Fencelines

[Dotch]

Don't bother asking for explanations

She'll just tell you that she came

In the year of the cat

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

My back is broad but it’s a hurting

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

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

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

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

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

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

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

You probably wouldn't remember

I probably couldn't forget

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

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

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

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

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

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

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

When I run dry I stop awhile and think of you

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

Drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweeds

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

Let me tell you how it will be

There's one for you, nineteen for me

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

Yeah, back at the Roadhouse they got some bungalows

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

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

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

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

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

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

Come tiptoe through the tulips with me

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

And I've been waiting such a long time

For the day

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

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

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

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

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

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

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

There ain't no way of telling where these seeds will rise or when

The scurs did not see the big chill coming, probably because they missed the boring movie of the same name! The Weather Eye does not have an air conditioning setting either so that didn’t help. Will the scurs Acme aftermarket AC arrive before next week or will it be a moot point? Starting Wednesday, mostly cloudy with a high in the mid-50’s and a low in the low 40’s. Sunny on Thursday and warmer. Highs in the upper 60’s with lows in the mid-40’s. More sun on Friday and continued pleasant. Highs near 70 with lows near 50. Saturday, mostly cloudy with an increasing chance for showers and thunderstorms in the evening. Highs in the upper 60’s with lows in the mid-50’s. Cloudy on Sunday with a good chance for showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 60’s with lows in the mid-50’s. Memorial Day, mostly cloudy with a moderate chance of a shower or thunderstorm. Highs in the mid-60’s with lows in the upper 50’s. Mostly cloudy on Tuesday with highs in near 70 and lows in the mid-50’s. We will experience 15 hours of daylight on the 23rd, the same as we saw last July 20th. The normal high for May 24th is 72 and the normal low is 51. With the recent windy weather, the scurs are wondering when seed companies will start handing out chinstraps with their free hats.

The spring 2015 weather roller coaster ride continues. We go from temps in the upper 70’s to near freezing in a two-day span. We also received precipitation that varied from over 2” west of Bugtussle to .35” over the weekend. The rainfall pattern has somewhat flip-flopped in May as compared to April. The trend in April was for rainfall to be heavier as one went east and south. More recently the systems such as the past weekend have tracked more west and north. At the ranch for instance, as of May 18th, measurable precipitation was recorded on 11 days in May. However, the total accumulation has only been 1.53” with the greatest single rainfall event in that timeframe being .51” on the 15th. It rains frequently but not much at a time.

Cold temperatures have been limiting crop progress and fortunately weed growth as well while waiting for enough rainfall to activate some of the pre-emerge chemicals. Fields look good from the road although several have expressed their disappointment that stands are not perfect given the nearly ideal soil conditions at planting. Not surprising however when one looks at the temperature data and the length of time it took the corn to emerge. Too many days with single-digit or zero GDU accumulation shortly after planting for many fields doth not a perfect stand make. Not that one shouldn't plant in mid-April but there can be tradeoffs.

The weather has continued to move things along at the ranch, particularly the lawn. Cool season grasses such as bluegrass and brome have really thrived with the recent conditions. This means lots of mowing or at least the intent anyway. Hit and miss showers over the weekend kept the lawn wet when mowing time was available. It also messed up any gardening plans in the near term although the seed in the flats at my little fat buddy’s greenhouse are still emerging as of last check. Still plenty of time especially given the potential for frost this past Tuesday morning. 34 degree low at the ranch for those keeping score at home.

Lots still to look at though. Checking the previously unoccupied wood duck house, it too is filling up with eggs. Common yellow-throated warblers were cranking up their little “ witchity-witchity-witchity” call on the 15th. I could hear a hummingbird in the trees that same night but couldn’t see the little bugger. The next morning he was at the nectar feeder though he didn't hang around long. The catbirds and orioles however have set up camp for good with all of them frequenting the jelly feeder throughout the day. They’re starting to consume a little more each day. Pete seems to keep a good supply of jelly on hand and I suspect he knows why it goes out of the grocery store as fast as it does.

The red osier dogwood, nannyberries and other viburnum such as the American cranberries are in bloom as are the lilacs. Smells heavenly especially when it warms up a little. The apple trees are about done blooming with quite few blossoms still on the trees through the past weekend. The ground is littered with the petals not unlike the confetti left over from a parade. The Honeycrisp tree finally decided to bloom so it should be interesting to see if it sets any apples. The Fireside, Haralson and SnowSweet all flowered well and appear to have set a fair amount of fruit. Whether they maintain it especially after a heavy apple like last year remains questionable.

With both parents gone, Memorial Day gives one pause for reflection. Mentioned in a recent column were the plants we brought back from Mom’s place including Solomon’s Seal and a Jack in the Pulpit. In the past week or so, it became apparent that my work a couple fall’s ago transplanting Jack in the Pulpit seeds had suddenly paid off. There are several dozen new seedlings appearing, far more than I ever expected. To some it may not be a big deal. However, when one considers these plants originated from Jack in the Pulpits my Dad rescued in a soon to be nearby bulldozed woods back in 1967, it puts it in a different perspective. It also speaks to me of all the time my folks spent with us kids, taking us on trips to the area woods. and introducing us to plants such as bloodroot, Dutchman’s britches and bluebells. It certainly gave us an appreciation for the outdoors, one that we as a family continue to enjoy to this day.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields

The scurs managed to install the Acme aftermarket AC in the Gremlin’s Weather Eye, bringing us warmer temperatures as well as some meaningful rainfall. Will they be able to maintain control or will the Weather Eye need more tweaking? Starting Wednesday, sunny with highs in the low 80’s and lows near 60. Thursday, partly sunny becoming cloudy with a good chance of an overnight shower or thunderstorm. Highs near 80 and lows in the mid-60’s. Mostly cloudy Friday with a good chance for showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid-70’s with lows in the low 50’s. Saturday, partly sunny and cooler with a slight chance of a shower or thunderstorm. Highs in the low 60’s with lows in the mid-40’s. Partly sunny Sunday with a slight chance of a shower or thunderstorm. Highs in the mid-60’s with lows around 50. Monday and Tuesday, partly sunny with highs in the low 70’s and lows in the upper 50’s. The normal high for June 1^st is 75 and the normal low is 54. We are still gaining daylight but at a slower clip, about a minute per day as we approach the summer solstice. Using government logic, the scurs are thinking we should set our clocks ahead another hour to increase that rate of gain.

The Full Moon for the month falls on June 2^nd and is widely known as the Full Strawberry Moon. With good reason because June is the month to consume these wonderful delectable locally grown creations, especially when there’s ice cream in the freezer. The Sioux and Ojibwe both agreed that this moon was the Strawberry Moon although the Sioux also called it the Moon of Making Fat. At the ranch, it is also noted for that, especially as the ewes graze the abundant lush green grass. They are definitely fat and happy at both pastures. They recently decided the nettles needed to be eaten, leaving stems where the nettles used to be. Glad they’ve taken a shine to them. Whatever turns your crank I guess.

Crops made some good progress finally once the temperatures warmed up. After the cold temperatures early last week with the wind, there was much snarling and gnashing of teeth. Corn gave the appearance of being frozen although thermometers and weather observations would indicate otherwise. Some injury to soybeans from a combination of cold weather and pre-emerge herbicides was also noted although most fields were not affected significantly. We did dodge a bullet, no question about it but it’s time to move on to the next crisis in whatever form that may take. That may come in the form of the sudden abundance of rainfall. At the ranch, we garnered 1.08” over the weekend and right at an inch at the Mall for Men. Sprayers were parked Monday morning after getting a good start last week.

Gardening has been slow at the ranch with little daylight hours or workable soil conditions when Mr. Cheviot was available for slave labor. Still, there was a nice harvest of radishes from the March 31^st planting with the promise of more to come. The peas are about to start flowering and there are few things better than eating them while picking them. The problem is not enough of them make it to the house. The Indian corn was planted though on Sunday right before the rain. Actually planting was finished during the rain. Conditions were getting sticky although planting with the stab-type planter allows one to get by with it. The vine crop transplants from my little fat buddy’s greenhouse look spectacular and they were procured Saturday with the hope that the rain would hold off long enough to get them planted. Alas, it did not. On the bright side, they can be put into moist soil so not to worry yet anyway. Much of the Indian corn and the vine crop will be used for fall decorating at church and for a fall wedding.

The rhubarb has been out of this planet. Since Saturday was a washout, after doing about as many clean up chores as I could stand it was time to make a pie and some rhubarb sauce. Luckily I’d harvested some the week prior so there was no need to go outside and get soaked. It had been a while though so I was out of practice on my pie making. However, it’s not that tough to figure out how to multi-task so the process gets done in an efficient manner. That way the clean-up isn’t a major pain. I did make one rookie mistake as I discovered shortly after putting it in the oven the first time that I’d forgotten the butter! As my little sawed-off Swedish carpenter buddy once told me it’s not how good you are it’s how well you can cover your mistakes. With some sleight of hand and the butter was slipped strategically through the slits in the crust so no one was the wiser. The rhubarb sauce? That’s like riding a bicycle. 

The dogs have liked being outdoors more as the weather has straightened out. Fudgie camps on the porch, not unlike she did at Mom’s place. It gives her a good view of the sheep in the pasture as well as watching neighbor David’s excavation project. Ruby just likes to tear around then wait for us to emerge from the house for chores. Her TV watching antics continue to amuse us when indoors though. Last week a cat in an ad ran across the screen which prompted her to have a barking fit. Not long afterwards, the elephant from that COPD ad was thoroughly growled at. Good thing there were no Clint Eastwood cowboy flicks on or she would’ve gone right through the TV.  Just like everyone else, even with all those channels there’s nothing on television Ruby likes.

 

See you next week…real good then.

 

Edited May 26, 2015 by Dotch

[Dotch]

The thrill is gone…

While the windshield washer setting on the Weather Eye became entangled with the heater controls, the scurs still made a valiant effort at last week’s forecast. Can they keep the warmer temps coming or be doomed to reconfigure their process once again? Starting Wednesday, partly sunny with a good chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 70’s and lows in the mid-60’s. Partly sunny on Thursday with a moderate chance for showers and thunderstorms increasing into the afternoon hours. Highs in the upper 70’s with lows in the mid-60’s. Friday, mostly cloudy with a modest chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 70’s with lows in the mid-50’s. Partly sunny on Saturday with a moderate chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the low 70’s and lows in the upper 50’s.Sunday, mostly cloudy with a moderate chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid-70’s with lows near 60. Partly sunny on Monday with highs in the upper 70’s and lows in the upper 50’s. Tuesday, sunny with highs in the upper 50’s and lows in the mid-50’s. The normal high for June 7^th is 77 and the normal low is 56. The scurs are thinking napping in the hammock is looking more promising all the time.

Another good week for crop growth in spite of the more than generous rains. We saw frequent rainfall for the month of May with measurable precipitation being recorded on 17 of the 31 days at the ranch. Strangely enough not one of the rainfall events totaled over an inch with the greatest amount recorded being .76” that fell on the 29^th. This has been a blessing as when the weather does straighten out. Rain for the most part has fallen gently and over an extended period of time. Coupled with low humidity following the passing of the rainfall events,  fields have dried fairly quickly and field operations can commence sooner than one might expect. Chemical weed control in corn has been foremost on the minds of most operators and when temperatures warmed sufficiently, fields were generally fit. Corn this past week was typically V3 – V4 and soybeans V2 with some early plantings at V3. Most of the pre-emerge chemicals have bought farmers some time. Hopefully the other shoe will not drop anytime soon.

Warmer temperatures meant getting the vine crop transplants in the ground last Thursday at the ranch between rains as expected. One good thing about the Friday rains: The transplants never knew they were transplanted! Putting them in with the lights from the Gator apparently was the thing to do. The Indian corn planted May 24^th was beginning to emerge June 1^st. A few watermelons, string beans and tomatoes then the main planting is done. Until the mid-July planting. Heck, that’s less than six weeks away!

Lawn mowing has seemed to be a perpetual task so far this spring and early summer. Finally on Sunday after spraying pasture fences, moving feeding equipment and weed eating around all the trees, I managed to get all the lawn mowed at relatively close to the same time. It was a struggle however. The white clover and dandelions in the windbreak were like mowing a wet sponge. The wet goop scraped out from under the mower deck about every half-round reminded me of the material we used to gather from the innards of a fistulated cow for forages class in college. At least the stuff under the mower deck hadn’t fermented yet so it didn’t smell that bad. Leave it under there for a week however and the results are remarkably similar. The dogs do seem to appreciate my efforts. Ruby and Fudgie love to roll in the grass, hopefully leaving lots of their hair behind. I’m just glad with all the rain their pee spots have blended into the rest of the lawn rather than sticking out like a sore thumb.

Another rite of spring has come and gone at the ranch. Operating one of the black cutworm pheromone traps kept me off the streets every morning after chores. The traps have a sticky bottom and are baited with a female black cutworm pheromone to attract male cutworm moths. Typically these moths migrate from the southern US and are brought here in thunderstorms that come up from the Gulf of Mexico. The results from the trapping network are useful in predicting whether or not there will be cutworm problems in the corn.  This was not a very active trapping season although there were some mornings as many as five were captured. For over 20 years I’ve participated and it has just become part of the morning routine each April and May.

Lots of bird observations even though some of them indicate a slowdown at the feeders. The jelly in particular hasn’t been consumed with quite as much gusto as it was although if the feeder goes empty, the orioles let me know about it under no uncertain terms. There do appear to be more hummingbirds though so that needs more attention. The bluebirds at the kindly neighbors’ are busy feeding their young as evidenced by a peek in the nesting box when spraying the fence there. Baby robins are everywhere it seems like and some of the parents are starting nests for their second brood already. This should put a damper on some of the loud 4:30 a.m. singing once that is complete.

Was saddened to hear of BB King’s passing. Over the years I’ve developed an appreciation for the blues and he epitomized that genre, not to mention influencing many artists such as Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix. First appearing on The Tonight Show in the late ‘60’s, he became a public figure famous for his signature guitar styling and the guitar itself, Lucille. It would be great to know how to play guitar let alone like he did. It’s more than sufficient to listen and relax to the musical stylings the blues provide and thank my lucky stars for the impact BB King had. The thrill is not gone.

See you next week…real good then. 

[Dotch]

But I was stumblin' thru the parking lot of an invisible seven eleven

The scurs got some of the moisture out of the equation and finally got the Weather Eye to warm things up a tad. Have they found the formula for success or will they need to look in the Gremlin parts books some more? Starting Wednesday, sunny, becoming cloudy in the late afternoon with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs near 80 with lows around 60. Mostly cloudy on Thursday with a good chance for showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mmid-70’s with lows in the low 60’s. Friday, mostly cloudy with a good chance of a morning shower or thunderstorm. Highs in the low 70’s with lows around 60. Partly sunny on Saturday with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 70’s with lows in the low 60’s. Sunday, partly sunny with a modest chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 70’s with lows in the mid-60’s. Mostly cloudy on Monday with a moderate chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 70’s with lows in the mid-60’s. Tuesday, mostly cloudy with a good chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 70’s with lows in the mid-60’s. The normal high for June 15^th is 79 and the normal low is 58. We will only gain approximately one more minute of daylight by the summer solstice. The scurs are making sure their hammock is not tied to the bumper on the Gremlin.

Amazing what a difference a few hours of sunshine and warmer temperatures can make on a corn crop. Conditions cooperated this past week long enough to allow many to finish their corn herbicide applications. Some rain fell but it was spotty in nature with some fields being too muddy while down the road a mile or less conditions were dry. Corn responded favorably to the weather change improving in color and starting to stretch. Much of the corn was V4 – V6 with the nodal root system starting to take over the seminal root system the plant survive on to this point. This caused concern as there were fields and hybrids that displayed many colors other than green. There was one field protected on three sides that already exhibited corn knee-high by the 4^th, of June. It’s been a while since that happened in this area anyway.

There have been some questions about ants on peonies and rightfully so. What are they doing there and are they necessary for the flower buds to open? The answer most commonly accepted as to their reason for being there is that the buds exude a sweet substance and ants having the sweet tooth they do are attracted to it. The ants however are not necessary for peonies to bloom. When removed the buds will still open normally. This is not a reason to apply pesticides however. Pesticides can eliminate beneficial insects along with the ants so the best idea is to just leave them alone.

Have been assessing the performance of a Roller Feeder/bird feeder purchased this past winter. So far it’s been good for keeping seed waste down and squirrels at bay. Squirrels have tried in vain to get at it but as of this writing, they’re been unsuccessful. Even the three pint-sized squirrels from this year’s hatch are unable to outsmart it. That didn’t stop me the other day from wondering what kind of bird was getting inside the thing and had shucking out sunflower seeds on top of the seed bin. Watching closely, I determined the culprit was not feathered but 4-legged. While we don’t see them often, it was apparent the feeder is not chipmunk-proof.

The garden planting continues. About the only thing left to plant in the vegetable garden is the 2^nd planting of sweet corn. Watermelons, tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers were all planted ahead of some timely rain. Mrs. Cheviot has worked her magic on the pots around the house and the hummingbirds have been checking them out. For their later season enjoyment salvia has been planted as well as the 4 O’clocks and nasturtiums. Nasturtiums are also tasty additions to salads among other things. The peppery flavor and crunchy texture is a well-kept secret. The leaves and flowers from this Peruvian native plant are edible and can make an interesting addition to many gourmet recipes.

The last two straggler lambs have been weaned off the ewes making the lambing season officially over with. They’ve done well for April lambs. Being in a separate pen with access to their own private creep feeder made access to solid feed easy early on for them. Overall the lamb crop has grown rapidly. The type of spring we’ve had has been ideal. You know it’s a good sign when you have to look twice in the lot to make sure one of the yearling ewes hasn’t jumped a panel.

Ellendale natives have got to be excited about the addition of the new Casey’s on the east side of town. It is progressing rapidly and was surprised how far along they are. For those readers on the coasts and overseas friends, Casey’s is a little like a Midwestern 7-11, only better. They make a mean donut and their subs are usually among my favorites when I’m on a mission without a chance to pack my lunch. I have not tired their pizza. However, I am told it is good stuff so am waiting with bated breath for the store to open so I can see if that’s true. Of course, as the saying goes, bad pizza is like some other bad things, not all that bad.

See you next week…real good then. 

[Dotch]

Lately it occurs to me what a long, strange trip it's been.

The scurs wasted no time taking credit for the warmer weather. They somehow don’t seem to take the blame for the rainy, cloudy days however. Will they own up to it this week or blame a phantom malfunction in the Weather Eye? Starting Wednesday, mostly cloudy with a good chance of morning showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid-70’s with lows in the upper 50’s. Thursday, mostly sunny becoming cloudy with a slight chance of an evening shower or thunderstorm. Highs in the mid-70’s with lows around 60. Partly sunny with an increasing chance for showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 70’s with lows in the mid-60’s. Saturday, mostly cloudy with a good chance for showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 70’s with lows in the low 60’s. Partly sunny on Sunday with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid-70’s with lows in the upper 50’s. Monday, mostly sunny with highs in the mid-70’s and lows in the mid-60’s. Mostly cloudy with a good chance of showers and thunderstorms on Tuesday. Highs in the upper 70’s with lows in the mid-60’s. The normal high for June 21^st, the first day of summer, is 81 and the normal low is 60. The scurs will savor every minute of the 15 hours and 28 minutes of daylight because after the summer solstice, the days will begin getting shorter. And we all know what that means.

Warmer weather has definitely been beneficial to crops and they show it. Nodal root systems on the corn continue to expand in search of nitrogen and other nutrients. Soybean rows are puffing out as they continue to move toward their reproductive stages of growth. Corn was largely V6 – V8 last week with soybeans being V3 – V4. Baling dry hay continues to be a major challenge when it rains every day or two, without sunshine or breezes to boot. Ditto with spraying. With heavy rains predicted last Thursday, it was like watching a bunch of ants with all the balers, sprayers and side dressing rigs moving across the landscape.

The garden at the ranch has benefitted too from the recent warmth. Vine crops are starting to sprawl and run from their original hill placement. Tomatoes actually turned green from the purple and yellow brought on by the cool cloudy weather after they were planted. The bunnies have gotten into the act, chewing off some tomatoes and messing with Mrs. Cheviots planters. A customer at her greenhouse job was cursing farmers as she claimed the reason there were so many rabbits in town was the pesticides being applied in the fields. I’d like to know just which pesticides these might be so I could get my hands on some as there is no shortage of the stupid rabbits here.

Birds continue to nest in abundance as well. Robins are well on their way to producing a second brood and barn swallows have eggs in their nest in the lambing barn. One pair apparently has been desperately trying to make a nest over the living room window. On the upper portion of the window frame, it looks like someone has been sticking little wads of Blackjack gum. One of these days it will be time to get out the carwash brush and clean their mess off.

The sheep are loving life with all the lush grass resulting from the frequent rains and moderate temperatures. Belly deep in the grass, some of them even grunt like pigs they have become so plump. We get lots of comments from people who commute daily by the ranch, frequently about the lone black sheep in the group at home. They do stick out in a flock of entirely white sheep to be sure and give people something to talk about apparently.

There’s nothing wrong with being different. Sometimes I think it’s been a recurring theme in my existence. Oh sure, we had IH tractors and equipment growing up, plus Dad was a Buick guy. But we didn’t always have the same things the neighbors had. For instance, not many folks had Co-op or Cockshutt tractors or a Studebaker car. When we were kids I remember spending hours poring over some old car magazines an older cousin had left for us to look at. One couldn’t help ogling the Studebaker Hawks and even the fish-mouth Packard Hawk was very unique. As mentioned before, Dad knew what he was doing when he bought the Lark VI for us kids to drive to and from school. It was basic transportation and not powerful enough to get many speeding tickets. That experience got Studebaker into my blood however.

Fast forward to last fall: I spotted a restored ’59 Studebaker Silver Hawk in an ad in Turning Wheels, the official monthly magazine of the Studebaker Driver’s Club. The car was in St. Louis area. I contacted the owner by email and asked some questions about it. It was getting to be late October though and I had contracted the alien, so was unable to take it much further than that. The next month the ad was gone so I assumed the car had been sold. Not so fast. About a month ago I was perusing the ads again and I spotted a car that looked familiar. Was it the same one? I punched the email address into my email search and sure enough, it was a match. I sent more questions and received more positive responses. Should I go take a look at it even though there is still a ways to go on the Lark? Mrs. Cheviot said “Go for it”. She liked the looks of the car and it would give us a head start on the leaf watching and cruising to the A&W in our hometown, Spring Valley before completing the restoration on the Lark.

I enlisted the services of Vista’s noted Swedish astronomer, my consultant to the stars for spiritual advice and his trailer and away we went. We arrived at our destination and the car and the owners were just as advertised from our communications. We were invited in for lunch and after a test drive, we negotiated a deal. They were glad the car was going to a good home and I was ecstatic to finally have one of my dream cars. Best of all I had the approval of the noted Swedish astronomer. Then we got dessert! A homemade cake dish made with angel food cake, strawberries, blackberries and whipped cream. Absolutely incredible. We loaded the classic car on the trailer and after saying our good byes, we headed back north. In the meantime I’d called my insurance agent informing her of my purchase. Earlier I’d sent some photos. She loved the photos and her reply was that her Grandpa and Grandma had owned a car almost identical to it. Swell. Here I thought I was buying a chick magnet. Instead,  I’d punched my ticket to old fart-hood.

See you next week…real good then.       

[Dotch]

Round and round
What comes around goes around

The scurs were a day off on the drenching we got on Monday but it’s like horseshoes and hand grenades. Close is all that counts that far out. Will they hone the Weather Eye in tighter or will they continue to languish in mediocrity? Starting Wednesday, partly sunny with a good chance for evening thundershowers. Highs in the upper 70’s with lows around 60. Partly sunny with a slight chance of an overnight shower or thunderstorm. Highs in the upper 70’s with lows in the low 60’s. Friday, partly sunny with a slight chance for showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 70’s with lows in the upper 50’s. Mostly sunny Saturday with a slight chance for showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 70’s with lows in the low 60’s. Sunday, partly sunny with a modest chance for daytime showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 70’s with lows in the low 60’s. Mostly sunny on Monday with highs in the upper 70’s and lows in the low 60’s. Tuesday, partly cloudy with a good chance of overnight showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 70’s with lows in the low 60’s. The normal high for July 1^st is 82 and the normal low is 61. We will have already lost 3 minutes of daylight since the summer solstice by then. The scurs don’t care so long as they get to change their clocks back in November.

The Full Moon will also fall on July 1^st with the most common name being the Full Buck Moon, aptly named as the buck deer begin developing their antlers during this time. It also goes by the Full Thunder Moon for the numerous thunderstorms often common this time of year. It also goes by the Full Hay Moon. Somehow the two are not synonymous. The Ojibwe knew this as the Full Raspberry Moon for the abundant wild raspberries ripening in July. The Sioux were also fruit lovers, calling this the Moon When the Wild Cherries are Ripe. Not a lot of fruit at the ranch just yet but it’s only a matter of time. The rate it’s going this year, it could be the Full Lawnmower Moon.

It has indeed been difficult to make hay recently. When the forecast is for rain every other day and it’s right to boot, there’s not much reason to even try. Corn growth this past week took us into the V9 – V10 stage with the color on most fields achieving that dark green everyone likes to see. Soybeans were V4 – V5 with some of the earlier planted fields starting to show and occasional bloom. Right on schedule. The heavy rains did us no favors with most coming off some earlier rainfall events feeling fortunate. Now? Not so much. Nitrogen deficiencies may start to show especially if we don’t get the spigot turned off or at least turned down.

Lawn mowing has been equally frustrating. Letting it go much more than 4 or 5 days is asking for trouble, especially when there’s as much white clover in the windbreak as we have. I don’t spray so the bee people should be happy. However, I don’t see the bee people coming around to help clean out the bottom of the mower deck when it gets gummed up. Without doing that about once per round the mower does a pretty mediocre job of mowing. Mowing it more than once very couple weeks doesn’t hurt either, when Mother Nature and my schedule allow it anyway.

The recent storm added more chores to Mr. Cheviot’s already burgeoning pile. The ash tree that shaded the livestock trailer decided to have a come apart so the chainsaw was pressed into service. Not that I didn’t get a lot of help and supervision. There are always gawkers who slow way down. They like work. It fascinates them. They could sit and watch it for hours. There are also Fudgie and Ruby who are on top of things, watching to see that a branch or two doesn’t move out of their jurisdiction. Ruby also added another quirk to her already long list. Running the chainsaw kicks out lots sawdust behind you. When I glanced back to see where she was, I saw the small red and white Border Collie snapping at the sawdust stream. Could only shake my head. What some dogs won’t do for entertainment.

Mrs. Cheviot’s recent run in with a customer who was convinced farmers were evil doers’ hell bent on destroying the bird population should perhaps make a trip to the ranch or our kindly neighbor’s sometime. There are more birds now than ever and like many farmers, we have spent a lot of time providing habitat for them. Robins start singing at 4:36 a.m. and by 5, they must be off putting on the feed bag or looking for food for their 2^nd brood of youngsters. The bluebirds at the kindly neighbors’ have fledged and they’re working on their 2^nd brood. We have at least two different wrens singing in the background. There are dickcissels singing in the pasture and chipping sparrows singing in our windbreak. The common yellowthroats toss in their two cents occasionally from the plum thicket. The orioles appear to be bringing their young to the feeders just as they have for many moons now. They’re also starting to come on their own, more bumbling and curious than their parents who eat and run a lot this time of year. The brown thrasher tosses in an occasional guitar rift hidden someplace deep in the nannyberries. And last but not least, a rooster pheasant (likely one of Little Jerry’s contemporaries) crows from different points on the landscape as he makes his appointed rounds.

Went to the Back to the Fifties car show again last week with Vista’s noted Swedish astronomers and some other local characters. It was a blast riding up there in the Swede’s ’58 Ford Fairlane 500 hardtop. Once on the State Fairgrounds, symbols of Detroit’s former opulence (and South Bend Indiana’s: Studebaker was manufactured there, not in Detroit) were on display. Also bumped into my little fat buddy from Bemidji with whom we shared some libations and quality time. Couldn’t help thinking of my Dad while we there though as he would’ve turned 100 this past Sunday. Dad was a Buick guy and one of my favorite cars he had was the ’57 Buick. Not as much chrome or massive perhaps as the ’58 my brother once had, but equally as impressive. The interior was fascinating and with those red ball hubcaps it drew attention to a 4-year old when Dad washed it. The salmon color contrasted with the cream colored underline made the car unique and I only remember seeing a few like it. The reawakened memory implanted from that era is probably what stirred my passion for old cars. Among the 10,000 or so old cars go round and round, didn’t see many ’57 Buicks Sunday but they were there, just as I’m sure Dad was. Thanks Dad.

See you next week…real good then.      

[Dotch]

No more Mister Nice Guy…

The scurs and their Weather Eye got the rains to stop in places. However, in places they didn’t. Will they get a grip and dry us out for the 4th or will we have to light soggy firecrackers? Starting Wednesday, partly sunny with a high near 75. Thursday, sunny becoming partly cloudy with a modest chance of rain in the overnight. Highs near 75 with lows in the upper 50’s. Mostly sunny Friday with a slight chance of daytime showers or thunderstorms. Highs in the mid-70’s with lows in the upper 50’s. Saturday the 4^th, mostly sunny with highs in the upper 70’s and lows in the low 60’s. Sunday, partly sunny becoming mostly cloudy with an increasing chance for showers and thunderstorms by evening. Highs near 80 with lows in the mid-60’s. Mostly sunny with a slight chance for showers and thunderstorms on Monday. Highs around 80 with lows in the mid-60’s. Tuesday, partly cloudy and pleasant with highs in the upper 70’s and lows in the low 60’s. The normal high for the 4^th of July is 83 and the normal low is 61. We will have already lost a staggering 6 minutes of daylight since the summer solstice and the sun will be setting before 9 p.m. In the meantime, the scurs will be attempting to evade  Mark Dayton’s jack-booted Fireworks Police.

After 3.1” of rain fell last Monday at the ranch it has dried out, sort of. We only received .77” for the rest of the week so that was a moral victory. Up until the 22^nd we were living a charmed life with rains coming gently and not in large amounts.  Now around the area one can see the toll the wet weather has taken on some fields. There are drowned out spots in both the corn and soybeans and there are signs of nitrogen deficiency appearing where drainage is an issue. Headlands on corn fields by and large look poor, in testament to some of the sins of past cropping seasons. No amount of tillage seems to remedy it, just keeping traffic in these areas to a minimum and time are about the best cures. Corn was V10 – V12 with some flag leaves starting to show on the earliest planted fields. Soybeans were R1 – R2 in some of the earliest planted fields. Small grains have in many cases lodged and many of the peas that looked so good earlier are showing the effects of excessive moisture, not only yellowing but the ruts left after harvest attempts. Baling hay? Fageddaboudit!

At the ranch the first fireflies of the season were spotted on the evening of the 26^th. This of course viewed from the safety of the inside of a window screen. The rains have also meant a horde of mosquitoes awaits one if you’re foolish enough to venture outside for a closer look. There is no shortage of flying and biting insects no matter what time of day you’re out and about. The stable flies, those nasty little biting flies that sneak up and bite your exposed skin when you least expect it have been downright nasty. Get around a river or stream and they compete with the deer flies and horse flies for a pound of your flesh.

Fortunately we have a large contingent of barn swallows to consume some of the flying insects. One doesn’t realize just how many until an intruder such as a cat or hawk shows up in the yard. There are plenty of birds to watch lately including a rose-breasted grosbeak and a swelling number of goldfinches, the males dressed in their brightest summer plumage. The younger orioles are coming to the feeders now although they’ve had to compete with the young squirrel population. Putting the plastic baffle over the top of the feeder seems to have thwarted their attempts as they’re not the brightest bulbs on the tree just yet. Robins still start their singing prior to 4:30 a.m. One was trying to sing before 4 the other day but the others must’ve told him to shut up and go back bed.

The gardens continue to progress in spite of all the rains. Prior to the heavy rains last week, nitrogen was applied in appropriate amounts and the plants appear to have responded nicely. The vine crops are dark green and running, with many initial blooms starting. The muskmelons in particular are flowering heavily. Of course the weeds are doing well too. Too wet to move on through with the tiller and the bugs when you try to hoe or pull the darn things about carry you off. 

Mrs. Cheviot has been travelling lately meaning that Mr. Cheviot has been left to his own devices. It used to mean watching lots of Clint Eastwood flicks after doing chores but not this summer. The lawn has needed mowing a couple times a week and usually gets mowed once when there’s time. Oh sure I get lots of dog help. After all, they’re my buds and I become the social director in Mrs. Cheviot’s stead. Fudgie and Ruby carefully monitor the progress of the mower, walking back and forth with each pass. With the loss of a ratty ash tree, the dogs were pressed into gate monitoring service while brush was hauled out into the pasture. Nary an ovine was in sight for much of the afternoon and the dogs soon lost interest. That is until a few ewes snuck up while their attention span had lapsed. Within seconds of my hollering, Fudgie was at the gate growling and nipping at their heels, running them back into the barn where they were no longer a threat. No more Mr. Nice Guy, er Girl!

I hadn’t taken either dog on a ride for quite some time but was reminded that it doesn’t mean they don’t like to. Had the door open while cleaning the Silver Hawk out before last Saturday’s car show and heard a “ca-thump” only to see Ruby had jumped in the back seat. I scolded her and she submissively tucked her still wagging tail, making a quick exit after giving me “the look”. Once the car show was over, I needed to make a run for feed to the little store in Hope that has everything the store where you go to the bathroom in the big orange silo doesn’t. It was warm so neither Fudgie nor Ruby were arguing about getting into the pickup’s AC for a while. Was a short trip and upon our return we all had treats. They had Milk Bones. Mine were of the Schwan’s variety. Everybody wins.

See you next week…real good then

[Dotch]

I look at the floor and I see it needs sweeping…

The scurs consulted the Weather Eye for drier, kinder, gentler weather and it delivered. Will it succeed in keeping the rainclouds away from Farm and City Days or will it be wet and wild? Starting Wednesday, mostly sunny with highs in the mid-70’s and lows in the upper 50’s. Partly sunny Thursday with a slight chance of an evening shower. Highs in the mid-70’s and lows in the low 60’s. Friday, mostly sunny with a good chance of an evening shower or thunderstorm. Highs in the low 80’s with lows in the mid-60’s. Partly sunny Saturday with a moderate chance of forenoon showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the low 80’s with lows in the upper 60’s. Sunday, mostly sunny with a modest chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid-80’s with lows in the mid-60’s. Partly sunny Monday with a moderate chance for showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 70’s with lows in the mid-60’s. Tuesday, partly sunny with highs in the upper 70’s with lows around 60. The normal high for July 11^th is 83 and the normal low is 62. Having already lost 13 minutes of daylight since the summer solstice, the scurs will be reading under the covers with their flashlight again.

Corn continues to move along and we should start to see the first tassels hopefully by the time this reaches your mailbox. Despite the wet soil conditions earlier, the crop continues to look very good, with most fields exhibiting very little in the way of N deficiency with the exceptions of the areas surrounding some of the drowned out spots. Soybeans too look better than they have in several years with most being a full R2 (full bloom). Soybean aphids have been found locally although they are nowhere near economic levels. Some small weeds continue to appear between rows. Here again, what people are willing to tolerate depends on personal preferences. Generally speaking these are not yield limiting infestations. Drier conditions this past week allowed weed control measures to wrap up with some even resorting to cultivation in the soybeans. Some of the well washed second cutting hay that had been down for over a week was finally able to be baled. It was nice clean hay though.

The Canadian forest fires are causing some concern that we may see some cooler temperatures for crop production than we may like. Indeed, the haze has helped make it noticeably cooler than one might expect for the calendar date. It has also caused concern for those with respiratory issues. In fact a recent report was claiming that the air quality in the Twin Cities was worse than Beijing. Some of course are quick to jump on climate change as the culprit due to warmer drier winters in the west. One can’t help but wonder though if conditions become colder and wetter than normal there, what will they blame that on? Not saying that the climate change isn’t happening but to many folks, it has become another convenient excuse for any occurrence out of the “normal” in this day and age, whatever normal is supposed to be. When in doubt, blame global climate change.

Lawn mowing has certainly been high on everyone’s chore list this summer. Contending with the mosquitoes has been part of the challenge as well. The back of my neck is pebbled about like a basketball having been bitten so many times. Howard and Whitey have been up to the task so far. Weekly mowing and trimming when I get around to it is about all I can muster these days though, especially when one knows it’ll be a bloodletting.

Don’t recall ever seeing as many orchard orioles as we’ve had this summer. There are at least a couple chocolate colored males, some young green males with the black bib and oodles of green females. They are eating jelly at a frenetic pace with some help from the squirrels and the Baltimore orioles. Oddly enough the hummingbirds have dropped off the radar screen. Not sure why but suspect they are nesting. The first hatch of barn swallows is on the wing and not a minute too soon. With all the mosquitoes and flies to eat they should do very well.  

With Mrs. Cheviot still on the loose, it has taken more time to get the putz projects done. However, after taking one look in the garage at the filth, a good floor sweeping was in order. After all it was becoming nearly impossible to get in the Silver Hawk without getting the once clean floor mats dirty. Driving it in less than pristine condition isn’t part of the deal. Getting rid of the cardboard that was soaked up with oil dripped from Howard and Whitey was the first order of business along with dog hair and what seemed like a dump truck load of sand. Should sell it back to the county.

After taking the Studebaker out for a spin it’s interesting once parked how many times I’ve been asked what happened to the car company. When did they quit making them? Why? Did someone buy them out? The short answers: The decision to cease automobile operations was made by the board in March of 1966. It had been coming for quite some time as the automobile division had been losing money since at least 1953 with the exception of 1959 when the Lark was introduced. The direction the company had been going focused more on developing into a conglomerate rather than automobile production.  Studebaker had been buying up other interests in order to diversify. Studebaker owned companies such as Gravely, Onan, Clarke Floor Machines and STP. STP stood for “Scientifically Treated Petroleum” although Studebaker had used a “Studebaker Tested Products” moniker to tie it to some of its own advertising after purchasing it in 1961.  In 1967, a year after automobile production ended, Studebaker merged with Wagner Electric and Worthington Industries. The resulting company became known as Studebaker-Worthington.  Eventually it was acquired by McGraw-Edison in the late 1970’s, which in turn was absorbed by Cooper Industries in 1985. When that happened, the Studebaker name quietly disappeared from the American corporate landscape.

See you next week…real good then.  

[Dotch]

 

You mess with her, you'll see a man get mean

The scurs managed to keep the rainclouds at bay with an assist from the Weather Eye for Farm and City Days. It threatened but did not make good on it. Will we be so lucky for the Waseca Co. Fair or will the thunderstorms finally prevail? Starting Wednesday, partly sunny becoming mostly cloudy with a moderate chance of showers and thunderstorms late in the day. Highs around 80 with lows near 60.Thursday, mostly cloudy with a good chance for showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 70’s with lows in the mid-60’s. Mostly sunny and muggy on Friday with a modest chance of evening showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 80’s with lows in the low 70’s. Saturday, mostly sunny and humid with a modest chance of a shower or thunderstorm. Highs in the upper 80’s with lows in the low 70’s. Partly sunny on Sunday with an increasing chance for showers and thunderstorms by evening. Highs in the mid-80’s with lows in the mid-60’s. Monday, mostly sunny and a tad cooler with a slight chance of a shower or thunderstorm. Highs in the low 80’s with lows in the low 60’s. Mostly cloudy and cooler Tuesday with highs in the upper 70’s and lows in the low 60’s. For July 20^th the normal high is 82 and the normal low is 62. We will experience 15 hours of daylight, the same as we saw back on May 23^rd. After bloating on Farm and City Days candy, the scurs have their sights set on those onion rings at the Waseca Co. Fair. Regularity is never a bad thing.

Tremendous crop progress since the rains fell on the 6^th. Warm temperatures and dry conditions are just what the doctor ordered to allow the corn to get down to some of the nitrogen that was a question mark after heavy June rainfall. Judging by the color of most of the corn, it is not suffering from a lack of nitrogen. Tassels are also coming on rapidly. Given the ample supply of moisture and nearly ideal temperatures, we should see good pollination. Disease pressure at this point is still relatively low so fungicide applications are a gamble. Soybeans are also on the move. Most fields were in the R2 stage this past week although some of the earliest planted soybeans were a bonafide R3. While soybean aphids continue to become easier to find, the temptation to make early insurance applications becomes greater. A recent press release from the U of M should help temper that notion.

 http://blog-crop-news.extension.umn.edu/2015/07/the-downside-of-insurance-insecticide.html

Indeed we have been fortunate to have missed several of the recent severe thunderstorm events. It doesn’t appear the mosquitoes have noticed yet. Most are of the same opinion that going outside when it’s still or getting closer to dark is taking your life in your own hands. As a result the amount of repellent being used at the ranch has skyrocketed. It does give one some appreciation for the month of January. I can honestly say I’ve never been bitten by a mosquito while doing chores that time of year.

Accomplishing anything in the garden has been a major feat. We did snag our first tomatoes on Monday though, a few grape and cherry tomatoes. Picking them on the run makes it easier to get exercise especially when not wearing repellent. Overall things look good at a fast trot. There are some Mt. Royal plums turning purple too although getting up the nerve to battle the bugs has been tough. Should do it pretty soon though as the birds seem to easily find them before we get there. The apple trees continue to impress as well. All the trees have ample fruit so there should be plenty for pies and eating barring some disaster before fall anyway.

It appears there are several families of orioles, both Baltimore and orchard types, consuming grape jelly in our backyard. Up to a dozen individual birds are recognizable as they descend from the tree to the feeder hanging below. Of course there are a few others including the catbirds who like to sneak in when the orioles aren’t there to gobble down what they can before the next wave shows up.

It has taken a while but Mrs. Cheviot finally put the AC on over the weekend. There were wedding flowers being manufactured with some recruited help so it needed to be cranked up to keep them from withering in the heat. Both the flowers and the help. It certainly made watching the Twinkies game more comfortable from the recliner. Within a few minutes I was sawing logs, paying little attention to the TV or the commotion from the other room.

Made an appearance at the Farm and City Days car show Saturday and got to see all kinds of people. Columnist extraordinaire Bob Hansen accused me of going golfing although it’s probably been 20 years since people ran for cover after I swung a club. Al Batt offered me a used but not abused feline, which I gracefully had to decline. The smell of fresh cat defecate in a warm garage this time of year really doesn’t tickle my olfactory senses. Pat B. checked the back of my neck for mosquito bites to make sure last week’s report was accurate. And Vista’s noted Swedish astronomer was glad that I’d remembered to bring my cooler. Of course then there were the cars, lining main street, gleaming and polished to perfection. One thing about it, it’s definitely “look but don’t touch”. No telling what might happen if a sticky, gooey handprint were to wind up on the seat of one of those old gals. Yes, on the cars of course.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

Yet I still recall as I wander on
As clear as the sun in the summer sky

The scurs prevailed in only allowing rain in the overnight hours during the Waseca Co. Fair. The Weather Eye worked its magic once again. Will the magic continue or will the Weather Eye spring a leak? Starting Wednesday, mostly sunny with highs in the upper 70’s and lows in the low 60’s. Mostly sunny and warmer on Thursday. Highs in the low 80’s with lows in the mid-60’s. Friday, mostly sunny becoming cloudy with increasing chances of showers and thunderstorms into the overnight hours. Highs in the mid-80’s with lows in the upper 60’s. Mostly sunny Saturday and warmer with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid-80’s with lows in the mid- 60’s. Sunday, sunny with highs in the mid-80’s and lows in the mid-60’s. Partly cloudy Monday becoming mostly cloudy with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms into the overnight hours. Highs in the low 80’s with lows in the mid-60’s. Tuesday, partly sunny with a good chance for showers and thunderstorms in the daylight hours. Highs in the low 80’s with lows in the low 60’s. The normal high for July 25^th is 82 and the normal low is 62. The scurs are on hiatus from local celebrations, increasing time available for napping in the sun by the ceement pond.

Crops continue to progress at a rapid pace with our recent sunny summer skies. Corn is for the most part tasseled out and in the middle of pollen shed. Some plants have pollinated with silks already falling off the blistered kernels. The weather has been cooperative with the Friday night rainfall being a bonus. In spite of all the June rain, corn color remains a healthy dark green color with the exception of localized areas in some fields. Soybeans have reached R3 with some sizeable pods already appearing at some of the lower nodes on the plants. Some of the earliest planted beans are actually R4. 2^nd and in some cases 3^rd cutting alfalfa is  being knocked down for those fortunate enough to have caught the weather right on the 1^st cutting. Pea harvest is coming to a close with sweet corn harvest right on its heels, to start next week. A lot of buzz about fungicide application on both corn and soybeans. Fungal disease pressure continues to be light at this point lowering the odds of an economic response fungicides. A good primer on some of the diseases of potential concern:

http://blog-crop-news.extension.umn.edu/2015/07/midsummer-corn-and-soybean-disease.html#more

At the ranch, the sheep are readying themselves for the onslaught of garden refuse. To expedite that process, I had the good fortune to run across a sweet corn stand Friday at the SROC in Waseca. To be sure, I’m usually gun shy about buying sweet corn at stands unless I know the source and how fresh it is. Who should know more about growing sweet corn though than the horticulture folks there? I took a leap of faith and purchased a dozen and was not disappointed. For early corn, it wasn’t half bad. Sweet corn like fruit is a gamble.

Around the ranch and surrounds, the wildlife continues to make its presence known. At the birdfeeders the chipping sparrows have taken a shine to the new finch mix. It’s the first time we’ve had them actually feeding out of the feeder rather than just cleaning up underneath. Orioles continue to go through jelly like it’s water. The robins are becoming quieter in the morning with their parenting duties apparently interfering with their early hour singing. The best news on the bird front was the group of 8 – 10 young pheasants that flew up out of the pasture whilst I was spraying some pesky thistles with “deadly agro-toxins” from a hand sprayer. The young pheasants were about the size of Hungarian partridge and while not skilled at flying, they did their best to elude my zig-zag pattern. Seeing many deer with young fawns out in the open including one with a pair of twins we see occasionally. Lots of bucks in the velvet as well. They must not appreciate the abundant mosquito crop either.

Ruby and Fudgie have enjoyed their summer thus far. The AC in the house during the hot weather makes their time indoors pretty easy to take, especially when the bugs have been bad outside. They still like to do the chores and follow the lawnmowers for hours on end though. Pretty hard to do that in the house. Reminds me of the days when Mom would boot us out of the house on a nice summer day. Rightfully so. As long as we didn’t kill or maim each other getting us outside and out of her hair was the best policy.

The name of the People’s Republic of Steele Co. Highway Department was taken in vain at the ranch once again. About the time it looked like I would participate in another car show in Owatonna they decided it would be a good idea to spread tar and pea rock on our road, making what is known as a seal coat. After our experience a couple years ago when highway department contractors tore out our phone line and it took the phone company over a year to finally bury it, what could possibly go wrong? I was forced to choose whether I would drive on the half-mile of fresh tar or just stay home. Since I had already committed to help park cars I went anyway. I will admit, they did their best to minimize the amount of tar that actually sticks to your vehicle. However, when you have a pristine vintage automobile and it happens to be light beige in color, it’s not going to be pretty. It took lots of elbow grease and cleaner to get all that sticky black goo off. What’s really annoying is now the vehicle should be re-waxed. Putting tar and pea rock on the road may extend its life but I suspect it isn’t because of the seal coat itself: It’s because people avoid driving on those roads after they dump that crud on there!

See you next week…real good then. 

[Dotch]

If it keeps on rainin', levee's goin' to break

The Weather Eye definitely sprung a bigtime leak last week and the scurs were distraught. Will their Barr’s Stop Leak put a damper on the leak or will we see our rain continue to trickle at a slower pace? Starting Wednesday, sunny with highs in the upper 70’s and lows in the upper 50’s. Thursday, sunny with highs in the low 80’s and lows in the mid-60’s. Sunny on Friday with a slight chance of an evening shower or thunderstorm. Highs in the mid-80’s with lows in the mid-60’s. Saturday, mostly sunny with an increasing chance for showers and thunderstorms into the evening hours. Highs in the low 80’s with lows in the low 60’s. Mostly sunny for Sunday with slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the low 80’s with lows near 60. Monday, mostly sunny with a modest chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 70’s with lows in the upper 50’s. Mostly cloudy on Tuesday with a good chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid-70’s with lows in the upper 50’s. The sun will rise after 6 a.m. on July 31^st. The normal high for August 1^st is 82 and the normal low is 61. The scurs plan to enjoy their extra minutes of sleep once their ark is completed.

The 2^nd Full Moon for the month of July will occur on the 31^st, making it officially a “Blue Moon”. A Blue Moon takes place every 19 years in the month of July. The next Blue Moon will be January 31^st 2018 with another that same year on March 31^st.  So what did the Native Americans do about two Full Moons in a month? Since their schedule largely revolved around the period between moons, it wasn’t an issue. Sounds like another thing white man managed to screw up.

Crop progress continues to be steady and very close to on track for the calendar year. Corn is in the blister stage while soybeans are largely in the R4 stage, with some of the early planted early maturing varieties making a case for being in the R5 stage. R5 is known as Beginning Seed, with a seed 1/8” long in a pod at one of the four uppermost nodes on the main stem with a fully developed leaf for those keeping score at home.

The recent rains while excessive in some respects showed us that it indeed still can turn on a dime in the month of July and on a widespread basis if it so desires. The result has been some phenomenal growth and pod set on the soybeans since it fell. Since August is known as the month that makes a soybean crop, it will be interesting to see what happens when we have a nearly full profile for soil moisture. Sure there are already people wringing their hands about white mold and whatever else may befall this crop. These are the same people who also worry when we don’t get rain. Personally, would rather have the tradeoff of some gas in the tank going into August for a change.

Just when you thought it was safe to think about skipping mowing the lawn for a week, the rains fell. Amounts varied this past week from roughly 3” – 5”. At the ranch, there was one patch on a south facing slope beginning to show signs of drying out. 3.84” later, that spot largely disappeared. The rest of the lawn is growing like it was still June, meaning 3 – 5 hours out of every week will be spent going back and forth. It will also mean a renewed assault from the mosquitoes that were by some accounts starting to wane. With 7.4” of rain so far in town and 6.76” at the ranch one can only imagine what’s going to happen.

The hot weekend wound up being spent on stacking the remaining hay in the barn, cleaning up the storm damage and mowing the windbreak. One of the crabapples that we’d somewhat nursed back to health caught the straight line wind Friday morning and split off. I left the rest of the tree though as it was loaded with crabapples. If the tree can withstand the winds until spring, at least the birds can utilize the fruit. More hunks of silver maple needed to be dealt with although that’s just part of the routine of having one of these trees prone to wind damage. Probably the most disappointing loss though was an arborvitae about 12’ tall in the windbreak. It was really the only tree lost there, snapped off about 6” above the ground. These trees were planted as 12” transplants and really stop a lot of snow from getting in the yard.  The heat and humidity took their toll and by the time I’d removed the branches from the fence at the kindly neighbors, I was pooed. It was difficult to stay hydrated and equally as difficult to keep enough repellent on without sweating or rubbing it off on all the vegetation.

Some of the winged inhabitants at the ranch included the first cicada heard the evening of the 27^th. Had heard one earlier back on the 17^th at the SROC in Waseca. It appears the grape jelly supply is barely keeping up with the demand at the bird feeders. Some mornings we are serenaded by a male cardinal, something that hasn’t happened in summers past. We’ve been blessed with a great hatch of barn swallows. At any given time there are over a dozen youngsters gobbling down their fair share of flying insects. The hummingbirds are becoming more frequent visitors. They’ve developed a fondness to the Wendy’s Wish salvia amongst all the other types Mrs. Cheviot has planted. The first of the 4 o’clocks has started to bloom so as we move into August, watching the zippy little feathered marvels will make barbecuing on the patio even more entertaining.

See you next week…real good then. 

[Dotch]

Don't you, don't you know that you are a shooting star…

The scurs courtesy of their trusty Weather Eye delivered a knockout weather punch this past week. Sure there were some warm days but we needed that to make up for some of the cooler days earlier in July. Will we see another warm week or will we see fall creeping up on us? Starting Wednesday, partly sunny with a modest chance of an overnight shower or thunderstorm. Highs in the upper 70’s with lows in the low 60’s. Thursday, partly sunny with an increasing chance for showers and thunderstorms by evening. Highs in the mid-70’s with lows around 60. Partly sunny Friday with a modest chance of a shower or thunderstorm. Highs in the mid-70’s with lows near 60. Saturday, mostly sunny with a slight chance of a shower or thunderstorm. Highs in the upper 70’s with lows in the mid-60’s. Partly sunny on Sunday with a moderate chance for showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 70’s with lows in the low 60’s. Monday, partly cloudy with an increasing chance for showers and thunderstorms by evening. Highs in the upper 70’s with lows in the low 60’s. Partly cloudy for Tuesday with highs in the upper 70’s and lows around 60. The normal high for August 10^th is 81 and the normal low is 60. The scurs will be watching for meteors from their chaise lounge.

The best viewing of the Perseid meteor shower will take place in August. The earth passes through the debris field from the Swift-Tuttle comet every year starting July 17^th and runs through August 24^th. The number of sightings increases until about mid-month and should decline from there. With the New Moon coming on August 14^th conditions should be about perfect the night of the 13th, with very little light interference. The peak time to look for them is after midnight when the meteors should be high in the sky although there should be plenty to be seen prior to that. There is no reason to look in any one spot, just lay back in your lounger and enjoy the show, weather permitting of course.

Crops progress prospered under the warmer than normal temperatures last week with corn progressing to R3 or roasting ears as they are fondly known. Soybeans also made progress with many fields making R5. The soybeans are impressive to look at although looking closely one can see the soybean aphids are increasing in many area fields. The temptation is to blindly spray when the neighbor does. This may or may not be the proper timing. The aphid infestations vary widely from field to field and the only way to know whether the insects are at treatable levels is to scout them.

Lots of insects to see this past week at the ranch. First, a yellow swallowtail made a bee line for the tiger lilies that were in full bloom, making for a colorful visual. Next, when attempting to fuel up the lawnmower a paper wasp flew out of the cover surrounding the pump, causing me to spring into action. I dislike paper wasps immensely after having been stung numerous times by them over the years. I got out the dairy aerosol and sprayed up inside the housing and ran. Several more wasps flew out of the cover and did not return I might add. Several have asked about earwigs. We’d never seen earwigs at the ranch until a few years ago after someone left a box that had contained wedding decorations. The box was loaded with earwigs and before we knew it, they escaped into the garage. Not too long ago one of the solar lights quit working. Upon dismantling the light, it was full of earwigs and worked fine after their eviction. Earwigs are rather ferocious looking insects with cerci or pinchers on their abdomen which are used to hold whatever it is they’re feeding on. Earwigs typically feed on decaying organic material as well as some smaller living organisms. What concerns people though is when they choose to vary their diet and go after flowers and vegetables. A good article from Jeff Hahn at the U concerning earwigs can be accessed at:  http://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/insects/find/earwigs/

It looks like the orioles have at least for the time being taken a hike. It may have something to do with another visitor, namely a Cooper’s hawk that has been terrorizing the bird feeder area from time to time. An unfortunate young mourning dove wound up in its grasp and as breakfast one morning last week. Since that time, orioles have been scarce. It hasn’t deterred the goldfinches that are becoming more numerous. There are very few females coming to the feeders now so one has to wonder if their nesting period has begun.

Fudgie has a birthday coming up on August 6^th. She was one of a litter of three puppies born to our first Border Collie Lucy 13 years ago. Fudgie’s primary occupation for 10 years was to keep my Mom company at the farm which she generally did pretty well. Mom of course spoiled her rotten. I suspect there were many baked goods that found their way into Fudgie’s tummy over the years. To this day you can’t crack an egg but what it gets Fudgie’s attention, waking her from a deep slumber. When Mom became ill we promised to keep the dog until such time that she could get back to the farm. That of course didn’t happen so we suddenly had a second dog again. Now, Fudgie is not Miss Congeniality. She had things pretty much her way for a long time and is slow to warm up to strangers. She tolerates Ruby although they do play some together yet which is pretty remarkable considering their age and speed difference. The distance she travels some days following the lawnmower is truly amazing. She is also a natural when it comes to watching gates and chasing the sheep back in, for which we are grateful. Fudgie is welcome to live out the rest of her days here.  

Mentioning baked goods above, Auntie Mar Mar came through with a plethora of goodies, the leftovers from all her fair baking projects. There were high fiber muffins, nut breads, lemon bars, and raisin bars. All tasty treats after a long dry spell of going without. She was obviously concerned about my health though. Mar Mar is a faithful reader of my rantings and apparently wanted to make sure I was still a regular columnist.

See you next week…real good then.