Fencelines

[Dotch]

8/27

Took a look around, see which way the wind blow...

After absolutely gorgeous late summer weather, the scurs have another gem on tap for the upcoming week. With little rain and cool evenings, this should be some of the best sleeping weather in some time. Look for highs Wednesday and Thursday of 75 and lows of 50 – 55. Slightly warmer for Friday through Sunday with highs near 80 and lows of 55 – 60. Slight chances of precip for Sunday. Monday and Tuesday may give us a taste of fall with high temperatures of 65 – 70 and lows bottoming out in the mid-40’s. Normal high for September 1 is 78 and normal low is 54, the same high we would see on June 3 and the same low expected on June 7. One major difference however: On June 3, there was 15 hours and 25 minutes of daylight. On September 1, we will have about 12 hours and 16 minutes of daylight. The scurs are rounding up the lawn rakes.

After spending the past week on the road it’s good to get back home again to my own bed. Figured after the trip east and coming back home to the State Fair, had not spent 2 nights in a row in the same bed for over a week. One always enjoys a trip but when it winds up being work all the time, it begins to wear on you. Hoping that the fall will allow for some time away. While I usually enjoy people, it’s good to get away from them sometimes too.

Our travels this past week took us from Columbus Ohio to Anderson Indiana, Bloomington Illinois, Iowa City Iowa and then on to Owatonna as part of the John Deere – Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour. It takes a lot of time and walking around in the mud bites but the people one meets don’t. There were so many international people involved as well as farmers, insurance people, USDA employees, brokerage firms, etc., that it is truly was one of the most unique collections of individuals I’ve ever been involved with. Locally our crops looked as good as anything on the Tour. Stay tuned.

It’s interesting too to see the navigational and communication technology change just on the 4 years I’ve been no the Tour. No more bag phones and seems everyone carries a small cell phone these days. We used a GPS unit one day and another day one rider had an I-Phone. Sure a far cry from licking your finger to check the wind direction and looking for moss on the north side of trees, especially where there are no trees.

Fall is indeed coming and the last nest of baby barn swallows has left the nest. They’re still around though as their parents let you know if you get too close to them. Reassuring to still see swallows skimming just above the ground, sweeping the area for insects. Summer is still hanging on. Hummingbirds are increasing though. They’ve taken a shine to the 4 O’clocks and as always enjoy the impatiens. With the cooler weather to come, expect to see even more hummers. Bobwhite sightings continue to be reported in our neighborhood. Our local sheep shearer photographed a male in a tree at this home farm. While the terrain isn’t exactly like southeastern MN, it may have some of the same characteristics that allow them to hang on there.

We competed in the open class sheep show at the State Fair for the 17th year in a row. One needs to be in condition to show Cheviots. Luckily some guy named Jimmy who talked in the third person sold me some plyometric shoes. I can now jump as high as they can. We’ve collected lots of hardware over the years and this year was no exception. The most important thing though is still the people you meet and the friends you make. Sleeping in the dorm above the Sheep Barn is an annual treat and while some are self-medicated not a lot of sleeping gets done. Nothing like being awakened by 10 guys snoring simultaneously, garbage trucks backing up in the wee hours of the morning, then the clip-clop of draft horses being exercised around 5 a.m., followed by the loading of market lambs below us in a pot-belly trailer.

The State Fair is fun but it’s sure good to get back home and kick your shoes off. Something about seeing the sheep grazing on the sidehill when you drive up and watching the Gus and Lucy unwind like a spring that does your heart good. Sure the lawn needs mowing but it’ll still be there tomorrow. With the pond having been recharged with 7+ inches of rain, it has me thinking about sharing some waterfowl hunting with friends this fall and talking smart while consuming mass quantities of donuts and coffee. No law that says you have to shoot anything.

After all the travel it’s always good to find time for a nap. That little half hour nap I caught last Wednesday in Iowa City was a godsend. Didn’t even need one at the State Fair but saw several people who indulged. Females in particular including Mrs. Cheviot are very coy about napping. The wife of one my little fat buddies vehemently denied that napping in a lawn chair in a tack pen counted after waking up but we caught her red handed. Fortunately there was no can of shoe polish or shaving cream handy.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

9/3

I wanna be your back door man...

Bristling with the latest technological advances in meteorological equipment, the scurs still overestimated the speed at which the cool down would be here by a few days. It is coming, rest assured. On tap for this week, some summery weather to start the week followed by the promised cooler days. Wednesday look for highs of 85 and lows around 65. Thursday, slightly cooler with a good chance of rain. High of 75 and low of 60. Friday warms slightly again with a slight chance of forenoon showers. Highs of 75 – 80 and low near 55. Cooler Saturday and Sunday with highs of 70 – 75 and lows of 55. Slight chances of showers for the weekend and into the first part of next week. How’s that for covering your rear? Cooler yet Monday and Tuesday with high temperatures around 70 and lows dropping to 50. Normal high for September 7 is 76 and normal low is 51, the same we’d expect to see on May 30. The scurs are duct taping their favorite umbrella and putting some WD-40 on the hinges just in case.

Forgot to mention the lunar eclipse back on August 28. That’s probably okay because it occurred in the wee hours of the morning. You do have an opportunity to view a partial solar eclipse on September 11. One minor detail; you’ll have to fly to South America or Antarctica to see it. There will be another total lunar eclipse February 21, 2008. However, the scurs are predicting a 50:50 chance of overcast skies for that date.

Some of the early planted, early maturing corn hybrids have reached maturity as have the early soybeans. Won’t be long and the combines will taste test them, giving us an idea what yields will be. Some talk of winter wheat being seeded after the soybeans come off. Even though it’s not like pressing the “easy” button, today’s varieties planted the last week in September give us that third crop everyone keeps talking about.

The sidewalk project in town has made it a little inconvenient to the point that the back doors of many establishments were used, including the bank and the post office. Still, you meet some nice folks you might not otherwise see. A gentleman who grew up on the farm stopped and mentioned he enjoyed the column, something that always makes my day.

Labor Day has finally happened. For some it’s time to take that last vacation before school starts and for others it’s time to try in vain to catch up on all the things that piled up over the summer. Mrs. Cheviot and I tend to fall into the latter category. With her off to work, I’m left to my own devices and not fielding phone calls as is my wont on a Monday, answering the myriad of questions people seem to think up doing lord knows what over the weekend. Sometimes the questions are even work related.

It was a weekend of accomplishment at the ranch. The Dubya’s knocked hay down late last week so the sheep now have enough forage to take them through most of the winter. As one of the boys quipped, should look like I’m 18 again with all that exercise. I reminded them I would probably feel more like I was 80 afterwards. The smell of curing alfalfa hay is still one of my favorites. Since fragrance manufacturers have come up with such notables as “The Beach” or “The Ocean”, it’s only fitting that “Curing Hay” should be next. Alfalfa, orchard grass, timothy, you name it. Likely a unisex fragrance too. Could have unintended consequences if cattle, sheep and goats got wind of it however.

Lawn mowing was also accomplished, but not without first finding the mosquito repellent. After the rains, they’re taking no prisoners and wait by the door to attack once you head outside. Brushing up against a shrub and watching the swarm of the little suckers fly out is utter suicide. Shove the hydrostatic lever ahead and skedaddle!

Labor Day is one of those days to take stock of the natural world and how lucky we are to see it at the ranch. The pond has become a shimmering diamond again to attract waterfowl. Egrets wade in the shallows daily. Where else can one watch pheasants parade through the back yard as the Cheviots fatten up on the lush pasture below? While the orioles are gone and the wren’s song is no more, the hummingbirds increased in numbers, dive bombing each other around the feeders and flowering plants. The blue jays call and a few flickers happen through the yard, feeding on acorns from the prolific little bur oak tree. Goldfinches are in heaven as between the sunflowers and the CRP, they have a smorgasbord of achenes to eat. Bluebirds at the kindly neighbors pasture. Yet another late nest of barn swallows in the lambing barn. Gave them an assist getting out as they were beating themselves up on the windows. They joined the multitude of other swallows, mainly cliff and barn swallows, readying for their flight south to Central and South America. Hope they take tummies full of mosquitoes with them.

The sumac is turning from the bottom up while the walnut trees and poplar have been cheating since August, dropping leaves as they see fit. Monarchs hang in bunches from the spruce outside the bedroom window. The crabapples have reached maturity and are ready for autumn’s weary feathered travelers. The Fireside apples are blushing and the Haralsons are getting redder by the day, meaning that pies may be forthcoming to help the little fat buddies get ready for the long harvest and winter ahead. Oh yeah, Happy Birthday Mom on the September 7!

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

9/10

And you've just had some kind of mushroom, and your mind is moving low...

The scurs were back on the scoreboard once again, pegging the weather with the deadly accuracy usually reserved only for the Swami. With lots of sunshine, this week makes for a kinder, gentler reminder that summer is nearing a close. Wednesday should be our warmest day with highs topping out near 75 with lows near 50 along with a slight chance for evening showers. Thursday brings increased chances of showers, highs of 65 and lows of 45. Cooler Friday as the high tops out at 60 and low temps hitting 40. Saturday and Sunday highs of 65 and lows of 40. Slightly warmer Monday and Tuesday as highs get to the low 70’s once again and low warm into the upper 40’s. Normal high for September 14 is 73 and normal low is 48, the same as we’d expect to see on May 21. The scurs finally tracked down their corn husking hook after locating the bang board in the granary.

In the early morning skies, Venus once again takes center stage, outshining everything on the eastern horizon before sunrise. On September 23 it will be at its brightest. Mars rises around midnight and Jupiter is visible over the southwestern horizon at sunset.

Harvest looms on the horizon. After last week’s blast furnace, much of the corn has black-layered and soybeans, with the exception of those planted after peas are out of the woods when it comes to a frost. Some preliminary moistures on mature corn indicate much of the earl planted, early maturing hybrids are testing in the mid to low 20’s. Plenty of stalk rot is lurking in area corn fields so one will need to be vigilant and stay atop the weather forecasts. We are fortunate in that our soil moisture for next season has already been largely recharged in this area. We may not be so fortunate if we fall victim to another round of heavy rains although the size of the equipment and the amount of tile drainage in most fields has reduced the potential problems substantially over just a few decades ago.

Some have had questions about the reddish-orange mushrooms with dark caps noticeable about this time of year in both corn and soybean fields. These are called stinkhorns and with good reason: They stink! The cap on these mushrooms is covered with a gelatinous that gives off a foul odor but it accomplishes the task of attracting flies and spreading the spores necessary for reproduction and distribution. Generally by the time the fungi are noticed, the caps have dried up and the odor has dissipated. Since the fungus feeds off decaying organic matter, it does no harm to growing plants. Due to the odor, cases of human poisoning are undocumented. The odor does however may attract cats and dogs and may cause illness or death.

Speaking of foul odors, moved some rams around this past weekend to their prospective paddocks. Rams especially as they age also develop a strong smell although they probably liken it to some kind of after shave to attract the ladies. The cooler weather and shorter days should be a positive when it comes to bringing the ewes into estrus. All one needs do is watch the females fight and see the rams upper lip curl to know that fall is definitely here. Maybe you single guys should splash on some eau de cologne while you’re at it.

Garden harvest over the weekend included muskmelon, onions, Indian corn and the last of the string beans. At least I think it was although they’re still flowering. The sunflowers have bowed their heads and the blue jays are enjoying the seeds. The Indian corn is still my favorite though. Peeling back the husks is like opening a present to observe Mother Nature’s artwork. No two ears are exactly alike and the earth tones, crimson, blue, purple and saffron represent autumn spectacularly.

More fall birds in store as the downies and nuthatches are becoming more prevalent. Saw what I thought was a strange looking nuthatch Sunday. It was traveling around the tree trunk and branches like a small nuthatch but was striped, not gray with a black cap and white tummy. Checked it out and wound up being a black and white warbler, likely passing through as they tend to hang out in more wooded terrain. The hummingbirds continue to entertain. While sitting on Mom’s porch over the weekend, could watch them hover within a few feet as they zoomed back and forth, squabbling over the two perches on the window feeder. Not unlike a bunch of kids; more fun to fight over something than to share.

As the weather cools it feels good to close the windows once again. Some keep their windows closed all summer and run the air conditioning while some of us like letting the fresh air in once in awhile. Why am I glad I can close them? Because the early morning traffic the longer we’ve lived here has become more frequent and increasingly loud. With the booming bass on car stereos, noisemakers on small cars that makes them sound more like a horse fly rather than a mosquito and all the monster truck wannabe’s, it’s become more difficult to sleep from about 4 a.m. on. Some of the traffic heads to Owatonna, some to Albert Lea, yet others commute as far as the Twin Cities. To help them relax and perhaps quiet them down, am thinking I should adopt the highway. Maybe repaint the lines so there’s more room and take the road signs down and give them a good scrubbing too while I’m at it.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

9/17

Every step you take I'll be watching you.

The scurs missed an opportunity to predict the first frost of the year but this is one of the perils of a Monday forenoon deadline. The frost was on the pumpkin officially on Saturday morning but not everything was a casualty, particularly the mosquitoes. This week offers up another warm spell with chances of rain Wednesday and Thursday with a cool down and potential for more rain early next week. Highs Wednesday and Thursday of 75 and lows of 55 – 60. Friday through Sunday highs range from 75 to 80 with lows between 55 and 60. Cool on Monday with a 70 degree high and a chilly 40 degree low. Cooler yet Tuesday with a high of 60 – 65 and lows of 40 – 45. Normal high for September 21 is 71 and the normal low is 46, the same as we expect to see on May 16. The scurs are fattening up some local squirrels in hopes of having them over for dinner.

September 23 ushers in the autumnal equinox whereby the sun can be viewed as directly over the equator. Rather than get into a lengthy and likely boring discussion about the how and why, UTC time, Zulu time, and sacrificing virgins, suffice it to say we’ve already experienced some autumn and are sure to experience even more before winter sets in.

The equinox is important insomuch as it does define the timing of the Full Harvest Moon. The Harvest Moon is that Full Moon closest in date to the autumnal equinox. This year it falls on September 26 and 2 out of 3 years it lands in September. Normally the Full Moon will rise 50 minutes later each night but during the Harvest Moon that time is cut to 25 – 30 minutes later. The moon appears larger than normal when rising and also has more color during this period. This is due to the relatively flat angle at which we view the moon and the amount of the atmosphere we see the moon through. Dust from many sources including the harvest impact the color. Farmers once used this moonlight to lengthen the days they spent in the field. The Ojibwe knew this as the Full Rice Moon and the Sioux as the Moon of Drying Grass. Looking at the native prairie grasses, one can see how they would arrive at that designation.

The frost appears to have ended the growing season for all practical purposes. Luckily as of last Wednesday we had GDU accumulations of 2505 since May 1 at the SROC in Waseca, about what we’d expect for October 5. With low humidity and a breezy weekend following the frost, drydown of both corn and soybeans has been rapid. Some fields of both crops have been harvested and the results have generally been very good considering the early maturity. Moistures have been very dry for the calendar date as well. Some corn has tested as low as the upper teens and soybeans have been reported as low as 11%. This week should mark the start of the first real push if the weather allows.

As hard as it froze it still didn’t freeze everything, including some sensitive plants near the house at the ranch. 4 O’clocks and nasturtiums are usually pretty wimpy in that department. The fact they were planted over the top of the new septic tank may have made a difference. While this may or may not be kosher in the People’s Republic of Steele County, the hummingbirds and sphinx moths still enjoying the nectar couldn’t care less.

Fall colds are making the rounds. There are several who are willing to share the latest alien. Some of these lovely bugs are taking as long as 3 weeks to recover from. With the sniffling, sneezing and coughing up of large amounts of phlegm, it would be prudent to locate the manufacturer of Cannon’s old ‘CCO cough button before talking on the phone.

Returning from a trip to Spring Valley, appeared the Ellendale water tower was still in kit form. The tank itself is getting closer to completion however. A little more bubble gum on some of the seams and looks like it’ll be operational. At the Mall for Men, the little fat buddies have been busy taking bets on which contestants will get pulled over by the local constabulary for running the stop sign at the railroad tracks. There have been several prizewinners although actually hitting a train in Bugtussle would take some planning and effort, given the train’s 10 mph speed and the once in a blue moon frequency of its appearance. Still, laws are laws so beware. You are being watched.

As if becoming an every other year event, we experienced yet another transformer blaze on the pole outside the Mall for Men due to a power surge in the lines. Thanks to quick action by my “Cherman” counterpart and the local fire department, damages inside were limited. And, fortunately or unfortunately as the case may be, the power surge did not damage the confuser used to write this column. It did fry some other items such as the cordless phone and the clock radio that was constantly flashing the wrong time following each power outage. It’s okay. Didn't need the alarm clock anyway. I have a uh...mental alarm. I set my head for... quarter to seven and..."pop!" ...I get up! At least we solved the incorrect time problem.

See you next week…real good then.

[Steve Foss]

Thanks, Dotch. Glag to see you're back again with the weekly good read.

[Dotch]

Good to be back and catch up on all the great photos, sightings, discussion, etc. in these bird watching threads.

[Jim Almquist]

Dotch good to hear that all are in good health and that you have a little time to share your stories with us. Growing up some of the best memories are visiting relatives on the farm so your descriptions bring back the smell and sounds that bring back a little bit of my youth. If you every get the smell of fresh cut hay bottled I will take a couple I hope that things will slow down enough so you will be able to spend some more time with us

[Steve Foss]

I too was raised in farm country, spending my summers on my grandparents Wisconsin dairy farm topping off many a load of haybales, and that's one of the reason's I like "Fencelines."

Mmmmm, fresh cut hay!

[Dotch]

Like Autumn winds that will blow right through me...

The scurs got the temps right but failed to predict any rain for this past Monday. This week cools down as is the nature of September but will be seasonal. Highs Wednesday will be 70 – 75 with an overnight low of 50. Thursday slightly cooler with a 70 degree high and low of 45. Slightly warmer on Friday with a high in the mid-70’s and a low near 50. Saturday marks the beginning of a cooling trend with a high of 70 and a low of 50. Sunday delivers a high of 65 with low temperatures staying near 50. Cooler Monday on Tuesday with highs in the low to mid-60’s and lows dropping to 45. There are slight chances for precip Saturday and Sunday with chances increasing for early next week. Normal high for September 28 is 69 and normal low is 43, the same as we encounter on May 9. The scurs are anxious to view Mother Nature’s full color tapestry.

There are beginning to be some subtle hints of color appearing in the wooded areas. The not so subtle sumac is a beautiful red and hemp dogbane is a brilliant yellow. Some of the ash trees are turning rapidly as are some of the maples with their flame orange colors. Needles are beginning to be cast by white and Austrian pine. Native prairie grasses such as yellow Indiangrass continue to mature on these autumn afternoons, the final rays of the setting sun dancing off their wispy inflorescences.

The hummingbirds continue to pull on the sugar water in between their snacking on the flowers. Too soon they will be gone. Appears the barn swallows are already gone for the season. Always miss their company and await their return next spring. Blue jays are tapping into the huge sunflowers that are now ripe in the garden, and letting everyone know about it while they’re at it. The goldfinches are losing their summer color but they remain faithful customers at the feeders, along with the downies and nuthatches.

Boxelder bugs are showing up in en masse inside and outside buildings. They feed on boxelder but can also feed on maple and ash trees. In the spring and early summer the bugs feed on seeds and low vegetation. In mid-July they move to seed-bearing female boxelder trees and lay their eggs on the trunks, branches and leaves. Rarely are they found on male boxelder trees. While it’s tempting to remove boxelder trees to control the problem, you can still have the bugs as they will fly up to 2 miles for food and shelter. They tend to congregate on sunny, south facing sides of buildings such as that at the Mall for Men. Problems are most severe during hot dry summers followed by warm springs. Sound familiar?

Of course there are many more signs of fall. For instance, the 5-man corn dryer at the elevator was started up on the 19th which is relatively early. Vermin are emptying the bait boxes at the ranch. Corn continues to come off the fields at a record pace and after the weekend, soybeans are starting to become scarce in areas. Lower soybean acreage coupled with rapid maturity has hastened this years harvest substantially. Breezy, low humidity evenings with no dew such as we encountered on the 20th have allowed farmers to combine far into the night should they so desire. Soybean yields have been surprisingly good given their appearance and the wet feet suffered at the hands of the August rains. Gus and Lucy are on red alert to be sure every noisy grain truck, tillage implement, combine and bouncing gravity box that rolls by gets barked at.

The rams with their prospective harems are enjoying the nice fall days. One needs be cautious around them as they become very possessive when ewes are in heat. It’s difficult to tell if ewes are in heat but they will scrap sometimes. While enumerating the Cheviots at the kindly neighbor’s pasture (count the ears, divide by 2) some ewes were butting heads. I though to myself, I am smack dab in the middle of a good old fashioned cat fight! Need to watch your back or you can end up in a heap thanks to Shadow the ram.

Wednesday was WOW (Workers on Wheels) day at the Ellendale school and was invited to participate once again this fall. Gives me an excuse to clean my pickup out every two years, whether it needs it or not. The pickup catches the kids’ eyes and the books with pictures of insects inside it interest some of them. The 4 wheeler is a kid magnet and at one point there were 8 youngsters sitting on it. What surprised me though was when some took a shine to the tools of my trade: an insect capture net and a soil probe. One youngster politely asked what the net was for and after explaining, he blurted out, “Can we go catch some bugs?” Was like I was suddenly a kid back in grade school again and like a reflex action I said, “Yeah!!! Let’s go catch some bugs!”

We swept the grass in front of the school and while there were no pretty butterflies, bees or anything too exotic, the kids didn’t seem to care. They circled around while I knelt and slowly unrolled the net, revealing the small leafhoppers, aphids and midges contained in it. “Cool!” they squealed with delight as several leafhoppers sprung out of the bottom of the net. The next group wanted to see how the soil probe worked so I took a core out of the lawn and placed the soil in the bucket. Of course they wanted to try it too so even though they weren’t heavy enough to put it in the ground when standing on the foot peg, by giving them a little assist, we pulled some nice cores allowing them to put the dirt in the bucket.

After the morning was over I loaded up the 4 wheeler and headed back to Bugtussle. My faith in kids had been renewed. While some kids’ eyes seemingly glaze over playing video games and others seem obsessed with text messaging, it was comforting to know there are still some interested in good ol’ bugs and dirt.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

Down by the river near my home…

The scurs had a sneaking suspicion that this past week would be a wet one. They were correct and since they’re still sneaky and suspicious, they’re betting this next week may dish us up another batch of soup. Wednesday and Thursday we continue on the track we’ve been on, namely warmer than normal. Highs in the mid-70’s and lows in the mis-50’s. Chances of rain come back however for Thursday night through Saturday night. Highs of 75 – 80 in that same timeframe and lows in the mid-50’s. Sunday we get into some fall weather again. High temperatures will struggle to make 60 and it will likely freeze Sunday night, with a low near 30. Cooler Monday and Tuesday with highs near 50 and lows of 35 – 40. Normal high for October 5th is 66 and normal low is 40, the same we’d expect to see May 2nd. The scurs are manufacturing large helium balloons to fit on most popular brands of combines.

While harvest came to an abrupt halt with the rains, good progress was made prior to that. Rainfall events such as this past week serve to point up why it’s a good idea here in the northern reaches of the corn and soybean growing areas to hustle at harvest time, even though there is still no award for being the first one done. Many finished soybean harvest last week and started to make a dent in the corn. Some moistures were down as low as the mid-teens on the corn already, generally unheard of prior to October 1. Soybean yields have generally been pleasantly surprising as we’ve moved into the later maturing varieties. Even though there was some interest due to the high wheat price, it doesn’t appear much winter wheat has been seeded. Did note one field on a trip made to Tracy last week but that’s the only one I’ve seen. As it should be. With thunderstorm and hail as a possibility, most people who have dry soybeans in the field will combine them first and worry about next year later.

Ladybugs are starting to congregate, both the multi-colored Asian ladybird beetle as well as the little native pink ladybugs, the latter usually not the nuisance that their Asian counterpart is. It should not be unexpected as the frost took out most of the foliage in the corn that was harboring aphids they were feeding on. With no green tissue the aphids are largely done and the warm days following the frost signal to the ladybugs that it is time to seek shelter for winter. Your house makes a lovely imitation of the cliffs they inhabit in Asia.

October 3 marks the 10th anniversary of the last Cannon Mess show on WCCO. Seldom listen to ‘CCO anymore. Their glory days are long behind them in my opinion, especially after they dumped their Ag department. Listening to Steve-O in those days of yore definitely gave me a lump in the throat, a crick in the knee and a tear in the eye when he’d play “Fight on for Old” on a Friday afternoon. Talk radio has inundated the airwaves with everyone having a political agenda but I couldn’t care less. Give me tunes or someone with even half the talent of Steve Cannon to listen to. After 10 years, I’m still waiting. And he always got the money.

The petunias at the Mall for Men continue to flower profusely, much to the delight of the sphinx moths that show up in the late afternoon to partake of the nectar. As of Oct. 1, we still had hummingbirds at the feeders and the black and white warbler has found something to his liking there.

At the Mall for Men, we had more high stakes gambling last week but the biggest concern was the toilet seat in the men’s room. It was cracked and the seat would pinch your seat. Quick thinking, a piece of packing tape and voila! Problem solved, until of course the glue from the tape starts pulling the hair off our legs. It may be time to break down and get a new seat; we are not shaving. Waxing maybe.

Since the weather was crummy on Saturday, went to some of my favorite stores and one of my not-so-favorite stores. I follow a term known as the MF quotient, which basically tells you the ration of men to women in these stores. First I went to Cabela’s where they had a promotion on so I had to take advantage of that. Always tell Mrs. Cheviot one can never have too many waterfowl camo jackets. She’s still not convinced.

Interesting to note all the men in the store with happy faces and the fewer in number women with happy faces. On to Fleet Farm to pick up supplies including a new toilet set for the commode in our abode. Looked like everyone was generally in a good mood and the MF quotient was nearly equal. When I got to Target, one could tell by the MF quotient this was a women’s store. The few guys I saw in there looked like they were the main attraction at a hanging so I got the heck out of there as fast as I could.

Was supposed to be looking for bar stools to go around the center island but couldn’t find anything that looked remotely practical. Figured rather than bring home those nice NASCAR swivel stools like I saw on sale for ten bucks or some easy cleaning vinyl ones with pictures of pheasant and ducks on them in a magazine, I’d defer to Mrs. Cheviot on that interior decorating decision. Odds are good what I like is probably wrong or won’t matter anyway. This should save a lot of time. Maybe I can get a coffee table book.

See you next week…real good then.

[muc33]

Great Reading! I can picture your settings some times! My family is from Ostrander and LeRoy right near Spring Valley which you sometimes mention. And have plenty of friends near Ellendale... Oh the times in the Geneva Liquor Store... Great stories, incredible memories and good health!!

[Dotch]

Thanks muc; Your check is in the mail. Ah, growing up in SE MN was hard to beat, wasn't it? Especially this time of year if you lived in the proximity of all the wonderful places to hunt and fish along the rivers and streams. And don't forget the Iron Range of the south near Cherry Grove! Probably part of the reason I feel a certain kinship to Steve Cannon. That and the permanent cold I've had since I was 13.

[Dotch]

Communication breakdown, it's always the same…

The scurs read the thermostat wrong for last Sunday but in a couple months, it’s unlikely anyone will complain about the July-like conditions we experienced. When the systems slow down, they have a mind of their own. After the early week rains however, we should see a string of some very typical fall weather. For Wednesday through Friday highs of 60 – 65 and lows of 40. Saturday and Sunday much the same with highs of 60 – 65 with lows slightly warmer at 40 – 45. Monday and Tuesday, slightly warmer with highs of 65 – 70 and lows of 45 – 50. Normal high for October 12th is 63 and normal low is 38, much the same we experience on April 26th. Also interesting to note that the highs and lows are both 11 degrees cooler than they were just one month ago. The scurs are cutting more firewood in anticipation.

Farmers struggled to get back into the fields later in the week and last weekend after the 6” – 7” that fell across the greater Bugtussle area. It wasn’t pretty as the ruts left in some fields show that. Still, with the power of today’s large machines and the tile drainage most have upgraded over the past decade or so, it was surprising how much folks were actually able to harvest. Fears of years past and having to wait until the ground freezes still linger. It’s possible we may see more of a shift to soybeans in this area simply because fall tillage may be difficult on corn ground. In the meantime, the volunteer soybeans and corn both are greening up the already harvested fields. The header loss is evident.

The last hummingbird at our feeders appeared Oct. 3. Over the weekend, cleaned the feeders and put fresh sugar water in them just in case. Was hoping over the warm weekend to catch a glimpse of a straggler but it was not to be. The black and white warbler has been replaced too, this week by a brown creeper. With that slightly curved beak, it works the bark on the trees over pretty well in its quest for insects. With the abundant moisture, waterfowl were seen swimming in many harvested fields and in some that weren’t.

Several marsh hawks or northern harriers noticed swooping low across the area over the weekend. Also many kestrels or sparrow hawks noted near the ranch. Am including both names because as a younger person, tried in vain to explain to a North Dakota farmer the difference between green and yellow foxtail. To him, it was pigeongrass and since I was a new North Dakota resident, he figured I should learn their language. He was right. Too often we get caught up in trying to be correct and sometimes we fail to communicate as a result.

Boxelder bug nymphs are seen gathering on tree trunks and the adults are everywhere. Ladybugs have started to make their move with the warm afternoons of this past week. While they aren’t as numerous (so far) as in the past, they’re every bit as obnoxious. Monarchs are still drifting about, stopping here and there to take nourishment from sources such as bachelor’s buttons as well as hummingbird feeders.

Went to my favorite feed dealer at Hope on Saturday and got supplies for another week. Always a fun trip because there are always Enzenauer’s cattle and calves to gawk at as well as harvest progress to observe. Jim is always Johnny on the spot and fun to talk to but he’s always busy so it doesn’t take long. On the way back had to note a new feature on the landscape: The new water tower at Ellendale, sometimes known in this column as Mayberry. Good to see that someone must’ve finally read the water tower kit instructions. It was still unpainted but there was someone on top of the structure that afternoon. Since it was still daylight, figured it probably wasn’t the first teenager putting their signature graffiti on it.

At the Mall for Men, lots of commiserating and war stories about being stuck in the mud. The toilet seat has been replaced and all is well in that department. At my business, probably need to order some new business checks soon. Thinking about getting some of those with clowns on them.

Last week Mrs. Cheviot and I went looking for some supplies to finish off the living room project that we’ve been working on lo these many years. Needed a 14” floor mount vent to replace the old one that had seen its better days. Went to the big box stores and nary a 14” floor mount register/diffuser to be found. Lots of 12” but none of the longer style used in older houses like ours. Frustrated, we went to eat. The next day I decided to check at Edna’s in town as sometimes she has the oddball equipment we need.

Sure enough, after waiting on some customers she asked what I was looking for. While she told me she really didn’t have much of a selection, I was welcome to take a look. Sure enough, beneath the 12” register was one sticking out from under it; a 14-incher just like I needed. While we assume because bigger stores carry a larger volume, therefore we can always find what we want, such isn’t always the case. As I pointed out to Edna, I should’ve looked here first. She couldn’t have agreed more as I tucked the register under my arm and headed out the door.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

Good men through the ages, Tryin' to find the sun;

The scurs were amiss by not predicting the weekend rainfall but what a day Saturday was. This week will likely offer up more rainfall and by early next week, we’ll get a taste of mid-November temperatures. Starting with Wednesday we get a brief respite from the rain with a high of 60 and a low near 50. Still no sunshine however. Wednesday night, Thursday and Friday the rain comes back with highs both days between 60 and 65 and lows of 40 - 45. Saturday and Sunday we see sunshine again with high temps of 55 and lows of 40. Slightly warmer Monday with possible showers, a high around 60 and lows crashing overnight to around freezing. Colder Tuesday, high of 45 and a low of 25. Normal high for October 19 is 59 and normal low is 35, the same we’d expect to see on April 18th. The high is 4 degrees cooler than it was last week and the normal low 3 degrees off the pace. We’ve lost approximately 21 minutes of daylight in the past week. Given that cheery news, the scurs are keeping the batteries for the wireless charged and checking their kerosene supply for those long, lamp lit nights ahead.

Harvest progress was herky-jerky this past week. Lots of combines getting stuck and areas of fields left until conditions improve. Some soybeans left in areas and memories of the Halloween Blizzard of 1991 are in the back of everyone’s mind as the fall weather continues to put a damper on spirits. Progress has been made, just not at the record pace it started out.

The white bearded Cockshutt owner made his presence known last week as he trotted out his Cockshutt 40 Golden Eagle and #70 International plow to turn under his soybean stubble. Always brings back memories of the way things were back in the days of the 450 Farmall’s, the 730 John Deere’s and WD-45 Allis. Still remember as a kid fishing through a drawer and finding the metal sediment bowl used when Dad’s Co-Op E-4 was on the mounted International picker, either a 2-M or a 2-MH model. The metal sediment bowl was used when a picker was mounted on the tractor to protect against an errant ear from flying through under the gas tank, breaking the glass sediment bowl and causing a fire. They’re antiques now as are some of the guys who remember those days.

Miss those days of old sometimes when farmers got up in the morning, milk the pigs and slop the cows. Those guys were tough! With all today’s new-fangled contraptions and specialization, it’s just not the same anymore. Me? I’m just content to wax my manure spreader like any other livestock farmer in anticipation of barn cleaning season. Still, with all the reality shows on TV these days, think it’s only fitting they start a show called “Farming with the Stars”. They could ride along with me when I feed the ewes at the kindly neighbors pasture, trying to avoid getting knocked on their rear in the mud by the ram in the dark. Afterwards, they could get a whiff of the fresh manure on their feet when the heater on the pickup kicks in sending the aroma wafting their direction. Just doesn’t get any better than that!

Was time to give the lawn another shave weekend before last with all the warm weather and rainfall. It’s slowing down though and hopefully it won’t take more than once or twice more. Seems like I’ve been living on the lawnmower over the past 4 months, except when getting off to move the little toads out of harm’s way. Cooler weather has diminished the toad activity substantially and most have likely burrowed in for the winter.

More changes on the bird scene in the backyard. Time to take the hummingbird feeders down I’m afraid. October 9th is about as late as I can remember having a hummingbird appear at our feeders. This week was treated to more white breasted nuthatches and downy woodpeckers at the feeders. On the ground, some mourning doves were on clean up patrol as well as the first dark-eyed juncos of the season. The real treat was the red-breasted nuthatch who replaced last week’s brown creeper. Getting a red-breasted nuthatch to sit still long enough here for a photo would be a challenge and they’re easy to miss.

At the Mall for Men, squirrels continue to run back and forth, hiding black walnuts wherever they can put them. Usually the Dotch pickup is a good candidate for winter storage but so far haven’t found any stashed there. Some kind soul left some pumpkin and apple muffins on our training table for the little fat buddies dining pleasure. Excellent fall table fare. However, Saturday much to my horror I discovered someone had eaten part of one of them, leaving a muffin stump! I know what you thought. They don't have homes, they don't have jobs, what do they need the top of a muffin for? They're lucky to get the stumps.

The little fall spiders were out last week. Could feel the spider web strands and little spiders getting tangled up in my chin underbrush Thursday when driving the 4 wheeler across the fields. With the cloudy conditions the gossamer on the lawn wasn’t apparent until Saturday’s sunshine. These tiny spider hatchlings use the wind to transport them from one area to another in a process known as “ballooning”. They do this to find new territory and a place to hunker down before Old Man Winter sets in. Not a bad idea.

See you next week…real good then.

[The_Duckslayer]

Dotch... I was not fortunate enough to live on a farm when I was young. I got to go to grandpas farm a lot and stay at my cousins’ farm for a couple weeks every summer but that was the extent of it. I truly N Joyed those times though and I N Joy reliving them through your column. The thought of the smells wafting up from the heater outlet reminds me of when dad or mom used to come pick us up after a day at the farm. Great memories! Thanks for nudging them back up to the front! Look forward to reading Fencelines each week. Thanks for posting! Take care and N Joy the Hunt././Jimbo

[Dotch]

I've consulted all the sages,

I could find in the yellow pages,

But there aren't many of them.

While dire predictions of a temperature crash have been delayed by a week, the scurs have been working feverishly to get this one right. This week should be drier but it will be cooler and more seasonal as we trudge toward November. Starting Wednesday, we see highs of 55 – 60 and lows down to 40 – 45. Thursday, slightly warmer with a high of 65 and a low of 40. Friday is somewhat murky but with a high of 55 and lows of 30 – 35, the scurs are sticking with a slight chance of rain. Saturday will be cooler with a high of 50 and an overnight low of 35. Sunday through Tuesday, dry, highs of 55 and lows near 40. Normal high for October 26th is 55 and the normal low is 32, the same we’d expect to see April 10th. We continue to lose daylight at a rate of nearly 3 minutes a day. A sneak peek at Halloween could mark the start of an abrupt cool down. The scurs aren’t taking any chances and are sewing wool lining inside their costumes.

When it’s not cloudy, aside from the moon of course, Jupiter continues to be one of the first heavenly bodies seen in the southwestern sky shortly after sundown. This is the last month to see the giant planet until it becomes a morning visitor in December. October 26th marks the Full Moon for the month of October. This is not so surprisingly known as the Full Hunter Moon. It is the time of year when deer are fat as are ducks and geese. This was a time when the early settlers would fill their larders with the bounty Mother Nature had to offer. Before the settlers came, the Ojibwe knew this as The Falling Leaves Moon. The Sioux also knew this as The Moon of Falling Leaves as well as the Moon of the Changing Season.

There have been a lot of leaves falling making the leaf watching season rather abbreviated. All the precipitation this month along with the breezy conditions have knocked many of the leaves off before we had much of a chance to enjoy them. There are still scattered pockets of color here and there with some hard maples showing their yellows on the odd day when the sun has shone. The colors are not as vibrant as some years though and don’t blink or you’ll miss them. The leaves on the red oak trees in the yard at the ranch will be around for awhile but even their colors are muted somewhat this time around from the deep crimson we’ve become accustomed to.

Progress in the fields went at a snail’s pace last week with 2 rainfall events last week making wet fields even wetter. At the SROC in Waseca, a 93 year old precipitation record was broken for the 3 month period of August, September and October. This eclipsed the record set in 1924 and October isn’t over. Some have resorted to putting tracks on their combines and others have resorted to waiting out the weather at Karl’s playing pull tabs. That’s okay; we can always use a new fire truck. There are some grain quality issues apparent as some corn has been sprouting on the ear and the soybeans remaining in the field are not improving in quality either. We may see a return to days gone by where we felt good about finishing harvest by Thanksgiving.

October is pasta month and being a former resident of North Dakota’s Durum Triangle area, am proud to have had the privilege to work with durum wheat growers there for 3 years after graduating college. North Dakota raises approximately 68% of the nation’s durum wheat. While durum can be used to make bread or occasionally cinnamon Bobka, its primary use is of course pasta. Hard amber durum is the hardest of all known wheat classes. To make pasta, rather than grinding the wheat into flour, durum is ground into a granular product known as semolina. The amber color of the durum wheat kernel gives the semolina and the resulting pasta its golden color.

At the Mall for Men, we’ve seen an increase in the number of little fat buddies wearing buttons saying “I got my combine stuck. Did you?” Some horror stories but mainly gallows humor to maintain a positive mental outlook. Most also had lists of outdoor fall honeydew projects but were betting some coffee and smart talk would postpone those until our office phone rings anyway. Have to go hide somewhere else.

Indeed there are plenty of things to do outdoors. After taking down the hummingbird feeders was time to clean up some of the other bird feeders, making them more sanitary for our feathered friends. Didn’t take long and there was a whole flock of chickadees flitting about checking out the sunflower and thistle feeders. This marks the first chickadees we’ve seen in years. Maybe changing deodorant did help! They had to share however. There were also large groups of house finches and goldfinches alternating between feeding stations. Bluebirds are passing through and was witness to another of those perpetual strings of blackbirds Sunday morning while cleaning up the sunflower stalks around the well pit.

Inside the ranch house, Mrs. Cheviot has enlisted the services/opinions of several decorating consultants for advice about window dressings, wall hangings, tables, color coordination, etc. Oddly enough yours truly has not been consulted. Wonder if it has something to do with the velvet black light posters that graced the walls in the apartment shared with the Boy Entomologist, the pear-shaped centerpiece homemade blaze orange swag light fixture that adorned the living room or the blankets we hung over the windows when we were trying to sleep off Friday night on Saturday morning? Perhaps I should consult the sages at the Mall for Men for some decorating tips on my small assigned portion of the living space. I’d really hate to be left out of this process after all. Maybe if I iron that good old slightly rumpled Alan Parsons Project poster…

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

Time, time, time

See what's become of me...

The scurs had more success last week predicting a pretty nice stretch of fall weather. What lies in store for us this week? Some rather seasonal conditions through the early part of the forecast and some downright cool conditions to start out next week. Wednesday’s highs reach 50 and lows are in the 30 degree range with a slight chance of rain. Thursday and Friday, slightly warmer with a high of 55 and lows near 30 with another slight chance of rain Friday night. Saturday through Monday, highs of 50 with lows around 30. Tuesday, highs struggle to reach 40 with overnight lows near 20. Normal high for November 2nd is 50 and normal low is 29, the same we normally experience on April 2nd or 3rd. Again we lost about 3 minutes of daylight per day this past week. After masquerading as weather forecasters this Halloween, the scurs will be falling back and enjoying an extra hour of sleep on Sunday.

Don’t forget to get up at 2 a.m. to set your clock back an hour on November 4th. Changing it ahead of time is cheating and could reduce that imaginary 300,000 barrels of oil we will save you know. Occurring one week later than last year, we get the hour of sleep back that was stolen from us last spring. I have an idea, why don’t we just let bygones be bygones, call it even and leave the clock alone after this November?

Speaking of time, an apology to anyone who got their dander up because the last full moon actually occurred on October 25th rather than the 26th as most calendars said. Most calendars, especially the free ones that are handed out, set the timing of the phases of the moon according to Greenwich Mean Time or Universal Time, which is 5 hours ahead of us during Daylight Saving Time. The actual time of the moon becoming full was 11:52 p.m. on October 25th so technically, in last week’s column, we missed it by 8 minutes. However, either date was correct. The moon was still full at 12:01 a.m. on the 26th. Venus continues to shine brightly in the morning sky, looking like a mini-moon so we should all be happy about that.

Area farmers made generally good harvest progress this past week. There are still some chewy spots though and some gigantic ruts to serve as a reminder to call the tile man. Corn is coming out of the fields very dry and the amount of dryer gas being consumed is minimal. If the weather holds, the majority of the corn should be picked and in the bin as we near the weekend.

The season continues its march towards winter. A true killing frost occurred on the morning of the 28th around Greater Bugtussle so according to local Swedish tradition, we can now officially have Indian Summer. Leaves fell easily out of the trees that morning as the slightest breeze initiated their descent to the earth. The nasturtiums in the yard that had been robust the day before looked like deflated balloons by noon. The sheep were busy lapping up the soft maple leaves as fast they fell on their side of the pasture fence, not unlike kids picking up candy at a parade.

The lawn got one last shave on Saturday and while I almost got stuck in the ditch, the dry leaves in the rest of the yard were pulverized into confetti. There are a few leaves yet on area trees but they are becoming scarce. The bur oak leaves at the kindly neighbors pasture have fallen and the ewes there have to fish through the dry leaves to get to the green grass underneath. There’s enough forage there to last a few weeks yet, weather permitting but one knows that eventually the inevitable is coming.

The birds don’t seem to be all that concerned about the change in seasons at this point. The chickadees are busy going from feeding station to feeding station and there are some newcomers. Sunday morning saw the first red-bellied woodpecker of the season and the first purple finches that have been seen here in many moons. Having been so used to seeing house finches, these looked a little odd at first, slightly larger and the females with the white stripe above the eye made me look twice. It is gratifying after starting the remodeling project a year ago and removing 3 large trees to see that the birds still find the yard inviting. Not only inviting but more hospitable. There is more variety this year than ever before.

Mrs. Cheviot got the stools for the center island and was fortunate (or so she thought) that 2 out of the 4 were already assembled, saving us lots of time as there are lots of bolts in them. After actually reading the instructions and putting together the other two, discovered the previously assembled stools had bolts missing, not in just one or two places but all over. In addition, they hadn’t used the proper bolts or washers in the proper places if at all so they didn’t fit together well. Luckily none of the little fat buddies visited and got a chance to sit on them. Could’ve been disastrous.

The easiest solution was to ask for another hardware kit, disassemble each stool completely and reassemble them. The furniture company was gracious about getting us another hardware kit but apparently whoever had put the 2 stools together decided that lock washers were unnecessary, discarding part of them. We were still 4 short, making another trip to a hardware store necessary. Estimating that the pre-assembled stools actually cost us about 4 additional hours. On the bright side, figure I am now qualified to get a job at a furniture store. Better than working at the Pottery Barn I guess.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

How soft your fields so green…

The scurs were on track for most of last week with some pretty decent weather. This week will bring some marked changes but not all that out of the ordinary for the second full week in November. After the early week winds, breezes should moderate making it feel a little warmer. Look for highs Wednesday and Thursday of 40 – 45 and lows around 25. Fridays high should top out at 45 with a low of 40. Saturday, warmer. High of 45 – 50 and a low near 40. Warmer again Sunday with a high of 55 and low between 35 and 40. High for Monday around 50 and low plummeting to 20. Tuesday, much cooler with a high of 35 – 40 and a low of 15 – 20. Normal high for November 9th is 45 and the normal low is 26. The normal high has cooled 5 degrees in the last week and the normal low is 3 degrees lower than a week ago. We’ve lost 18 minutes of daylight in the past week. The scurs are not worried however. There is plenty of leftover chocolate from Halloween to help keep their mood positive.

We experienced a fair amount of virga (not Viagra) this past weekend, a situation where rain falls out of the clouds but does not reach the ground, partially due to extremely low humidity. Skies last Saturday afternoon looked ominous and while radar showed rain, it never fell. Sunday it sprinkled lightly but didn’t amount to anything.

It’s amazing to drive around the countryside and see all the green lawns and hayfields. Actually mowed a little lawn this past weekend after getting the last of the apples picked up under the tree. Some operators have taken a late cutting of hay and the chances of damage to stands now that forages are essentially dormant are reduced as long as one allowed the alfalfa to bloom during one cutting. Still some corn to be harvested around the area but finding standing corn is getting tougher. Fall tillage is progressing well although who would’ve guessed a month ago we’d be this far along. There are also indications that some cornstalks will be left for no-till soybeans given the contract price for next year.

Asian multicolored ladybeetles have outnumbered the boxelder beetles inside the house for the first time this fall. Numbers are not as dramatic as in years past so one is left to wonder why. Soybean acreage was down and most acres were treated for soybean aphids which in turn also takes out a portion of the ladybeetles. It could also be that perhaps we are beginning to see the insects reach some type of equilibrium such as they have in China where soybeans have been raised for centuries.

At the ranch, the show sheep came back off the road, having traveled across much of the US with our friends from NY Mills. They always stick out once they’re mixed in with the rest of the group, their show coats still clean and freshly trimmed. The ewes in the home pasture have enjoyed the leftover apples. Now the grass has stopped growing it won’t be long and they’ll need to be hayed. The ram and ewes at the kindly neighbors pasture will have to come home in the next couple weeks too. Lucy is looking forward to bringing them up and holding them in the barn until I can get there to close the door.

In the yard, small groups of robins continue to pass through, snacking on the crabapples. A hairy woodpecker was the most recent arrival at the feeders. The addition of suet cakes in the feeders met with his approval. While finishing the apple harvest, noted 9 bluebirds in a small flock flying overhead, calling as they made their way south as if to say “goodbye, see you next spring”.

The “Orange Army” was out in force this past weekend. Not sure just how many were successful in getting a deer but there were sure a lot of guys in pumpkin suits sitting in trees. As long as they didn’t shoot themselves or somebody else, most of us out enjoying the warm weather weren’t too concerned.

Recently checked the rat bait boxes in the barn the other night after chores and to my amazement, they were all empty again after just a few weeks. Restocked them and thought nothing of it until the next night when I decided to see how much poison these rats were eating on a daily basis. Opened up one of the boxes and to my surprise, there was a small opossum in it, hissing at me and baring his teeth. Quickly grabbed the pellet gun and dispatched the varmint, marveling at how the little contortionist got through a 2” diameter hole.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, when walking back to the house, I spied another one stumbling around in the dark, almost like it had a drug overdose, perhaps opium. White lotus. Yam-yam. Shanghai Sally. It was more likely suffering from the effects of the rat bait. Grabbed a pitchfork and made short work of that one as well. Decided to dust off the live trap once again. At $20 a pail for rat bait there are probably cheaper methods of controlling opossums.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

Hey, what's that sound?

Ah those scurs keep dishing out nice weather forecasts and wouldn’t you know, we keep getting nice weather. More on tap for this week and the deep freeze will have to wait another week. Starting with Wednesday and stretching through Friday, highs of 40 – 45 and lows of 25. Saturday, slightly cooler. High 40 and low of 25. Sunday’s high should be warmer at 45 and low should be 25. Monday and Tuesday are out there a ways but it looks like 45 for a high on Monday with a low of 20 – 25. Tuesday looks cold with highs of 30 – 35 and a low of 20. Best guess for Thanksgiving is a 40+ degree day which will help all you turkey grillers save on charcoal. Normal high is 41 and normal low is 23, the same we’d expect to see in mid-March. We’ve lost 17 minutes of daylight since last week although the rate at which we’re losing it slows as we approach the winter solstice. After the warm weather, the scurs are starting to look around for that perfect Thanksgiving turkey.

My favorite female Star - Eagle columnist tossed a question my way concerning what happened to the woolly bear caterpillars (larva of the Isabella moth) this fall as she had not seen any. I saw relatively few but did see some crossing the road west of Ellendale this fall. The brown band was very narrow and they were fairly large. As you all know, the width of the brown band is according to folklore a predictor of how harsh the winter will be. Not to burst anyone’s bubble, the width of the band is related to the caterpillar’s age. It increases as the caterpillar gets older and is also related to the moisture conditions they developed under. Wetter conditions usually mean the caterpillar has wider black stripes and less brown and so forth.

Woolly bear caterpillars over winter as caterpillars, wake up in the spring and eat for a bit, then spin a cocoon. There are 2 generations of woolly bears per year in this latitude, with cocoons being formed in spring and summer. Why weren’t there as many this fall? It could very well be moisture related. With record rainfall for the 3 month period of August through October, there were many pathogens that could have affected insect larva including fungal diseases such as beauvaria. While one can’t count on the woolly bears to predict the winter, (we have scurs for that) at least Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy are still real.

With all the leaves now gone, it’s amazing to look around the yard at the ranch to see all the bird nests, well over a dozen including those of the robins, grackles, doves and red-winged blackbirds. No wonder it was so loud in the morning this past summer. Herring gulls descended out of nowhere Sunday on the neighbor's plowing to the north, plucking earthworms and night crawlers as fast as they could. The red-bellied woodpecker has become a regular this week and the chickadees are everywhere. On the ear corn feeder, Scratchy the fox squirrel eats the hearts (germ) out of the kernels, then drops them on the ground for the pheasants to clean up later. Or perhaps a Cornish gamehen.

Opossums continue to plague me. As of this week, the score is Mr. Cheviot 7, opossums 0. May have had some close encounters I wasn’t even aware of as well. At the kindly neighbors, the light had been burned out in the barn so was doing chores there by the Braille method. When I asked about changing the bulb, got a profuse apology from the kindly neighbor as he agreed the light needed attention. Apparently there were opossums in their barn too, hissing in the dark when they’d go down there to feed the cats in the room with the water hydrant. Here I thought it was just their cats!

Deer hunters were out in force over the weekend and was very politely asked if it was okay to hunt the land around the pond. It would’ve been easy to just blow through the area without asking and if no one saw them, who would’ve been the wiser, right? It boils down to a matter of a hunter’s ethics. If you’re one of those who thinks it’s okay to trespass and go anywhere you please, all you do is spoil it for those who know better. Thank you to all hunters who ask permission first.

Was barn cleaning time at home once again. Under the close scrutiny of Lucy and Gus, put the heathouser on, changed oil and moved stuff around so when the snow flies, life will be easier. And it always takes a little while to find all the grease zerks and chains the first time out with a different spreader. Don’t mind though; I love the smell of JB chain lube in the morning.

The spreader got a workout and I put ‘er through the paces. Was so used to the old spreader clanking, whirring and banging that I had to look back a few times to make sure the new one was running. It was although it complained a little on the last load when I piled it on a little too heavily and made the belt squawk. That’s alright. Don’t have to load it quite so heavy I guess. The neighbor will get more loads of manure that way.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

It's fun to stay at the YMCA...

The scurs were on track except for the slight ugliness that was Sunday. Oh well, it is November. This week brings us back down the earth once again with some slightly cooler than normal conditions. Wednesday through Saturday, highs will struggle to get above freezing. Highs in that timeframe near 30 with lows between 15 and 20. Perhaps a light dusting of snow leftover from Wednesday will greet you as you light the charcoal grill Thursday morning for that Thanksgiving turkey. A warm up on Sunday with a high of 40 and a low of 25. Slightly cooler Monday and Tuesday with highs of 35 and lows of 15 – 20. Normal high for a November 22 Turkey Day is 37 and normal low is 20, the same we’d see early in the second week of March. We’ve lost about 13 minutes of daylight in the last week but take heart: In about 6 weeks the hours of daylight will start to increase again. The scurs will be napping between copious amounts of leftover turkey, sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie in the meantime.

8:30 a.m. November 24th brings us another full moon, this one known as the Full Beaver Moon as it was common practice to trap beaver when this time of year when their activity is at its peak. Several locals can attest to their activity as the beavers have been busy making dams to slow running water and creating lodges where they can over winter in comfort.

The little fat buddies have been busy training for the upcoming holidays, sharpening their rapier-like wits and expanding their stomach capacity for the onslaught. Cookie and bar samples are always accepted at the Mall for Men training table. If we survive, they’re probably safe to give to someone else. It has been revealed that local religious leaders are encouraging the need to take a day of rest and not a moment too soon. It’s hard work trying to find new places to hide this time of year.

Are you ready for that after-Thanksgiving dinner nap? Good news for all nappers including the editor and fellow nap aficionado. Recent information indicates that folks who take at least three 30-minute or more daytime naps weekly cut their risk of dying from a heart attack by 37%. According to Michael Rossman, director of Agri-Wellness, the ideal nap is 10 to 30 minutes. That after-dinner snooze is one more thing to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

Birds continue to be active at the feeders and the latest new sighting: A flicker on the suet. First time we’ve actually seen one at a feeder. As if on cue though, large groups of greedy starlings have shown up again to consume more than their fair share of suet. European starlings were brought to the US originally to New York City back in the 1890 as a part of someone’s cerebral flatulence to populate Central Park with all the birds mentioned in Shakespeare’s works. They since have become nuisance birds, crowding many native species out of their original niches and the large flocks have become hazardous for aircraft safety.

Starlings have also been identified as carriers of Campylobacter and Salmonella, capable of spreading these pathogens from farm to farm. More recently starlings are being studied as possible vectors of some of the recent E. coli outbreaks on vegetable produce. Turns out the strain of E. coli found on some of the area dairy farms near vegetables identified as contaminated is the same as that carried by local starling populations. Studies are being conducted at Ohio State University thanks to a grant from USDA.

Area farmers are putting the finishing touches on fall field work. Anhydrous ammonia prices have skyrocketed, reaching $600 per ton commonly across the area. Supply has been less than stable as well with some able to only apply a tank or two a day. Fall tillage is nearly completed and fields have worked up surprisingly well, given the wet conditions that had us wondering not more than 6 weeks ago if we’d ever get the crop out.

Even managed to get the big barn at the ranch cleaned finally. Was wondering while loading the spreader if the snowflakes were real or there were just some beeswings floating around the yard. They were real alright. Sometimes it feels like barn cleaning has become more calisthenics for my aging joints although I do enjoy playing with the toys. Like every other farm operation, raising livestock is a rough sport. While the exercise component (Mandelbaum! Mandelbaum!) of manure handling isn’t what it used to be, you still need to use the pitchfork to clean up the little messes left behind by the skid loader. Getting bounced around for a couple days and jumping on and off of equipment umpteen times, one is always stiff and sore. Reminds me of the visit I had one time with a dairy farmer from Owatonna. Not so long ago when milk prices were in the dumper he was convinced the only thing he was getting out of milking cows was the exercise, If he wanted a fitness program, he told me, it would be a lot cheaper to join the YMCA. Hard to argue with logic like that.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

Get your motor running, Head out on the highway...

After surviving a pre-Thanksgiving feast dusting of snow, the scurs are setting their sites on the upcoming week’s forecast. Unfortunately it contains none of the warm temperatures from this past weekend. Wednesday and Thursday are twins with highs both days of near 30 and lows of 15. Slight chance of snow for Wednesday. Colder Friday and Saturday with highs of 25 and lows around 10. Sunday, Monday and Tuesday highs of 20 – 25 and lows around 10. Normal high for November 30th is 33 and normal low is 15, the same we experience the last week in February. We have lost approximately 13 minutes of daylight in the past week. The scurs have eaten their last piece of pumpkin pie as they peruse the circulars for Christmas bargains.

Did it seem like Thanksgiving came early this year? That’s because it did. Thanksgiving is traditionally the fourth Thursday in November in the US. That means that Thanksgiving can come anywhere from November 22nd to November 28th when the month begins on a Friday. The good news: The little fat buddies get to feast early. The bad news: They get one more week of Christmas shopping.

We had numerous guests for Thanksgiving Day. They included chickadees, blue jays, red-bellied, downy and hairy woodpeckers, a flicker, mourning doves, goldfinches, white-breasted nuthatches, dark-eyed juncos and the smallest of them all, a red-breasted nuthatch.

Stopped out at One Stop last week to get a bite to eat for lunch. I got the chicken and wild rice soup (No soup for you!) and the female half of the Bandwagon star duo informed me they had just caught the banty they made the soup from that morning with one of those “hooker-thingies”. What she was referring to of course was those leg hooks that were commonplace on most of the farms we all grew up on. The hook on the end was used to slip under the chicken and when pulled would allow you to reel the chicken in. If you didn’t have one or couldn’t find the one you thought you had, a long piece of #9 wire could quickly be fashioned into one of those “hooker-thingies”. Oh yes, the soup was real good.

With the holiday weekend, the sheep were brought home from the kindly neighbors pasture. Not without a struggle however. The sheep were up around the barn which his usually a good sign. However, some of the ewes had other ideas. The dogs and I had them where we wanted them and were about to close the door when suddenly, 7 or 8 of them bolted for the hills. Noticeable amongst them acting as ringleaders were a couple ewes from a friend who had brought them over to breed. Penned the cooperative ram and ewes in and went off to see if we could find the others.

Sent Lucy to find the group and she brought part of them up but some were still being stinky about it. Made her go back and bring the others up which she did beautifully. After some coaxing they decided we meant business so they went in as Lucy held them while I grabbed the barn door and slid it shut. Earlier in the week was a little worried that Lucy might not make the trip. Had taken her to the vet to examine a lump on her leg. After a biopsy the news was good: Benign for now anyway. At 10 going on 11, not sure how many more sheep round-ups she has left in her. Was sure glad she made this one though. Seems like it’s getting a little farther to the north end of the pasture each year.

‘Tis the season to bring all the animals home including some of the rams we’ve leased out. We don’t lease very many rams out because frequently those who lease them are doing so because simply because they’re cheap. They’ll want to haggle on the price and when the animal is returned, it’s in poor condition. However, a gentleman by Chatfield has been leasing a ram from us every fall for years and this one was no exception. When we first met Gary Stolz years ago wasn’t just sure how it would turn out. Here was a guy wearing Harley clothing, sporting a bushy beard driving a little Suzuki 4x4 pulling a small 2 wheeled trailer with a pickup topper on it. He wanted to buy a half-dozen ewes, some with lambs at side. We had some and he didn’t bat an eye at the price. He’s increased his flock to about 30 head and keeps coming back every fall to get a ram to use. Every year the ram comes back in better shape than when he left.

Turns out he works at Mayo and since he lives on an acreage near Chatfield from which many of the Bernard clan hail, we’ve been able to connect the dots on mutual acquaintances. He spins wool into yarn and knits his own creations. Gary’s made stocking hats from the natural-colored (black) Cheviot ewe they had and the one thing he’s made I’ve always been impressed with is a neck warmer made to fit down inside your shirt for those cold winter days on the prairie when the wind blows.

When he showed up Saturday, we were able to back right up to the pen to unload the ram, something that made all of us happy since we didn’t have to handle the tightly wound beast. We visited about tractor restoration. He and his Dad recently restored the Massey 33 he'd had when he was farming. He brought photos along of the finished product and it was flawlessly done, his Dad proudly seated behind the wheel. Gary paid me for use of the ram and then said “Oh, almost forgot”, as he ducked back inside the Suzuki and produced a neck warmer he’d made himself from the Cheviot wool he’d spun. “This is for you.” It was perfect. Somehow he knew. First impressions? Sure, they’re important but one should never judge a book by its cover.

See you next week…real good then.

[buzzsaw]

Keep up the good work, Dotch!

[Dotch]

We come from the the land of the ice and snow...

After getting their Christmas gift lists in order, the scurs get down to brass tacks with another week’s weather forecast. Below normal temperatures for much of the week with some snow potential. Some relief possible early next week. Wednesday through Friday, highs of 20 and lows between 5 and 10. Slightly warmer Saturday with highs of 20 – 25 and lows near 10. Chance of snow Wednesday through Saturday. Sunday and Monday it warms up with highs near 35 and lows of 15 – 20. Tuesday slightly cooler with a high of 25 and low of 15. Snowfall is also a distinct possibility. Normal high for December 7th is 30 and normal low is 12, the same range we’d expect to see in mid-February. We’ve lost another 9 minutes of daylight in the last week but the rate of loss is declining. The scurs are stoking the pot bellied stove in the parlor, mesmerized by the light flashing through the mica vents.

Last Saturday’s storm took many of us somewhat by surprise until we realized it is December. Still, after experiencing high temperatures near 50 on November 25th, it was a shock to the system to experience the sub-zero wind chills one week later. True enough we had to endure the greasy skid stuff on Friday but the glaze left from the freezing rain one day later caused church services to be cancelled and a tendency for those who didn’t need to travel to hunker down. A wise idea. There will be more church services and risking life and limb to get there doesn’t make much sense.

St. Olaf Lake froze over hopefully for good sometime during the middle of last week. Up until Thursday there had been ducks sitting on the ice shelf on the west end of the lake and 4 swans were sighted one morning on my drive in to the Mall for Men. Sunday, wedges of geese were spotted heading south almost like wave after wave of bombers. Not sure if they were locals from one of the area municipalities or if they’d seen enough and were heading south where water would be open for awhile.

Even though it’s been cold, the bird activity at the feeders has been at a fever pitch, especially on either side of the storm. All the regulars were feeding heavily along with some newcomers, the tree sparrows. Thought perhaps the flicker would leave but she’s still here. How can one tell it’s a female? It has no “moustache” same as most of the human female population. The chickadees were distraught when I let the feeder on the south side of the house run out. Was rewarded however when they decided the sunflower seeds in my cupped hand were safe to eat, landing, picking one out quickly and retreating to a nearby branch.

Gus and Lucy have put on some tremendously heavy coats thus far. They needed them too as they struggled to maintain their balance in the wind on the icy slopes as they did their business. They’ve become spoiled with their new winter abode in the heated garage. Their new doggie beds have made it even more comfortable and the leftover Lion’s pancakes hit the spot. Swallowed whole not sure they even tasted them. Reminded me of the little fat buddies inhaling a plate of Christmas cookies.

Moving snow for those who had to get out was a challenge. The ½ - ¾” ice on top coupled with the almost granular like snow underneath was tough to blow and equally as ornery to move with the bucket. Several times chunks that came loose resembling cement blocks or sheets of plywood. With no cab, it was definitely time to break out the long handles Sunday after that experience.

Marianne wanted to hear more possum stories and sure enough, there are more. They’re like fleas this year I swear and others have said the same. Wound up face to face with one at the kindly neighbors before leaving there before Thanksgiving and had to improvise with a fishing spear. Not sure when the possum spearing season starts but I’ll be ready for it. I was concerned the other night that one had wriggled up the downspout and was crawling around in the eave troughs or was on the roof as they can climb like a ring-tailed lemur. Went outside to look and nothing visible anywhere. Audible however was the ice falling off the trees on top of the ice, making an interesting echo off the side of the house. Mr. Cheviot 9, Possums 1.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

Separate the wheat from the chaff...

The scurs were embarrassed when Sunday missed the high they predicted last week by only 20 degrees. They’ll be staying out of the holiday eggnog for awhile. After early week snow showers, this one is dry but cool. Wednesday high of 20 and low of 10 followed by a scorcher on Thursday with a high of 25 and low of 5 – 10. Back to reality Friday through Sunday with highs of 15 and lows of 0 to 5 above. Monday and Tuesday: warmer. Highs Monday of 20 and low of 10. Tuesday’s high is a blistering 25 and a balmy low of 15. Normal high for December 14 is 27 and normal low is 9. We’ll have 8 hours and 56 minutes of daylight on the 14th and we’ve lost only 6 minutes of daylight since the 7th. The scurs have rented “It’s a Wonderful Life” to see if George Bailey really can lasso the moon.

Days are getting shorter but that will soon change. Someone came in overjoyed that the sun will begin setting later December 14th. That’s the good news. The bad news is it continues to rise later until December 27th (7:48 a.m.) and continues to rise at that time until January 9th. Daylight hours will begin to get longer on December 26th, something to look forward to in what has started out to be winter as we once knew it. With the ground snow covered as early as it has been and with the days as short as they are, a substantial warm up is unlikely for awhile.

The ice the weekend before last has been treacherous. With the every few days’ worth of snow on top of it, it’s kept the hospital wards busy with their fair share of sprains and broken bones. Had the pleasure a couple times this past week of suddenly winding up on my behind. How I managed to keep from breaking the eggs and several glass jars when falling at the grocery store is beyond me. The yard at the ranch being on a slope, it’s easy to find places to go for a digger. Luckily no one saw me either place and hopefully they didn’t hear me. The air wasn’t just blue from the diesel exhaust.

Decided it’s time to go looking for a Christmas tree, all the while avoiding the Charlie Brown Christmas tree. Hopefully as of this writing there are still some left. All is not lost however. If I don’t find a tree, Festivus is back! I’ll get the pole out of the crawl space. Maybe if I eat enough pickled herring in me I’ll be prepared for the feats of strength.

Wasn’t more than a few hours after the last column went to print that we had pheasants roll through the yard. With much of their food froze down and more snow piling on top of it, their survival may be compromised. Had a lone grackle at the feeders this weekend. Seems to like the suet and the ear corn feeder the best. More stragglers this year than we’ve seen in awhile. The flicker is still here and there are a handful of mourning doves that clean up under the feeders. The goldfinch numbers continue to swell and they empty the thistle sock in the crabapple tree every 2 – 3 days.

With the ice and cold, doing “chorse” every morning and night starts to wear on a person this time of year. Nothing like when we were growing up though. It was a few years before we had lights in the barn and we never had lights in the chicken coop. Always a trick to hold the flashlight and protect the egg bucket while attempting to dislodge some old biddy hen from the galvanized nesting boxes. Most frustrating when they’d jump out of the nest suddenly and upset the egg bucket on their way down. On the bright side, at least those eggs would usually be warm and not frozen as some laid earlier in the day.

Looks like field operations have ceased for the year. Tilers have encountered 10” of frost on soybean stubble. On the lakes, there is up to 8” of ice. Might be a good place to contemplate life and what the fertilizer prices will be for the upcoming year. Commodity prices continue to show strength; who would’ve thought old crop wheat would ever reach over $10 per bushel? While the cost of the wheat in a loaf of bread has roughly tripled in the past 3 years, the price per loaf locally for the store brand has remained relatively stable, not much different than 3 years ago. Too bad we can’t say the same about a gallon of gas or diesel.

Lucy’s 11th birthday is the 18th. Doesn’t seem all that long ago that I went to IL and picked up the little red and white smooth coat border collie puppy. She’s been a very special animal to be sure, and if I can communicate properly, one that always tries her best to do what’s asked. Fortunately, she understands more English than some people I know. Wish I’d had a dog like that when I was a kid. Think she really would have eaten my homework! Best of all, as she’s aged, she’s become more cunning. She knows when the going gets tough, it’s time to take a nap.

See you next week…real good then.

[Steve Foss]

Thanks, Dotch.

Our border collie, Molly, is 13 and on the decline. Soon the time will come, but there's no need to rush ahead to meet things that are waiting for you anyway.

The years fly, don't they?