Fencelines

[Dotch]

Been dazed and confused for so long, it's not true...

The scurs were tracking right until Monday’s rain arrived. Oh well, can’t win ‘em all. Starting with Wednesday, we see partly cloudy skies with a high of 60 and a low of 40. Thursday, partly cloudy, high of 55 and low between 35 and 40. Partly cloudy Friday, high of 55 and low of 35 with a chance of showers overnight. Saturday, partly cloudy with a chance of that naughty word no one wants to hear, snow in the morning. High of 50 and low of 30. Mostly sunny on Sunday, high of 50 and low between 25 and 30. This will likely mean a killing frost so the according to Swede lore, we can then officially have Indian Summer. Monday and Tuesday, partly cloudy, highs of 50 both days with lows of 30 – 35.Normal high for October 9th is 64 and the normal low is 39. Temperatures are more like late October and early November. The scurs remain dazed and confused as the calendar says it’s closer to Columbus Day than Halloween.

Not much progress in the fields given the moisture that fell the first 4 days of the month. While temperatures have been cool, the moisture has been beneficial for the pastures and hay crops. It’s also starting to build some of our much depleted reserves back although it still has a long way to go before we get back to a full soil profile in the top 5’. Prior to the last several rains, we were below the levels experienced following the summer of ’88 according to the SROC in Waseca. Never hurts to have some fuel in the tank going into spring in this country.

Around the yards and gardens, the wind beat a lot of the vegetation pretty severely. It went so far on some plants to make them appear as though they’d been frozen. A lot of ground fall apples of course that the sheep were only too glad to see tossed over the fence. Looks official, the hummingbirds have left the area, leaving behind the monster flocks of grackles (blackbirds) that appear out of nowhere and occupy the yard. Plenty of other feathered friends too including nuthatches, goldfinches, red-bellied woodpeckers, blue jays, and the ever present mourning doves. Lots of robins moving through and any ripe berries are fair game for them. Suspect if it snows, we’ll start to see some juncos. Does 3 snows on the robin’s tail count in October?

Gus was tuckered after chasing the 4 wheeler much of Sunday as the vine crops were harvested. Tried to get him to ride in the garden cart but as is a Border Collie’s habit, it’s more fun to herd small implements than it is to ride on them. Pickups are a different story of course. The harvest was bountiful with lots of our favorite squash, gourds and pumpkins. Lined up along the sidewalk in front of the house, they make a wonderful display of fall color. Next up: Indian corn. With the husks drying down, it’s time.

The kindly neighbors requested I let their Collie Sophie out as they were on a brief getaway. She was glad to see me, bounding and playing after the door was opened. Checked the pasture, the waterer, counted the ears on the sheep and divided by two, then went back toward the house where Sophie was. I played with her, petted her and told her I had to go. Was a little concerned that she might try to follow me but my concerns were quickly overcome. She was busily chasing her favorite Siamese cat into a hunk of plastic tile. Nope, not gonna follow me home when there’s a cat to be tormented.

Ever have one of those days when things haven’t gone exactly as wanted then someone happens by and things change after that? Happened on Sunday. After picking up the gourds went in the house for a bite to eat. All the sudden I heard a car rumble in and Gus was barking like mad. The doorbell rang and as I went answer it I saw a familiar face. I’m horrible with names at first; I knew the guy and couldn’t remember his name. An avid reader of this column, he’d stopped before and we’d had a great conversation on wide ranging topics from nicknames on the school bus (mine was “Barnyard”) to some of the experiences we had in common growing up back in the “good old days.”

What he wanted to show me though was the ’67 Plymouth Fury VIP, which of course caught my eye immediately when I’d peered out the kitchen window. Equipped with the 383 and dual exhaust, it was no wonder it rattled the windows in the house! I came out, looked it over and gave it my seal of approval. They don’t make cars like that anymore and it’s always great to see a classic Arizona car with no rust, most of it still original, including the paint. Just as neat to hear the signature whine of the step-down starter on an older Mopar before it commences. Enough to warm the cockles of the heart for any gear head wannabe who grew up in that era! Thanks for stopping RD and for being a faithful reader. Your check is in the mail.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

It said, that everything you grow in your garden would taste pretty fine

The scurs and the Twins appear to have a common affliction: Can’t get past those late inning blues. Maybe they need to borrow some of A Rod’s performance enhancing drugs! Starting with Wednesday, cloudy, high of 45 and low of 35 with a chance of rain turning to snow in the overnight hours. Same song, 2nd verse for Thursday and on Friday, temps remain the same under partly cloudy skies with a slight chance of showers during daylight hours. Saturday, we get to see the sun again. Clear with a balmy 50 degree high and a low of 35. Warmer Sunday under sunny skies, high of 55 – 60 with a low of 45. Cloudy Monday with the possibility of rain showers once again. High of 60 – 65 and low of 35. Rain again Tuesday afternoon, high of 50 - 55 and a low of 30 - 35, with a possibility of freezing rain late. The normal high for October 16th is 61 and the normal low is 36. The normal high for November 16th is 41 and the normal low is 23. Sound familiar? We also slip below 11 hours of daylight on the 16th and to make matters worse, the sun rises after 7:30 a.m. on the 18th. With all that good news, the scurs are ready to brush up on their long winter napping skills.

Field progress was slow until late week, waiting for the sun to shine so combines could once again roll. Precip has been detected on 10 of the first 12 days in October at the ranch so it doesn’t take a genius to figure out we’ve been spoiled the past several years. Soybean moistures following the rains (and snow) were generally running in the upper 14 to 15%. Some dockage if hauling to town but perhaps better than being buried under a foot of snow. Some corn is being harvested and here again, moisture is high. With the cool temperatures, very little field drying is occurring. Tillage on the other hand where harvest has taken place has gone well. Dry subsoils below have lead to moisture percolating down in the profile easily, keeping the tillage zone in good working condition. It is still too early to put anhydrous ammonia on yet unless you’re living a long way north of here.

Ahead of the Monday snow event, one could detect a sense of urgency among the bird population in the yard. Goldfinches in particular were clinging to the feeders in large numbers again. They beat it for the trees briefly when a red-tailed hawk appeared on top of the light pole in the middle of the yard. His stay was short-lived however and it didn’t take long for them to reappear once he left, almost like the Munchkins in The Wizard of Oz once they realized the wicked witch was gone. The nectar feeders were taken down full of sugar water slush on Saturday morning and replaced with the suet feeders in anticipation of colder temperatures. Not much activity yet as it usually takes the downies, hairies, red-bellies and other assorted suet eaters awhile to find the high energy food.

Mother Nature was busy firing warning shots and it was a good weekend to get things ready for the inevitable. One can almost sense it in their bones. Got the apples picked on Saturday and moved all the vine crops inside where Jack Frost couldn’t kiss them again. Managed to pick the remaining tomatoes that were blushing ahead of the frost and must’ve forgotten one as I fished it out of my sweatshirt pocket at work Monday morning. Am dreading the day that the last one is consumed though. Afraid it’s back to draining garden hoses and covering tender vegetation on the slim hope that the weather could turn.

Could the weather still turn? Of course it could and it usually does. Can still recall the fall of ’81, my first year out of college living in a little basement house in Rugby ND. Was pulling 2’ nitrate tests on October 9th, a Friday afternoon near Rolla and finished near dark. Drove the Jeep CJ-7 home after sundown and it snowed so hard the last 20 miles on highway 3 it was difficult to see. It ended up snowing about 8” there but it got so cold the ground froze solid where it didn’t. We were fairly certain the season was over and there would be no more soil sampling, tillage or ammonia application after that. Were we wrong! The weather straightened out, the fieldwork got done, and it was nice until just before Thanksgiving.

That was a Thanksgiving to remember too. My folks made the trip to the Geographical Center of North America where we dined on snow geese that I had shot and Mom added a special touch to her much sought after dressing recipe with the pleurotus (oyster) mushrooms found growing in a clump on the cottonwood stump in my yard. Outside it was gray and cold but inside, the little house was warm and smelled heavenly!

Mom and I reminisced about that on the phone this past Sunday afternoon while getting some pointers from her on cooking the pot roast I’d started. After misplacing the crock pot instructions needed to consult my sources for advice. With all the stuff outside that needed to be put away yet ahead of the snow, was lamenting that I was running out of time to make an apple pie. She suggested maybe making apple crisp from a few of the just picked Haralson apples as it would be quicker than making a pie. Just happened to have her recipe so she didn’t have to tell me twice. Anything made with a whole stick of butter has to taste good. The aroma of the apples and cinnamon combined with the beef roast simmering in the crock pot filled the house, making it warm and inviting, distant from the near freezing temperatures outside. Not so different from that special Thanksgiving all those years ago.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

Waiting for the sun...

After the scurs watched the Vikings escape with a victory, the scurs are setting out to do exactly the same thing. Starting with Wednesday, mostly cloudy with a good chance of rain. High of 55 and low of 40 – 45. Thursday, cloudy with more rain likely, high of 50 and a low of 35 – 40. Cloudy and cooler with a chance of lingering rain and snow showers on Friday. High near 45 and low around 30. Saturday we should see the sun again after a long wait. Partly cloudy, high of 45 – 50 and low near 30. Slight chance of showers Sunday, partly cloudy with a high close to 50 and low of 35. Partly cloudy Monday and Tuesday with highs of 50 – 55 and lows of 35. A chance of showers creeping in again Tuesday evening. The normal high for October 23rd is 57 and the normal low is 33. We continue to lose about 3 minutes of daylight per day. The scurs are wondering if Indian Summer is lurking just around the corner or if it’s a bus we’re about to be thrown under?

One would’ve had to set stakes to measure harvest progress last week. Rainy, cold, cloudy and dreary made soybean combining impossible and did little to help dry corn down in the fields. Even though it warmed up this past Sunday, soybeans remained too wet and some have resorted to drying them in order to at least make some headway. Dockage has been pretty nasty especially for those over 15%. There are simply very few dry beans with which the wet beans can be blended off. This month has been tough with precipitation of one sort or another being recorded at the ranch on 15 of the first 17 days in October. Not sure if that’s any kind of a record but it is at the ranch since we’ve only been recording data for a little over a year. The dry summer has bought us some time once again however as of this writing, we really haven’t had enough rain to completely recharge the subsoils in most areas. We just need the sun to shine and the breezes to dry the soybeans out sufficiently.

Some corn has been picked and while the yields have generally been extremely good, the test weight has not always been great, to the point that some are considering screening once again. As wet as the corn is, it’s tending to break up more, resulting in more fines making it more difficult to force air through the grain. This of course brought back memories for the little fat buddies around the training table of picking corn on the ear and musings about how long the cribs would need to be for the kind of yields we get nowadays. It was unanimous: Very long.

The cold temperatures earlier in the month sure have taken a toll on our leaf watching, haven’t they? Colors have been extremely subdued and some of the trees such as the ash in our yard have been completely denuded already due to the hard freeze. There are still scattered pockets of color here and there especially in the river valleys and lake areas. Am hopeful the red oaks in the yard will add some pizzazz to what has become a ho-hum autumn after expecting a colorful finish to the cool growing season.

Even though the summer was cool, one still has to marvel at the bounty of this land. Auntie Mar Mar dropped off her niece’s ewe to meet up with a date then laughed when she gazed at our garage full of squash. We’ve given away a lot already and it doesn’t look like we’ve made a dent in it. We’ve taste tested several kinds and so far the Mooregold has been my favorite, even though it takes a chainsaw to open them. The rind this year seems to be extra thick so it’s no wonder this variety seems to keep so well. Maybe have to look into a log splitter.

The weekend did bring lots of migrating birds through the area including a plethora of warblers and more hawks. A large group of cedar waxwings enjoyed the crabapples then disappeared as quickly as they had appeared. Bluebirds with their rather demure calls were at the kindly neighbors on Saturday then on Sunday morning they were at the ranch itself, first eating some of the remaining nannyberries. They then inspected the nearby nesting boxes while flitting about playfully. One can only hope they remember and return next spring to set up shop. The houses will be clean and ready for them when they get back.

Several young fox squirrels around the ranch, one or two of which have taken a shine to chewing on the bird feeders. Haven’t had a problem for years but it’s annoying to look out the window only to see the rodents literally hanging by their toenails with their heads buried in the feeder. Dusted off the plexiglass squirrel guard, put it back out on the feeder, so let the games begin. Their next move was to take down the thistle seed tube and gnaw on that, judging by the half-moon munch taken out of the tube under the cap. They’d best be careful though. I have a hunting license and my trigger finger is getting itchy. It’s been awhile since I’ve had nice, fresh young squirrel barbecued on the grill. A well placed shot from the grassy knoll can never be ruled out.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

Leaves are falling all around...

Between A Rod’s performance enhancing drugs and the old Brett Favre doll they used to stick pins in, the scurs were on the money for the last forecast period. Double or nothing this week? We shall see. Starting with Wednesday, high of 50 – 55 and low of 40 – 45 with a slight chance of rain. Continued cloudy on Thursday, warmer, high of 55 – 60 and low of 40 – 45. Slight chance of rain with a better chance of a showers and thunderstorms overnight. Cloudy Friday, high of 60 and low of 35 with a good chance of continuing thunderstorms. Saturday, the sun returns just in time for the ghosts and goblins. High of 45 and low of 30 with a slight chance of showers during daylight hours. Partly cloudy again on Sunday, a little cooler with a high of 45 and lows near 20. Cloudy Monday, cooler, high of 35 and low of 20. Partly cloudy Tuesday, high of 35 - 40 and low of 25 - 30 with a slight chance of evening snow showers. Normal Halloween high is 51 and the normal low is 30. The scurs will be enjoying their hard fought extra hour of sleep after a tough night of trick or treating.

Yes, that time has come once again. Set your clocks back an hour on Saturday night. The nightmare is over for another year or at least until the dummies tell us to set our clocks ahead again in March. The good news for now is the sun will rise before 7 a.m. once again. The bad news: The sun will set shortly after 5 p.m. in the afternoon. Can’t win for losing.

November 2nd ushers in the Full Moon for the month, typically known as the Full Beaver Moon. It was named as such as this was the time of year that trapping of beaver was done to supply warm pelts. It is also sometimes referred to as the Full Frosty Moon. The Ojibwe knew this as the Full Freezing Moon and the Sioux as The Moon of the Falling Leaves. After observing the trees at the ranch this past weekend, that one is right on the money. At least the sheep are doing their part on the other side of the fence, gobbling down the silver maple leaves as fast as they can.

We had very little weather appropriate for fieldwork this past week and it appears that at least half or more of the soybean crop in the area is still in the field. Luckily we had part of Sunday, Monday and part of Tuesday last week to get some soybeans harvested. Combining soybeans this week doesn’t look real promising and some have opted to pick corn instead. Corn is wet of course but as we mentioned here a few weeks back, stalk integrity is decreasing and each windy day could make matters worse. Corn did come down a couple points in the few drying days we had. However, the hours of daylight and average daily temps are heading the wrong direction this time of year.

The rain for the month has made the tile lines run again and some of the shallow area wetlands such as ours are again holding water. We’ve tallied just a shade over 5” of precip at the ranch as of this writing with more likely before the end of the week. The first juncos we’ve seen arrived at the ranch on Saturday. Always hate to see them come but they’re pretty good little guests, cleaning up under the feeders after having spent most of their summers far to the north. The downies, hairies and red-bellies have found the suet and the female red-bellied woodpecker likes to take one kernel of corn at a time back to wherever, and return in a few minutes for another one. The blue jays take 5 or 6 at time in their “gular pouch” likely stashing them somewhere for safe keeping.

After some temps in the lower 20’s earlier in the month, was hoping perhaps the ladybug invasion may have been averted. The warm days last week brought them out with a vengeance. Driving by many farmsteads, the sound of dozens of bugs hitting the windshield was common. Still some glimpses of fall color here and there but this is one of those leaf watching years that wasn’t. The red oak trees in the yard have turned more of an orange color this year rather than the deep red we’ve become accustomed to. Variety is the spice of life.

At the Mall for Men, we’ve been feasting on the bountiful harvest thus far at the training table. Pie and donuts last week quickly became endangered species though. One of my little fat buddies claims I’ve got this gardening thing figured out. Give people apples and cucumbers and I get pies and pickles in return. After freezing squash on Saturday am scheming to somehow make the squash “value added” too. Oh well, it was still more entertaining than observing another ignominious defeat as the Gophers were squashed once again by The Ohio State University.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

In my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees…

The scurs got last Monday and Tuesday’s highs mixed up with the points scored by the Gophers and Vikings over the weekend. They promise to do better, the scurs that is. Starting Wednesday and Thursday, cooling down from Monday and Tuesday with highs both days of 45 and lows of 30. Thursday should mark the start of another warming trend however, this one lasting until mid-month hopefully. Mostly clear Thursday and Friday, turning partly sunny on Sunday. Highs around 50 – 55 and lows of 30 – 35. Partly cloudy Monday, warmer temps continuing but with a chance of rain later in the day. High of 50 – 55 and low of 35 – 40. Rain continuing Tuesday, high near 50 and low of 30 – 35. Normal high for November 7th is 46 and the normal low is 27. On November 5th, the sun begins to set before 5 p.m. and on November 7th, we slip below 10 hours of daylight, and won’t see that many hours again until early February. The scurs will be enjoying the sun while we have it after the gloomy month that was October.

October set many records for precipitation across the state and was in the running locally to be one of the wettest depending on where you live. At the SROC in Waseca where no one lives, they set a new 95 year precipitation record. They were also looking at the 3rd coldest October as of the 26th with record low highs being established for October 13th and 16th. Using their data for precipitation and temperatures to calculate a “misery index”, October 2009 was the clear “winner”. Here at the ranch for October, we tallied 5.81” of precip between melted snow and rain. There was precipitation of one form or another noted on 24 of the 31 days. Precipitation means clouds and clouds mean grumpy attitudes. Ugly!

On the bright side, weather tends to average out and in the past few days both the sun and moon have reappeared as have better attitudes. Along with that, one can actually see the heavens again at night. Some of the planets of note include Jupiter which is still shining brightly over the southern horizon. Venus is continuing to trek eastward across the sky and has been the “morning star”. By the end of the month however it will be too close to the sun for viewing. Saturn rises about 2 hours after midnight and is visible in the SE sky at sunrise. According to Mike Lynch (Lunch! As Cannon used to say) on November 9th in the pre-twilight hours of Monday morning, Mars and the moon will be in conjunction high in the Southern sky. The Big Dipper continues to sink in the NW sky, barely above the horizon to the north, a reminder that colder days lie ahead.

Some limited progress was made over the weekend as the soybeans continue to be stubborn about drying out. Corn was harvested in areas instead and the moisture is stubborn there as well. At least one can get something accomplished. Test weights and moisture are variable and there are indications that primary tillage and sulfur applications may have had some impact on both. Across the landscape one can hear the collective howl of the fans as the dryers slowly work their way through the wet corn. The steam clouds rising on the still mornings from the bin sites appear almost like smoke wafting through the trees. One can only hope it’s not smoke anyway.

Around the area road ditches, the vibrant yellow of switchgrass and cordgrass are fading to a more subdued spaghetti color. Most leaves out here in the country waved bye-bye with Friday’s wind although places like Bugtussle and Mayberry still have some scattered bright yellow hard maples. The one here at the ranch might’ve been pretty for about 5 minutes one night in the dark, I think. The leaves on the ground were pretty anyway. The red oaks that showed promise in the color department suddenly went from a dull orange to brown and the wind stripped most of the leaves off the smaller model. Now the trees are bare, there are ample squirrels’ nests both at the ranch and across the entire greater Bugtussle area. The squirrels in the yard have apparently declared a truce, leaving the bird feeders alone. They’re satisfied to eat the germ out the corn kernels and leave the rest under the tree for the pheasants.

With all the leaves on the ground, Sunday offered a great opportunity to process them with the lawnmower. Ash and soft maple leaves once they fall get crispy pretty fast so the mower readily ground them up into confetti. Gus followed the mower around most of the day, something he normally isn’t in the habit of. Apparently he was convinced this stretch of sunshine was something to take advantage of while we have it. Perhaps he was thinking it may be many moons before he gets to bite the lawnmower tires again, one of his favorite pastimes. Sometimes Gus is smarter than he lets on.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

Running over the same old ground. What have we found?

Playing a little close to the vest on the weekend highs, the scurs heard no complaints on their ineptitude after the gorgeous days we had. Will it continue? After the upcoming weekend all bets are off, on the weather that is. Starting with Wednesday and Thursday, partly cloudy, highs around 55 and lows of 35 – 40. Friday, partly cloudy with a slight chance of showers developing. High of 55 and low of 35. Cloudy Saturday, with a moderate chance of showers. High of 50 and low near 30. Cooler Sunday, partly cloudy, high around 45 and low of 25 with a slight chance of overnight showers. Cloudy on Monday, chance of rain/snow mix, high of 40 and low around 25. Partly cloudy and back to reality on Tuesday, high of 35 – 40 and low of 30. Normal high for November 15th is 41 and the normal low is 23. Warm November temps have the scurs pricing new lawn furniture.

We were due and the sun finally shone its face upon us. The Friday through Sunday period marked one of the first stretches of more than a couple days where fieldwork could be accomplished. Soybeans finally got dried down below 13% on a consistent basis and detectable drops in moisture in the corn was apparent. Fall tillage has been moving as fast as crop is coming off and anhydrous started to seal well on most fields. One knows they live in rural America when the sound of machinery can be heard outside the church on Sunday morning and everyone just smiles knowingly. Given the awful October we had, no one can blame them for harvesting on a Sunday. It’s time to get this crop put to bed.

At church, H.A. noted when he’d gone by the ranch and looked at the sheep grazing on the sidehill, the sheep appeared to have grown quite a fleece already. Had made the same observation that morning from the sliding glass window. The dry late summer weather probably has something to do with that as it makes the wool fluffier. It doesn’t seem to correlate to a cold winter or anything. They’ve been eating well which certainly makes them look larger. The sheep have been the beneficiaries of all the squash freezing and pie baking taking place as of late. All one needs do is approach the fence from the house and they come on a dead run to see what might land on their side from that little white bucket.

While getting ready for church, had an unexpected sight on the tree Sunday morning when I was looking out. The first pileated woodpecker we’ve ever seen here at the ranch appeared and was checking the ash trees over for insects. At first, I was in disbelief. Even though we’ve planted a lot of trees since the ’96 storm hit our place, it’s not exactly a national forest. Was almost giddy as I called my Mom and informed her of the sighting. When the bird decided to eat some suet at one of the suet cake feeders and a large blue jay showed up, was amazed at how huge the woodpecker was, dwarfing the fat jay. The woodpecker looked absolutely ridiculous hanging upside down from the suet cake feeder but managed to knock some pretty big chunks loose before going to the tree trunk to clean his beak.

Other surprising creatures around the ranch this past week included a green frog found hopping around by the barn last Thursday night. This particular type of frog usually spends its time around water and while there’s water in the road ditch and culvert again, there’s not much by the barn. Of course, not so surprising like everywhere else, there have been lots of boxelder bugs and ladybugs sunning themselves on south facing exposures. Fortunately they haven’t been numerous in the house, yet.

The Orange Army was out in force over the weekend but the deer were likely hanging pretty tight with all the unharvested crop to hide in. There are lots of deer around these parts if the number hit on the road this past summer was any indication. Still, there was deer hanging in the kindly neighbors yard when we stopped to do chores on Sunday so some apparently had success.

Speaking of the kindly neighbor’s was at the pasture on Friday night and noticed the fencer was grounded out. Could hear the feeble tick! tick! tick! of the charger when it’s not charging full bore and the gauge on the older model Parmak fencer confirmed that. Too dark to check it Friday night so back over there on Saturday afternoon after shoveling up the screenings to see where it was grounded. Of course, when one goes looking for those things, it’s an unwritten rule that you’ll always start on the wrong end of the fence. Not that I didn’t need the exercise but it was getting towards dark. The thought of being on the road with an older tractor and wagon after dark wasn’t something I relished. Wish I had a dollar for every time some clown has passed me in an intersection as I’ve been slowing down to make a left turn but I digress…

I located the spot after walking about halfway around the pasture which wasn’t all bad. Judging by the hair caught in one of the barbs, a deer had crawled between the barbed wire and the electric wire and popped one of the insulators off a T-post. Figured it had to be the spot so walked back and plugged in the fencer and sure enough, the feeble tick! tick! tick! again. Now what? Went back around the other way and found nothing wrong. Of course checking back where I’d been before closer to the barn, the electric wire had become tangled with the barbed wire. After unsnarling it and plugging the fencer back in, breathed a sigh of relief to hear the loud, almost mechanical clack! clack! clack! of the unit performing properly. Better yet, after saddling up, no one ran over me on the journey home.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

I was a willow last night in my dream...

Temperatures continued to hold through early week, making the scurs forecast less accurate than usual. What in store for the week before Thanksgiving? Starting Wednesday, mostly cloudy, with a slight chance of showers. High of 40 - 45 and a low around 35. Thursday, more clouds with a slight chance of showers, High of 45 and low of 30 – 35. The sun comes back on Friday and Saturday under partly cloudy skies. Highs of 45 – 50 and lows of 30 – 35 with a slight chance of showers on Saturday. Sunday, cloudy, slight chance of rain and/or snow showers. High of 40 – 45 and low of 20. Partly cloudy on Monday, high of 45 and low of 20. Mostly cloudy Tuesday, high of 35 and low of 15 - 20. The normal high for November 20th is 38 and the normal low is 21. Having rationed the last of their Halloween candy, the scurs will need to restock the larder for the feasting season ahead.

Tremendous progress was made in the fields in the last week. Corn moistures have dropped with the warm, dry conditions, something we wouldn’t have guessed coming off of the cold wet month that was October. Some have reported corn moisture as low as the mid-teens and no, that’s not a yield monitor moisture reading. Soybean harvest is all but completed and we’re well past the halfway point on corn. There is light at the end of the tunnel. Fields are working up fairly well although it’s not a good idea to see how deep one can till with the ample moisture we have. Anhydrous ammonia and manure applications are working well and the soil temperatures have remained cool enough to allow very little conversion of ammonium to the nitrate form. And, one can always tell it’s really fall when the ten-man dryer across the street from the Mall for Men is running 24/7.

Bird activity has settled into the typical fall pattern at the feeders. Lots of olive drab-colored goldfinches with a few house finches happening by. Big blue jays, the occasional red-bellied woodpecker, several downies and hairies, a few mourning doves and of course, those gravity defying white-breasted nuthatches. Was hoping for a reappearance of the chickadees but that hasn’t materialized. Neither has the male cardinal who visited last spring. Oh well, it’ll likely be a long winter and there usually are some welcome surprise guests.

Speaking of surprises, sure enough there are still a few signs of fall color. Those who are fortunate enough to have weeping willows this time of year are seeing their bright yellow in stark contrast to the gray and brown most of us are looking at. The apple trees lost their leaves in the wind last week and the last of the leaves that were tempting me to make one more pass with the lawnmower vanished without a trace. Suspect some of them wound up in the pasture where they were devoured by the sheep. The corn bundles that were stockpiled made it over the fence as did several squash and apples that were going out of condition. The Cheviots rarely lack for variety in their diet at the ranch.

Outdoors, it’s been a good month to clean up things around the yard and if the weather holds, will be a good time to torch some brush piles that have been accumulating. The bunny habitat they provide is a little too enticing and it’s time to thin the herd a little, with perhaps a little help from the hawks and owls. The recent tree plantings need all the help they can get. That and putting all those tree guards on each year is really starting to get old.

Indoors while Mrs. Cheviot was away on business, Gus and I decided it was a good time for an old fashioned refrigerator clean out. For some reason, something always gets shoved back behind everything else only to be found later with fur growing on it. Gus sometimes gets the benefit of out of code items that haven’t yet become science projects or begun to reek. Took awhile this past weekend to discover the source of the odor but after trial and error, delving deep into the bowels of the icebox the offender was determined and banished to the garage. The odor problem in the fridge immediately ceased. Was satisfied we’d properly identified the suspect after going out in the garage and realizing it suddenly smelled just like the refrigerator did. Few things worse than having stink-flavored ice cream on fresh baked, warm apple crisp.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

Can't stop this feeling...

The Twin Cities weather forecasters, or as Cannon fondly called them “blow combs”, did their best to warn us of a return to the Ice Age for Thanksgiving. The scurs thought otherwise, keeping their powder dry, knowing the dire predictions of saber tooth tigers and woolly mammoths once again roaming the land were perhaps a tad premature. It’s late November; it’s supposed to be cold! Starting Wednesday, cloudy with a chance of rain and snow. High of 40 and a low of 25 – 30. Thanksgiving Day, cloudy, slight chance of flurries, then becoming partly cloudy by late forenoon. High of 35 and low of 20 – 25. Clear and warmer on Friday, high of 40 and low of 25. The crown jewel of the week should be Saturday, partly cloudy with a high of 45 and a low of 25 – 30. Chance of overnight drizzle however. Partly cloudy on Sunday, high around 40 and low of 20 - 25 with a chance of overnight snow. Monday, mostly cloudy, high of 35 and low of 15 – 20. Partly cloudy Tuesday December 1st with November clouds. High of 30 – 35 and low 15 - 20. Normal high for November 27th is 35 and the normal low is 17. The scurs will be sleeping in on Black Friday, sure in the knowledge that there’s lots of shopping time on December 24th.

What a week in terms of weather! November turned out as well as could be expected. Warmer than normal, with the mercury topping out this past Sunday at 60 degrees on the official ranch thermometer, the warmest since November 8th when the temp reached 65. It has allowed a lot of fieldwork to be completed in a short time and corn moisture has come down far below what anyone would’ve guessed back in October. Corn harvest progress varies by area but across most of Greater Bugtussle, it’s 75% complete or better. Evidence of some of the corn quality issues can be seen on area bin roofs that are covered in dust. The amount of beeswings around area drying setups seems to be at record levels. Anhydrous ammonia continues to go on well with soil conditions nearly ideal with the dry month we’ve had. Thus far at the ranch rain gauge, we’ve managed only .17” of precip for the month. As Mark Seeley is fond of saying, this is a good time of year for a drought when it comes to farm related operations.

Bird watching this past week included an unfortunate sighting. The fencer was grounded out at the kindly neighbors place again so walked the fence to see where the problem was. Got an assist from Sophie, the collie as she walked the outside. All the sudden a hen pheasant shot out of the grass and flew on a rising trajectory away from us. Didn’t think much of it until I happened to glance up only to see the bird drop like a rock from the sky. There was no report from a firearm which puzzled me briefly until I noticed the power line dancing above where the pheasant had fallen. Sad to see and since it was a hen, it wasn’t worth the risk of picking it up to salvage the meat. On a happier note, talked to the better half of the kindly neighbors and she claimed to have seen the pileated woodpecker on the same day I had a few weeks ago. There simply aren’t that many of them flying around so chances are good it might’ve been the same one.

Had made a trip to the women’s store across the road from the store where you go to the bathroom in the orange roofed silo. Being a house wares type thought perhaps they would have an apple corer, one of the serrated kind that takes just the core so you can make baked apples. Took the minivan so made sure my blonde soccer mom wig was handy. Made Gus wear the redhead one too although his ear always sticks up through it on one side. Got in the store and no apple corers to be found. Asked the department person and she scanned her handheld confuser. Wouldn’t ya know, they were out and unless I wanted to travel to Northfield, Rochester or the Cities, given the late date, they weren’t getting any more in. Down on my luck I went home, cleaned up and epoxyed the head back on the sledge hammer handle purchased earlier. Last week, since I was in town, thought I’d check on apple corers at Edna’s. Sure enough, exactly what I was looking for as well as another type. As she said when she rang it up “Should’ve shopped here first.” As usual, Edna was right.

With deer season over and the weather cooperating, it was time for barn cleaning once again. Could even wear my Carhartts with the white hanky sticking out of the back pocket. Turns out, one didn’t need them. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and everything held together. Despite the little fat buddy claim that the equipment came from the factory greased, maintenance apparently pays off. The heat houser was still on the tractor yet as there were times even in July this past summer it felt kinda good. It was almost too warm especially on Sunday however. It was one of the few times hauling loads without a jacket in late November. The aroma from the fresh spread manure should’ve been kept to a minimum too as the warm breezes were dried it rapidly. Am getting old though because it tuckers me out bouncing across ripped ground and my joints remind me the next day. Gus did his part, waking from his between load naps and trotting out to greet me when we’d pull into the driveway. Few better feelings as the fall winds down to know the barns are cleaned and the animals can snuggle down into the clean fresh bedding. Almost as good as the long sought after Thanksgiving nap.

See you nest week…real good then.

[fishface]

Happy Thanksgiving Dotch.

[Dotch]

Hey, hope yours was a good one, there fishface. Why do I feel like someone's going to take a swing at me after saying something like that?

[Dotch]

Then I'm laying out my winter clothes...

The scurs survived Turkey Day and the warmer than predicted weekend, setting their sights on seeing if we’ll have more of the same. Highly unlikely sayeth the scurs. Starting with Wednesday, partly cloudy with a high around 30 and a low of 15 with a slight chance of some flurries. Thursday, partly cloudy, slightly cooler with a high of 25 – 30 and a low near 10. Partly cloudy Friday and Saturday, highs of 25 – 30 and lows of 15 – 20. Clear skies on Sunday becoming partly cloudy, high of 30 and low of 10 – 15. Cloudy Monday and Tuesday with a chance of light snow developing Monday evening extending into Tuesday. High of 25 - 30 and low of 10 - 15. Normal December 4th high is 31 and the normal low is 14. On December 2nd the sun will rise at 7:30 a.m. and on the 8th, we’ll be down to 9 hours of daylight. After laying out their winter clothes, the scurs will begin dipping into their kerosene lantern reserves.

December 2nd marks the first of two Full Moons for the month. Yes indeed, December will also have a Blue Moon occurring on December 31st. More on that at a later date. The Full Moon on December 2nd is known as the Full Cold Moon and sometimes as the Moon Before Yule. The Ojibwe knew this as the Small Spirits Moon and the Sioux called this the Moon of the Popping Trees and also the Moon When Deer Shed Their Horns. So far so good on the popping trees.

Harvest continues to roll towards the finish line. Hopefully this week will allow most to get done. Corn has continued to dry some, test weight is better and it’s picking a lot cleaner than it did a month ago. Not as many screenings either. Of course after saying we’d garnered only .17” of precip as of Monday last week, area fields received anywhere from .5” – 1.0” after that, making it a little greasy on top, particularly where they’d been worked.

Birds around the yard last week included a robin on Wednesday morning, something we hadn’t seen or heard from for a few weeks now. On Saturday, there were 7 hen pheasants that flew out of the brushy area that the People’s Republic of Steele Co. had tried to destroy. Must’ve been picking up after the squirrels and made their way back to the shelter on the road cut. And last but not least, the pileated woodpecker was back on Monday morning as I was about to leave for the office. Wondered if he might’ve still been around as there’s bark missing on some of the trees. Can that thing ever take hunks out of a tree in a hurry.

Actually spent a little time on Thanksgiving in the garden. There are still some bunny fences to take down yet as well as pea trellises but was mainly after the remaining beets. They popped right out of the slightly frozen ground and were none the worse for wear. Cooked some of them up on Friday and were they ever sweet. Hadn’t grown beets for many years and will make sure they’re included for next year’s planting.

This time of year I guard my Saturdays and Sundays fairly jealously. Saturday was a good day to bring the sheep home from the kindly neighbors pasture. The night before I had used some trickery to lure them inside (a white bucket full of screenings works wonders) and slide a panel in place before they had a chance to escape. The next morning the ground was froze so as not to track up the yards pulling the trailer around. They loaded easily but this time was bittersweet.

I spread Lucy’s ashes along the path of what was her usual course bringing the ewes up from the other end of the pasture. Along the east side then up over the hill, down by the apple tree and back around to the west, the Cheviots would come on a dead run trying to get away, seeking cover in the barn where Lucy would hold them until I could slide the door shut. The good news is we’ve made contact with Lucy’s breeder and there will be another puppy, hopefully sometime this spring. While it won’t be another Lucy, it’s not supposed to be. It will still be a red and white smooth coat, bringing with it the personality and little quirks that Border Collies possess.

Manure hauling is finished for the season too. The lambing barn is always a tougher job, tight to get into and not the easiest to get the pack broken loose. This year was no exception, giving credence to the aptly named “sheep-foot packer” implement used in road building. The surface of the pack was just like a road. It takes some manual pitching at first so one can maneuver the skid loader around making it more time consuming per load than moving a few gates and panels like we do in the main barn. 4 loads later however, the task was completed in time for the Vikings tilt with Da Bears so was glad for that. The pack wasn’t frozen solid either, something that isn’t always the case. If the weather holds, may have time to wax the spreader yet before putting it away for winter.

After tossing the pumpkins over the fence to the sheep, we celebrated Saturday in style with the obligatory turkey on the Weber complete with all the trimmings. The apple wood saved from the spring’s pruning gave the bird a wonderful wood-smoked flavor. Auntie Mar Mar came up to join in the festivities. It was good thing she brought along a lot of good food because after she told us she’d been voting for Donny Osmond to win Dancing With the Stars, I almost sent her home. The scantily clad Edyta, Joanna and Mya were more my speed. Can foresee many useful yet appropriate gifts coming Mar Mar’s direction for Christmas. If anyone knows where I can get my hands on a Donny Osmond lunchbox, let me know.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

'Cause I've got you in the sights of my .........gun!

The scurs were wise to get those winter clothes out after the 6 degree low recorded at the ranch on Friday morning. They’re reminding themselves that November is over and along with it the unbridled weather optimism. Given the colder than normal forecast, you’ll see why. Starting with Wednesday mostly cloudy, snow likely, blustery winds with blowing and drifting snow. High of 10 - 15 and low of 0. Thursday, partly cloudy, high of 10 and low of 0. Slightly warmer for Friday and Saturday, high of 15 and low of 5 above. Clouding up on Sunday with highs remaining near 20 and lows of 0 – 5 above. Partly to mostly cloudy Monday, warmer high of 25 - 30 and low of 5 – 10. Mostly cloudy Tuesday with a chance of passing flurries. High of 30 and low of 20. The normal high for December 11 is 28 and the normal low is 10. The scurs are burning Christmas ads in their stove, knowing that real bargain hunters don’t shop until December 24th.

Harvest is still winding down in areas and everyone will be glad to put this cropping season to bed. As nice as November was, December has reverted to the every other month formula that has typified the weather much of this year. After a near 50 degree day on the 1st, things have tanked pretty fast. As of this writing the ground hasn’t completely frozen where there’s residue on the surface but given the forecast, it won’t be long and the possibility of any more fall tillage will be over for the season. Just glad that the dawdling bug didn’t bite me the past couple weeks for barn cleaning. It would’ve been much chillier. As it is now the ground is frozen on the surface reducing the likelihood of re-landscaping the yard when it comes time to move snow.

Was a good weekend to get things buttoned up and put my toys away ahead of Old Man Winter. Not much fun to smack something with the loader or worse if the weather dictates it, have someone else run that same something through their snow blower. Getting that time of year that anything can and usually does happen on the weather front so best be ready and take it in stride. Well, as much as possible anyway. It still bites to smash ice out of frozen buckets and drain hoses every time one does chores but it just makes you appreciate the times it warms up and doesn’t freeze that much more.

Unloaded more squash on the sheep too in order to get the last bay cleaned out of the garage so it would hold the soccer mom van, affectionately known as the “Gus Bus”. As Mrs. Cheviot pointed out, the sheep were like kids pouncing on candy under a piñata. In the meantime, Gus survived another Lions pancake feed. That pancake feed smell permeates everything it seems and when the truck pulled into the garage, he had his front feet on the running boards, knowing there were pancakes on board as the truck door opened. I pulled one out of the bag and he clamped onto it, then went back to his pillow in the corner to gulp it down. RL knows the craft of pancake flipping well and Gus was impressed by his expertise.

Took a walk around the fence at home as it was grounded out. Of course the rabbits had already been busy gnawing on some of the little trees along the way so made a note to wrap the vulnerable vegetation. If I get them in the sights of my .22, some cottontail on the grill will need to happen. Plodding along, there were several spots where something had blasted through the fence, knocking posts down and grounding it out. Managed to get it back in place then upon arrival back in the yard, there was a white pickup with a couple former sheep farmers in it wanting to hunt deer with black powder in the CREP acreage. They’ve asked before and I’ve always granted them permission, hoping that they would be successful. Felt badly that I’d just made a swing by the wetland, probably reducing their chances given the wind direction, but told them they were most welcome to hunt there in spite of that. They decided there might not be much point in it and backed slowly out of the driveway. Seconds later they were back, having changed their minds. Win, lose or draw, was happy they’d decided to walk it anyway. That was one of the reasons we put it in the program in the first place, so those we know can enjoy it.

It’s official: The new bakery in Bugtussle has earned the little fat buddy seal of approval. Several days last week there were treats on the training table and oddly enough, they didn’t make it through the day. The quantity of choices has been great as has the quality. The help is friendly and the renovations have made the place as warm and inviting as when Elmer and Marilyn owned it. And it always smells great when you walk in as small town bakeries do. The product lineup appears to be expanding too so it’s going to keep the little fat buddies hopping keeping tabs on the changes.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

The snow drives back the foot that's slow…

Last week’s weather was everything the scurs advertised it to be and more. This week promises to be a little more seasonal without a major storm. Starting Wednesday, look for partly cloudy skies with a high of 15 and a low of 10 Warmer on Thursday, partly cloudy again with a high around 25 and a low of 10. Partly cloudy both Friday and Saturday with a slight chance of snow. Highs of 25 and lows of 10 – 15. Cooler on Sunday, high of 15 and low of 0 – 5 above. Cloudy on Monday and Tuesday, chance of snow. Highs around 20 and lows of 0 – 5 above. The first day of winter and the shortest day of the year in terms of daylight is generally considered the 21st at 8 hours and 54 minutes even though the sun already began setting a little later on the 14th. The normal high for December 21st is 25 and the normal low is 6. The scurs will be settling in for a long winters nap after last weeks snow shoveling.

It was a storm that actually turned out as was forecast early last week. Temperatures plummeted with a low dropping to nearly 10 below at the ranch on Thursday morning. Schools were closed and the wind whipped the snow into drifts nearly filling many road ditches so the next storm could make life interesting. With the gulf moisture that fed the storm there was a surprising amount of water in it. It moved pretty well with a blower or a bucket though primarily because it was so cold. At the ranch where measuring snowfall is more of an art than a science, we accumulated what was probably around 10”. Melting down the contents of the gauge, the liquid equivalent was about .36” of precipitation.

It is always interesting to see how the local fauna adapt to this winter weather. The squirrels (we have 3 or 4 depending on the day) usually hole up in their nests until the weather breaks, then they’re back to business again cleaning up under the bird feeders and chowing down on ear corn. A vole skittered along on top of the snow banks making its way to the cover of the plum and sumac thicket. Cottontails seem to be unfazed but do wait until after the major blow is by before coming out to chew things off. The pheasants were in the yard a few days after things settled down and it looks like Little Jerry may be alive after all. One beautiful big rooster was eyeing the ear corn feeder. There was a misplaced grackle under the feeders on Sunday morning. The pileated woodpecker has become a regular at the suet. Will need to start buying suet cakes by the pallet the way things are going. The large woodpecker usually pokes a big hole through the middle of the cake making it look like a large suet donut. Mmmmmm…donuts.

Luckily, I managed to escape the wrath of this storm, hunkered down at some meetings while staying at a shelter in Minneapolis. Ate at some soup kitchens to maintain my strength. While I was struggling to survive in the Twin Cities, had left everything pretty well set up so the chores could be done with a minimum of consternation. Surprisingly enough, heard little complaining from Mrs. Cheviot upon my return. Might have to leave more often before snowstorms!

Of particular note at the meetings: Many of us guys in the 50+ age bracket must all be going to barbers who went to the same school. Seem to be taking a little too much off the top when gazing across the crowd and noticing the light from the power point presentations reflecting off the pates. My barber has resorted to trickery methinks. When he’s finished he uses the back side of the black hand-held mirror to convince me there’s still hair on top of my melon. I think it’s really to cover his mistakes.

While Matt Dubya was kind enough to clear a path so Mrs. Cheviot could go to work, there was quite a mess in the yard upon my return. With a guy coming on Friday from WI to buy a ram, it was necessary to clean things out before he got there. It was a good thing too. His small Ford Ranger with 2 wheel drive would’ve never made it within 40 yards of the barn. Saturday was a good day to clean out the lots despite the breezy conditions. The sheep could get back outside to wander more freely although the windbreak is stops a little more snow each year on the west. Walking through it over the weekend and noting the wildlife tracks and seeing what a mess it could’ve otherwise been sold me. By the time we’re ready to get out of the sheep business, there probably won’t be much snow for me to move. Bummer!

At the Mall for Men, morning training sessions have become routine once again now that field work has come to a screeching halt. The commerce of news, exchange of crucial information, and a veritable daily Vulcan mind meld continues. It’s a little known fact that lefse is actually the Norwegian version of a tortilla, one can be bribed to eat lutefisk if the price is right and there was a local adult film star by the name of Bubbles Lafayette. Who knew? With versatile wisdom and knowledge such as this, will need to consult their expertise before shopping for the gang at the Star Eagle next week.

See you next week…real good then.

[fishface]

Dotch it was good.

Worked late

saved lives

LOL

Let'm swing

forgive me if I get a little animated or emotional about a few issues

I'll take the hits.

Thanks for the excellent prose.

Jim B, aka Fishface

[Dotch]

I'll have what he's having. Thanks fishface! Glad we could be of service at 1:34 a.m.

[Dotch]

So, I looked 'round for a hitch from a reindeer

The scurs were close although depending on what part of great Bugtussle one hails from, the Sunday snowfall totals were somewhat unexpected. The scurs will go out on a limb here and predict a white Christmas. Starting Wednesday, cloudy, with an increasing chance of snow as the day wears on. High of 25 and low of 20. Thursday, cloudy with snow likely. High of 25 and low of 10 – 15. Christmas Day, cloudy and breezy with lingering snow likely. High of 20 and low of 5. Saturday and Sunday, partly cloudy. Highs around 15 and lows near 5. Partly cloudy Monday, colder with a high of 5 - 10 and a low of 0 to -5. Partly cloudy on Tuesday, continued cold, high of 10 and low of 0 to -5. Normal high for Christmas Day is 24 and the normal low is 5. After finishing up shopping at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday night, the scurs will soon be snug in their beds, listening for Santa’s reindeer while drifting off.

It looks as though we’ll see a major snowfall event heading our way over Christmas once again and after looking back at last year, we had one close to Christmas as well. Not too many tales of woe yet on the snow blower front. Crankshaft might’ve run a 220 cord or two through his blower but looking on the bright side, one sharp eyed observer told him it just makes for lots of new electric motor leads for those augers.

We celebrated and survived the Bernard family Christmas last weekend already. A trip through North Central Iowa revealed that they indeed received more snow than we did in the last major storm. There were several areas where it appeared blowers were used to beat back the snow as the ditches were over full. West of Ackley we spotted an unpicked corn field and it didn’t appear there was any effort being made to harvest it. Probably with good reason if the field was as full of snow as some of the road ditches.

When the weather threw the switch from fall to winter this year it sure didn’t waste any time, did it? Back on December 2nd, we recorded a high near 50 at the ranch. It’s been all downhill since that time, remaining below freezing. It came as close as it’s been since the 13th at 29 this past Sunday but no cigar. Still, this is pretty mild compared to December of 1983 when temperatures stayed below zero for a record setting period in many areas of the country. Where I was living at that time in the Little House on the Prairie about 6 miles from the Canadian border in north central ND, it dipped to -40 every night for about a week. Actually it was pretty cool (pun intended) as the northern lights were running wild, providing some of the most spectacular viewing in scope and color I’ve ever seen. Why I went outside and look at them is beyond me. Some have wondered why most rural houses in that area have electric stoves and heat with fuel oil. The cold temperature is one of the primary reasons. As many a hardcore ice fisherman can attest, LP doesn’t flow out of the tank very well at -40.

At the ranch, everything has settled in as has the winter. The sheep are content to eat hay and grain while wandering as far as the cleared lot and snow banks will allow. Gus is keeping the rabbits and squirrels well exercised. The birds are consuming seed at a somewhat more leisurely pace than last year when we saw the irruption of pine siskins and redpolls. This past week there were lots of goldfinches, blue jays, juncos, hairies, downies, a female red belly, an occasional house finch, the lone grackle and the pileated woodpecker continues to come faithfully. We don’t always see it but with the consumption of suet and noting new hunks of bark knocked off the trees, the calling card is clear. The sound of pheasants taking wing in the early morning hours is a regular occurrence during choretime as they glide from their overnight cover to that of the restored wetland area. The same sequence in repeated as we near dusk.

The little fat buddies continue to saw through the vast Christmas trove of baked goodies with gusto. The supply of assorted homemade bars, cookies and other confections seems endless but we all know once the holidays are over, someone will have to begin making those daunting, treacherous, daily trips to the bakery.

Well, it’s time once again for that time honored tradition of gift giving for the crack management staff at the Star Eagle. It’s been a rougher time this year as I’ve already given such a splendid array of gifts in the past. For Jim, I’m giving him one of my new super duper pens with the new and improved larger ink supply so he can add more zeros on to my rapidly burgeoning Star Eagle paycheck. For Jody, nothing else would suffice except a gooseberry pie. If you promise to share, I’ll bring some Schwan’s ice cream. For Betts, I’m loaning her the soccer Mom van (aka the “Gus Bus”) free for a weekend shopping trip. Betts needs a little more excitement in her life. Can guarantee her one thing, it won’t be boring as one can never be exactly sure what the van will do next. It does hold a lot of stuff though, including copious amounts of Gus hair. For Richard, pickled herring. It’s the gift that keeps on giving when one has a few carbonated beverages while consuming it especially during an ice fishing excursion. Everyone else in the house can enjoy it that way too. For Cathy, a Blackberry so she can save time by typing some of that column as she’s driving down the road. Scratch that, always pull over to the side. For Al, my Mom’s Fli-Back paddle. The ball and rubber band will need to be reattached as she used it primarily for attitude adjustment on our behinds. As a result, we went so far as to put a couple red crayon marks on it to convince her she’d paddled us so hard, she’d broken the skin. After reading his columns and hearing stories about some of the stunts he pulled lo these many years years, somehow I think Al might be able to relate.

Happy Festivus! See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

Blue moon, you saw me standing alone…

The scurs had it pegged pretty close as there was snow and a pretty messy end to last week with a storm system that seemed to make up the rules as it went along. For the upcoming week? No great chances for snow or rain for that matter, more sunshine but at least it will be cold. Starting Wednesday, cloudy, a slight chance of snow, look a high of 20 – 25 and a low in the neighborhood of 5 – 10. Colder New Year’s Eve, partly cloudy, high of 15 and a low of – 5 to zero. New Year’s Day, more fresh air. Partly cloudy Saturday, clear skies, a high of 5 – 10 and a low of – 5. Warmer Sunday, high of 15 and low of 5 under partly cloudy skies. Clouding up Monday, warmer and with warmer temps comes the increased chance of snow. High of 25 and 15 for a low. Cloudy and warmer on Tuesday, high of 30 and low of 15 with more snow. Normal high for New Year’s Day is 23 and the normal low is 3. Days are getting longer though and we’ll be back to 9 hours of daylight on January 2nd. In the meantime, the scurs will be celebrating in style New Year’s Eve with reckless abandon under the Blue Moon.

While some astronomers [PoorWordUsage]-[PoorWordUsage] the notion that this really doesn’t qualify as a Blue Moon by modern definition it does, being the second full moon in a month. The rules changed due to a mistake back in 1946 in Sky and Telescope magazine. The previous definition of Blue Moon was the third full moon in an astronomical season having four full moons. Not sure why they get all bent out of shape about it. Perhaps it’s a fear that people will grow hair on their palms. Wait a minute, some people do that whether there’s a full moon or not on New Year’s Eve. At any rate, go out and enjoy yourself and if you drink, don’t drive. We need all the readers we can get.

Let’s review some data last week’s storm recorded at the ranch: This was a huge comma shaped storm, pulling massive amounts of Gulf moisture northward resulting in record snowfall in many areas of the Midwest. We saw roughly 8” – 10” of wet snow total combined with periods of rain and sleet which melted down resulted in .84” of liquid equivalent. Probably worse from a snow removal standpoint was the snow recorded on the 21st and 22nd filling in the yard ahead of the storm. Temperatures were above freezing on the 24th for the first time since December 2nd. Clouds and precip were so intense that our viewing of Christmas Vacation was disrupted on the satellite was disrupted for nearly an hour on Christmas Day morning. Fortunately the show was repeated all day so we didn’t miss a minute. The barometer dropped as low as I remember seeing it since the Halloween blizzard of 1991, registering at 28.58 in of mercury.

After the snow was over and temperatures dropped, the snow was crusted 1” – 2” on top as a result of the rain. That it made it easy to break through and get stuck in with a vehicle, even though it wasn’t deep in places. 6” was deep enough if you had to stop or needed to turn around. There were numerous cars stuck in driveways. While this storm had a tough time deciding what it wanted to, the sun shining off the hoar frost on the trees Sunday morning was a welcome sight. The single digit temps responsible for the beautiful display? Well, we’re used to that.

The birds were glad to see their feeders were kept full during and following the major weather event. All the regulars were present including the pileated woodpecker. The squirrels kept themselves busy too chowing down 2 ears of corn ahead of the storm. A trip to Mom’s on Saturday found the squirrel population eating the Indian corn left out on the deck for them. They wasted no time finding the regular dent corn that happened to come along for the ride. At home the pheasants had paraded by the sliding glass window earlier in the day after picking at their ear corn feeder. On Sunday, they entertained our guests, trooping back and forth across the fields for all to see. All the pheasants appear to be in great shape at this point. Their size and condition were particularly impressive to the visitors.

In order to get family gathering people in and out of the driveway Sunday, it was a necessary evil to put the chains on the tractor. A hard crust on top and ice underneath made moving snow an unworkable situation without them. After clearing the yard, I was cold and famished. Luckily the house was nice and warm and there was a great plenty to eat. Wouldn’t you know within an hour of eating, a short nap had set in. Monday morning at the Mall for Men, am pretty sure there were enough cookies, bars, cake, and cinnamon rolls to trigger another round of napping although one can seldom get the little fat buddies to admit to a morning nap. Have to take ‘em when you can get ‘em.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

Me and my good partners, we were riding back to our camp…

Brrrr! The scurs needed some of those extra lumps of coal from their Christmas stockings in order to stay warm this past week. Will we climb out of the temperature cellar? The scurs tell all regarding our recent winter weather woes. Starting with Wednesday, partly cloudy becoming cloudy with an increasing chance of snow. High of 10 and low of 0 to – 5. Mostly cloudy Thursday, possible lingering flurries in the morning. High of 5 and low of – 10. Clear and clod Friday, high of zero and low of – 5 to zero. Mostly sunny and warmer on Saturday with highs reaching 10 – 15 and lows of 0 to 5 above. Sunday, partly cloudy, high of 20 – 25 and low of 10 – 15 with a chance of snow overnight. Mostly cloudy Monday with a chance of snow. High of 10 – 15 and low of 0 to 5 above. Tuesday, mostly cloudy and warmer, high of 15 – 20 and low of 0 to 5 above. Normal high for January 8th is 22 and the normal low is 2. We will start to see the sun a little earlier in the morning starting on the 9th, while we have already been picking up about a minute per day of daylight in the afternoon. The scurs will be readying their beach umbrella to celebrate more global warming.

Biting cold over the weekend and not much for outdoor activity other than doing the chores and filling the bird feeders. Fortunately it was holiday season anyway so catching up on naps is always in order. It’s hard to remember a stretch where the cold has set in on us more quickly or as consistently as this, probably because we’d just as soon forget. On Christmas Day we went from a high of 36 to a low of – 26 on January 2nd. Was a little perturbed that my expensive high tech digital indoor outdoor thermometer decided to quit working properly when we started to get into the big chill. Followed the instructions to replace the batteries that read like someone made them up to cover their behind when the thermometer doesn’t work. Funny, it reads about 5 – 10 degrees too high now. See? They were right. Another sign of the automation addiction running rampant in our society but I digress. Oddly enough, looking out the window at the large ten dollar dial thermometer I got from Edna, it seems to be working just fine. Whether it’s right or wrong at least I know it’s darn cold out.

The local fauna seems to be doing just fine despite all the cold and snow although there is some concern about the crusted snow making it difficult for pheasants to dig down to their food supply. We are seeing increased activity at our ear corn feeder in the brush by the yard and the 4 roosters keep us entertained. There are other areas where they may not be so fortunate. In addition to the pheasants we’ve added a male cardinal to our bird resume. He’s content to hang with the juncos and pick up around the feeders as well as eating the leftover corn pieces after the squirrels have eaten the germ out of the kernels. It’s been fun to see him amongst the numerous birds we have though, adding that bright red color to the mix. Hopefully some safflower added to our seed offerings will help keep him around.

Something that that probably will keep the cardinal and other bird species around and increasing in number and species both is the growth of the tree and shrub plantings in the yard. Recently looked at a photo from about 5 years ago and was amazed to see how much the woody vegetation in the yard has grown. It appeared most have grown about 5 feet in that time. And, that was just in the direction that the pictures were taken. Some of the shrubby trees hadn’t even been planted at that time. For those of you who live in the country, your local SWCD should be gearing up for another year of tree ordering for conservation plantings. Look for notices in your mailbox soon. The best time to plant a tree was 10 years ago. The next best time is now.

On Tuesday, Crankshaft and I went to pick up my new car. Well sort of. The 1960 Studebaker Lark that had been stored at our other farm needed to be moved so we met up with brother Stu to pick it up. After sitting for 26 years, it of course wasn’t in running condition so we were lucky enough to use Stu’s tilt bed trailer and winch to load it up. It made it up to almost 10 above that day which was cold enough but we managed to get it loaded in record time and on our way back home. Of course we had to stop in Hayfield to check the load binders as well as to catch a bite to eat at the A&W. Not like stopping at the Spring Valley A&W when I was in high school actually driving the Studebaker and checking out the carhops. Likely the carhops would’ve been all bundled up and that A&W would’ve been closed by December anyway.

The root beer and food hit the spot though and after Crankshaft had tightened one binder one more link, we were underway again. We managed to park the trailer out of the way and once it warms up a little we have some preliminary work to see where we’re at. Some of the neighbors have taken note of my prize possession. They could be jealous although I doubt it because they weren’t real sure exactly what kind of car it even was. Not surprising as Studebaker stopped making cars back in 1966 long before these neighbors were born. Suddenly I’m starting to feel very old. I’m not going to tell them that Studebaker manufactured a lot of the wagons that the pioneers used to head west. They’ll start to think I was in some cowboy movie, maybe knew Ben Cartwright.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

Sign, sign, everywhere a sign…

Slowly but surely the scurs have seen the mercury begin to rise after another cold week. This week should offer a welcome respite from the temperature crevasse we’ve been stuck in. Starting with Wednesday, we should see a bit of a January thaw. Mostly clear. High of 30 – 35 and low of 15. Mostly sunny on Thursday, high of 30 and low of 15. Slightly cooler on Friday, partly cloudy with a high of 25 and a low of 10. Mostly clear on Saturday, high of 25 and low of 10. Mostly sunny again on Sunday, high reaching 30 and low of 15. Partly sunny both Monday and Tuesday, high of 30 – 35 and low of 15 with a slight chance of some freezing rain on Tuesday evening. Normal high for January 15th is 22 and the normal low is 2. The scurs will be watching Jupiter low in the southwestern sky an hour and a half after sundown while enjoying the warm up with margaritas on their front porch swing. (thanks for the calendar RD!)

More cold last week that seemed it would never end. It made going outside for anything unnecessary tougher to do. The 3” – 4” snowfall on Wednesday wasn’t a major event but it was enough to close schools and make one wonder what it was going to do next. That snow was however relatively dry allowing it to blow around easily, clogging driveways and keeping plow operators busy. So far this winter, Steele Co. has taken top honors in the CRC (Crummy Road Condition) category. After waiting until the day following Christmas to blade them off, the county roads in the southern end of the county have been icy and rutted ever since. Go across the line into Waseca Co. and the roads are bare and dry. Not a good sign to go on a road trip to come back home and find the only place the roads are bad is right in your own back yard.

Snow removal has continued to be a challenge at the ranch. The last go round wasn’t hard to move it was just cold doing it. One can push things back just enough to get by with for awhile but without a blower, the job needs to be finished or the next time it’ll mean calling a neighbor with a blower. One good thing about the positioning of the snow piles: It should make pruning the apple trees much easier. No ladder needed!

Even with the cold conditions, bird and animal activity continues at a fever pitch. The pileated woodpecker appeared to take a nap on the south side of a tree on Saturday, that dark body soaking up the bright sun. The male cardinal has enjoyed the safflower addition to the sunflower feeder and a mourning dove suddenly reappeared on one of the coldest days last week. We finally got to see some chickadees although they haven’t been interested in the feeders. Watching them in the trees, it initially appeared they were picking at the rime frost on the buds on the maple tree. A little closer examination of the tree showed there was some kind of insect or spider enclosure they were picking at. After seeing primarily rooster pheasants since Christmas at the ear corn feeder, Sunday brought out a group of 3 hens that rotated between roosting in the plum trees and feeding on the corn. So far no redpolls or siskins among the goldfinches here but have been on the lookout for them. The fox squirrels have been exhibiting some mating behavior but generally are exhibiting a lot of eating behavior. The one big pig thwarted the most recent baffle purchase leaving me baffled.

Was awakened from my Vikings game slumber weekend before last by a couple loud snowmobiles barking down the road from the house. Thinking little of it I nodded off again until I heard Mrs. Cheviot muttering something about seeing only one come back out. “Back out of where?” I asked to which she replied “The pasture.” Sure enough, someone had made a run across the bottom of the pasture, something we’ve never had any trouble with in the 25 years we’ve lived here. I donned my snowshoes and shuffled off towards the CRP on the west side of the pasture where the tracks led. She was right, one of them had turned around and come back out while the other had blasted ahead and made it to the quarter line connecting to the road on the west. No problem, right? Yes problem, and no, it’s not right.

In the areas where they crossed the 3-strand electric fence, their skis caught the top wires, snapping, snarling and strewing them all over. Insulators popped in the cold, spring-loaded gate handles shattered and fiberglass posts were splintered, making a mess to repair before we can run animals back out there in the spring. The property damage was not large from a dollar standpoint but it’s the principle of the thing. What took a few seconds for a couple bad eggs to destroy will take a few hours to fix.

In the past I have been supportive of snowmobilers and their sport. They’ve generally done a very good job of policing themselves in this area. However, this incident left a really bad taste in my mouth. I felt my trust had been betrayed. Seems putting up NO TRESPASSING signs only serves to keep the honest people out. That takes time too, time that could be better spent napping on a cold winter afternoon.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

She’s so cold, as pure as the driven slush…

The scurs were on top of their game this past week, calling the warm up about as close as it could be called. What’s on tap for the upcoming week? Starting Wednesday, look for partly cloudy skies, a high of 30 and a low of 15 – 20 with a slight chance of rain and/or snow in the evening. Mostly cloudy and cooler Thursday, high of 25 and low of 15 – 20. Partly cloudy Friday, high of 25 and low around 20 with a slight chance of rain or snow overnight. .Increasing clouds with a chance of rain and/or snow on Saturday and Sunday. A tad warmer though, high near 30 and a low close to 25. More clouds and snow flurries on Monday and Tuesday. Highs of 20 – 25 and lows of 10 – 15. Normal high for January 22nd is 23 and the normal low is 2. The scurs will be cleaning the root beer colored slush off of the end of the driveway before the potential weekend onslaught.

By the time this reaches print, we will have chewed off the first 3 weeks of the month already. Was good to finally have the weather break in a positive direction for a change. The warmer temps seemed to meet with everyone’s approval after the – 20 and – 30 that some experienced. The roads in Steele Co. that were slated to be the next site of the “Ice Road Trucker” series even started to come around although there are still places where the ice remains. The ewes certainly seemed to appreciate the warmer nights we’ve had as they’re back to sleeping outside again. And why not? With 4” of wool it’s like they’re wearing a heavy quilt or at least the batting. Hate to break it to them but the mid-February shearing day is creeping up on them.

Even the birds that were spending a lot of time at the feeders appear to have taken a break. They were really pulling hard on the seed and suet when it was cold but their consumption has slowed immensely in the last week. The pheasants are still coming in force and it’s funny to watch them flying around the yard when out and about. The chickadees have shown up in numbers though after a long absence. They waste no time giving you their opinion when filling the feeders. Sparrow numbers have reached annoying levels in the barn again too, their droppings making a big mess on the equipment parked inside. They seem to have figured out the trap and they certainly know what a BB gun looks like.

Was a bit of a mixed bag sports weekend. The Gopher men’s hockey team appears to be coming around, battling North Dakota to a tie on Saturday then crushing them on Saturday night in a resounding 5 – 1 victory. Tubby and his basketball charges weren’t so fortunate, losing to lowly Indiana on Sunday afternoon. Fortunately Favre and the Vikings, whom many had written off after losing 3 in a row, thumped the Cowboys just before that 34 – 3. Something especially satisfying about beating the team that still haunts us Vikings fans who are old enough to remember the Drew Pearson infamous pass interference non-call in that 1975 playoff game.

The little fat buddies have been kept in mid-season form lately by some taking pity on us and keeping the training table well stocked. Sometimes difficult to tell where exactly the treats are originating from. We never look a gift horse in the mouth though. We realize it’s the only way one can maintain the strength to keep all that wisdom and knowledge flowing freely. Yes the information is free and you definitely get what you pay for.

Have to admit there was an albeit short nap tucked into Saturday afternoon. Mrs. Cheviot had taken off on a shopping junket in the morning so doing it all as is my wont, I managed to get the barns bedded, got some hay moved around and cleaned out the lot allowing the yearlings to get back outside again. Following that I was hungrier than a bear so it was time for some sustenance. The Christmas leftovers are getting pretty sparse and one has to dig pretty deep to find the remnants. After checking the icebox for some of my favorites, I noted the egg rolls appeared pretty freezer-burned so opted instead for frozen waffles with a generous helping of pickled herring. Nothing beats home cooking I thought as I snuggled into my recliner under the blankie, my eyes glazing over during a meaningless basketball tilt.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

I am a traveler of both time and space…

The scurs erred on the side of caution last week and we wound up with some warmer than expected temperatures. What say the scurs for this week? Good news and bad news. We’ll see the sun but if it gets as cold as they think, we may wish we hadn’t. Starting Wednesday, partly cloudy, high of 15 and low of zero to 5 below. Partly cloudy and colder on Thursday, high temperature around 5 with lows dropping to anywhere from 5 to 10 below. Same for Friday and Saturday under clear skies. Not as cold on Sunday, highs reaching 20 – 25 and lows of 0 – 5 above. Cloudy Monday. High of 15 and low of 0 – 5 above. Partly cloudy Tuesday, high of 15 and low of 0 – 5 below. Normal high for January 30th is 24 and the normal low is 4. The scurs will be eating leftover Vikings turnovers from Nancy’s Bakery in hopes that they will cast a nice dark shadow on Ground Hogs Day.

January 30th marks the first Full Moon of the New Year know as the Full Wolf Moon, after the wolves that would pack up and be in close proximity to the Indian winter encampments. This was also known as the Old Moon or The Moon after the Yule. The Ojibwe knew this as the Great Spirit Moon. The Sioux called this the Moon of Strong Cold or The Moon of Frost in the Teepee. Given the forecast for the upcoming week, looks like they knew exactly what they were talking about.

The recent thaw and rain over the weekend woke up some of the raccoons and opossums. It also made for a mess in the area yards. Many tales of people getting stuck in the slush in their driveways. There were also numerous reports people scraping their driveways down at a frantic pace so the ruts left by the wheel tracks would be kept to a minimum. Only thing is having scraped down to the ice again, once it re-freezes it usually means emergency rooms do land office business repairing broken and sprained appendages. Sounds like the fun had already started as of Monday morning. Time to find the bag of grit and do the Minnesota Shuffle while proceeding cautiously on the ice.

What a disastrous sports weekend for Gopher and Viking fans. The Gopher men’s basketball team lost by 1 at home to Michigan St., the Gopher men’s hockey team was swept by St. Cloud St., the Gopher women’s basketball team lost at home to Michigan St. and last but not least, the Vikings handed the NFC Championship to the Saints on a platter. Too bad because they were one mistake from going on themselves. About the only good thing about it was it was finally over on Sunday night and if you ran into grumpy people on Monday morning, you knew why. About all we can do is say wait till next year and start talking about the upcoming Twins season.

In the meantime though, it will be fun to continue watching the birds from inside the house. The pheasants continue to flock to their feeder and at this rate, it will soon be time to source more ear corn. They are extremely wary when they’re not hunkered down in the plums and always on the lookout for even the tiniest movement, including that from inside the house. The pileated woodpecker is still here only on a more erratic basis than it was earlier. The telltale new bark knocked off the trees and the hole punched through the suet is a dead giveaway. The male cardinal is still hanging around too as are the little busybodies, the chickadees. Goldfinches are a given although they tend to be more numerous when the weather begins to turn for the worse.

It’s time at the ranch to start getting garden seed ordered. The last of the squash went to a good home after keeping remarkably well in the garage and anything that didn’t keep has since been chowed down by the sheep. Have had several requests for more of the vegetables that people really liked such as the Mooregold squash and goblin eggs gourds. There will probably be some consolidation as some of the newer things we tried were so-so, such as the Honeybear squash and the Sun Spot squash. That’s OK, it’s always fun to try some new things and every once in awhile it’s something that most will enjoy.

This column marks the start of the 8th year of writing for the NRHEG Star-Eagle. It’s had its ups and downs. Travelling through time and space, it’s not always easy to sit down every Sunday night and come up with something people will find interesting. Oh sure there are columns that practically write themselves but there are those too that are more like pulling teeth. One of the things that still puzzles me is the columns I’ve thought were my poorest efforts are often the ones that people mention. Another is how many people I run across when making my rounds who actually read the thing. Go figure. I wonder sometimes too why I continue this project. Am convinced like running a small farming operation, must be the big money in it.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

Winds that blow as cold as ice

Sounds that come in the night…

The scurs were on task last week and why not? It’s generally a pretty safe bet it’ll be cold the last week in January. This week? Warmer and cloudy but closer to normal for early February. Starting with Wednesday, partly cloudy, high of 20 – 25 and a low around 15. Thursday, clouds move in as does the chance for snow. Mostly cloudy Thursday, Friday and Saturday with highs near 25 and low of 15 – 20, the greatest chance and accumulation of snow likely to be Friday. The sun comes back out on Sunday with partly cloudy skies, a high of 25 and a low of 15 – 20. Cloudy again on Monday, high of 20 and a low of 5 – 10 with a chance of snow as we progress into the overnight hours. Partly cloudy Tuesday, high of 15 – 20 and a low of 10. The normal high for February 5th is 26 and the normal low is 6. On the 4th we experience over 10 hours of daylight again for the first time since November 6th. We are gaining daylight at roughly 3 minutes per day and will have garnered an hour and ten minutes since the winter solstice. The scurs will be celebrating this fact knowing it will be less than 6 weeks and the government will steal it back.

Wasn’t that full moon over the weekend spectacular? It lit up the fields, the glazed snow pack appearing at times like a huge body of water with the moon reflecting off of it. Other than the quick hitting blizzard last Monday, things didn’t change much from the prior week. The month on the whole was much different than December however. At the ranch, only .43” of liquid equivalent precip fell in January, with over half of that actually falling as rain on the 23rd and 24th. If the every other month pattern continues as it has for awhile, February should be a warmer, wetter month. There is also much talk among the weather crowd that El Niño may finally be starting to have some impact on our temperatures. Let’s hope so or the return of the Ice Age may be upon us. Despite the respite we got mid-month, the extreme cold more than offset the warm up, if not on paper at least in people’s minds and extremities.

As mentioned last week, it was time to get the grit out and strategically spread it in the high traffic areas where one would be most likely to fall and crack the ice. Many driveways are exactly as advertised, rutted and slick making it an adventure just to walk out and get the mail. The driveway here at the ranch is so treacherous the US Olympic bobsled team has been looking at it as a possible practice site.

Another bummer of a sports weekend, well, any sports one could watch on regular channels anyway. Ohio State avenged their earlier loss at the Barn, blowing the Gopher men off the court early and never looking back. The Gophers were never in it which had me putzing with stuff around the house, checking on the score between putzes. Looks like Tubby’s chances of a 20 win regular season are fading fast and along with it the chance of getting to the Big Dance. One recent glimmer of hope on the MN sports scene, the Twins signed Jim Thome, always a Twins killer. Even though he’s aged, this guy could provide even more left handed punch to an already lefty heavy batting lineup. Might be enough to give opposing right handed starters sleepless nights.

The birds have been more routine this week. Didn’t see the cardinal or the pileated woodpecker either one. Didn’t see the owl that showed up about 3 a.m. both Friday and Saturday nights but could sure hear him, er, it. Was hard to tell exactly what kind it might’ve been too as at that time of day, just trying to figure out what you’re hearing let alone what type it is isn’t a priority. Going back to sleep is. The pheasants continue to hit the corn feeder hard. Interestingly enough, there have been numerous Hungarian partridge sightings on the way into work the past couple weeks and several others have mentioned they’re seeing them too. The drier seasons back to back we’ve had may very well have helped their numbers.

Hopefully that owl has been thinning the bunny numbers somewhat. Many are complaining about their shrubbery being pruned and girdled by the cottontail population and judging by the number being squashed on area roads, that population continues to be at a high level. Border Collie Gus keeps the bunnies and squirrels well exercised at the ranch. Say the words “bunny” or “squirrel”, open the walk-in door on the garage and he explodes after them, a loud “grrrrrrrrrrr!” warning the rodents he’s coming at full throttle. Trouble is all that exercise just seems to increase their appetites.

Speaking of appetite, the little fat buddies had a pretty good workout last week around the training table. The cold weather meant the goodies were plentiful. Wide ranging topics from the usual gang of television critics as we dined on ginger cookies and muffin stumps. We kept up on Tiger Woods demise (Betsy’s Dad remains convinced the problem stems from all that bland Swedish cooking) and registered our thoughts on network programming such as The Bachelor. Not so surprisingly, we concluded it’s shows like these that have led to increased sales of satellite dishes and cable TV amongst the male population. It figures. One can only come up with about so much original color commentary before being banished to the other room.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

Think of a boy with the stars in his eye,

Longing to reach them but frightened to try

While the weather hasn’t been too hot the scurs have been blistering, predicting the early week snow over a week in advance. How do we fare this time around? Starting Wednesday, we start off with clear skies and cold for this time of year. High of 15 and low of 5 below. Thursday, partly cloudy, high of 15 and low of 5. Partly cloudy Friday, high of 20 - 25 and low of 5 to 10 with a chance of snow. Saturday and Sunday, partly cloudy, highs of 20 and lows of 5 to 10. Cloudy Monday and guess what? A chance of snow developing. High around 20 and low near 10. Cloudy with snow on Tuesday, high of 25 and low of 10 – 15. Normal high for Valentines Day is 29 and the normal low is 9. After seeing their shadow on Ground Hogs Day, the scurs are going out on a limb and predicting at least 6 more weeks of winter.

Yes on Sunday Valentines Day is upon us once again. Time to get your sweetie something nice or at least something you think is nice. A new snow shovel or if you’re in a really generous mood, a new snow blower comes to mind. Listening to a mention by Mark Seeley back in December, predictions from meteorologist Larry Cosgrove have turned out to be on the money. With the sunspot cycle being at an all time low, the prognostication of a cold January was dead on and so far the prediction for February to be not quite as cold and messy for us has been on the money too. It’s supposed to get nicer by March. One would certainly hope so. By then your wife should be over the snow blower.

Planets are easy to spot right now with the red planet Mars appearing as an early evening “star” in the eastern sky. A pretty conjunction between Jupiter and Venus will take place if it isn’t cloudy of course near the W-SW horizon the evening of February 16th under the new crescent moon. Jupiter will soon be leaving us although it’s had good long run in the twilight sky at chore time.

The little fat buddies had to make it into town Monday morning so they could tell everyone how bad the roads were. Luckily someone had made a donut run that was in turn followed by a major block of leftover birthday cake for dessert. Carrying a little extra ballast when the roads are rough is never a bad thing.

The bird sightings and sounds in the yard were dominated by birds of prey this past week. We did chores on Tuesday night, only to hear the swishing of wings above us in the barn. A sharp-shinned hawk must’ve decided the house sparrow population was to its liking and was moving with ease between the rafter braces. With the lights on, the sparrows were somewhat dismayed about their sudden houseguest, flying to a new hiding spot when the hawk would get too close. It stayed overnight and in the morning, after opening the overhead door wide open, with a little coaxing flew out to freedom. Looking out the window after chores, the little hawk was feasting on something near the corn screenings. After it finished, I discovered it had eaten a junco for breakfast. While a house sparrow would’ve been preferable, it was interesting to see the food chain in action and functioning as intended.

On Saturday morning I noticed there were many feathers blowing about the yard. Given the northeast wind, it was easy to trace the source to a pheasant that must’ve been struck by a vehicle while flying across the road. The carcass was in the deep snow in the road ditch so thought after moving some snow, getting some hay, and a couple other assorted odd jobs, would fish it out of there so it didn’t attract stray dogs or coyotes. With lambing season looming ever closer, that’s one thing we’d just as soon not contend with. The snow was too deep to retrieve it without snowshoes so decided to have some lunch before making an attempt. After cleaning up the dishes, I looked out the window to see a huge bird taking off from the yard. Sure enough, a bald eagle happened by and you guessed it, had devoured the pheasant almost entirely. There was part of one wing left but that was about it. While I felt bad about the demise of the pheasant, the sighting of the eagle in our own yard was nothing short of spectacular.

And last but not least, it seems it must be owl mating season. Although I’m not 100% positive we have a great horned owl, am leaning towards a male and female of breeding age, given some of the strange sounds following all the hooting. They were around on at least 4 consecutive nights last week and carried on into the hours just prior to sunlight. The sounds match more closely than anything those of a mating pair of great horned owls. Just wish they’d get a motel room if they’re going to behave like that.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

Here I am, stuck in the middle with you...

The snow forecast for the Monday-Tuesday time slot arrived a little early but in the scurs eyes, snow is better earlier than later. Let’s hope that continues to be true when we get into March or we’ll be planting potatoes on Good Friday with a pickaxe! This forecast period looks relatively dry fortunately. Starting with Wednesday, mostly sunny skies, turning partly cloudy on Thursday. Highs both days around 25 and lows near 5 above. Friday through Sunday, partly cloudy, highs between 20 and 25 with lows of 5 – 10. Clouding up Monday with a chance of snow into Tuesday. High temps both days of 20 and lows of 10 – 15. Normal high for Washington’s real birthday is 32 and the normal low is 12. The scurs cannot tell a lie: This winter is becoming a long, drawn out affair.

Indeed it is getting old. One can see it in people’s attitudes and it’s no wonder. Snow has really piled up and after last Monday’s 7” – 10” dumping, ditches are almost all over full and intersections especially in town are becoming obstructed view. Some are driving like they have a death wish, winding up in the ditch after driving too fast for conditions. In the yard at the ranch, even though we live on a hill, it’s like driving out of a canyon or mountain pass between the snow piles. Everything is white and it’s tough to see driveways and other entrances as many have discovered once it’s too late including yours truly.

Taking a trip out on Beaver Lake, I followed a trail off the access I thought had been plowed. It had but all the sudden the snow plowing suddenly quit and I was in too far to turn around and go back. Luckily one of my little fat buddies came to the recue and got his pickup stuck. We managed to get that one dislodged and by then another vehicle that had come to help us become stuck. We had the good fortune at that point to have 2 good eggs show up with chains on their pickups who pulled all the stuck vehicles back to safety. After that episode, I went back to the office to lick my wounds and heard what sounded like a skid loader stuck in a hole trying to get out head first behind the building. Been there, done that. Sure enough, before going home, I wound up pulling him up out of a hole where he could get traction again. Isn’t there a Barney song that goes like that? “I pull you, you pull me,…”

It’s gotten to the point too where I have to wear snowshoes to fill the birdfeeders. Am out of ear corn so the pheasants have to put up with screenings. Skittish at first, it’s taken them awhile but they appear to be catching on to the trough containing the feed. The little sharp-shinned hawk was back again on Sunday afternoon when I checked that feeder, twisting and turning mid-flight while aggressively chasing the house sparrows through the brush and pine trees. A few minutes later, I found it terrorizing them in the pole barn again. Judging by the bars on the breast, apparently this is a young hawk in the process of changing from juvenile to adult plumage. It’s a quick study though. It figured out the sparrows like to hide in there and once they get flushed out in the open, the odds of being picked off increase. The hawk has also learned to go in and out of the building on its own so there’s a chance it will continue tormenting the sparrows. It’s certainly been fascinating to watch this extremely agile small raptor to be sure.

The Gopher men’s basketball team has continued their dismal performance. One might’ve thought early in the season they has a pretty good shot at making the NCAA tournament. If they don’t start playing better real soon, they won’t make the NIT. You say you follow the Timberwolves? You might want to contact some New Orleans Saints fans and get some of those bags they used to wear over their heads when they went to the games. Thank goodness the Winter Olympics are in full swing once again. At least it gives Vikings and Gophers fans something to cheer about. If you’ve noticed a sudden shortage of cowbells and those obnoxious, noisy plastic horns, now you know why.

And finally, the brood ewes got shorn this last weekend without any major hurdles other than an electrical snafu that developed. Was rectified by running about 3 miles of electric cord to the main barn so we didn’t have to get out the old fashioned hand shears. We even had a visit from half of the local Bandwagon stars, who also happens to be a semi-retired shearer. It’s always a treat to visit about sheep people although there are fewer and fewer of us to gossip about. Apparently we’re irreplaceable and folks can’t stand all the extra income because few newcomers are stepping up to the plate. When asked if he wanted to see whether he could still shear for old time’s sake he said there was little point in it as the shearer appeared to be doing just fine to him. Was hoping he would say “Yes!” He was right though. After we were done the ewes looked as smooth as ever as they rubbed on the gates and hay mangers, picking at any stray sprigs of hay they could find. Another good job done ahead of the lambing season that’s about to commence.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

Rocky Raccoon checked into his room…

The scurs were watching the radar with great interest as we received the glancing blow rather than a full blown storm on Monday and Tuesday. This week? Looks like March comes in like a lamb, in more ways than one. Starting Wednesday, partly cloudy with a chilly high of 10 and a brisk – 5 for a low. Warmer Thursday through Saturday, clear to partly cloudy, highs of 20 – 25 and lows of 5 – 10. Warmer on Sunday, partly cloudy, a high near 30 and low of 15 with a chance of developing snow overnight. Mostly cloudy Monday and Tuesday, chance of snow, highs of 25 – 30 and lows of 10 – 15. Normal high for March 1st is 35 and the normal low is 15. We celebrate 11 hours of daylight on the 25th and sunset will occur at 6 p.m. on the 27th. The snowman the scurs built back in December may soon become an endangered species.

As we depart from the month of February, we won’t see Jupiter as it is low in the western horizon and is lost in the glow of the sun. Venus however will become more visible low in the western horizon. Our full moon for the month will occur on the 28th and goes by several names including the Full Snow Moon for obvious reasons and the Full Hunger Moon as supplies in Indian encampments would begin to dwindle. The Ojibwe knew this as the Snow Crust Moon as the freeze-thaw cycle tended to have that effect on the snow surface. The Sioux called this the Full Raccoon Moon as the masked bandits would generally awaken from their long winter nap and wander about the countryside, not unlike little fat buddies in quest of donuts.

While it was warmer this past week, temperatures still had a difficult time reaching the forecast highs out here in the hinterlands. Low to mid-20’s for highs were about all we could muster. A major reason for that discrepancy is the deep snow pack that remains across the landscape. The reflective nature of the surface here coupled with a heavy snow pack to our south will slow our temperature increases for awhile. The sun is gaining strength however and it’s especially noticeable where one has deposited a hunk of sod grass side down in a snow pile. Amazing how much more quickly the snow melts surrounding my re-landscaping projects.

The pheasants continued to be the most noticeable birds in the yard over the past week. They’ve definitely overcome their fears of the sheep feeders holding their food source. The roosters are starting to show some of their spring plumage and it won’t be long and some of the Little Jerry offspring will be struttin’ their stuff in the yard. Spent some time this past week working with Eric at the Steele Co. SWCS to line up another tree planting not only for pheasants but for other wildlife. It should provide a corridor to allow movement from the CREP acreage to the windbreak and other cover in the yard. The sharp-shinned hawk has kept an eye on the sparrows and the numbers around the yard and in the shed have dwindled. Not that it has eaten that many but they probably have decided there are other less dangerous places to hang out. The chickadees repeat their spring song with greater frequency, a “fee-bee” is usually the first thing one hears when heading out the door.

Lambing commenced about as expected with 4 ewes coming in over the course of the week. Sure it’s a nice, leisurely pace but now the ewes are shorn, that’s likely to be short-lived. So far they’re healthy despite being born on the coldest mornings last week. Imagine that.

Was a good sports weekend in Gopher land and in the US in general. Both men's and women's basketball teams won, the men’s hockey team swept 7th ranked Colorado College and the US Olympic team bested Canada on Sunday with a 5 – 3 win in Vancouver. One needs to savor weekends like these as all too often, this is not the case. Especially in the case of the Winter Olympics, it wasn’t all that long ago the US was not considered a major power in winter sports. Must be all that global warming.

And finally, both Mrs. Cheviot and I have contracted the alien once again. Not sure where this lovely bug came from but it’s sure had its share of chills and thrills, aches and pains not to mention producing copious amounts of phlegm. Luckily there’s always the magic ‘CCO cough button to fall back on when talking on the phone. It’s also been one of those colds that causes hearing to be about half volume and the taste buds to cease functioning. The temporary hearing loss can be rather convenient but as for the food matter, temperature and texture are about all one can determine. If he’d share, I could even eat some of Gus’s treats. Those chewy bacon flavored ones look rather intriguing. Everything tastes the same anyway.

See you next week…real good then.