly enjoy lambing season. In addition to their gate watching duties it’s their time to shine. When we move the ewes with lambs to the main barn, one of us grabs the lamb or lambs and the plan is that the ewe will follow due to scent and sound recognition. Ideally. The dogs are at the ready should the ewe decide to go astray. Sometimes it appears they’re being counterproductive. When that happens, a quick “stop” command is like hitting the reset button so the ewe stays on track. The ewe is outnumbered so she has few options. Both Border Collies also both love getting into the feed sack containing afterbirth outside the lambing barn. They’re persistent even after they’ve been scolded countless times for it. It doesn’t amuse either Mrs. Cheviot or me very much as you’re never sure where or when they might yack up a frozen treat they fished out of the bag. Dogs will be dogs I guess.

It may become spring someday if the horned larks are any indication. I started noticing them along the roadsides last week although after they got here, they had to be questioning their decision to return. Little Jerry the rooster pheasant has been slinking around the yard, trying to conceal himself in the brush. Usually he’s pretty good at it although his tracks in the snow are a dead giveaway of his whereabouts on a given day. Any inkling of a transition at the birdfeeders however is very subtle. A lone goldfinch appears sporadically and that’s about the only deviation from the winter bird pattern so far. Still, one has to be satisfied with the nice group of birds we’ve had to observe at the ranch this winter. I’ve never heard any birdwatcher claim to dislike seeing cardinals on a snowy day.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

You probably wouldn't remember
I probably couldn't forget

The scurs tuned the Weather Eye in and in fact, are looking at changing the thermostat again after being warmer than normal and forecast. No complaints or hate mail so here goes: Starting Wednesday, sunny with highs in the upper 50’s and lows in the mid-30’s. Mostly sunny on Thursday with highs in the mid-60’s and lows in the mid-40’s. Friday, mostly sunny with highs in the low 60’s and lows in the upper 30’s. Mostly sunny and cooler on Saturday. Highs in the upper 40’s with lows in the low 30’s. Sunday, sunny, with highs in the low 60’s and lows in the low 40’s. Mostly sunny on Monday. Highs again in the low 60’s with lows in the low 40’s. Partly cloudy and slightly cooler on Tuesday the 17th with highs in the mid-50’s and lows in the mid-30’s. The normal high for St. Patrick’s Day is 40 and the normal low is 23. We will go over 12 hours of daylight on the 18th for the first time since last September 25th. The scurs will try to avoid spilling any green beer on the Weather Eye in hopes that our good warm weather fortunes continue.

What a difference a week makes! Last week if you’ll remember (you’d probably rather forget) we were seeing overnight lows below zero and highs only in the teens some days, not to mention the wind including Tuesday’s blizzard that wasn’t. As of this writing, most recently we were seeing highs in the 50’s and lows just below freezing, with the promise of warmer temps in the near-term. Welcome to MN! The frost is receding in some places and given the forecast, it won’t take long without snow cover for it to be completely gone. It will take a few days however for fields to get into any kind of shape allowing traffic for spring manure applications or other field operations. The mud in the yard from last fall’s manure hauling at the ranch serves as a reminder that it was pretty greasy before freeze-up. Plus there has been some additional moisture added to the top few inches of soil since then with the snow that melted off and on over the winter. No need to get in a hurry just yet.

It is nice to see warmer temperatures on many fronts at the ranch though. The lambing barn was filled to capacity. When one has 15 pens with ewes and lambs crammed in a 16’ x 28’ building that is the definition of full. It was so cold however that we didn’t dare move some of the newborns to the large barn. Tags, tails and shots were done Friday afternoon so that happened Saturday forenoon. The lambs were off to the races and the ewes were glad to be out of their cramped quarters. We also got the creep feeder established so the youngsters could get on solid feed more quickly, hopefully meaning earlier weaning dates and ewes on pasture. The two best things though: No more climbing over pens to access pens and no more hauling warm water from the house. (And the crowd goes wild!)

Even the pasture seems to have a greenish tinge to it where the snow left along the fenceline. It won’t take long and the ewes that haven’t lambed yet will be after anything remotely resembling green grass. There was still some snow on the electric fence yet so that will need melt before charging it again. It shouldn’t take too much longer and it should be one of the earliest dates in recent memory we have let the ewes with lambs out in the small lot in front of the main barn. That always makes for the annual gawker slowdown as people slow down to get a glimpse of the new lamb crop. Don’t blink. They grow pretty fast.

There are also subtle changes happening in the bird population here at the ranch and elsewhere. A bald eagle was seen soaring overhead as I awakened from a cat nap and gazed out the window over the weekend. House sparrows have already built nests in the barn and are no longer monopolizing the birdfeeders. Apparently they have other things on their mind. Along those lines, the wood duck houses were cleaned out and refilled with fresh cedar shavings over the weekend. The wetland is low and lack of snow melt won’t help that situation. Geese were heard overhead on Monday morning making me wonder how far behind the robins might be. That evening I received a call from the male half of the kindly neighbors to inform me that robins had been spotted in their yard. No earthworms yet although it shouldn’t take long. In the meantime there are plenty of crabapples and American cranberry (viburnum) fruit so they won’t starve.

Leonard Nimoy passed away last week at age 83 marking the loss of another actor from the fabled 60’s TV show Star Trek. At first as a lad, Star Trek was a scary show even on a black and white TV set. Some of the characters and special effects at the time were more frightening than those on Lost in Space. With time though, the show grew on you. As Spock, Nimoy became a favorite of many Trekkies. Spock was a pointy-eared, green-blooded Vulcan, portraying a character whose function was to provide timely logic and stability in contrast to the emotional and irrational human crew. Bones in particular was always at odds with Spock and his intellect. As kids on into college we spent many hours watching Star Trek. The reruns were favorites for years on the local stations and we’d watch it any chance we could. It certainly sparked in many of us an interest in the stars and the evolving space program. It also inspired us to give “Spock bites” and repeat phrases such as “Illogical, captain.” And of course, who can forget the Vulcan salute, “Live long and prosper.” Not bad words to live by.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

When I run dry I stop awhile and think of you

The scurs had quite a run last week with the Weather Eye from the ’74 Gremlin making all the right moves. Will our mid-May high temps continue or will we get back to reality? Starting Wednesday, partly sunny with a slight chance of a rain and/or snow overnight. Highs in the mid-40’s with lows around the freezing mark. Thursday, partly sunny with a slight chance for rain and/or snow. Highs in the upper 40’s and lows in the upper 20’s. Mostly sunny Friday with highs in the upper 40’s and lows in the mid-20’s. Saturday, mostly sunny and cooler. Highs in the low 40’s with lows in the low 20’s. Mostly sunny becoming cloudy on Sunday and continued cool with a slight chance of rain and/or snow. Highs in the upper 30’s and lows in the low 20’s. Monday, mostly cloudy with a good chance of rain. Highs in the mid-40’s with lows near freezing. Partly cloudy Tuesday and warmer. Highs near 50 with lows around 30. The vernal equinox occurs on the 20th, marking the first day of spring. The normal high for the 20th is 42 and the normal low is 24. The scurs expect to hear from angry chickens when all those eggs are standing on end.

Well, the warm spell was fun while it lasted. We deserved it though after the cold temperatures we endured in February, didn’t we? With strong, warm breezes, field surfaces dried quickly and frost left fields in many places. While there was essentially no field work done, it’s encouraging that the fields aren’t snow covered so that when warmer temperatures return, it shouldn’t take long for fields to become fit. It did allow farmers to get equipment out of the shed and actually work on it without having to roll around in the mud for the most part. It’s like playing with the lead compared to some years. Last year for example.

At the ranch we too are ahead of schedule. The electric fence is up and charged marking one of the earliest dates for us that this has happened. After docking tails, giving shots and tagging, we moved seven more pens of ewes with lambs to the loafing area. Fudgie and Ruby were pressed into service and it took about a half hour to get that all done. The lambs were taking advantage of their new found space Sunday afternoon, racing back and forth from the lot back to the barn. The frost must be out now on the south side of the barn too as the walk-in door closes again. No longer need to use the tarp strap to keep it from flapping the breeze.

The weekend also made a great time for tree pruning. I left the Fireside tree as it will take some time but I got the rest of the apples trees in ship-shape. The activity also replenished the apple wood supply for grilling. It was a good time in general to assess the eye gougers, glasses snatcher and melon mashers on some of the other trees as well. Few things annoy me more when mowing lawn than getting snapped in the face by branches or sliced up by some thorny branches I didn’t see coming. Again, I had more dog help than a person should be allowed to have. The fascination of two Border Collies with sticks, watching the loppers and biting tires still continues to amaze.

The bird migration has been on too with the recent warmth. Saw our first robins on the 12th as well as a bluebird and killdeers. On Saturday the 14th, red-wing blackbird flocks were evident and we had a few goldfinches showing a hint of yellow at the feeders. There were some house finches too which we hadn’t seen for some time. They’re one of my favorites as the memory of their faithful visits to my Mom’s window feeder is still fresh in my mind. Sandhill cranes were heard on Saturday night at chore time. Sunday brought a large group of white-fronted geese through the area. They were heading south. Could it be an omen?

Was saddened by the recent loss of a dear friend and former co-worker namely Bud Tollefson. When we first came to town some 30 years ago, Bud was one of the first people to welcome me at the elevator and make us feel at home. He knew that I had recently lost my Dad and went out of his way to make me feel comfortable. I can recall many times coming home from work, my sides aching from something Bud had said or done. It was only the beginning.

I remember one Saturday he had invited me over to look at his oak trees as something was eating the leaves. He and Kathryn invited me in for breakfast and afterwards we proceeded to look at the trees. When I examined the leaves, I don’t recall what kind of caterpillar it was but when I told him “Bud, you have worms.” Bud let out one of those laughs as only he could. We had a large pumpkin patch one fall and Bud volunteered to help pick them. The visual Bud riding in the garden cart while hollering at the top of his lungs as we drove past the living room window still makes Mrs. Cheviot laugh. I went ice fishing with Bud a few times back when St. Olaf Lake was famous for its cigar stub sized perch. Most people went out there to kill time. Bud and I were no exception. When one of the old local diehards came over to inspect our holes, he looked at them and said in derision, “Humph! Cork’s too big.” That set Bud and I off into a laughing frenzy. When we’d get skunked after that we had a built in excuse: “Cork’s too big”.

Bud fixed many of the things I had broken and sharpened tools that I had dulled. Wouldn’t take a dime for it. I worked with Bud for only about three years before I took another job. Even after that, Bud always had a smile and a laugh when we fondly recalled some of the “good old days”. And even when he was starting to slip he was still “in there”. Mention that I’d driven the “company truck” to church and it would still bring a smile to his face if not elicit a laugh. Bud was one of my favorite people. He showed me how to laugh again after a tragic loss and the generosity with his time will never be forgotten. Words will never be able to express my gratitude but as Bud was fond of saying around his family, this will have to be “good enough”.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

And I find a place inside to laugh, separate the wheat from the chaff.

The scurs were proud of the Weather Eye’s prowess once again with snowfall arriving on Sunday right on cue. Too bad Tuesday’s high didn’t make 50 as was advertised. Oh well, what’s 14 or 15 degrees? Starting Wednesday, cloudy with a good chance for sleet and/or snow. Highs in the upper 30’s with lows in the mid 20’s. Mostly cloudy Thursday and cooler. Highs in the mid-30’s with lows in the mid-teens. Friday, mostly sunny but cooler. Highs around the freezing mark with lows in the mid-teens. Mostly sunny on Saturday and warmer (finally) with a slight chance of rain or snow in the evening hours. Highs in the low 40’s with lows in the mid-30’s. Sunday, warmer under mostly sunny skies. Highs near 50 with lows around freezing. Warmer again for both Monday and Tuesday. Mostly sunny with highs in the mid-50’s and lows around the freezing mark. The normal high for the last day of March is 48 and the normal low is 29. Through the magic of government meddling and interference, the sun will rise again before 7 a.m., the same as it did back on February 24th. The scurs are trying to figure out how to bottle some of that magic.

We had some nice days last week although the snow on Sunday night into Monday certainly brought us back to reality. It is March after all and while it didn’t land precisely on a state basketball tournament it was only off by a day. Still, it was good to see some moisture show up. At the ranch as of Monday night, we have only recorded .6” of precip for the month. At the SROC in Waseca, .97” has been tallied for the month through the 23rd. Normal for March there is 2.49” so we have continued the dry trend in place for much of the winter. Some small grain was rumored to be sown as the timing was favorable. There has been some concern expressed about alfalfa winterkill although it’s difficult to say how much has actually broken dormancy yet. The snow is beneficial at this point, protecting the plants from subfreezing temperatures and wind, as well as providing some much needed moisture for the first cutting.

While it’s a nuisance, the snow as mentioned does supply moisture. Snow is somewhat unique in that evaporation is slow when temperatures remain cool as they have been. The frost is also out of the soil in many spots allowing it to very gradually infiltrate the soil. The snow at the ranch contained .57” of liquid equivalent precip and it was .81” the SROC. The frost was officially out there on March 18th under bare soil. As is usually the case, ice-out dates on area lakes are pretty close to that. For instance, the ice left St. Olaf Lake early Friday the 20th and Beaver Lake followed suit the next morning.

More signs that spring has sprung come in the form of male cardinals singing each morning. We can hear one singing at neighbor David’s although on Sunday morning after battening down the hatches minutes before the snow began to fall, one was under the feeder at the ranch. A striped gopher was seen in the yard on St. Patrick’s Day, one of the earliest we’ve observed in recent memory. A mole has begun to move across the yard making me wonder where I put the traps. Moles are only periodic problems so the traps seem to be easily forgotten until they’re needed. Larger groups of grackles, cowbirds and red-winged blackbirds continue to appear, noisily announcing their arrival then vanish as quickly as they appeared. Robin numbers are also increasing even though the snow may delay some of them. It’s a little tough to pull worms up through the snow and even when the ground wasn’t covered, frozen soil in the morning is not real conducive to earthworms moving above ground. There are still lots of crabapples and American cranberries at the ranch. We’ve seen plenty of robins helping themselves so not to worry.

The last of the major pruning was accomplished over the weekend. Getting all the obnoxious branches out of the way so that mowing would be easier was nice. Pruning the apples up so that harvest is easier and the apple trees are more productive is truly a feather in one’s cap. The Fireside tree was a major workout with lots of sapwood needing to be hacked off of it. Fudgie and Ruby can’t get enough of that. In true Border Collie fashion, when the straight branches fall out of the tree after being cut, they stare at each branch, daring it to make a move. Must work because the branches don’t so much as flinch. Hauling branches to the brush pile, the sheep decided it might be a good idea to test the gate watching patrol since neither dog was in sight. A quick yell and the dogs showed up on a dead run, convincing the ewes it was in their best interest to go back to gnawing on the hay in their manger. Much safer that way.

As mentioned above, it’s getting towards time to sow small grains. As was the case on many farms in the day in the area where I grew up, it was an annual event to take the oats out of the bin to the elevator to be cleaned and in many cases bagged to be ready when conditions became fit. This frequently meant a trip in the ’58 International A120 truck and ride on the hydraulic hoist when the pickup was dumped. If we kids were real good, we might get to share a bottle of orange pop. That probably didn’t happen too frequently when we were honking the horn or playing with the knobs inside the pickup as Dad was talking to the someone in the elevator office prior to the truck being unloaded.

The varieties were generally on the earlier side to help get around the heat and crown rust problem. We used shorter statured multiline blends such as the E70’s and E73’s out of IA that offered a heterogeneous reaction to rust. Later when I got to choose we grew varieties and as Noble. The Case drill we borrowed from the neighbor had a grass seed attachment that allowed alfalfa to be underseeded as the oats were being sowed. In those days, a light dragging usually followed. Like most small grain, oats were a rather fickle crop to grow. Too much nitrogen and they’d go flat. Too much heat during pollination and/or grain fill and they’d be light. One old farmer trick to help boost test weight was to mix a small amount of wheat in with the seed oats. Could never figure out how they got the two crops separated once the oats were hauled back to the elevator though. Thanks Dale G. for helping to jog my memory!

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

Drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweeds

The scurs weathered another week of cool temperatures and the ensuing hate mail. Will they abandon the Weather Eye or continue to rely on its fine forecasting capability? Starting Wednesday, partly sunny with a good chance for thunderstorms as the day wears on. Highs near 70 with lows in the mid-40’s. Thursday, mostly sunny and cooler with highs in the upper 50’s and lows around 30. Mostly sunny and cooler for Friday. Highs in the mid-40’s with lows around 30. Saturday, mostly sunny. Highs in the mid-50’s with lows in the mid-30’s. Mostly sunny for Easter Sunday with a slight chance of an evening shower. Highs in the upper 50’s with lows in the low 40’s. Monday mostly cloudy with a moderate chance of a shower or thunderstorm, Highs in the upper 50’s with lows around 40. Mostly cloudy and slightly cooler for Tuesday with a slight chance of a lingering morning shower. Highs in the low 50’s with lows in the upper 30’s. The normal high for April 4th is 51 and the normal low is 31. On April 7th we see over 13 hours of daylight once again for the first time since last September 5th. The scurs are contemplating putting their snow shovel in storage. Somehow they know better.

The Full Moon for April falls on the 4th and goes by several names. Typically it is called the Full Pink Moon for the ground phlox that are commonly some of the first spring wildflowers in the woods. It also goes by the Full Sprouting Grass Moon and the Full Egg Moon. The Ojibwe called this the Broken Snowshoe Moon and the Sioux, the Moon of Greening Grass. At the ranch we’re always hopeful it’s the Moon of Greening Grass and not just another Muddy Border Collie Moon. Always nice to wean the lambs and move the ewes to pasture as early as possible.

Potential early fieldwork conditions suffered a setback with the snow and sleet from last week. However for those who were bound and determined to fret about how dry it was getting, with the 5” of snow and sleet a couple days later, we garnered over .8” of liquid equivalent precip. Runoff was virtually nil and with Monday afternoon's warmth, lawns and pastures began to green up almost before your eyes. There is still frost in the ground in places however as Betsy’s dad pointed out. That shouldn’t come as a surprise as once the ice came off area lakes, temperatures haven’t exactly set the world on fire. Last Friday temperatures did not get above freezing and low temps that morning were a chilly 15. Brrrrr!

The birds continue their subtle spring transition. There are still plenty of woodpeckers and a pair of nuthatches is frequently seen at the feeders. Juncos persist as well, having all but disappeared earlier when the weather was warm during mid-March. Pheasants are in the garden area and use the corridor area to sneak between the CRP parcels and get to a source of water. In the wind, ducks circle the pond and have to make a few approaches on their descent to a greatly diminished water surface. It is dry from a hydrological standpoint with these shallow wetlands making that abundantly clear. Haven’t been down to the wetland to inspect the wood duck houses since they were cleaned but it wouldn’t surprise me to see some eggs already. Unfortunately the last time eggs were found this early, the nest was abandoned and the eggs were all frozen.

The lambs continue to grow by leaps and bounds. They were so happy to get out of the barn after being cooped up for several days. It was as if they were shot out of a cannon once the door was finally raised. The crusted snow presented a new experience for them to tear through and slide on. The frozen ground made for a fast track as well, giving them extra traction for their jumping and running. Several have mentioned they’ve stopped to watch them run. The only thing we’d request is people pull into the driveway to watch. The traffic moves at a breakneck pace sometimes on that road so it’s a lot safer.

Gardening is in the back of my mind and every time I start considering putting in an early season crop such as radishes, it’s snowed or the ground stays frozen. That will soon change and when it does, will have enough early garden crops to plant. Probably won’t get the potatoes planted on Good Friday but it won’t be the first time. Many times one would have to shovel through the snow and use a pick axe just to get them in the frozen ground!

With the snow nearly gone, the dogs are beginning to shed in earnest. One can tell when the indoor dog hair tumbleweeds start to appear along the baseboards that it’s time to get out the brush. Once outside brushing Fudgie and Ruby out, the clumps of hair are nice for the birds that use the hair for their nests too such as the chipping sparrows. We frequently find their nests lined with combinations of wool and Fudgie fur. One thing about it, the tiny baby birds never look cold.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

Let me tell you how it will be
There's one for you, nineteen for me

The Weather Eye was in “the zone” last week and the scurs breathed a sigh of relief. Will the scurs continue to enjoy success with it or be forced to put it back in the Gremlin after next week? Starting Wednesday, mostly cloudy with an increasing chance for rain. Highs in the low 50’s and lows in the upper 30’s. Cloudy on Thursday with rain likely. Highs in the upper 40’s and lows in the mid-30’s. Friday, partly sunny with a good chance for snow and or rain. Highs near 50 with lows near the freezing mark. Mostly sunny Saturday with a slight chance of an evening shower or thunderstorm. Highs in the upper 50’s and lows in the upper 30’s. Sunday, mostly cloudy with an increasing chance for showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the low 60’s and lows in the mid-40’s. Partly sunny Monday with a moderate chance for showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the low 60’s and lows in the mid-40’s. Tuesday, mostly sunny with highs in the mid-60’s and lows in the mid-40’s. The normal high for April 15th is 57 and the normal high is 35. We continue to gain daylight at roughly 3 minutes per day. The scurs are rummaging through their couch so they can pay their taxes. They should get a penny refund from the two dimes they found.

Temperatures continued to be relatively moderate with the exception of the 80 degree high recorded on the 2nd and 43 for a high on Friday. That’s spring in MN for you. Soil conditions are dry although they remain cool with temps in the top 2” averaging in the mid-40’s at the SROC in Waseca last week. This is evident when looking at the soils in the fields or the garden for that matter. About the only weeds germinated thus far are lambsquarters and giant ragweed. Anhydrous ammonia has been applied and some dry fertilizer has been spread as well. Someone asked me if the way to tell if it’s fit to plant was to drop your drawers and plop your rump on the ground. I responded that I sure see a lot of guys doing it so it must be.

It has been a bit of a see saw ride so far this spring. Some get very excited when temperatures warm only to become sullen when they suddenly plummet again. No two springs are alike and it is still early. Looking back at old columns, I saw that in 2012 I planted radishes and peas on March 18th and they were up by the 23rd! Rhubarb was a foot tall that year by that time. This year, I decided to put some peas and radishes in on the 31st. Five days later, no sign that anything was coming up yet. The rhubarb was just breaking dormancy on the 31st with some plants about an inch tall this year on April 5th. Conclusion: This is not 2012.

Phenologically speaking, things are progressing slowly as well. One might’ve thought that we’d be hearing more of the chorus frogs in the pond area. Alas, the first we’ve heard from them was back on April 2nd. To date, we have yet to hear the nearly deafening noise coming from the wetland on a warm still night. There is a slow changing of the guard around the yard. A brown creeper was checking the trees out for bugs. They show up almost every spring and if you blink, you miss them. As suspected, the robins have been finding a plentiful supply of earthworms on the south facing slope. There were plenty found in the garden also. The lawn and pasture are greening up slowly although there is already enough grass on six acres to supply the three ewes without lambs.

The last of the ewes has lambed at the ranch and not a moment too soon. Of course, it had to be a yearling that decided to not accept the lamb right away. Aside from that and a few too many bottle lambs, it has otherwise been one of the most problem free years of lambing we have had. No real difficult births along with lambs that got up off the deck quickly, often despite the coldest weather of the winter when they were born. This is one of the reasons we raise Cheviots.

Fudgie got a long overdue brushing and celebrated by “helping” pick up sticks. She really did seem happy though and her coat for a 12 year old dog is just beautiful, almost glowing in the sun. Somehow the sticks tend to move out of the piles they were raked into however. One thing about Border Collies, they are always right on top of things, literally. Trying to bust up some root masses from last year’s planters I had to shoo Ruby away so I didn’t take her front paws off with the shovel. She’s much safer barking at the apple trees while watching The Wizard of Oz. Oh well, since we’re done moving ewes with lambs the dogs have to have something to do. Keeps them off the streets or at least out of the road I guess.

Vista’s noted Swedish astronomer made a visit last week and we discussed the cosmos amongst other things. April is an interesting month in the heavens. Some may wonder why we missed the lunar eclipse last week. It was primarily because it really wasn’t a full eclipse here. By the time most were up looking at it, the moon was already below the horizon. Venus continues its yellow “mini-moon” status, low in the western sky at 10 p.m. Jupiter is overhead in the southern sky at that same hour. Saturn rises in the east about midnight, becoming earlier each night so it rises by about 9:30 by the end of the month. The Big Dipper is nearly upside down, hopefully dumping out some needed precipitation in a timely fashion. The noted Swedish astronomer and I concurred that stargazing goes much faster when it’s cloudy out.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

Yeah, back at the Roadhouse they got some bungalows

We managed to get our snow in Thursday night, so the scurs were glad to get that out of the way. Are we done with snow or will the Weather Eye from the Gremlin be pressed into service once again? Starting Wednesday, mostly sunny. Highs in the mid-60’s with lows in the low 40’s. Thursday, partly sunny with a slight chance of a morning shower or thunderstorm. Highs in the mid-60’s with lows in the low 40’s. Mostly sunny on Friday with highs in the mid-60’s with lows around 40. Saturday, sunny with the start of a cooling trend as well as a slight chance of an overnight shower or thunderstorm. Highs near 60 with lows around 40. Partly sunny Sunday with a modest chance of a shower or thunderstorm. Highs in the mid-50’s with lows near 40. Monday, mostly cloudy with a modest chance of a shower or thunderstorm. Highs in the upper 50’s with lows in the low 40’s. Mostly sunny Tuesday with highs in the upper 50’s and lows in the low 40’s. The normal high for April 20th is 59 and the normal low is 37. The sun will rise at 6:30 a.m. on the 16th and will set after 8p.m. on the 18th, about the same time as this past August 25th. The scurs patio furniture will take up residence soon beside the ceement pond.

Midweek rainfall was the story this past week with amounts varying from around an inch to over 1.5”. At the ranch we recorded 1.66 from the 8th – 10th and at the Mall for Men it was closer to 1.25”. An overnight encore of .15” and .1” respectively Sunday night dampened plans for tearing into fieldwork ahead of schedule. Up until this past weekend, soil temperatures were anything but warm, averaging in the mid-40’s at the 2” depth as measured at the SROC. It is easy to remember fondly the years when we’ve had an early start but fooling ourselves into thinking this is now the new norm is where we set ourselves up for disappointment. It will be ready when it’s ready, not some preconceived notion of when we think it ought to be. Keeping that in mind should help save much snarling and gnashing of teeth if things don’t come up perfectly.

There are other indicators too that while we’ve warmed up, it still hasn’t moved things like the lawns and trees ahead of schedule just yet. On the 9th, the snowfall knocked the signal out on our satellite receiver when it accumulated on the dish, looking like it was covered with mashed potatoes. And, some of the shallow wetlands have recovered to respectable levels. Back in early March in our wetland, there was no water where one of the wood duck bungalows is placed. A Saturday trip to check on wood duck house occupancy revealed it was once again in the water. In fact it was to the point that taking one more step would’ve meant water going over the top of my knee boots. We have recorded over 3” of precip with snow and rain at the ranch since that time. With primarily cool conditions, it has accumulated. No wood ducks yet but there was a pair that flew by the kitchen window Monday morning.

Other occurrences this past week included the radishes starting to emerge on the 10th, 10 days after planting. Peas followed three days later. A brown thrasher serenaded us during morning chores Monday and the first tree swallows of the season were spotted at lunchtime. The male cardinal spends time singing between the Dubya’s, neighbor David’s and our place. Suspect they’re nesting at neighbor David’s as he has the best cover in his windbreak. And the chorus frogs finally got it cranked up as only they can do. Warm temperatures over the weekend were to their liking. When heading out to feed the last of the bottle lambs Sunday night, the southwest wind was carrying frogs’ shrieking up the hill and into the yard. The buildings block the sound but when there are no obstructions between you and the pond, the noise that thousands of tiny frogs can make is incredible.

Saturday was a great day to finally remove the tree wrap from 30 odd trees. As usual there was ample Border Collie help as the spiral wrap was unwound from each of the small trees. Even better for Fudgie and Ruby was the preparation of the lawnmowers for the season’s mowing. With the truck sitting outside, opening the garage door can mean only one thing to these two dogs: Get inside as fast as possible, growl ferociously and bite those lawnmower tires! To take it one step further, when both mowers are started, moved outdoors, and left running the dogs are just beside themselves. While I was at it, I discovered another Border Collie quirk. Ruby just hates to get sprayed with the air hose. Accidentally nailed her with it while cleaning the deck off and she came unglued, not much different than when the garden hose is sprayed. Auntie Mar Mar once accused us of having Ruby just for entertainment purposes. Well, if the shoe fits I guess…

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

Come tiptoe through the tulips with me

High temps outpaced the scurs and their finely tuned Weather Eye’s capabilities last week. The recent cool down appears related to a broken cable from the control panel to the heat control valve. Will the scurs get the new one in time for the weekend? Starting Wednesday, sunny skies with highs in the upper 40’s and lows in the upper 20’s. Thursday, sunny again with highs near 50 and lows near 30. Mostly sunny on Friday with a slight chance of a morning snow shower. Highs in the low 50’s and lows in the mid-30’s. Saturday, mostly sunny with highs in the mid-50’s and lows in the mid-30’s. Mostly sunny Sunday with a slight chance of rain. Highs in the upper 50’s with lows in the upper 30’s. Monday, mostly sunny with a slight chance of a shower or thunderstorm. Highs near 60 with lows near 40. Partly cloudy on Tuesday and warmer with highs in the mid-60’s and lows in the mid-40’s. On April 27th the normal high is 63 and the normal low is 41. On April 27th we will experience 14 hours of daylight, the same as what we saw back on August 15th. The scurs are certain they will be tiptoeing through the tulips by the time their May Baskets arrive.

Quite the week weather –wise as corn planting got underway in earnest. Some were able to finish, some made a dent in it while other chose not to start. There are also a few soybeans in the ground. Were these good or bad planting decisions? This is the beauty of planting season. One can speculate all you want but the results won’t be known until the combines hit the fields and loads are measured in the fall. At this point, it’s all good. Some of the alfalfa isn’t perhaps as good as hoped with some dead crowns being noticed in fields where it lack sufficient cover or potentially broke dormancy back in March. Some cuttings taken after September 1st may have also had something to do with it. Leaving alfalfa alone from September 1st through October 15th is a good idea even this far south. Getting by with cutting during that timeframe only serves as temptation to continue the practice until getting burned.

In the yard and garden the rhubarb has finally achieved the 12” mark Sunday. More peas and radishes emerging means the bunnies will have plenty to eat. The lilies of the valley are starting to unfurl and the tiger lilies are coming to life once again. The flower buds on the wild plums in the thicket are swollen so given a few warm days, it shouldn’t be too long before they burst into bloom. The warmer temperatures also made the apple and crabapple tree leaves start to pop so they should follow right on their heels. The pear trees are a bit of a puzzle. The Patten appears that it will likely bloom again while the Parker seems to be less decisive. Too bad because it takes a couple different varieties to pollinate. Garden seeds, primarily vine crops arrived this past week so it will soon be time to start them in my little fat greenhouse buddy’s greenhouse.

More bird sightings and arrivals this past week include a catbird on the 17th and barn swallows on the 18th. Several hermit thrushes were seen briefly in the trees and shrubs. They are another of those that if you blink you miss them because they don’t stay or sit still long while they are here. Others have noted the same thing I have, that goldfinches seem to be scarce thus far. At the ranch we have one that comes to the feeder occasionally. At the ranch I blame it somewhat on the lack of light green leafy cover to camouflage them. They stick out like a sore thumb otherwise. A pair of wood ducks apparently found something to their liking in the garden area. Several mornings this past week when passing through there on my way to read the black cutworm pheromone trap, the pair would take off, their distinctive whining call leaving no doubt as to whom they were. That and the drake’s spectacular spring plumage made them a dead giveaway. Last but not least, rooster pheasants are heard crowing on the landscape. Two hens were zipping across the pasture to the plum and sumac thicket, only to be seen running back several hours later as if they’d missed curfew or something.

After watching Fudgie tramping around the long grass was wondering if the wood ticks were out. Hadn’t seen any until Sunday when working at the farm in Spring Valley. The daffodils were out and so were the ticks. One of the little parasites was crawling on the hooded sweatshirt that I’d removed due to the warm afternoon sun. I quickly dispatched it with my thumbnail and went on about the rest of the afternoon. Luckily there were no more found. It gave pause to think about something my friend the Boy Entomologist once told me, that a good parasite while sometimes annoying, doesn’t kill their host. Given those parameters, some human beings fall into that category. As he pointed out, just knowing they’re around is enough to make them aggravating.

One of the things I enjoy is trying to figure out where one can still find a TV show actually worth watching. Last week I ran across a channel that carries some of the old Lone Ranger shows. The show ran on ABC from 1949 – 1957. Now, it’s been a long time since I was sitting on the floor watching the reruns on the old black and white set in the small farmhouse by Pleasant Grove. For some reason something didn’t seem right when viewing the show recently. When the credits rolled the guy who played The Lone Ranger was listed as John Hart, not Clayton Moore.

I mentioned this to my brother on the phone and he was able to quickly trace it to 1952 - 1954 where a contract dispute meant John Hart was hired to replace Clayton Moore. Unfortunately, public acceptance of his replacement was not positive. When the rights to the show were sold in 1954, Clayton Moor was hired back to play The Lone Ranger until the show was cancelled in 1957. Jay Silverheels, who played Tonto, was in every episode. Some notables who guest starred on the show over the years included DeForest Kelley, James Arness, Hugh Beaumont, Lee Van Cleef, John Banner, and former Studebaker owner/driver Frances Bavier. There, aren’t you glad you know all that stuff? It might come in handy someday.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

And I've been waiting such a long time
For the day

It took a while but the scurs finally got the heater control valve unstuck on the Weather Eye just in the nick of time. Starting Wednesday, sunny, with highs near 70 and lows in the mid-40’s. Thursday, sunny with highs in the low 70’s and lows in the upper 40’s. Mostly sunny Friday with a slight chance of a shower or thunderstorm. Highs in the nid-70’s with lows in the upper 40’s. Mostly sunny on Saturday with a chance of an evening shower or thunderstorm. Highs in the mid-70’s with lows in the low 50’s. Sunday, partly sunny becoming mostly cloudy with a good chance for showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the low 70’s with lows in the mid-50’s. Mostly cloudy Monday with a slight chance for showers and thunderstorms, Highs in the low 70’s with lows in the low 50’s. Tuesday, mostly cloudy and cooler with a good chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid-60’s with lows in the mid-40’s. The normal high for May 1st is 64 and the normal low is 42. On May 6th we will experience sunrise before 6 a.m., the same as we saw last July 29th. By May 6th the scurs May Basket will be ancient history.

The Full Moon for the month occurs on the 3rd and generally goes by the Full Flower Moon. April showers indeed bring May flowers if they don’t freeze off of course. This moon also goes by the Full Corn Planting Moon and the Full Milk Moon. The Ojibwe called this the Full Blossom Moon and the Sioux, The Moon When Ponies Shed. At the ranch it is a perpetual Moon When Border Collies Shed so it probably more accurately goes by The Moon When Lambs are Weaned or The Full Bellering Moon.

About one day of progress in the fields this past week after the prior weekend’s rainfall and ensuing cool temperatures made it difficult for farmers to get excited about planting full bore. On April 23rd the low at the Waseca airport was 21 degrees. Average soil temperatures at the 2” depth at the SROC spent a few days in the 40’s with one day in the upper 30’s. A forecast for rain on Friday didn’t help matters although the forecast amounts were small. However, when the rain stopped on Friday, instead of a tenth to a quarter inch, it was closer to ¾” and it was cold. Nevertheless, some did plant on Thursday again only to get rained out Friday morning. Corn planted the week of the 12th should emerge this week given the warm forecast. No sign of problems thus far with any of the corn planted since then, with corn planted on the 14th exhibiting a ¾” long radicle and coleoptile around ¼” on the 23rd. Rainfall for the month has totaled 3.45” at the ranch and 3.5” in town at the Mall for Men. This is slightly above normal when compared to the April normal of 3.21” at the SROC.

You can now access my daily precipitation measurements from the ranch online. I enter them religiously now that I know how to report them electronically. Go to: http://www.climate.umn.edu/HIDENsityEdit/HIDENweb.htm , click on “browse” where it is highlighted by “MNgage precip” under the “Looking at the data” heading. It will take you to “View Minnesota Precipitation Data by Location”. Enter “Steele” where it asks you to find a county then click on the “find a county” button. My location appears as “Berlin s7”. For the SROC in Waseca, choose Waseca where it asks for County and they are denoted as Woodville s18. Click on the monthly total and a drop down box will appear with the daily entries for the month. Make sure you turn the pop up blocker on your browser off for the site or that last part will be an exercise in futility. Speaking from experience.

It has been a fun week to note the subtle changes in bird activity. A white-throated sparrow was seen on the 25th meaning the much anticipated arrival of the orioles at the ranch should occur within a week or so. Thanks to fellow bird feeder T.P., on her advice I stashed an emergency jar of grape jelly just in case. The tree swallows are swarming some of the bluebird houses like gnats. They were cleaned out once earlier this spring but might not hurt to make sure a deer mouse hasn’t stuffed them full again. The robins were busy building their nest in the spruce tree right outside the living room window. It made a nice diversion to watch during breaks in the action during the Wild game. A pair of mallards has started to use the tree planting corridor as a place to snack. The low hanging fruit on the American cranberries is just the right height. Last but not least, the wood ducks that have been picking away at garden leftovers apparently are the two nesting in the wood duck house in the wetland. Checking the box last Thursday, there were 4 or 5 eggs in it. What doncha like about that?

The Border Collies had a big weekend, first being able to follow the Gator around the yard and after that, their first lawn mowing excursion of the season. Fudgie and Ruby seem to live for this sort of stuff. Keeping an eye on all the sticks, then watching as the loads of debris were hauled off and dumped gave them a whole forenoon worth of entertainment on Sunday. Then following chores, the lawnmowers made their maiden voyage for the year as did the dogs, following back and forth with each pass. Tires had to be bitten first of course before the lawnmowers made it out of the chute and the weary pair could sport their first grass-stained white socks of the spring. Priorities.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

Heartbreaker, your time has come, can't take your evil way;

The scurs set the Weather Eye on “plant” mode and plant farmers did followed by some fast moving precip. Will there be more of that in our future or will we dry out? Starting Wednesday, mostly cloudy with a good chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 70’s and lows in the low 60’s. Mostly cloudy Thursday with a continued good chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid-70’s with lows in the upper 50’s. Partly sunny for Friday with a modest chance of a shower or thunderstorm, Highs in the low 70’s with lows in the upper 40’w. Saturday, mostly cloudy with an increasing chance of a shower or thunderstorm. Highs near 70 with lows in the low 50’s. Mostly cloudy on Sunday with a good chance for showers or thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 60’s with lows near 50. Monday, mostly cloudy and cooler with continued decent chances for rain. Highs near 65 with lows in the mid-60’s. Mostly cloudy on Tuesday with a good chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs near 65 and lows in the upper 40’s. On May 9th we will see 14 hours and 30 minutes of daylight for the first time since last August 3rd. Mother’s Day is the 10th and the normal high for May 10th is 68 and the normal low is 46. After stocking it with walleyes, the scurs will be napping by the ceement pond with lines tied to their toes.

What a watershed week for field progress! Most of the corn was finished up with a huge dent made in soybean planting. After some tacky soil conditions from rain that fell on April 24th, soil conditions were about as good as it gets. The soil temperatures started out cool in the mornings but by afternoon were well into the 60’s and 70’s at the 2” depth at the SROC in Waseca. Very little rain fell across the area making it a delight to venture forth without worrying about getting stuck. Corn planted on April 14th began to emerge on May 1st and by this past Monday, it could be rowed in areas. Soybeans planted April 17th were just cracking the soil surface Monday afternoon, showing no signs of problems with some of the cool weather experienced since they’ve been in the ground. We are off to a great start, a far cry from what the past two spring planting seasons have treated us to.

Around the countryside and at the ranch as well, flowering plants have burst into bloom. The wild plum thickets have been heavenly to smell and they almost look like snow against the greening backdrop sometimes. About the time they’ve run their course, the flowering crabs kick in with their pinks and reds. The apple trees at the ranch have been in bloom as well, adding their very delicate fragrance to a warm afternoon. As our trees are not as loaded with blooms as last year, we probably won’t see an apple crop like that one this time around. Oak trees flowered as well and while their flowers aren’t anything to look at, the squirrels might take issue with that observation. At least the leaves were as big as a squirrel’s ear.

More white-throated sparrows keep showing up although we’ve seen no white-crowned or Harris’s sparrows yet. We have had a rose-breasted grosbeak though that showed up on May 2nd. There is still an occasional junco but they seem to have departed likely for points north. Robin nests keep appearing in strange places, the most recent one being on top of a couple grease guns hanging in the barn. Fortunately I have one in the garage where they can’t get at it. Goldfinch numbers have suddenly increased with the amount of foliar cover on the rise. They’ve become comfortable with the new roller feeder and seem to be telling their friends. That’s OK because this was a relatively cheap winter to feed the birds. 40 lbs. of sunflower and safflower carried us through most of it. Last but not least, an oriole was spotted at the ranch attempting to get at the hummingbird feeder. He did make his way over to the jelly feeder so spring has officially sprung at the ranch.

This week has really brought out the red admiral butterflies. These smaller reddish-orange, white and brown beauties make me happy when they make their bouncy flight around the yard. Their larvae make me even happier when they feed on their favorite food, stinging nettles. The American toads have taken center stage in the wetland here at the ranch as well as across the area. Their high pitched trilling fills the still night air and overpowers the sound of the remaining chorus frogs.

In the barnyard, the sounds haven’t been nearly as pleasant. We decided Sunday morning it was time to wean the ewes and lambs. They of course are never willing participants in this event and we have the bumps and bruises to prove it. However, they’re not the ones paying the feed bill. Some of them are absolutely heartbroken to be separated but then some of the lambs are big enough so they almost lift the ewe off the ground when they go to nurse. It’s time when that happens. There is plenty of grass now and the one group of ten ewes was fortunate enough to get a short trailer ride to the kindly neighbors’, a little piece of sheep heaven on earth. Luckily after a couple days the noise abates and life goes on. In the meantime as we heal up from our aches and pains, chores have been sped up immensely and that makes everyone happy.

Sunday was also a day to mow the windbreak and after that, spend time getting the vine crops seeded. My little fat greenhouse buddy had everything ready so it was a piece of cake. That and I got to visit with several old friends who wondered what the heck I was up to at Souba’s greenhouse. Gotta keep ‘em guessing and seeding 108 hills of vine crops will do that. It’s easy to get ahead of yourself with gardening so I like to take it slow and not make any more work out of it than necessary. Observing things first like soil temps, rainfall, weed control, soil fertility, and insects are all part of the equation.

The plants we brought back from my Mom’s place have preoccupied my garden gawking time at the ranch at this point. The lilies of the valley wasted no time unfurling and they are loaded with flower buds. They give all the appearances that they will quickly cover the area on the northwest side of the house. All the peonies we dug are alive and coming now although they vary in size. The Jack in the pulpit apparently likes its new home, shooting up not one but two shoots. And the Solomon’s Seal berries planted a couple autumns back suddenly sprang to life with numerous small plants scattered in the shade bed. While Mom is no longer with us, seeing these plants she loved will make it feel a little more like Mother’s Day.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

The scurs were clicking again and the Weather Eye from the ’74 Gremlin has become their “go to” weather predicting apparatus. Will our good weather fortunes continue or are we in for a downturn? Starting Wednesday, partly sunny with a good chance of an evening shower or thunderstorm. Highs in the low 60’s and lows in the upper 40’s. Partly cloudy Thursday with a good chance of rain in the forenoon. Highs in the mid-60’s with lows in the upper 40’s. Friday, partly sunny with a slight chance of a morning shower. Highs in the mid-60’s with lows in the low 50’s. Partly sunny and warmer for Saturday with an increasing chance of a shower or thunderstorm. Highs in the low 70’s with lows in the upper 50’s. Sunday, mostly cloudy with a moderate chance for showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid-70’s with lows in the low 60’s. Mostly cloudy with slight chance for continued rain for Monday. Highs in the mid-70’s with lows in the mid-50’s. Tuesday, mostly cloudy. Highs in the low 70’s with los in the mid-50’s. The normal high for May 15th is 69 and the normal low is 48. The scurs will be looking forward to next week’s fan mail after seeing how the recent forecast turns out.

Another week of some slow but steady progress as crops continue to emerge. So far so good, there have been few problems aside from perhaps some self-inflicted ones. Corn could be rowed easily especially in black fields. Some minor weed pressure thus far although one might’ve surmised that would be the case with the generally light and spotty precipitation that has fallen since herbicides were applied. This is why we are using multiple sites of action as well as keeping equipment such as rotary hoes at the ready just in case. Soybeans planted on April 17th could be rowed by the end of last week and given the predicted rains for the upcoming week, should have no problem emerging. Small grains have really liked the type of spring we’ve had thus far. On the cool side but dry so leaf diseases haven’t been an issue yet. The pea plantings are also enjoying the conditions. After a couple years’ worth of ratty looking pea fields in particular, it’s a welcome sight.

Trying my best over the weekend, was able to get the pasture and hay ground fertilized along with some new seeding that was to be established. The kindly neighbor had asked me if I’d be interested in putting some hay in on a steep slope that had some erosion problems. Easier said than done when you don’t have enough of your own equipment so with the kindly neighbor’s help, the field got worked. And with the kindness of neighbor David’s grandson, I was able to borrow a seeder to properly place the small seeded forages. For the acreage, the amount of seed came out just about perfect. Sometimes the sun, the moon and the stars do align.

The bellering at the ranch has subsided for yet another year. While it takes a couple days the results are always the same nonetheless. The ewes are happy to be munching on plentiful green grass and the lambs are glad they’re not competing with their mothers for a place at the feed trough. The person paying the feed bill is also happier as chore time gets chopped significantly. About the only ones who aren’t as happy are Fudgie and Ruby. Border Collies simply can’t get enough of that stuff.

Something else they don’t get enough of is brushing. It was time again on Sunday and with the windy conditions, it was like a dog hair tornado at times. Huge wads of hair flew up over the house and into the trees. It was too bad actually as I had planned on saving it and mailing some to Auntie Mar Mar. She still remarks about the last time we did that. I’m not positive but suspect she might be using it to stuff some of her craft projects.

More new arrivals in the bird department this past week at the ranch. An orchard oriole showed up on the 7th, a couple days after the first Baltimore oriole. A house wren was singing in the back yard on the 8th and the first white-crowned sparrow made a brief appearance and was gone on the 9th. Earlier in the low light of the morning I spied what appeared to be a small, dark colored bird at the thistle feeder. Too small and not chunky enough for a junco I thought. As the sun was higher in the sky, his true bright-blue colors showed: It was our first indigo bunting of the season. Still no hummingbirds but it’s still early. They may have been here and we just missed them.

Vista’s noted Swedish astronomer came through with more information concerning the aforementioned moon and stars. Venus has been low in the western sky and the yellow color has made it the predominant feature in the evening sky until it sets some three or so hours after sunset. On the 20th, the crescent moon will be under Venus. Jupiter is also yellow and high overhead although with no bottle lambs to feed, viewing it occurs only occasionally. Saturn as Dale Niedfeldt points out in his column rises in the southeast sky shortly past sunset. He states that it is brighter than usual as the rings are wide open. A 30 power telescope or more is needed to see the rings.

Speaking of rings, I saw the noted Swedish astronomer working on his shed last week. I waved as I drove by then went north to look at some corn fields. The drive was pleasant and gave me some time to listen to rock ‘n’ roll, something I don’t get to do as often as I’d sometimes like. I came back by the astronomer’s way again later during a short cloudburst and noticed he was standing inside the shed gazing out. I gave him a ring to make sure a nap hadn’t interfered with his progress. After all, that’s what friends are for.

See you next week…real good then.