Fencelines

Dotch · November 20, 2012

As the sun turns slowly around the sky…

The scurs had their forecasting shoes on last week and it showed. Some spectacular November weather was in order after a cool start to the month following a cool October. How much longer will our good fortune last? Starting Wednesday, highs of 65 and lows near 45. For Thanksgiving Day, mostly clear with highs of 55 – 60 and lows of 30 – 35. Mostly clear and colder for Black Friday. Highs near 40 and lows of 25 – 30. Partly cloudy on Saturday with highs again around 40 and lows of 25 – 30. Sunday, partly cloudy with highs near 45 and lows around 30. Mostly sunny for Monday with highs once again toying with 50 degrees and lows around 30. Mostly cloudy for Tuesday with a chance of icy rain. Highs of 30 and lows dropping to 10 above. The normal high for November 22nd is 37 and the normal low is 21. The scurs will be busy avoiding the crowds and the rush of Black Friday. There are still more than plenty of shopping days left until Christmas.

The Full Moon for the month of November falls on the 28th and is known as the Full Beaver Moon. It was at this time the trappers would be stocking up with lots of pelts before the waterways froze. It has also been known as the Full Frosty Moon. The Ojibwe called this the Freezing Moon and the Sioux the Moon of Falling Leaves. At the ranch it goes by the Moon When the Ewes Return Home.

Yes, the main barn has been cleaned so the ewes can return home from the kindly neighbors pasture. Under Ruby’s watchful eye, we managed to haul 11large loads out to the field. It seems like every year it takes a little longer to get motivated to get the job done. Despite the fact there are fewer sheep, there are more pens containing small groups. This means more messing around moving panels and gates as well as sheep. Ruby is ecstatic by the sheep moving part but isn’t so keen on the panel and gate moving part. She’s more content to just watch. My prize farm implement even skipped a beat on me. The 520 New Holland spreader is supposed to have a slow and fast apron speed as well as a neutral and cleanout setting. For whatever reason it decided to fall in between someplace and slipped from slow speed into cleanout mode on the second load. Luckily I caught it quickly so it caused no damage. Not so luckily I had committed a cardinal sin. I’d forgotten to put my pitchfork with the authentic Dad’s Good Stuff handle on it in the bucket. Turn around and go back to the yard to retrieve the fork so the pack manure could be dislodged from the beaters.

It all gets done though and as luck would have it, this time it was done during some nice weather for a change. With the strong southerly breezes, it dried the barns out well after cleaning too. Such was not the case 2 years ago. The LP man stopped by to fill the tank while I was in barn cleaning mode. It was snowing, cold and windy, absolutely miserable. The apron chains were freezing down on the spreader and matters were not heading in a generally positive direction. When he asked how it was going I think my words were something to the effect of “it’s a laugh a minute out here”. That’s when one really appreciates just how nice this last weekend was. Watching the sun setting Saturday night as I went to the field with the last load, hauling manure on a tractor without a cab suddenly didn’t seem like such a bad job.

Last Friday brought about one of those annual rituals, the scope of which few realize unless they live in the country to witness it. Millions of tiny spiders hatched apparently in response to the warm temperatures and went through the process of “ballooning”. These spiders crawl onto whatever is handy, a stem of grass, a fence or other object that happens to be higher than they are and emit a strand of silk that carries them on the breeze, dispersing them across the landscape. We as humans get to enjoy their handiwork when the late afternoon sun reveals their gossamer strands left behind on the landscape.

Whatever happened to the little fat buddies? Oh they’re still around only more disperse and stealthier than they once were, thanks in large part to years of training at the Mall for Men. Take one of my little fat buddies who stopped at my place to pick up the Gator for servicing for instance. He claimed he’d be there by 7 a.m. the next morning and when I looked out the window the trailer was already gone! Must’ve slipped in under the cover of darkness. My guess is there was a free breakfast involved someplace and he really didn’t want to miss that. After all, one needs to work at keeping the digestive tract expanded to capacity in order to take full advantage of the holiday season.

See you next week…real good then.

Dotch · November 27, 2012

What a wicked game to play, to make me feel this way

Dusting off the Ruby hair from the keyboard, the scurs have readied themselves for another week of weather prognostications. Will we go back in the deep freeze or get another reprieve? Starting Wednesday, mostly sunny with highs of 35 – 40 and lows near 25. Mostly sunny on Thursday with highs of 40 – 45 and lows of 25 – 30. Partly cloudy on Friday. Highs of 40 – 45 and lows above freezing at 35. Mostly cloudy becoming partly cloudy on Saturday with a slight chance of rain and/or snow. Highs 50 – 55 and lows around 30. Mostly sunny on Sunday with highs near 50 and lows around 35. Partly cloudy and continued above normal on Monday. Highs 50 – 55 and lows around 35. Partly cloudy for Tuesday with highs again near 50 and lows falling back to 25. The normal high for December 1 is 32 and the normal low is 16. The scurs are hoping the warm weather holds long enough to get in one more dip in the ceement pond once the ice on it melts.

Mother Nature played a wicked trick on us Thanksgiving Day. It was amazing to be swatting flies and watching boxelder bugs parade around while we grilled on the patio that afternoon. The front ended up taking temperatures from the mid-50’s for highs in the afternoon and dropping it down into the teens Friday morning, then down to 8 above the following morning. As we’ve said before, 8 is not a temperature, it’s a shoe size. We should probably get used to it but after being spoiled, it becomes more difficult to accept that it is/was late November and it gets cold.

The holiday itself was uneventful as we hosted my Mom, brother, his wife and mother-in-law. Oh and Fudgie my Mom’s Border Collie of course. A whole turkey on the grill has become nearly routine over the years and luckily this year the bottom didn’t fall out of the blender containing the basting sauce. Much smoother to deal without that sticky mess again. The leg of lamb was an easier addition than I would’ve guessed although with a new grill and rotisserie, it made me nervous operating two grills at once. With brother Roger stepping up to the plate to be a hero though, we were in like porch climbers. The meal was a combined effort with Mrs. Cheviot carrying the bulk of the load inside with generous additions, from all who were in attendance. All in all a bountiful harvest.

After dinner it was time again for the annual running of the pumpkins, where we roll the pumpkins down the hill and laugh as the sheep chase after them. On Thanksgiving Day his year however the pumpkins looked and rolled similarly to deflated basketballs. Low temperatures in the teens will do that to a pumpkin once it warms up again. It still didn’t dampen the ewe’s enthusiasm for gnawing a hole in them to get at the seeds. Luckily we had an abundance of pumpkins, thanks to the generosity of my Mom, Shannon Shoenrock’s uncle and the Dubya’s who enjoy watching the sheep devour them. There were plentiful enough so we could stagger their distribution. They didn’t seem to mind the fact they were hard the following day, the ewes’ sharp incisors making short work of the frozen orange pumpkin flesh.

Bringing the ewes back Saturday from the kindly neighbors’ was among the most uneventful of any year since we’ve pastured sheep there. They were in their pasture a long time this season, since May 15th checking back in the records, making it a shade over 6 months. While I was taking Mom back home, Mrs. Cheviot had gone over to the pasture and slipped some feed in their mangers, shutting the barn door behind them. Ruby got aced out of a job but as windy and cold as it was, it was nice to have them ready to go. Ruby gets plenty of exercise as it is doing chores and playing ball so no worries there. The sheep had done well on the pasture once again, fat and sassy as they filed out of the trailer on their home turf. Fortunately there were still pumpkins left so they wouldn’t feel left out.

Bird activity has been about what one would expect for the colder temperatures sans snow. Plenty of woodpeckers and huge blue jays at the suet as well as nuthatches and chickadees. The goldfinches have continued to live up to their nomadic reputation, coming and going depending on the day. Probably the greatest sighting was Friday morning as the sunlight and light breeze were rattling the hoar frost loose from the trees. 3 rooster pheasants disrupted the ewes’ pumpkin eating frenzy as they attempted to make their way from the CRP across the bottom of the pasture. The early morning sun shone on the roosters’ bronze breasts making them stand out from the dead brown grass in the fenceline. An even prettier sight had to be the 3 hens bringing up the rear, letting us know there are still birds out here and some left for seed.

See you next week…real good then.

Dotch · December 5, 2012

Its only fractured and just a little nervous from the fall.

The scurs made the most of the warm temps last week and managed to stay entertained. Will winter make a comeback or is it time for the robins to come back? Starting Wednesday, partly cloudy becoming cloudy with a slight chance of rain in the evening. Highs of 35 – 40 and lows of 30 – 35. Mostly cloudy with a slight chance of rain on Thursday. Highs of 45 and lows of 25. Partly cloudy and colder on Friday. Highs 30 – 35 and lows of 20 – 25. Mostly cloudy on Saturday with a chance of significant snow in the evening. Highs near 30 and lows of 20 – 25. Mostly cloudy on Sunday with a slight chance of snow in the morning. Highs around 35 and lows of 15 – 20. Partly cloudy on Monday and Tuesday with high around 20 and lows near 10. The normal low for December 15th is 26 and the normal low is 9. On December 8th we will be down to 9 hours of daylight. The scurs will be keeping an eye on the calendar hoping the March weather continues.

Our fall drought continues to make folks nervous. The gauge at the Mall for Men tallied a scant .5” for the month of November and the gauge at the ranch wasn’t much better at .55”. To put matters into perspective, during the August through November timeframe at the SROC in Waseca, normal precip totals 13.25”. At the SROC for those same months this year, they have measured 4.41”, making rainfall 8.84” below normal since July. We’ve faired only slightly better at the ranch at 5.6” in those same months. Bad deal, right? While it’s not a good deal, during those same months at the ranch in 2011, we had a total of 2.88” and at the SROC, 2.52”. In other words, we’ve actually had more rain in August through November this year! If and when this drought breaks, it could be sudden like last year, bringing us rain when we had to have it, replenishing our soil profile and causing many to proclaim the drought over. If you’ll also recall, we had little subsoil moisture going into last winter but we managed to get snow melt to count for something as soils were not frozen deeply. Plus soils were (and are) fractured from deep tillage and there were frequently large cracks in the ground where tillage was not performed. This allowed much of the moisture to penetrate rather than running off. It all added up and the rest as they say is history.

In the skies we continue to see Venus in the east as the “morning star” with Jupiter shining brightly in the east after sundown. During morning chores, Jupiter is just going to bed in the west. Last week made for a spectacular conjunction between the Full Moon and Jupiter in the early evening, with Jupiter just above the moon, The Big Dipper seems huge at evening chore time, low in the northern sky right over the main barn. If you’re looking for it and don’t have a barn you may be out of luck. The proximity to the horizon bends the light making it appear larger than when it is more overhead. It’s one of the easiest celestial features to see this time of year as a result.

The small barn was declared officially cleaned on Saturday after the door was jacked up enough to allow entrance for the skidloader. Taking the roll cage off the skidloader is not an option. I don’t know too many dead guys who were glad they’d done it. Sure it could’ve probably been pitched by hand but what’s the fun in that? Sheep pack manure is some dense stuff and generally comes off in large, heavy sheets. It’s not the most pleasant to deal with in the first place, let alone using a pitchfork. There were 2 loads, 1 a standard size load and the last one was monster-sized. Probably should’ve made 2 plus loads out of it but wanting to get done and do chores kept me piling it on. Sheep are like any other livestock in that they enjoy freshly bedded pens and barns. The temperatures on Sunday went a long way towards drying out the condensation on the floor, giving the flock a place in out of the wind to sleep the new straw.

The wetland is back on the radar once again. With all the dry weather this mid-summer and into the fall, the basin/pond area has not held water since late July. We graciously received approval to deepen it from the proper channels so we’re moving ahead with the project. One of the nicest things about it is the fact that water can be diverted from an area that drowns out on the adjoining field into the wetland. There should be more water available to the wetland and deepening it will allow additional capacity while the farmer will no longer lose crop to standing water. That’s the way it should work rather than the lack of cooperation we encounter all too often. Wetlands benefit us all by providing cleaner water in addition to habitat for wildlife.

Sunday we sold a group of 3 bred ewes to a loyal 4-Her we’ve been helping. The ewes in the main barn weren’t too bad to deal with as they were already close to the building. The ewes in the pasture were a little more problematic in that they needed to be brought up to the small barn to catch the one we wanted out of a group of 20. Ruby to the rescue. It had been a while since I’d done much for training or used her for herding. No surprises though when we walked out to the pasture. She did what Border Collies have imprinted in their makeup from centuries of herding: made a great out run, circling the ewes and quickly gathering them into a group then headed them back to the barn. While she looks like she might be a China doll, Ruby’s actually pretty durable and built for speed. Being more of a drover than a herding dog is handy most of the time as that’s what we need anyway. Within a matter of minutes we had the ewes by the barn as Ruby backed off as commanded, making them feel more at ease and safe to go in. Seeing Mrs. Cheviot carrying some hay into the barn didn’t hurt but we had to get them there first to find it.

See you next week…real good then.

Dotch · December 11, 2012

Might as well jump

The scurs were on the right track, predicting Thursday’s rain and the weekend snow perfectly without all the drama from the Twin Cities blow combs. How will this week stack up? Starting Wednesday and Thursday, partly cloudy with highs of 35 and lows of 20 – 25. Partly cloudy becoming mostly cloudy by afternoon with a moderate chance of snow. Highs 30 – 35 and lows 20 – 25. Mostly cloudy Saturday with a moderate chance of snow possibly mixed with sleet. Highs near 30 and lows around 15. Continued mostly cloudy with a chance of light snow on Sunday. Highs 25 – 30 and lows around 20. Partly cloudy Monday through Tuesday with a slight chance of snow on Tuesday. Highs around 30 and lows near 15. The normal high for December 15th is 26 and the normal low is 9. On the 15th we will see 8 hours and 55 minutes of daylight and on the bright side, will only loss about one more minute before the days start getting longer once again. The scurs are waiting for that last minute to tick off the daylight clock before they consider thinking about and Christmas shopping. We just barely got over Thanksgiving. Patience, grasshopper.

The weather has begun to behave more like winter is setting in. The snowfall was typical of an early season system with lots of moisture per inch of snow. We were also the lucky recipients of more moisture that in all likelihood will soak into the ground as opposed to running off. How much snow did we get? Tough to tell with drizzle falling on the tail end of the snow Sunday but all told about 3” at the ranch. More importantly, it was .27” of moisture when the snow was melted down. While that doesn’t mean the drought is over, it’s more moisture than we had and means we’ve had almost as much precip in December so far as we had the entire month of November.

The snow made travelling treacherous locally as anyone who ventured out Friday night and went north and west discovered. We headed to a Christmas party west of LeCenter and were wondering how slippery it really was as we were following a pack of cars. Suddenly one of the cars ahead of us drifted out of control into the oncoming lane of traffic and luckily managed to pull out of it before anything serious happened. Case closed. Better to get there a few minutes late than a few hours late or not at all. Fortunately or unfortunately depending on your point of view, the snowplows had dumped enough salt on some areas of the road to rot out cars for several years to come. Some places they had not and oddly enough, we still managed to get where we wanted to go by slowing down and taking a little extra time.

Snow is made for kids and Border Collies. One could sense the electricity in the air after church as the kids were fidgety and obviously couldn’t wait to get outside to play in it. Little did they know that more was on the way, potentially causing visions of school closings to dance in their heads. Ruby enjoyed that snow as much as any kid. Later that morning as I was grilling, I heard the sound of jaws snapping and heavy dog panting. I laughed and shook my head as I saw Ruby happily jumping and grabbing at the feather-pillow snowflakes as they fell. Might as well do like Ruby and enjoy it I guess. We’ve likely got a few more months of entertainment.

Tube Steak the ram returned from the friend near Chatfield who leases one every fall. They always come back in better condition than when they left and this time was no exception. In recent years, payment for the use of the ram has come in the form of knitted woolen wear from Gary’s own sheep. This year the item was a stocking hat made from natural-colored virgin lamb’s wool. Very soft to the touch as compared to the wool from the adult ewes and a pretty dark brown to boot. Without a doubt it will be warm although I’ll probably never know. Mrs. Cheviot claimed it for herself. Tube Steak seemed happy to be home and to celebrate, he and Sausage spent the entire day jousting in the pen, churning the bedding up so it looked more like a pigpen than a sheep’s living quarters. Boys will be boys.

We battened down the hatches on Saturday when it appeared we were in for inclement weather, closing the large east doorway on the lambing barn. It was buttoned up well with the use of the cordless drill, some plywood and other assorted scrap lumber. The corn shock was also removed from the yard and deposited in the pasture. Our flock of Cheviot ewes wasted no time attacking the bundles that were still nice and green inside. Toss in a few squash that needed to go over the fence and they were occupied much of the afternoon. They are comical to watch, first descending like vultures, digging and pawing their way through the corn stover, then going back to the barnyard to nap for a while, only to repeat the process in another half hour. Eating and napping is not a bad gig if you can get it.

I knew it was too good to last: gardening season 2013 has officially started. The first barrage of the main seed catalogs we like to peruse over the long winter months arrived and word from Souba’s greenhouse was that there were 7000 geranium and Proven Winner cuttings arriving in the next week. Making matters worse was the fact I hadn’t managed to freeze any squash yet and there are still too many carrots and winter radishes in the refrigerators. That’s still better than the news Mrs. Cheviot suddenly got telling her they’d discovered there was a “one” in front of the 7000 cuttings to transplant. At least there are not 17,000 squash in the garage to process. Once I get started, it’ll only seem like it.

See you next week…real good then.

Dotch · December 18, 2012

Now the starlight which has found me, lost for a million years…

The scurs had a streak going until they forgot the ground was still pretty black to the south of us yet, causing temperatures to remain well above normal. Will they remember to take their memory pills this week? Starting Wednesday, partly cloudy becoming mostly cloudy with a good chance of afternoon and overnight snow. Highs around 30 and lows of 15 – 20. Mostly cloudy and colder on Thursday with a slight chance of snow in the forenoon. Highs near 20 and lows of 5 – 10. 3 cookie-cutter days are next, starting out mostly clear on Friday becoming partly cloudy for Saturday and Sunday. Highs around 20 and lows of 5 – 10. Partly sunny for Christmas Eve Day and Christmas Day with highs hovering around 20 with lows near 10. The normal high for December 21st is 24 and the normal low is 7. The winter solstice this year happens to occur on the 21st, bringing us 8 hours and 54 minutes of daylight. The scurs can appreciate the precious extra minutes of sleep before they begin worrying about Christmas shopping. Still plenty of days to think about getting started yet.

Drought continues to weigh on most farmers minds although at this point there isn’t a lot that can be done about it other than to think positive. Along those lines, we officially surpassed the precipitation total for November last week, adding another .41” to the soil moisture coffers at the ranch. In the feedlot, there was actually mud on Saturday night and the pickup cut in close to the barn where the soil surface was bare. The soils are largely thawed yet so anything that has fallen has been absorbed into the soil. We still have to go some to catch last year’s December precip amount at 1.19” however. The forecast for the near term anyway doesn’t give us a great chance of catching that although anything can happen. Winter is generally not the time of year a drought is broken as soils typically are frozen and as a result, snowmelt runs off. If the volunteer corn that germinated this fall is any indication, we have enough moisture to get a crop started in the top foot of soil. All is not lost yet. Should be lots of time after that to satisfy the most intense worry wart.

Ruby received a lot of attention with the flooring crew here several days in a row last week. She didn’t care much for the loud buzzing from the saw but once that was over with she liked to assist and give kisses. One of the installers claimed his ears have never been cleaner. She appears ready for Christmas though. Her coat is very shiny and soft following the rain last weekend, even though it made her smell like a wet chicken in the process. A few hours in the kennel and she was good to play the growling game with her ball again.

Not unexpectedly, the bird activity at the feeders last week slowed to a snail’s pace for this time of year. We usually have large numbers of goldfinches by now but they continue to be few and far between. The usual crew of woodpeckers, chickadees, nuthatches, blue jays, nuthatches and chickadees is still here of course but even they are not going through much sunflower seed. Some snow and colder weather may change that. There are also some indications of irruptions farther to the north, birds not normally seen here making their way farther south than in a typical winter. There were a few siskins earlier so we’ll see if more show up.

The sheep made short work of their corn shock last week and went so far as fishing the bundles out of the snow to finish it off. They still traipse off into the pasture and apparently are finding something in the native prairie area to their liking or they wouldn’t stay out there. The remaining 2 watermelons went over the fence the other night so that kept the brood ewe flock occupied until they nudged the last hunk under the fence. Fortunately the weather continues to help keep the feed bill down somewhat and it’s obvious they’re not hurting when they opt to sleep under the stars rather than in their barn.

In the skies overhead, Jupiter continues to be a party animal, rising about sunset and staying up all night. Unfortunately it has been cloudy so seeing it has been difficult. It has been bright enough though so it has shown through light clouds some nights when most stars do not. Venus will become tougher to see in the morning as the month wears on, rising later and obscured by the onset of the sunrise.

Festivus is drawing nigh and alas, I’m having a tough time getting in the spirit this year. Seems like we just finished with one season while trying to get ready for the next one. Even the Festivus pole remains snug in its crawl space awaiting the feats of strength. My gift-buying zeal of individual gifts for the staff at the newspaper has dwindled. A card with a donation in their name to the Human Fund is in the mail. There isn’t much for snow as of this writing but at least Mrs. Cheviot strung some lights outside that come on at dusk to remind us ‘tis the season. The house awaits her decorative touch, put temporarily on hold by a long overdue flooring project. Doesn’t make much sense to do a lot of decorating until the dust and commotion from that settles. The floor looks nice and that’s the main thing. It’ll be even nicer once the aftermath from that and a wedding decorating project is cleaned up in the garage so it reverts to its rightful purpose: collecting junk. If I can move the 2 lawnmowers, Howard and Whitey around it and in front of the car so I can put my truck in, it will truly be another Festivus miracle!

See you next week…real good then!

Dotch · December 24, 2012

You made me so very happy…

A little cooler for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day perhaps than the scurs predicted, but at least no “storms of the century” appeared out of nowhere. Any surprises for this holiday week? Starting Wednesday, partly cloudy and cool with highs near 10 and lows around 5. Partly cloudy becoming mostly cloudy on Thursday with a slight chance of evening snow. Highs of 15 and lows of 10. Cloudy and warmer on Friday with a moderate chance of snow. Highs of 20 – 25 and lows of 10 – 15. Cloudy on Saturday with a slight chance of snow during daylight hours. Highs near 20 and lows of 0 to 5 above. Sunday, cloudy and cooler with highs of 10 – 15 and lows of 0 to 5 above. Temperatures rebound for New Year’s Eve with highs near 20 and lows of 5 – 10 above. New Year’s Day, cloudy and cooler with highs of 15 and lows of 0 to 5 above. The normal high for New Year’s Day is 23 and the normal low is 5 above. We will see 8 hours and 59 minutes of daylight, about 5 minutes more than we saw on the winter solstice. The scurs will be blowing their noisemakers and celebrating the New Year. That and they’re done Christmas shopping for another year.

This December 28th means Full Moon time is here once again and this one is aptly named the Full Cold Moon or the Full Long Nights Moon as during this time of year the nights are among the longest. A December Full Moon can be called the Moon Before the Yule although this one seems to fall close to smack dab in the middle of it. The Ojibwe knew this as the Small Spirits Moon and the Sioux had several names, including the Moon of Popping Trees, the Moon When Deer Shed their Antlers and the Moon When Buffalo Fetus’ are Getting Large. At the ranch we call this the Moon When Ruby Bites the Garden Hose, as it must be drained following morning and night chores. Thawing the hose and hauling water in 5 gallon buckets from the house in the meantime is overrated.

The snow last Wednesday caught most of us a little off guard. We were initially expected to be sideswiped but it turned out to be more like getting doored. Although it didn’t rank in the top ten snowstorms, not even close, we’ve become so used to precip of almost any form missing us that it left us in disbelief. People were getting stuck in driveways, cars were going in the ditch and accidents in general abounded. This latest precip doesn’t alleviate the drought. It does continue to head us in the right direction however. There was approximately 6” of snow at the ranch with the snowmelt from the snowboard totaling .3” We have measured exactly the same amount of liquid equivalent precip so far in December 2012 as we did in December 2011 as of this writing at the ranch, 1.19”.

The storm even made a mess in our garage. When the cars dripped off all the snow and salt-related crud on the heated floor we discovered the garage exhaust fan had gone on the blink. This made the humidity rise to an unacceptable level meaning something needed to be done. Luckily when we called the neighborhood electrician, his sidekick Ten Eye Ta-Ta (must be Indian for electrician) showed up within 20 minutes. He had everything back to ship shape in no time flat, even after I suggested he should probably deduct some off the bill for using my ladder.

The yard and driveway at the ranch had to be cleared of snow as well. With no forecast for a thaw in sight, it was easiest to fire up the old Mustang 330 and do battle. Pulling someone out after getting stuck in our driveway was not an option. While it takes some time moving snow with small skid loaders, the maneuverability sometimes makes up for it. Read: I hate shoveling any more than necessary. Besides, I wanted to clean out around the LP tank as one of these days that’ll need filling again. Ruby got to bite the tires on the skidloader so she was happy. The feedlot was cleaned Sunday after church and readied for a round bale which should make the sheep happy. I was just happy once the thing warmed up, my behind stayed warm.

The snow brought more guests back to the feeders once again. A male cardinal appeared on Friday, followed by a female that showed up Saturday. A small bag of safflower seed was purchased for their dining pleasure. Goldfinches also were in evidence, singing “sweeeet!” as they discovered full sunflower feeders after the snow. A large number of American tree sparrows were also interspersed with the ground feeding juncos and house sparrows. The tree sparrows seem to do that here from time to time only to vanish as quickly as they appeared. Where they go, no one knows.

As luck would have it, I recently received what on first glance was a genuine Festivus card. It said that a $500 donation had been made in my name to the Human Fund. It looked authentic. It even said “Money for People” on it. Looking more closely, much to my dismay my name was scrawled over the top of someone else’s that had been whited out. This appeared to be re-gifting if ever there was such a thing. I scrutinized the handwriting with suspicion as in this locale, there seem to be a lot of repeat offenders when it comes to fraudulent gifts, Christmas cards and lottery tickets. Just my luck, all the handwriting experts I knew were already off on Christmas break. I even considered going to the Chief of Police to see if we could get a DNA match from the envelope. Rumor had it he was sitting in a police car someplace that was running. Fortunately, the transgressor came forward before I called the FBI. It was Betsy’s Dad of all people! I don’t understand. I’ve never pulled any stunts like that on him. I’ve always used a new card. Just goes to show one can never be too careful around these parts.

See you next week…real good then.

Dotch · December 31, 2012

One day I don’t like is a Monday, Monday, Monday, Monday…

After leaving the old year behind, the scurs New Year’s resolution is on getting back on track in the new one. Will they get off on the right foot? Starting Wednesday, partly cloudy becoming mostly cloudy in the afternoon with a modest chance of snow. Highs of 15 – 20 and lows of 5 – 10. Partly cloudy for Thursday with a high near 15 and lows of zero to 5 above. Clear on Friday with highs back up to 20 and lows around 5 above. Partly cloudy and warmer on Saturday with highs of 20 – 25 and lows near 10. Mostly sunny on Sunday with highs of 25 and lows of 10 – 15. Mostly cloudy on Monday with highs of 25 and lows of 15. Partly sunny and warmer on Tuesday with highs above freezing at 35 and lows of 15. The normal high on January 8th is 22 and the normal low is 4. On the 8th we will also see 9 hours and 7 minutes of daylight, having gained 13 minutes since the winter solstice. The scurs will be getting the patio furniture out before you know it.

At the ranch for the month of December tallied 1.29” of liquid equivalent with 13.35” worth of that falling as snow. At the SROC in Waseca, typical December snowfall is about 14”. We received .55” of liquid precip in November and 1.19” of precip for December of 2011. We recorded 7.5” of snow a year ago at the ranch. The one noticeable difference is that a much larger proportion of the precip in December last year fell as rain. While that’s still a long way from breaking out of the drought we are still receiving some moisture. As pointed out before we generally don’t make much of a dent on recharging the soil profile as the soils are frozen. And they are frozen. At the SROC as of the 28th, there was 11” of frost in the ground on bare soil.

On the bird feeding front, the winter weather and conditions to our north appear to be producing an irruption of sorts. There was one redpoll noted on Friday at the feeders. On Saturday, there were several in the upper branches on the row of ash trees south of the house. By Sunday the numbers had swelled to around 15 that suddenly descended to the feeders in the crabapple tree. The last time there was an irruption, they outnumbered the house sparrows and seemed to actually drive them off. Bird activity this past weekend was brisk and it will be interesting to see how many more of the redpolls arrive and how much seed they consume. For little guys they can really put it away.

The winter sports diet on TV has been superb lately and promises more of the same for much of the long winter nights. The Gophers football team went down to defeat in the last minute but they were competitive after being 13 point underdogs. The football program has been below mediocre for so long it was just refreshing to see them get into a bowl game. The Viqueens beat the Packers last Sunday, something sure to warm the cockles of any MN sports fan’s heart. Even if Adrian Peterson didn’t quite break the all-time rushing record, it has been interesting to watch him, especially in light of the ACL injury he sustained at the end of last season. My beloved Gopher hockey team continues to roll, causing Ruby to hide behind the couch as we cheered during the tattooing they gave #1 Boston college. Tubby’s charges take on Michigan State on New Year’s Eve Day and begin what should prove to be an interesting B1G season. Time to get the chores done early so we can watch the Gophers. Ruby just cocks her head wondering what the strange connection is between “chores” and “gophers” Fortunately they are not called the “squirrels” or she’d go through the sliding glass door.

With the holidays coming in the middle of the week this year, it seems tough to tell what day of the week it actually is. There’s no rhyme of reason to it. Monday seems like Saturday which in some respects is kinda OK, given Monday’s propensity to suck. The sad part is Wednesday’s have felt like Mondays for the past couple weeks. Eventually we’ll get back to a normal existence although we still have a couple Christmas celebrations to go yet as of this writing. No reason to step on a bathroom scale anytime soon. Nothing to see here, move it along.

The Bernard family Christmas was this past weekend and the way things were going I was almost afraid it was going to turn out like Christmas Vacation. Mrs. Cheviot had booked a wedding she had to decorate for so that meant having to be extra well prepared for both events. We had people coming in from all over the country and one can never be sure when Cousin Eddie might show up in a beater RV. Luckily it came off without a hitch. No trees were torched even though I had the chainsaw at the ready just in case. Ruby really doesn’t do a very good Snots impersonation either, hoarding as much attention as everyone would lavish upon her. Grilled food was ready about when we had guessed it would be even with the cold weather. It still seems amazing how fast a turkey cooks on a grill. An 18 lb. bird took about 2 and a half -hours even in the cold weather. In the oven that’s about a 4 hour process. Best of all it didn’t hiss and collapse when I cut into it.

See you next week…real good then.

MN Shutterbug · December 31, 2012

Chevy Chase you're not, Mark.

I still haven't seen a Redpoll. I think you are hogging them.

Dotch · December 31, 2012

Chevy Chase you're not, Mark.

I still haven't seen a Redpoll. I think you are hogging them.

Well at least I know enough to stay out of the attic!

I really wasn't sure at first if they were redpolls as there are still some ground feeding tree sparrows here too. Once the herd cased the joint and moved onto the thistle feeders, we knew we had 'em. At any rate if they keep increasing we'll be more than willing to share. Between the redpolls and pine siskins in the last irruption, the bird feeding budget skyrocketed about like the federal deficit.

Have a Happy New Year Mike and everyone else too for that matter!

Dotch · January 8, 2013

Ain't no need to hide, ain't no need to run…

The scurs wasted no time getting some of the cold weather out of the way and heading us into a warmer temperature regime. Will it last? Starting Wednesday, clear skies with a high near 35 and a low around 25. Partly cloudy Thursday becoming mostly cloudy with good chance of rain in the afternoon followed by a rain/snow mix for the late evening. Friday, mostly cloudy with a slight chance of a rain/snow mix becoming all snow in the overnight hours. Highs again near 35 and lows falling to 20. Mostly cloudy for Saturday with a modest chance of snow. Highs near 20 and lows around 5. Continued mostly cloudy and colder for Sunday with a continued chance for snow. Highs of 15 and lows again near 10. Mostly sunny for Monday with highs struggling to make 15. Lows of near zero. Mostly cloudy for Tuesday and continued cold with highs of 15 and lows dropping to near zero. The normal high for January 15th is 22 and the normal low is 3. The scurs are glad they spent all that time making wood last fall. It still warms you 3 times.

We should be heading into what through about January 20th is typically our coldest stretch of the winter. High temperatures generally are in the low 20’s and lows hover slightly above zero. We may have caught a break however with the highs this week above freezing. It hasn’t been as warm this winter as last but few are. Still, temperatures are trending above normal and without long stretches of sustained wind it’s helped on the heating bills. Snowfall thus far in January has been limited to some flurries and that has kept snow removal to a minimum as well. Fields as of this writing are still snow covered and that has been a positive from the soil erosion standpoint. With soils as dry as they were going into the winter, the potential has been there for blowing soil to be a very distinct possibility. While it’s still there, we’ve chewed through December already with nothing major occurring.

The New Year started off on the right foot in the bird watching department at the ranch with 2 male cardinals making an appearance. We’ve seen one occasionally but never two at one time. They are shyer than the female who religiously appears every day under the feeders, apparently liking the safflower that was added to the black oilseed sunflower. The males were drawn to the brush on the edge of the yard, lending yet more credence to the notion that the nannyberries and other cover still has a ways to go yet before we can count on cardinals. The common redpolls continue to be a pleasant addition to the usual gang. Arriving before the sun is up and before any other feathered guests, they have taken a shine to the thistle feeders, emptying the smaller one out in a matter of a couple days.

The house sparrows continue to be aggravating however and have caused me to move the sparrow trap from the barn to under the feeders where they continue to monopolize them. One has to be watchful however that when other birds are captured accidentally that they are removed. Male house sparrows in particular are vicious and can peck other birds to death quickly if they are allowed to remain in the trap. I fished a chipping sparrow out of the trap on Sunday and let him go in the spruce tree nearby. I left the male house sparrow in it as a decoy in hopes that others would be drawn in the next day. So far trapping has been relatively unrewarding this winter. They have become wise to it and seem content to make a mess in the barn after making a mess around the feeders. If someone ever develops a foolproof method of controlling these rats with wings they will become very rich indeed.

Another Christmas celebration is in the books and I’ve lost track of how many that makes for now. We have one more and that should about do it. Fortunately we didn’t get the live tree put up until later in December so it’s still in really good shape yet. The rest of the house has remained party-ready so to speak so it’s not as though the house needs a major overhaul every time someone comes over, we just reload. Eventually though it’ll all need to be taken down and we can get back to weeks having 7 days in them rather than being disrupted by holidays in the middle of the week. Actually when you think about it, it’s a long time between holidays now for most of us mere mortals and non-school kids. It’s refreshing to take a day off to relax once in a while and not feel guilty about it.

We’ve been busy with doggie daycare the past week while Mom undergoes some procedures in Rochester. Keeping another Border Collie is nothing new for us as for many years we’ve had two anyway. What one tends to forget however is how active these dogs are and how adding another one multiplies it by a factor of at least two. Fudgie is no exception and being activities director has refreshed my memory. Play ball, do chores, get brushed, help fill bird feeders, do more chores, all while under the strict supervision of two dogs. Plus, they’re always ready to go for a ride to Krause’s then tear around herding each other when they get back.

What I find particularly amusing is how ingrained some of their habits become. Reputedly, very smart Border Collies can develop the mental capabilities of a 2 – 3 year old. When Ruby and Fudgie come back in from outdoors they must have their feet wiped off so they don’t track on the floor. Some dogs will run and hide; not these 2. Both of them stay on the rug, yet practically climb over the top of each other when they see the foot wiping towel so they can be first. What blows me away is they actually seem to enjoy it, standing there wagging their tail while the moisture is removed from each paw. How many 2 – 3 year olds do you know who come in from outdoors excited about getting their feet wiped off, let alone standing still and enjoying it? Bizarre creatures these Border Collies.

See you next week…real good then.

Dotch · January 15, 2013

Gaze at the sky

And picture a memory

Of days in your life.

The scurs were right on the money until Tuesday rolled around with some higher than anticipated temperatures. As the days lengthen will the cold strengthen or are we out of the woods? Starting Wednesday, partly cloudy with a moderate chance of snow. Highs near 35 and lows around 15. Partly cloudy and slightly cooler Thursday and Friday with highs of 25 – 30 and lows near 15. Mostly cloudy on Saturday with highs again of 25 – 30 with lows cooling down to the low single digits. Partly cloudy and much colder with highs on Sunday of 10 and overnight lows of 5 below. Partly cloudy on Monday with highs between zero and 5 above and lows of zero to 5 below. Temperatures rebound slightly for Tuesday with highs stretching to near 15 and lows of zero to 5 above as we see a possible shift towards some precipitation. The normal high for January 20th is 22 and the normal low is 3. The scurs are bracing for the longer days ahead even though it means less dark in which to sleep. Naps are always a prime alternative.

We finally got on the scoreboard for precipitation in January although we have yet to record any measurable snowfall. That’s right, at the ranch we collected .13” of rain on the 11th and at the SROC in Waseca, .22” was tallied. Frost depth there was measured at 14” back on the 8th under bare soil. Under cover or snow there would likely be less. Of course that would mean there would actually have to be some snow as much of that left with the rain and warm late week temperatures. Probably the best part of it was since the rainfall amount was relatively light, virtually none of it ran off. However, snow left packed on the driveways made them into hockey rinks and very treacherous to navigate. It also made some of the ice fishermen who had put their houses out a tad nervous that the ice conditions on the lakes would deteriorate as they’ve done some years. Not to worry as the weekend cold came through with a blast of arctic air that reminded us what wimps we’ve become. It’s supposed to be cold this time of year.

Some have wondered what impact the open fields and cold temps have had on what appeared to be a rather large population of overwintering insects from this past summer. Probably not much yet anyway. In order for it to really trim their numbers it will likely need to get well below normal and stay that way for a few weeks in order for soil temperatures to become cold enough. The good news: If that happens it may be a good deal for killing them off. The bad news: As dry as the soils are, the risk of frozen water lines increases dramatically. Open, dry soils freeze more quickly and deeply than wet soils so careful what you wish for.

We continue to see a substantial number of redpolls at the birdfeeders, primarily on the thistle feeders. Nice to have them as the goldfinches that typically occupy them are virtual no-shows. Was afraid with the warmer temperatures the redpolls might move out but they have remained. When they’re hungry they’re fairly undeterred, remaining in the trees as one walks by. Since they’re finches their song sounds similar to the goldfinches and always makes me grab the bird glasses to see for sure who they are.

The ewes continue to enjoy what for them has been a relatively mild winter. Their 3 – 4 inch long wool comforters are about a month from shearing and allow them to sleep outside even when temps are in the single digits. The exception of course is when there are windy conditions. While the erect ears on a Cheviot allow them to hear very well, they also catch the wind making the breed exceptionally good at finding places to get out of it. Hence part of the reason for shearing in February. Rather than dump their lambs outside in the snow banks behind the barn where they can get their ears frozen off, the ewes are forced to seek the warmer barn. This makes the whole process more user friendly, particularly for the dummy who has to pen them up.

As more garden seed catalogs continue to pile up it’s time to get the seed ordered. Last year’s drought took its toll on supplies and the prices of the seed reflect that in some cases. For instance, some varieties are sold out already or simply unavailable from the usual distributors. In addition, the muskmelon seed that used to run about $1.95 for generous packets of seed, more than I’d have room to plant, is now over $4 for a packet containing 25 seeds. Do you suppose it’s because Michelle has everybody all fired up about eating more produce, thus creating more demand? More likely to be caused by an increasing number of people throwing the rotten produce at politicians methinks.

Vista’s noted Swedish astronomer paid a visit the other day to inform me of some of the celestial changes. As January continues to roll on, we see some changes in the nighttime sky. Mars will eventually be taking a leave of absence from the western horizon. It will be several moons until it reappears. Venus will be disappearing from view low on the horizon in the early morning eastern sky after mid-month. Jupiter continues to be a little higher overhead in the east each night as chores are wrapping up around 7 p.m. I asked the astronomer if it can be viewed without the chores and he said most definitely. I might have to try that sometime.

See you next week. real good then?

Dotch · January 22, 2013

Found my coat and grabbed my hat…

The scurs were perplexed when the temperatures dove into the double digits below zero on Sunday night and Monday, then failed to rally on Tuesday as predicted. Will we see light at the end of the tunnel or just the train coming? Starting Wednesday, mostly cloudy with highs of 10 – 15 and lows near 5 above. Mostly cloudy for Thursday with a modest chance of snow. Highs near 15 and lows around 5 above. Partly cloudy for Friday and colder again with a slight chance of snow. Highs around 10 and lows near 5 below. Partly cloudy on Saturday with highs of 15 - 20 and lows around 10 above. Mostly cloudy and warmer for Sunday. Highs near 30 with lows around 20. Mostly sunny and warmer for Monday with highs of 30 - 35 and lows of 15 – 20. Mostly sunny again for Tuesday with highs again of 30 - 35 and temperatures falling to 10 above for overnight lows. The normal high for January 25th is 23 and the normal low is 4. With the cold temperatures the scurs are starting to think it’s January or something. Oh wait, it still is.

The Full Moon for the month falls on the 26th and is known as the Full Wolf Moon as the wolves would set up shop near the Native American tribes as they were hunkered down for winter. It has also been known as the Old Moon and the Moon After the Yule although this year we’ve already had one of those. The Ojibwe knew this as the Great Spirit Moon and the Sioux called it the Moon of Frost in Teepee. At the ranch it has gone by several names over the years including the Full Ice Scraper Moon, replaced by the Glad the Garage is Heated Moon.

On the winter precipitation front, we continue to boast of a January that through the 20th anyway has produced no measurable snow at the ranch. At least there has been some precipitation, the majority of it falling as rain. Last week saw more rain although it was only a trace amount. Aside from some scattered flurries, snow has been hard to come by. With each thaw we experience, snow has become limited to fencelines, road ditches, groves and other sheltered areas. Frost should have moved deeper very quickly after the most recent cold snap and hourly soil temperature data info from the SROC in Waseca would tend to bear that out. Good time to be sure the well is banked with bales for the remainder of the onslaught otherwise known as winter.

Martin Luther King Day like Columbus Day is one of those holidays that really isn’t a holiday for most of us. As a result the daily pattern of human behavior that becomes ingrained expresses itself. It would be fun to know how many people grab the Post Office door or walk out to their mailbox on those holidays only to find that trip was for naught. Invariably I usually forget although this past MLK Day, I found myself grimacing and doing my best James Tiberius Kirk impression: “must…..not…go...to the mailbox.”

Last week saw the completion of the wetland deepening project. It almost didn’t happen except for the efforts of the Steele Co. SWCD and a contractor who was willing to give it shot with an excavator. There was about 16” of frost in the basin area where they were working and as a result there were large blocks of frozen soil to be dealt with. An additional 2’ of soil was removed in an area about one-quarter acre in size. This should allow water to remain during all but the very driest of years. It’s amazing when one starts messing with water how fast it gets the neighborhood’s attention, even if done under the cover of darkness. Within minutes of the excavator moving soil, David’s grandson was bouncing over the soybean stubble trying to get a glimpse of what was transpiring. Moments later, another neighbor text messaged, wondering if I was putting in a hog lagoon. One can’t get by with anything anymore.

Last Saturday meant we needed to travel north in the afternoon for a wedding so I called in the Dubya cavalry to deliver a round bale in the morning head of the cold spell. There was nothing mentioned about the time so after chores, I completed some small projects and went in the house for breakfast. No sooner than I had finished and Ruby began barking, with good reason: There was a round bale headed up the road in our direction. I quickly grabbed my coat and hat and was working on the frozen down gate as the forage delivery service arrived. No need for text messaging when the Border Collie alarm system is working properly. Sometimes the triggering mechanism needs adjustment though when set off by the bodily functions of said neighbors a half-mile away.

Some have lamented that they don't hear much about the little fat buddies anymore. This is their lucky day! The wedding we attended was a veritable little fat buddy reunion tour! I had the honor of riding shotgun with one of my little fat buddies (we’ll call him “Slim”) as we trekked to the church in the Twin Cities. Somehow we managed to be over an hour early which almost caused the father of the bride (also a little fat buddy) to see if we were real or just a figment of his imagination.

As early birds, we decided we should probably leave the wedding party to their toils and head somewhere for a libation. As we walked in the door of the establishment, much to our surprise: More little fat buddies and their spouses! After that, even more little fat buddies at the church and reception at Blaisdell Manor that followed, all regaling one another with tall tales and their rapier wits. Best of all we could count calories just by looking at the stains on Slim’s shirt. Talk about a reunion tour to end all reunion tours. Now if only Led Zeppelin would get back together.

See you next week…real good then.

Dotch · January 29, 2013

And I’m hungry like the wolf…

The scurs were close once again with their temperatures but missed the rain that fell on Sunday. Will they clean their crystal ball better this time around? Starting Wednesday, mostly cloudy with highs of 15 and lows near 5 below. Colder and cloudy for Thursday with highs struggling to make it to zero and lows dropping to 10 below overnight. Partly cloudy and warmer for Friday with a slight chance of snow in the evening. Highs of 10 – 15 with lows near 10. Partly cloudy and warmer for Saturday with highs of 25 and lows around 10. Partly cloudy and slightly warmer with highs near 30 and lows around 15. Mostly cloudy with highs of 25 and lows of 15 – 20. Mostly cloudy and warmer again for Tuesday. Highs should reach 35 with lows near 20. The normal high for February 2 is 24 and the normal low is 5. We will experience a few minutes more than 10 hours of daylight on February 4th for the first time since early November 5th. The scurs are just hoping they see their shadow on the 2nd, meaning spring is just around the corner. It usually is, only somewhere farther south.

We continue to struggle accumulating much for precipitation although we did finally manage to garner some measurable snow, 1 inch, finally at the ranch. It was so fluffy however there wasn’t enough moisture in it to even make a hundredth of an inch worth of water. It was enough however to cover up the remaining patches of ice, making booby traps in the yards which Mrs. Cheviot discovered too late. When the afternoon winds came up however it was all in the fencelines, ditches and groves once again. Something that was of a concern on Friday was the presence of blowing soil with the lack of snow cover. While it wasn’t long lived it still served as a reminder of how dry it is and how long it is yet until spring is likely to arrive. Luckily the Sunday and Monday night rains came to the rescue, dumping .2” and .08” respectively at the ranch. To our benefit, the rain didn’t run off. While rain in the winter can be a real pain, about the only thing that happened at the ranch was loss of satellite TV reception.

It has remained deceptively slippery on the highways and byways however in spite of the recent warm air temperatures. Watching the weather as is my wont, it only makes sense that when we’ve had zero or below for highs that the road surfaces will refreeze with a vengeance. Apparently for some this is not the case as they continue to tailgate and travel at unsafe speeds. Now, I drive a 4-wheel drive pickup and have for much of my life. I am equipped with tow straps, tow hooks, clevises, chains, etc., to pull people out. However, my inclination when I see people driving like maniacs who end up in the ditch is to (1) smile, (2) wave, (3) utter some vituperation and (4) keep driving. And while you likely won’t get a ticket, there are plenty of friendly tow truck operators who will gladly take your money.

Ruby hasn’t allowed the recent cold or ice to change her daily routine much. She uses her toenails as ice cleats and is ready to go whenever the words “do the chores” are uttered. She’s had some company too as Fudgie has made an extended stay. It’s a big job to roust the brood ewes from their slumber outdoors in the 10 below stillness of a dark morning. Both Border Collies get plenty of exercise running between the house and barn while keeping the sheep eyeballed and intimidated with their ferocious growling. Now if that energy could just be channeled into hauling buckets and bales we’d really have something.

Ruby still responds to “Should we watch the Gophers?” although the way the men’s basketball team played the past couple weeks I’m not exactly sure why. What looked like a program turning the corner now looks more like one that made a wrong turn down a dark alley. The same players who were contributing to their wins have suddenly disappeared in their losing streak. The hockey team however continues to make those hours after chores enjoyable. Even when they’ve lost, there’s been no question about their effort. Perhaps the basketball team could learn something about team play by watching some hockey game film sometime. Or perhaps giving them sticks would help.

Our little feathered friends the redpolls continue to delight, their numbers at the birdfeeders swelling to a couple dozen over the past couple weeks. While I’m not sure if the cold made them more numerous, it probably didn’t hurt. More thistle seed has been procured to satisfy their hunger. Several, including a former pygmy goat farmer and his muffin have also noticed these numerous wayward little finches. The redpolls are towards the south edge of their winter range here but seldom do we see numbers such as we have this winter. As I restocked the thistle feeder, a couple more ears of corn were put in place. The red-bellied woodpeckers were glad to see them as were the super-sized blue jays. There has been a Cooper’s hawk sighting as of late so that has suddenly meant fewer house sparrows and starlings. He’s always seems happy to have them over for lunch.

Speaking of lunch, there was another sighting of an impromptu little fat buddy meeting last Thursday noon, which oddly enough coincided with Artery Clogging Day at the Willows. There were 6 little fat buddies in total, snarling and hurling epithets at one another while waiting for their food. When the plates arrived, it looked like a hungry pack of wolves working over a deer carcass. You wouldn’t want to stick your arm in there or you could lose a limb.

See you next week…real good then.

Dotch · February 5, 2013

No, Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man

That he didn't, didn't already have.

The scurs seem to have forgotten that a blanket of snow keeps temperatures below what one would normally think they should be. Will their new shipment of memory pills arrive in time for the next forecast? Starting Wednesday, mostly cloudy with a slight chance of an overnight snow shower. Highs 30 – 35 and lows near 20. Partly cloudy Thursday with a high of 30 and lows of 10 – 15. Mostly sunny for Friday with a high around 30 and lows of 20 -25. Partly cloudy for Saturday with an increasing chance of snow by evening. Highs of 35 with lows around 20. Mostly cloudy with a moderate chance of snow for the daylight and a better chance for the evening hours. Highs near 30 with lows around 15. Partly cloudy becoming mostly sunny for Monday with a slight chance of snow in the morning. Highs around 25 and lows near 20. Mostly sunny on Lincoln’s Birthday with highs of 30 – 35 and lows around 20. The normal high for February 12th is 27 and the normal low is 8. The scurs will be wearing their stovepipe hats in Abe’s honor.

Last week brought an end to the month of January and with it hopefully an end to extended periods of below zero temperatures. Days are becoming noticeably longer with the sun setting now after 5:30 p.m. and rising before 7:30 a.m. This becomes particularly apparent when one has been bumbling around in the dark during chore time both morning and night. On Lincoln’s Birthday, we’ll have notched an additional hour and 29 minutes of daylight since the winter solstice December 21st. We’re gaining daylight at the rate of about 3 minutes a day and while it isn’t spring yet, one can sense it coming. January left us with sparse snow cover with most of it blowing off the fields. We tallied only 1” of snow at the ranch in January although we did get .41” of welcome moisture in the form of rain. Every little bit helps at this point. February on the other hand has started off with measurable snow on 3 of the first 4 days so at least we’re not looking at dirty, bare fields as we were. It’s nice to see some snow after all, it’s too early to think about planting a garden or heaven forbid corn just yet.

The arrival of snow meant a return of some feathered friends we hadn’t seen since the December snow left in January. Late Monday afternoon about 5:30, there were 3 male and 3 female cardinals snacking on the cracked corn and safflower we’d put out for them. Initially on Saturday, there was a male and a female. On Sunday another male and female appeared so additional food was placed in the area they seemed to be frequenting. When the new pair was spotted on Monday I couldn’t believe my eyes. The snow must’ve had something to do with their reappearance. The stark contrast of the red males against it in the dwindling minutes of daylight was downright breathtaking.

The snow elsewhere in the dooryard hasn’t necessarily been breathtaking. It has come close to knocking the wind out of both Mrs. Cheviot and me though, courtesy of the nasty spills we’ve taken on the ice hidden beneath it. If you look around there are lots of walking wounded and horror stories of their plight. The purveyors of grit and salt must be doing land office business as a result. Reminds me, we’re nearly out of grit. Time to make a trek to that little store in Hope that carries everything the store where you go to the bathroom in the big orange silo doesn’t. That should spell warmer temps and an end to the ice. Not that I’m superstitious or anything. I just hate it when my lucky rabbit’s foot has to break my fall.

Even the brood ewes don’t like their slick feedlot. They don’t wander out of the barnyard much and tend to stay close to their hay feeders where they don’t have to worry about falling. Of course, being as fat as they are with as much wool as they have, the worst thing that can happen is they might hurt a leg. All that padding is good for something. The increased hours of daylight have meant we’ve had a better opportunity to gauge the progress of their gestation. We may see some lambs on the ground before shearing day on the 16th. Won’t be the first time, probably won’t be the last.

Yes, as was mentioned in last week’s Bugtussle Bugle, I’ve started on my 11th year of writing this column. If you kept the photo of my mug from the front page, your rodent problems should be solved. Carrie Gilbertson pointed out this was the “tin” anniversary year although I’ve never quite figured out what all that nonsense concerning anniversaries was all about. Maybe if it was a Fishing Trip or Goose Hunting anniversary I’d get it. Still, I do feel a little like the Tin Man when cranking out these column inches. In a week’s time, I get a little rusty before shifting into writing mode. I start out slowly, it takes me a little while to get limbered up and I may mutter something that could be mistaken for “oil can” especially when a surprise deadline looms near. In the end I achieve my goal and the mission is accomplished.

Thanks to the loyal column readers without whom there would be little point in writing it. Thanks to Jim and the staff for putting up with my ever increasing demands, even to the “mad paragrapher” who made me realize the passion I still have about writing. Thanks especially to Reed for the spot-on framed caricature that graces the wall above the writing desk in the basement studio. It’s almost as accurate as the scur’s weather forecasts. And oh yeah, I got the money.

See you next week…real good then.

Dotch · February 12, 2013

I never laughed so long

So long

So long.

The scurs had a better go of it this past week, predicting snow although someone forgot to turn off the rinse cycle first. Will we see more white or clear precipitation this week? Starting Wednesday, partly cloudy with a high near 30 and a low around 20. Mostly cloudy with a modest chance of snow on Thursday with highs of 25 and lows falling to 5 above. Mostly cloudy on Friday with highs of 15 and lows dropping to near zero. Becoming partly cloudy on Saturday with highs again around 15 and lows near 5 above. Mostly sunny on Sunday with highs rebounding back in to the low 20’s with lows near 5 above. Mostly sunny and warmer on Monday with highs in the mid-20’s and lows of 20. Mostly cloudy on Tuesday with a chance of snow. Highs near 25 and lows around 20. The normal high for the next made up holiday on the 18th is 29 and the normal low is 11. The scurs will be taking off the 18th anyway to celebrate George Kennedy’s birthday. After all, he won an Oscar for his role in Cool Hand Luke.

Precipitation has rebounded somewhat from the dry month of January with amounts having eclipsed that months total already on the 11th at the ranch. So far for the month we’ve tallied .95”. While there’s no dispute that we’re not operating with a full soil profile, we have made some progress towards lessening the drought. Looking at the most recent update from NOAA shows a big swatch of green that says “Improvement” over our general geography. What’s even a little more heartening is both the 30 and 90 day outlooks also show better than even odds that we will receive above normal precipitation. Not that one wants to make book on it but it sure is better than the opposite. We continue to see some snow cover as well so one has to believe that our chance of gardening outdoors as early as last year may not be as good.

Last weekend’s wet windy weather seemed to bring one of our fat resident squirrels out for a snack before the weather decides to cool back down again. It also kept the redpolls busy at the feeders along with the full complement of chickadees, woodpeckers, nuthatches and blue jays. The cardinals appear to be staying around too with safflower being supplied for their enjoyment. The juncos have learned as well that there is some cracked corn they share along with cleaning up the squirrel’s leftovers. Saw the first pheasant in several weeks go sailing across the bottom of the pasture and into the CRP on Saturday morning while having my morning coffee. Long time no see.

Saturday morning brought the arrival of the first of what promises to be many new lambs at the ranch. There had been a ewe off by herself in the barn when it was feeding time during evening chores so we were positive by the time we came home from a scheduled birthday party, we’d see newbies. Of course when we arrived home, the ewe was in the barn alright but she did nothing other than to stare blankly at me when I went out to check on her. Rather than have an all-night staring contest I opted to go back in the house for some shuteye. In the morning there was a bouncing baby buck lamb without all the drama. He has already grown in the past couple days to the point when he got out of the jug, he was tough to catch. Of course we didn’t schedule the shearer until the following weekend so we’ll probably have a few more lambs before then for good measure. The fun never stops at the ranch.

I made one of those trips back home I’d been dreading after hearing that an old friend and classmate of mine had passed away. Oddly enough he was the first one of our graduating class to leave us after as I understood it developing an infection that he was unable to overcome. The weather on Sunday did not sound good and in the morning, it lived up to its billing. After church I had my doubts about travelling east. By afternoon however there was a break in the precipitation on the radar and I decided it was go time. I’ll never regret it either. Our class of ’76 was a relatively tight knit group and even though many of us are scattered to the four winds, from a class of 72 students, about 20 of us were in attendance.

Scott Copeman was the unforgettable friend that every young man should be fortunate enough to have. He was one of those guys with an infectious giggle who would get you started laughing, often so hard you couldn’t stop. In junior high, I still remember him and Kenny Laube walking from Kenny’s house, fording the Spring Valley Creek and climbing over fences to get to our pasture where we started a fire to heat up a can of beans. Maybe it was the fact we as friends had done it or were laughing about how soaking wet they got but for some reason those were still some of the tastiest beans I ever remember eating. Then there were the fishing trips and the laughs we shared as well as the fish we caught.

When we were seniors, Scott was in the boat where we were fishing crappies on 1st Crow Wing one sunny May morning. I hooked a large northern on a beetle spin and we were shocked as the line began rapidly stripping off the reel. When I got it up close to the boat he was on the stick with the net, getting the fish in the boat just before it managed to spit the hook. We looked at each other in disbelief as it flopped on the bottom of the boat and what else? Started laughing! Somewhere I think I still have a photo of that fish.

I’d come home on the weekends from college and remember driving the Gremlin down to Scott and Carol’s place in Ostrander to visit after they were married. We’d have a few libations and laugh so hard we’d cry well into the wee hours of the morning, recounting our glory days and the characters involved. I still recall how my sides ached the next day and now tragically, I still shed a tear. Thanks Scott for making our lives a happier place.

See you next week…real good then.

Dotch · February 20, 2013

Another one bites the dust

The scurs had more on their minds than measuring snow this past week and luckily there wasn’t much to measure. Will our fortunes be changing anytime soon? Starting Wednesday, mostly sunny with highs near 15 and lows around 10. Thursday, cloudy with snow likely. Highs of 20 and lows of 15. Cloudy again but warmer for Friday with a good chance of snow in the daylight hours. Highs of 25 and lows near 10. Mostly cloudy for Saturday with a slight chance of snow. Highs of 20 – 25 and lows close to 5. Cloudy Sunday and slightly warmer with an increasing chance of snow. Highs of 25 – 30 and lows of 5 – 10. Monday, cloudy with a good chance once again for snow. Highs of 30 - 35 and lows around 20. Cloudy for Tuesday with a chance of snow and ice mix. Highs of 30 and lows of 25. The normal high for February 22nd is 30 and the normal low is 12. On the 24th, the sun will rise at 7 a.m. and on the 25th, we’ll see 11 hours of daylight for the first time since mid-October. The scurs cannot tell a lie: they are glad the days are getting longer so they can resume lounging by a non-frozen ceement pond.

February 25th marks the arrival of the Full Moon for the month. It is traditionally known as the Full Snow Moon as snowfall during this lunar period was typically the highest for the tribes in the northeastern US. It was also known as the Full Hunger Moon as the deep snow tended to hamper hunting activity. Closer to home the Ojibwe knew this as the Sucker Moon as the suckers would be running in the clear cold streams. On the prairies the Sioux called it the Raccoon Moon as warmer temperatures would awaken the raccoons as they would begin to forage for food. At the ranch, we call this the Barn is Too Small Moon or We Need Fewer Sheep Moon due to the large number of lambs hitting the ground.

We continue to see some colder weather well into February and the way things are going, perhaps a more typical March. Doesn’t this mean snow? Not necessarily. If the pattern of the last decade or so holds, we are more likely to see precipitation fall in the form of rain. This may be a good thing as long as the soils are thawed because it definitely will hold a lot of it. How much will it hold? We have probably built our stored soil moisture since last measurement by 1” – 2” in the top 18” due to snow melting and rains in small amount that did not run off, particularly on fields where primary tillage was performed last fall. The precip tends to collect in the valleys of the ridges and stay there. Since we were looking at 4” – 5” last fall and probably have 6” – 7” now, we can probably hold in the neighborhood of 5” – 6”. Some of the rain that fell back on the 11th however was enough to run off in places as the ground was frozen. The January excavation in our wetland has some water in it now. Hopefully spring rains will refill to capacity once again.

It is still a winter wonderland at the ranch and as such the birds are still flocking to the feeders daily. The cardinals continue to stay faithful and make me hope to hear the males singing come spring. Few bird songs are more beautiful to the ear. By the dozens, redpolls are continuing to descend on the feeders each morning about chore time, greeting us before sunrise. The chickadees scold although I have yet to hear their fee-bee spring call. In the fields surrounding us the flocks of snow buntings this past week have been enormous. It’s the most I can recall seeing since our days as kids listening intently to the turquoise AM kitchen radio for KFIL to announce that Spring Valley schools were closed for the day. That’s a long time ago folks.

Last weekend was shearing weekend and as is frequently the case, we had people come and watch as my friend and neighbor made short work of shearing the flock. It’s tough to shear very fast at our establishment as it really was never designed for sheep but he blew through 48 head in a matter of a few hours including setting up twice. There aren’t many sheep left out here on the landscape anymore and even fewer sheepshearers. It still goes about the same as when I was a lad only the equipment is more modern and we no longer have to tie each fleece into a small bale in the wool box. The fleeces are all compressed into a large burlap wool bag with a hydraulic press. While wool buyers don’t want natural colored wool, frequently the hand spinners will so they must be kept separate. To accomplish this, a man of the cloth was suddenly present so we pressed him into action. We’ll just call him Preacher to protect the innocent. He assisted us in packing some of the black fleeces into individual bags. Well, the Lord certainly does work in mysterious ways.

Ruby and Fudgie continue to enjoy chores more than anything. It’s their opportunity to let off steam after being cooped up for a part of the day. They just launch themselves out the door and not unlike their human counterparts, take spills on the ice especially when they’re wrestling. One major difference however: they have built-in cleats and it’s humorous to see the scarifications they’ve left behind on the ice. Not so humorous if you fall on your rump and examine them more closely.

Girl Scout cookies to the rescue! Seems I’ve made a few trips back and forth to Rochester the past several weeks and as a result, haven’t made the time to force myself to eat. On several occasions, the Dairy Queen I like to frequent was closed making it impossible to relay the malt price there to the rest of my little fat buddies. What to do? Suddenly it dawned on me: there are several boxes of Girl Scout cookies in my stash in the pickup thanks to Betsy’s crafty salesmanship, er, salesgirlship. Pulling off at an exit, I was able to get the box and cellophane wrapper open to indulge in one of life’s guilty pleasures, a box of Tagalongs. By the time I reached home there was a dead soldier on the seat beside me. Another one bites the dust.

See you next week…real good then.

Dotch · February 27, 2013

No matter how I try, I find my way into the same old jam.

The scurs were in their glory this past week and wouldn’t you know, school was even closed on Friday! Will we see more of the same or do we get a pass this week? Starting Wednesday, mostly cloudy with a slight chance of snow. Highs of 30 – 35 and lows of 20 – 25. Partly cloudy for Thursday through Saturday with highs of 25 – 30 and lows of 10 – 15. Partly cloudy on Sunday with highs of 25 - 30 and lows around 15. Mostly cloudy Monday with a slight chance of snow. Highs of 30 and lows near 20. Tuesday, partly cloudy with highs around 30 and lows falling to about 15 above. On February 27th the sun will set at 6 p.m. As of March 1st we have gained about 2 hours and 19 minutes of daylight since the winter solstice. The normal high for March 1st is 33 and the normal low is 16. The scurs have their sights set on getting one last slide down the hill before putting the toboggan away for the season.

Yes, tobogganing was again possible after the last storm dumped about 7” of snow at the ranch. The snow was surprisingly dry for a late February storm however so melted down it contained the equivalent of only .5” of liquid precipitation. We’re in a little different position than we were a year ago at this time as there was little frost in the ground. Last year we received a generous helping of rain on February 29th much of which went into the ground. Last check at the SROC they’re still looking at 25” of frozen soil so this last snow likely won’t benefit crops much. It will however be beneficial for some of the wetlands that have been begging for moisture since last July. It would be wonderful to actually be able to hunt some waterfowl this fall again for a change. Sunday’s hoar frost brought us a reminder of how beautiful the landscape can be when the trees and fences are frost covered. It didn’t take long for Jack Frost’s handiwork to be erased by the sun and warmer temperatures.

Like many others in the neighborhood, this snowfall meant the first time our entire yard needed a major cleaning out. Oh sure there have been some nuisance drifts that showed up here and there. Those were easily managed by a few passes with the small skid loader. Beats shoveling and it was relatively quick. This time was a different story and the tractor was nearly helpless on the ice without putting the chains on so back to the shed I went after almost getting stuck. There is no clean way to put a rusty set of chains on a tractor unless you want to wear a disposable Tyvek suit I suppose. It had been a while since I put them on so it took some head scratching to remember what was right side out or vice-versa. Eventually they were on correctly and I made short work of the snow. Regardless, same thing, different year and moving snow is still for the birds.

Speaking of the birds, there were some subtle changes at the ranch and surrounds this past week. Mourning doves are back under the feeders again. While they do stay around especially in town or more sheltered locales, this marks the first we’ve seen of them since late last fall. Also along the roadways, after seeing many snow buntings the brutally cold week before, many of you have probably noticed the numerous small flocks of brown birds that get up and fly off as you drive by. What I’ve been seeing are primarily horned larks. They are ground nesting birds and can begin nesting as early as February. Might be a little tough to incubate eggs as long as their nesting grounds remain snow covered. The redpolls continue to amaze and amuse. When the feeders are refilled or topped off, they totally encase the mesh thistle seed feeders. Some have also become rather used to my presence when filling the feeders. It doesn’t take them long to figure out that seeing me means breakfast and lunch are served.

We got some lambs moved from the lambing barn on Sunday down to their loafing area in the main barn. After church we docked tails, gave shots and put in ear tags so we’ll know who is who. The creep feeder was set up as well so we can get the lambs on solid feed as quickly as possible. The sooner ewes and lambs are weaned the more the chores become consolidated. Nothing slows things down like lots of small pens of animals to deal with. The lambs have generally been doing very well. They are all very active and those we moved really enjoyed their newfound space to run and frolic in the fresh bedding. There are always a few one keeps an eye on when you hear a cough though. That’s just part of trying to provide good animal husbandry. Sure, we keep antibiotics on hand just in case but a little extra bedding goes a long way towards keeping them dry and helping to prevent pneumonia.

Oh yes, the Border Collies got to help move the ewes and lambs. Fudgie was allowed to participate and even though she’d never moved sheep per se, she was generally where she should’ve been. Along with Ruby she provided a perimeter that the ewes weren’t supposed to violate. Last week’s snow also provided some better footing for all parties concerned, sticking the ice surface so we remained upright for the duration. The dogs didn’t waste any time playing in the snow after we were finished either. The rooster tails of snow behind them reminded me of the snowmobilers who were busy wearing out the fresh coating of white stuff. One major difference: there is no running out of gas with these two dogs.

See you next week…real good then.

Dotch · March 5, 2013

Time has come today…

Well so much for the scurs prediction of a slight chance of snow on Monday. Can you imagine what might’ve happened if it had been a good chance? Starting Wednesday, mostly clear. Highs near 25 and lows around 10. Partly cloudy for Thursday and Friday with highs in the lower 30’s and highs in the mid-20’s. Mostly cloudy for Saturday with highs near 30 and lows in the lower 20’s. Mostly cloudy for Sunday with a modest chance of rain and/or snow in the morning and a modest chance of rain in the afternoon. Highs in the upper 30’s with lows around 30. Mostly cloudy for Monday and Tuesday with a chance of an occasional rain/snow mix both days. Highs of 35 – 40 and lows of 15 – 20. The normal high for March 9th is 36 and the normal low is 20. The scurs will be waiting for the glacier to recede so they can find their step ladder to set their clocks ahead an hour at precisely 2 a.m. on Sunday morning.

Ah yes it’s time to face the dreaded time change once again. The proponents will trot out Ben Franklin as the Father of Daylight Saving Time and severely chastise anyone who dares call it Daylight Savings Time. I have several other names for it but that’s beside the point. You wouldn’t dare question the authority and brain trust of our almighty federal government in this day and age, now would you? This silly law has been in effect for most of my life, dating back to the days when seeing Studebakers, hearing sonic booms and eating at the Taystee Freeze were common. Somehow I think even Ben Franklin after seeing how much lost work time has resulted, how many accidents have been caused by falls while resetting clocks and how many heart attacks have been linked to this law would have to profoundly say “This is really stupid.” Hard to believe the human race actually survived just fine without it for thousands of years.

Early week snowfall suddenly has increased the amount of water on the landscape. Measuring snowfall is not an exact science especially when it’s driven by the wind and blows much of it off the snow measuring board. Sometimes one has to improvise as was the case Monday morning. Turns out some of the hay bunks and tubs make handy collecting devices and can give one a relative idea of the approximate snowfall measurement. With most of the snow in drifts of varying depths that’s about the best one can do. Tuesday morning was a different story as the snow fell without the wind making it easy to cut a biscuit. We tallied about 3.6” of snow on Monday and 4.5” on Tuesday. Both snowfall events contained a lot of moisture as opposed to the last snow in February. That snow was about .07” of liquid equivalent per inch. The last two snowfalls were more dense, containing closer to .1” per inch on average. Moving it with the tractor was about like moving frozen cottage cheese. Yes, it’s all about food.

I am an extremely privileged man to be considered worthy of a phone call from Edna when the weather becomes potentially inclement. I have her on caller ID on the cell phone so it’s with a smile when I answer those calls concerning what the weather is going to do. After all, any one of us would hate to have her fall on the ice. I hate falling on the ice myself!

Speaking of that, the hockey rink and bobsled run that have comprised our yard much of the winter since January sometime have begun to subside. Oh sure there are still some spots where it’s possible to go down if you’re not careful but at least it’s not as treacherous as it was. Hopefully with the longer days any ice forming as a result of this latest snow will be short lived. It doesn’t look like we’ll be planting garden on St. Patrick’s Day or mowing lawn by the end of the month like last year however. It’s unlikely as well to be harvesting rhubarb on April 7th with the soils still frozen down 25” at the SROC in Waseca.

Lambing season has been on hold as apparently the ewes and rams must’ve been on strike last September. The heat during the first part of that month appears to have been the culprit as warm temperatures can cause rams to lose their virility. Some of the ewes seem to wait until cooler weather to cycle as well. With their cycles occurring on average about every 16 days, it doesn’t take much to throw a monkey wrench into lambing progress down the road about 5 months later. Oh well, they’ll get here when they get here. At least those born almost a month ago are already huge. Someday when the snow leaves, they can go outside to play in the sunshine so the kids on Bus Driver Pam’s bus can see them.

Birds continue to be numerous at the feeders. Cardinals appear as regulars now, something unheard of since we moved in here some 28 years ago. Heard the chickadees doing their spring fee-bee call this past week at the ranch after hearing it the week prior in Bugtussle. Can’t fool a chickadee; they know it’ll be spring someday. The rooster pheasants have been making themselves known nearby with lots of crowing in the morning from various points on the landscape. And to the south about a mile some large black objects were on the move across the fields. Wild turkeys out enjoying a morning stroll in the sun while picking up some of the plentiful corn left behind from last fall. Should be some nice fat toms out there for hunters looking for a nice turkey dinner.

See you next week…real good then.

Dotch · March 13, 2013

Said, black sheep, black, do you got some wool?

Yes, I do, man, my bag is full.

It got more of the precip out of the way on Saturday than the scurs might’ve guessed but at least March has been living up to its reputation for sloppy, wet conditions. Will we get more of the same? Starting with Wednesday, partly cloudy with a chance of flurries. Highs in the mid 20’s and lows around 15. Partly cloudy on Thursday with highs of 35 and lows of 25. Mostly cloudy for Friday through Sunday with a chance of rain changing over to snow. Highs near 35 and lows of 25 – 30. Partly sunny on Monday with highs of 25 – 30 and lows around 25. Partly sunny for Tuesday and warmer with highs of 30 – 35 and lows near 25. Sunday marks St. Patrick’s Day already and it is significant as we see more than 12 hours of daylight for the first time since September 24th. Through the wonders of our federal government nanny, the sun will magically set at 7:23 although you can get up and stumble around in the dark again since the sun rises at 7:22 a.m. The normal high for St. Patty’s is 40 and the normal low is 23. The scurs will hoist a green Kool Aid to celebrate.

The rainfall over the past weekend was surprisingly abundant with 1.09” being tallied at the ranch gauge. It definitely was as advertised, making area door yards sloppy messes along with exposing ice in places, again. However, heavy, wet snowfall Sunday night covered a lot of the ice so traction could be afforded once again without nearly the danger of slipping and falling. Unfortunately with the ground still frozen, much of what has fallen will likely run off or collect in area wetlands. That’s OK though. I can see the wetland from the bedroom window is once again full, something that hasn’t been the case since back in June.

Most tried and true weather observers are telling us we should be thankful that it is showing us that it can indeed still rain on a widespread basis. Something that always makes me smile are the gloom and doomers telling people things like it will take years for us to recover from last summer’s moisture deficit. In 1964 we experienced a drought here in southern MN. In the spring of 1965, we experienced record precip and flooding. It rained on Easter Sunday and as legend would have it, for 7 straight Sundays. In 1988, we came off what was for many the most devastating drought they had ever experienced. By 1991, we embarked on what was to become known as the wettest decade of the 1900’s. Even last spring, conditions were equally as dry as they are this spring yet somehow we pulled off some pretty tremendous yields all things considered. Why? It rained over 6” in both May and June at the ranch. Look, the weather is going to do what it’s going to do and with enough people predicting different outcomes, someone is bound to be right. The trouble is their consistency isn’t very good.

Redpolls remain a major bird species at our bird feeders. Near as I can estimate there are somewhere between 60 and 80 in the bunch. They don’t all fit on the feeders so those that don’t cover the ground underneath. One of these days however they will head back to the north and am somewhat surprised they haven’t already. Cardinals have started their spring song in town although I have yet to hear it at the ranch. Not to worry as it seems things always move a little slower out here in the country.

The recent warmer temperatures have awakened several of my least favorite animals, namely skunks and raccoons. Mrs. Cheviot had a close call with one of the local Pepé Le Pew’s as she rounded the corner of the granary towards the lambing barn. Mr. Cheviot did his duty to head back to the house to retrieve a weapon of mass destruction but by the time he did of course the skunk had slithered off to parts unknown. The worst part of it is he’s apparently camping under the granary as several times the odor has been downright intense in the barnyard. The live trap hasn’t yielded any results yet either so it’s becoming tempting to resort to desperate measures. It’s become standard operating procedure to secure the area before letting the dogs outside too. Cleaning them up after a skunk encounter is never much fun. In the meantime I’m watching Caddyshack again to get some pointers on vermin control.

The dogs had plenty of mud to deal with the way it was over the weekend with the promise of more to come. Anyone who has ever had a dog on the farm during the spring knows exactly what I’m talking about. They are impossible to keep clean, especially active dogs like Border Collies or especially Labs, who thrive on mud and water regardless of its temperature. Eventually the ground will thaw, it’ll dry out and it’s no big deal. Having a garden hose with warm water at the ready seems to be our best bet with Ruby and Fudgie.

The ewes finally kicked it into gear again so we managed to get over half-done with the lambing project. Of special note were the black twins born Thursday, a buck and a ewe. There’s something about these little oddballs, the black sheep. The lambs seem a little cuter than usual and are always the first ones to be picked up and played with. In the pasture they are a novelty as well, with many driving by commenting about the black sheep mixed in with a large group of white ewes. In this case the lambs were also bellwethers of good things to come after we’d been through a rough stretch with some full term lambs being stillborn. Shortly after they hit the ground, we had some of the nicest ewe lambs born to date, including one that had been chilled, warmed up in the house and still claimed by the mother upon her return to the lambing pen. That doesn’t always happen and usually results in a bottle feeding situation. Wonderful if you have kids to feed them, not so wonderful if you’re the poor schmuck who still hasn’t convinced himself that it’s a losing proposition. There’s always a black sheep in the family.

See you next week…real good then.

Dotch · March 20, 2013

Days went by when you and I, bathed in eternal summers glow

After this past week’s cool conditions, the scurs are wondering if Mother Nature’s thermostat is broken. Will the repairman arrive to repair it anytime soon? Starting with Wednesday, mostly sunny with highs in the upper teens and lows around 5. Mostly sunny for Thursday and slightly warmer. Highs in the low to mid-20’s and lows around 10 above. Partly cloudy and warmer for Friday with highs in the mid to upper 20’s and lows of 15 – 20. Saturday, mostly cloudy with a slight chance of snow. Highs around 35 and lows near 20. Cloudy Sunday with another slight chance of snow. Highs again in the mid-30’s and lows of 25 – 30. Mostly cloudy Monday with a chance of snow. Highs inching close to 40 and lows around 30. Partly sunny on Tuesday with highs in the low to mid-40’s and lows near freezing. The normal high for March 20th, the first day of spring is 42 and the normal low is 24. The scurs are predicting with the vernal equinox upon us once more hens will be crabby while setting on all those eggs standing on end.

Yes the first day of spring is happening and that’s going to be about it. Looking longingly at last year, many are of the opinion that this could be a late spring. Well, at any rate it’ll be later than last year. As we’ve mentioned before, radishes were planted on St. Patty’s Day and I can recall grilling lamb chops on the grill in my T-shirt. The relatively minor amount of small grain was going in the ground as it should’ve been. Some corn was put in the ground in late March although reports were mixed on its performance. Corn planted the first week in April seemed a much safer bet! Last week’s snowfall was indeed a wet one with another .95” of water melted out of it. Much of that still remains on the frozen soil surface so while it benefits streams and wetlands, it does little to recharge soil moisture for crops. You can bet it will still make for some messy road conditions though.

I should’ve guessed on the morning of the 11th that spring was a ways off yet when walking across the yard to the barn, a relatively large group of snow and blue geese was overhead, winging their way south! Their higher pitched call made their identification easy and the intermixing of older blues (dark bodies, white heads and necks) had me recalling my early post-college days living in the flyway in North Dakota. Always a sight to see the hundreds of thousands making their way south. But wait! That used to be in October and November!

Around the yard, rooster pheasants continue to make their presence known in the plum and sumac thicket, probably great grandsons of Little Jerry by now. One rooster was in the ash tree outside the sliding glass window so after grabbing the camera he naturally high tailed it out of there so no photos. There are at least two pair of cardinals visiting under the feeders during the day and they’re often there until after the sun sets. The redpoll numbers appear to be starting to tail off somewhat. I hope so. Spring needs to spring and they’ve eaten a lot of thistle seed. Kestrels were spotted in the area so I need to get to the wetland area yet to get some spring housecleaning done in the wood duck house they’ve staked a claim to the past several seasons.

The skunk finally met its maker on Saturday. After Fudgie had a close call with our uninvited stinky guest in the barn as I was feeding lambs, it strengthened my resolve to do away with the pest. I secured the area, making sure the skunk was no longer in the barn then I cracked some eggs into the live trap upon the advice of my trapping consultant. Sure enough, a few mornings later, there was skunk odor emanating from the granary. Peeking around the sliding door, it was obvious to me the trap had been sprung. Chores were done first and then I morphed into commando mode.

I grabbed my trusty blunderbuss, chambered 3 shells, then quickly slid the granary door open. Yep, it was the skunk alright and a big one at that. I had beforehand attached about 30 yards of bale twine to the trap so I could pull it out in the open and get a good shot at it. I’d heard if you put a cover over the skunk so they can’t see you they won’t spray. However I wasn’t taking any chances on getting that close. As I pulled the trap out of the granary the critter became agitated, letting loose an enormous cloud of spray. The stench was putrid, almost nauseating even though I was well upwind. When the trapped skunk was where I wanted it I pumped a #4 20 gauge shell into the enemy, dropping it like a sack of dirt. I muttered a few invectives in the direction of the conquered and went inside to let the air clear before disposing of it. As I told one of my little fat buddies earlier in the week, I’ve never felt bad about shooting a skunk. Still don’t.

Lambing thundered along last week to the point where we only have about 4 ewes left to lamb. There was even a set of triplet ewe lambs born but what to name them? They’re a novelty and fortunately the ewe is raising all of them. Thus far they haven’t needed any help from a bottle. The barns have been getting full and the weather needs to break one of these days so we can let all of the ewes with new lambs outside.

Congratulations to the NRHEG basketball girls on winning the Class AA Championship! While we were unable to attend the tournament games, we faithfully listened on the radio or watched them on TV. After all, our neighbor girls were playing and leading the team to victory. Probably the most impressive thing about their big win came on Sunday morning; they were all in church at 9 a.m. As Mrs. Cheviot said, I think we found names for the set of triplet ewe lambs, namely Carlie, Maddie and Marnie. Way to go girls! Kudos on your tremendous accomplishment! We don’t name sheep after just anyone.

See you next week…real good then.

Dotch · March 26, 2013

Good times are comin’, but they sure comin’ slow.

After a week where the scurs were starting to wonder if it was ever going to be spring, we were treated to some above freezing temps for a change. Will we continue our upward spiral? Starting Wednesday, partly cloudy with highs near 35 and lows around 20. Partly cloudy for Thursday and slightly warmer. Highs of 40 and lows of 20 - 25. Partly cloudy on Friday and warmer with a slight chance of a rain/snow mix. Highs in the mid 40’s and lows around 30. Saturday, mostly cloudy with a good chance of rain. Highs near 45 and lows around 30. Partly cloudy for Easter Sunday with highs close to 40 and lows around 25. Partly cloudy for Monday and Tuesday. Highs near 40 and lows around 25. The normal high for March 31st is 48 and the normal low is 29. The scurs will be using a pick axe to plant their potatoes on Good Friday then color their Easter eggs Saturday night. No foolin’.

The Full Moon for March falls on the 27th and is commonly known as the Full Worm Moon as the ground thaws allowing these invertebrates to leave their castings above ground, making yards rough for lawnmowers. There are other names as well, including the Full Crow Moon, the Full Sap Moon and the Lenten Moon, marking the last Full Moon of winter. The Ojibwe called this the Full Crust Moon as the snow begins to crust over with the freezing and thawing taking place. The Sioux knew this as the Moon When Buffalo Drop Their Calves. At the ranch we know it as the Moon When Gravel Appears under the Snow Piles. Didn’t realize there was still that much left on the driveway.

It seems like spring is coming slow and relative to what we’ve become used to in the past decade or so, it is. However, for those young whippersnappers who didn’t grow up in the 60’s and 70’s, this spring has been more typical of what we experienced during those years. Did I mention I also walked uphill in chest deep snow both ways to school? When the first day of spring came, it usually was just a date on the calendar as the ground was snow covered and it was still cold. When it was nice on that date, one could almost count on a blizzard sometime after that to remove any doubt that spring really didn’t start until April. Even that wasn’t a given. I remember sliding down the hill in our pasture on April 29th and being disappointed when the snow melted so I couldn’t do it one more day.

The slow speed at which this spring is moving is not the worst thing in the world. The snow is leaving very gradually which should allow more of it to remain on the landscape. Frost measured at the SROC in Waseca still showed 23” of frost in the ground as of the 25th. Slow thawing during the day allows some of the water to from the snow melt to soak in, particularly on fields where primary tillage has been performed. Freezing up overnight helps slow the potential for flooding especially in areas to the north where a larger snow pack is in place. The sun has amazing power and it quickly it burns holes in the snow covered fields, then enlarges the areas of exposed soil daily. The fly in the ointment may be the snow pack to the north if we see another blocking high parked in northern Canada. Without some southerly wind flow to warm us up, winds blowing from the north across that snow pack will make the odds of a quick warm up anytime soon lower.

There are some signs that spring is coming around the ranch in the bird department. There was a grackle in the crabapple tree on Palm Sunday and there were killdeers heard in the field during the latter part of the week. Chickadees continue their spring song as do the cardinals. The cardinals are almost always feeding under the trees after sunset, perhaps in order to avoid drawing attention from a hawk to the bright red males. And there has been a Cooper’s hawk visiting the yard lately so they are wise to avoid him. The redpolls seem to be taking the hint too that it might be time to start making their way back north. Their numbers are starting to decline at the feeders. There were a few goldfinches starting to in appear in their stead after having going most of the winter without seeing any.

Pruning the apple trees was accomplished on Saturday while the snow banks were still solid enough to allow good footing while reaching into the trees with the loppers. Some of the trees were in desperate need of a haircut as the amount of sapwood and suckers just since last year was atrocious. Some might think with the drought we had pruning the trees would be a bad thing. To the contrary, getting rid of some of the extracurricular growth becomes even more important if one wants apples and not just leaves. Besides, the apple trees were watered very well before freeze up last fall. Even some of the small crabapples were shaped up as it’s less time consuming to establish their shape now as opposed to waiting until they’re 20’ tall. Something that was also apparent was the time spent last October putting tree wrap around any small trees should pay big dividends. The cottontail population has continued to be a nuisance as evidenced by the chewed up wild plum and sumac on the edge of the yard. If I ever obtain my burning permit from the People’s Republic of Steele County, it’ll put a quick end to their fun and games.

It’s a mess after the fruit trees are pruned of course but some of the branches are cut up and used for grilling purposes. About time too because the first lamb burgers of the season came off the Weber grill just the other night. There was a little apple wood left in it from before and the smoky flavor came through. Of course those first burgers of spring are always the tastiest although one has to keep checking periodically over the course of the season just to be certain.

See you next week…real good then.

Dotch · April 2, 2013

Can’t you smell that smell?

The scurs wee banking on Monday and Tuesday being April not February. They should know better in MN. Which month do we want to emulate this week boys and girls? Starting Wednesday, mostly clear with highs near 50 and lows in the lower 30’s. Partly cloudy on Thursday with a slight chance of a morning shower. Highs again near 50 and lows around 30. Partly cloudy becoming mostly cloudy on Friday with slight chance of an afternoon shower and a good chance of an evening shower or thunderstorm. Highs near 50 and lows around 35. Mostly cloudy with a good chance of showers. Highs in the mid to upper 40’s and lows around 35. Partly cloudy on Sunday becoming mostly cloudy with a slight chance of a shower. Highs around 45 and lows near 35. Cloudy on Monday with a moderate chance of a rain and/or snow shower. Highs again near 50 and lows in the lower 40’s. Mostly cloudy on Tuesday with a good chance of showers. Highs in the mid 40’s and lows around 30. The normal high for April 6th is 52 and the normal low is 31. We will see just over 13 hours of daylight on the 6th, roughly the same as we experience on September 2nd. The scurs are going out on a limb here and predicting Norwood Teague should track down a C-squad basketball coach to replace Tubby Smith by then.

After coming in like a roaring lion March has gone out with more of a whimper. We managed to tally 18.8” of snow which compared to the SROC’s 18.9”. The March average at the SROC is 10.2”. As far as total precip when snow melt is factored in we received 3.41” at the ranch and 3.55” at the SROC compared to 2.49” average there. It doesn’t mean the drought is over but it is the 2nd month in a row with above normal precipitation and we remain above average since January 1. It should be very interesting to see what their available soil moisture in the top 5’ of soil reading says for early April.

While some still exists in patches, much of our snow left last week and few were sorry to see it go. Finally one really has to work at it to slip and fall on the ice. The remnants of all the grit spread to prevent falls serve as a reminder where those slick patches were on the trail to the barn. Even the mud has subsided to some extent meaning that the frost is either out or down far enough to allow the water to soak in. Poking around the yard with the frost divining rod (electric fencepost) one can find spots where the frost is probably nonexistent. Other places such as those where the snow just left, it’s still frozen right at the surface. At the SROC where they actually have real tools with which to measure such things, the frost read 0 – 4” and 11 – 19”, apparently due to the thawing from this past week. Ice is still very much a factor on area lakes although shallow wetlands such as the one at the ranch have completely thawed. The .21” of rainfall from Saturday probably helped.

Most of the lambs are now on the ground save for those from a couple of straggler ewes. We religiously check to see if they’ve arrived yet to no avail. They’ll get here eventually although sooner would be preferable to later. Some of the first lambs could be weaned already in about a week. At 35 lbs., lord knows they’re big enough. It would just be nice if the snow would melt off the fence enough so we could get the wires back up and charge it. That would allow us to let all the ewes with lambs run outside so they could get more fresh air. Having to keep them cooped up inside really burns through the bedding and makes it tough for the lambs to cut loose as they love to do. Many people have asked if they’re out running yet at dusk so they can drive by to watch. Even one of Al Batt’s famed Bruce’s inquired about them the other day. Expect traffic delays soon.

The birds always serve as a good barometer for what the seasons are doing. The red-winged blackbirds are usually the first to arrive and they did so on March 28th. Soon after a couple of meadowlarks were spotted west of the former pygmy goat farmer’s place. A couple rooster pheasants were also observed that same day sparring out behind the barn. There have even been some hens appearing since then heading for the thicket where Little Jerry’s descendant holds court. Last year at this time the robins had been back for several weeks already. The ground was thawed so they were able to get at their favorite food, the earthworms. This year when they arrived at the ranch, it was the 29th and the ground was essentially still frozen. They had little choice but to attack the Indian Magic crabapple tree, which they did almost immediately. Fortunately it was loaded last year fall and it retains its fruit through spring. Something that has been rather unique this season has been the large numbers of juncos in the yard at the same time as large groups of robins. There are still some redpolls here too as of April 2nd so one has to wonder if Old Man Winter might still have one more trick up his sleeve.

Another skunk has graced our farmyard once again. Holed up in the granary, same as last time only this one has been evading my trapping efforts. I thought perhaps I’d found a secret weapon by baiting with the eggs previously. This one figured out when the eggs aren’t frozen, digging under the trap satisfies its needs. Rummaging through the refrigerator I spied a container of pickled herring that had been pushed to the back and hidden behind other items. It was funny colored and had a little mold on it. Perfect! I baited the trap with it in anticipation that my skunk woes would soon be over. Haven’t caught any skunks yet but sure have had one hell of a time with the Swedes and Norwegians.

See you next week…real good then.

Dotch · April 9, 2013

If you get too cold, I’ll tax the heat.

Another week of slow progress toward spring. At least it was largely dry. Will April showers dampen our spirits? Starting Wednesday, cloudy with a good chance of sleet turning into accumulating snow. Highs 35 -40 and lows near 25. Mostly cloudy becoming partly cloudy on Thursday with a chance of light snow. Highs in the mid-30’s and lows of 20 – 25. Partly cloudy on Friday and slightly warmer with highs around 40 and lows of 25 – 30. Partly cloudy for Saturday becoming mostly cloudy with a chance of a rain/snow mix. Highs 45 – 50 and lows near 35. Cloudy on Sunday with a good chance of rain. Highs 45 – 50 and lows dropping to the upper 30’s. Continued cloudy for Monday with a moderate chance of rain. Highs of 45 - 50 and lows in the mid-20’s. Little chance for sunshine on Tuesday along with another chance of light rain. Highs near 45 and lows around 35. The normal high for April 15th is 57 and the normal low is 35. Some are wondering how the government might tax the cold April weather. The scurs have faith in their creativity and know they’ll figure it out.

Spring is still dragging its feet. Nothing to get alarmed about as once the weather breaks it shouldn’t take long given the present dry subsoils for fieldwork to commence. There’s the issue of frost of course although there are places the frost appears to be out. Where it is measured at the SROC, the frost was officially out on April 8th. There are places where it is definitely not and the ice is still not off area lakes as of this writing. St. Olaf Lake had a ring of water around it about 15’ – 20’ wide as one looked from the road on the west. There are also some remaining snow banks in the fencelines, around groves and in particular on the north sides of building sites. It is obvious in some of those areas the frost is not out yet either as one can attempt to walk in the field there and sink to your ankles on the first step. A warm rain would help take the remaining frost out although there are few indications a warm rain will happen anytime soon.

It isn’t late yet and while some are getting antsy, the calendar says it’s still early April. Some are also getting nervous about rainfall amounts. While some rain would be nice, it is not necessary to have a full profile going into spring to produce a decent crop. We received about .54” from Friday through Tuesday a.m. at the ranch. Since it stays cloudy much of the time and doesn’t warm up, one has to believe we are making some progress on restoring soil moisture. And, we need to be careful what we wish for. The weather can turn on a dime as we’ve seen in the past, turning what appeared to be a dry spring into muddy mess. I can guarantee that if I decide to plant potatoes in a dry area that has a tendency to be wet it will soon return to its former condition, thwarting my attempt to outguess the weather.

Spring continues to arrive in the form of new birds and activity around the ranch. The rooster pheasant has set up shop less than 100’ from the house and he crows every morning starting before sunrise. On Sunday before the Lion’s Club pancake feed, a pair of wood ducks was scoping out the soft maple trees in search of cavities for a nest. There were none however and it made me wonder if the two houses by the pond were occupied already. The water level in the pond is high enough so water is running into the overflow intake and one of the houses is in the water, requiring waders to inspect it. It is tempting to install another wood duck house in the yard just to see if they’d use it. My guess is the answer would be yes.

Fortunately for the ground nesting birds the “SkunkWar” at the ranch has reached a cease fire by both sides. The out of code pickled herring in the live trap worked to perfection and there were fewer skunks as of Tuesday last. The Norwegians and Swedes were catch and release. It’s much more relaxing to go outside at 10 p.m., not worrying about running across a black and white member of the weasel family with a built-in cache of chemical weapons. It’s even better not to have a dog being sprayed and dealing with the aftermath from that. Mr. Cheviot 3, Skunks 0.

Speaking of going outside after dark, Vista’s noted Swedish astronomer paid a visit last week and requested that I not use his name in my column. I would never dream of doing such a thing! There are several features to make note of in the evening sky in April. The most prominent is Jupiter, about halfway up in the western sky presently. Look for it to be to the right of the crescent moon on the 14th. Saturn will begin rising in the east about a half hour before sunset. It won’t be as bright and is more yellow than Jupiter. Saturn should be to the left of the Full Moon on the 25th and to the right of the still nearly Full Moon on the 26th. As we approach the end of the month Venus also reappears low in the western sky. Maybe by that time the ripped up road through Vista will once again be paved with gold.

It’s official: The gawker slowdown has officially started at the ranch. The snow and ice finally released their icy grip on the fence allowing me to charge it. The lambs wasted no time in discovering their newly found track and were off to the races the first night. This caused passersby to tap their brakes as they slowed down to watch the young ovines do their little stiff legged hop. Along about 7:45 the ewes put a stop to their fun and games. Plus they’re about tuckered out. Makes me tired just watching them.

See you next week…real good then.

Dotch · April 16, 2013

Anticipation, anticipation is making me late

As the scurs anticipated, April showers appeared. Warmth however did not. Will we see any improvement or will we be stuck in the fridge another week? Starting Wednesday, cloudy with a good chance of a rain. Highs in the lower 40’s and lows in the low 30’s. For Thursday mostly cloudy with a good chance of rain changing to a rain/snow mix. Highs near 40 and lows in the upper 20’s. Cloudy in the morning on Friday with a chance of snow. Highs in the upper 30’s and lows in the mid-20’s. Saturday could be the best day in the forecast. Mostly sunny with highs in the mid 40’s and lows in the mid 30’s. Becoming cloudy by evening however with a modest chance of rain. On Sunday, mostly cloudy with a good chance of rain. Highs in the upper 40’s to low 50’s with lows in the upper 20’s. Partly cloudy on Monday with a continued chance for rain. Highs in the upper 40’s and lows in the upper 30’s. Mostly cloudy on Tuesday with a chance of flurries. Highs in the mid 40’s and lows in the upper 20’s. The normal high for Earth Day, April 22nd is 60 and the normal low is 38. On the 18th, the sun will set after 8 p.m. The scurs are thinking last week’s snowmen will be knee high by the 4th of July.

What a crummy week of weather last week was. Starting with April 6th, measureable precipitation was recorded for 10 straight days at the ranch, totaling 3.31”. This included the moisture from 4.4” of snow. This has not happened since we began recording precipitation at the ranch back in 2008. The ground was frozen several mornings this week and there was enough ice so one had to be careful walking while doing chores. We were fortunate however to be spared from the ice that toppled radio towers and downed power lines in the Worthington and Avoca areas. Some of the images evoked memories of the Halloween blizzard. Never seeing another storm like that one would be too soon.

While the weather has brought any notion of fieldwork to a halt, it has brought some precious moisture. Luckily most of it has fallen in measured amounts so the vast majority of it has soaked in. As of this writing there has been no official measurement at the SROC but we should be inching closer to the average amount of soil moisture available in the top 5’ of soil for April 15th. That amount is close to 10” for the 1977 – 2011 average. We are certainly in better shape than we were last fall at freeze up. We’ve also eclipsed the average precip amount for April at the SROC which is 3.21” making the 3rd month in a row that has happened. It doesn’t signal the drought is over although it is certainly isn’t getting worse at this point.

Changes in the landscape this spring have been subtle at best. The south facing slope in the pasture is greening up as are road ditches with the same exposure. Robins and grackle frequent those areas in search of earthworms. When it’s warm enough, they appear to be finding some. On the days when the ground has been frozen or it’s just plain too cold, the robins have been relying on the crabapple tree for sustenance. There is still a confusing mixture of birds at the ranch. There are still large numbers of juncos among the grackles and robins.

Redpoll numbers aren’t what they were a month ago but there are still a handful hanging around the feeders yet. A few goldfinches are returning as are their yellow colors, giving us hope that spring may eventually show its face. Around the area, small puddles and ponds have seen abundant migrating waterfowl including mallards, bluebills and northern shovelers. Ice was still covering about 80% of St. Olaf Lake yet Tuesday morning and had melted since the prior evening. On the pond at the ranch, waterfowl has been scattered. One lone western chorus frog was heard faintly croaking Friday night as I made some repairs to the fence. Because of the cold temperatures, the sound was as if someone was running their finger over the teeth on a comb very slowly, one tooth at a time. Searching through the grass revealed the small frog, attired in a tiny scarf and mittens.

The last lambs were born on the 11th. It was a bittersweet ending to a promising lambing season. 2 ewes lambed and we wound up with only one lamb between them. That’s the way it goes sometimes. If it was always easy, everybody would be doing it. At least the health of the lamb crop in general has been good. It takes a lot of bedding though when it's been as wet and cold as it's been. With the slow growth of the pasture, it’s difficult to operate as we’d like without burning up more of the expensive hay that’s in short supply.

Ruby and Fudgie went in for their annual immunization and heartworm check last Saturday on the outskirts of Little Jerusalem. This was our first trip to a vet with Fudgie. Since she’s an older dog with a propensity to be temperamental, we were a tad apprehensive. It’s always comforting that the folks in charge are totally professional and prepared for anything. Somehow having Ruby along seemed to serve as a buffer. She’s a people person, er, dog and thinks everyone likes her or should if they don’t. Both dogs’ inner Border Collie was on alert, taking note of anything that moved as we waited our turn.

What took us totally by surprise when it came time for the exam was Fudgie immediately singling Dr. Tom out and jumping up on him, not once but twice, her tail wagging playfully. Normally I’d firmly reprimand the dog but in this case we took full advantage of her suddenly being smitten, the exam and immunizations being accomplished with minimal effort. Both dogs were well behaved and received lots of praise following their procedures as well as treats upon arriving home. As the saying goes, home is where the dog is.

See you next week…real good then.

Dotch · April 24, 2013

When my fist clenches, crack it open

The scurs were sure precipitation would continue only they weren’t sure what form it would take. All they knew is most of it would be a four letter word. Will April go out like a lamb or a lion? Starting Wednesday, mostly cloudy with an increasing chance of rain in the afternoon. Highs in the middle 40’s and lows in the upper 20’s. Mostly sunny on Thursday with the highs in the upper 40’s and lows in the middle 30’s. Partly cloudy Friday with highs in the upper 60’s and lows in the lower 40’s. Partly cloudy and warmer on Saturday with a slight chance of an evening shower. Highs in the upper 60’s and lows in the upper 40’s. Partly cloudy again for Sunday with a chance of an evening shower or thunderstorm. Highs near 70 and lows in the low 50’s. Partly cloudy Monday with a chance of a morning shower or thunderstorm. Highs in the upper 60’s and lows in the upper 40’s. Mostly sunny with a chance of rain on Tuesday. Highs in the upper 60’s and lows near 50. The normal high for April 30th is 64 and the normal low is 42. We will see over 14 hours of daylight on the 27th, roughly the same as we’ll see on August 4th. The scurs are thinking Old Man Winter’s days may be numbered.

The Full Moon for the month falls on the 25th and goes by several names. The most common is the Full Pink Moon, named for the pinks that flower in the forests and woodlands. It also is known as the Full Sprouting Grass Moon and the Full Egg Moon. The Ojibwe knew this as the Broken Snowshoe Moon and by the Sioux as The Moon of Greening Grass. At the ranch we’re going by The Shedding Border Collie or Change the Vacuum Cleaner Bag Moon.

This past week was another wet cold one. I’m convinced that snowpack in Canada is actually a glacier. Winter has worn out its welcome to be sure. We have however recharged our soils to the point that we are at or above our normal levels for April 15 in the top 5’ of soil, which is around 10”. The April 15th measurement was 9.2” in the top 5’ at the SROC. Since that time we’ve accumulated over 1.5” of precipitation so we actually should be getting close to field capacity. That seemed to be borne out by the puddling that was starting to be evident before the snow covered the fields back up once again on Monday night. For the month at the ranch, we have recorded 5.94” of precipitation. We have been fortunate that the rains have generally come in smallish, measured amounts, minimizing the amount of runoff. All things considered, we should have adequate moisture to run for a couple months without substantial rainfall.

The slow green-up on area pastures means more pressure on an already tight hay supply. The hay is also coming to life slowly and there are few signs that alfalfa has broken dormancy yet. That’s probably a good thing as last Saturday’s low of 19 degrees probably wouldn’t have done it any favors. The lateness of the spring has added an additional burden in that some who were considering planting small grains are looking at the calendar and deciding to forego that option. That will add to the present shortage of bedding and press livestock producers to look for alternatives such as corn stalks or soybean stubble.

Around the ranch, spring has been struggling to show its face. There are still some signs it will eventually get here. During the middle of the week, a wood thrush appeared in the yard. Due to the rusty brown color at first glance the thought was brown thrasher. The tail however wasn’t long and the bird simply wasn’t big enough. For whatever reason, other birds in the yard were very rude to the lone stranger and within a few minutes it was gone. More newcomers to the trees included yellow-bellied sapsuckers. These woodpeckers were much maligned in the old days, with many of them being shot on sight by orchard owners. Their habit of drilling holes in parallel groupings in trees, eating the sap and the insects attracted to it makes them unique. One can understand why their activity didn’t set well while further research has since indicated they do little actual harm to the tree.

The weather being too ugly for much of anything else gave me time to clean out the bluebird houses. Have seen no bluebirds yet or any tree swallows yet for that matter. Last year by this time the tree swallows had been here nearly a month. The first planted corn had emerged too. Of course, in order for swallows to survive they need insects, primarily of the flying type. There are reports of an occasional mosquito so hopefully they will soon be on the way. The presence of mosquitoes is a signal it’s time to start the heartworm medications for Fudgie and Ruby. The robins also continue to struggle. There are earthworms on the pasture’s south facing slope, when it warm enough and not covered with snow. They continue to subsist on the crabapples that are becoming shorter and shorter in supply.

It’s tough to think about mowing lawn or gardening this year after being covered with snow every few days or the ground freezing solid. Still, there are signs that we may eventually be able to salvage something. The rhubarb made it through in spite of the drought, helped by some watering before it was put to bed last fall. While their first leaves looking like clenched fists are just below the surface yet, they’re posed to explode when we see those forecast 70 degree temperatures. The slope south of the house is greening up even in the cold weather so when it warms up, it won’t take long with the rain we have until mowing becomes a reality. Of course that part of the lawn always dries up first when the rain stops so it all evens out.

See you next week…real good then.

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