The scurs were on target once again although the high temps for Tuesday were a little cloudy in their crystal ball. What’s in store for this week? Starting Wednesday, mostly cloudy with a good chance of rain. Highs of 40 with lows around 25. Mostly clear on Thursday with highs around 40 and lows near 25. Sunny on Friday with highs near 45 and lows around 30. Partly cloudy on Saturday with highs near 50 and lows staying above freezing at 35. Partly cloudy on Sunday with a moderate chance of some showers. Highs of 50 – 55 and lows near 40. Partly cloudy becoming mostly cloudy on Monday with a slight chance of a shower. Highs 50 – 55 and lows near 35. Tuesday, partly cloudy with a possible lingering shower. Highs near 50 and lows near 35. The normal high for March 10th is 37 and the normal low is 35. The scurs remind you to get up at 2 a.m. to set your clocks ahead an hour as required by law.
The Full Moon for the month of March falls on the 8th this year and goes by numerous names. The most common is the Full Worm Moon because it is during this month that the ground thaws allowing earthworms to reach the surface leaving their castings, while providing food for birds such as robins and grackles. It also goes by the Full Crow Moon as crows are bunching up making my little fat vertically challenged Swede buddy’s trigger finger itch. The moon also goes by the Full Sap Moon as it is usually time for collecting sap for maple syrup. It is also known as the Full Lenten Moon, signaling the last full moon of winter. The Ojibwe knew this as the Full Crust Moon as a crust would form overnight on top of the snow after thawing during the day. The Sioux called this the Moon When Buffalo Drop Their Calves, a very important part of a culture relying on the bison for sustenance. At the ranch, this is known as The Moon When Stinky Little Red and White Border Collies Are Caked with Mud.
Rainfall amounts last week surprised almost everyone especially since there were no major power outages due to ice accumulations on the power lines. Amounts varied around the area from 1.96” at the SROC in Waseca, 1.82” west of Bugtussle and 1.37” at the ranch. 1.37” was also received in Albert’s Leaf. How much of this rainfall went in the ground? Guesstimates from people like Mark Seeley would suggest perhaps around half of it and perhaps more in areas where the ground was tilled last fall, leaving pockets in which it could collect. This bodes favorably for early season crop growth as we should have enough in the top foot to get a crop started without worrying. For others, it was just nice to know it could still rain that much in one rainfall event. The last time it rained that much at the ranch was during the 16th of July when 2.8” was measured.
Bird activity continues at a rapid pace although no robins yet at the ranch. Others have seen or heard them however and south at my brother’s place in IA, they showed up in numbers Tuesday morning. Something tells me by the time this reaches print, they should be plentiful here. The ground may not be totally thawed so earthworms may be a short commodity until it does. In the meantime at the ranch, our Indian Magic crabapple has plenty of fruit on it to tide them over. The building of house sparrow nests in the barn has already started which is a little peculiar. This is the earliest I can remember seeing the males build them. Is this an indication of global warming? Not necessarily but it is an indication they will be defecating on things in the barn earlier than usual.
Ruby had a big weekend as we moved ewes with lambs from the lambing pens into their new home in the loafing barn. She gets to impress us with her speed, footwork and uncanny ability to keep a ewe preoccupied while we bring up the rear so they don’t double back on us. Once in the shed she lets the ewe into the alleyway and becomes a drover, something that at least makes the ewe think twice about making a run for it until we get there. Ruby apparently looks forward to this activity if the celebratory whining and whimpering following heaps of praise is any indication. It’s short lived however as once each group is in their proper place, it’s time to move another bunch. Thus the process starts all over again. The nicest thing about all of this is we haven’t had to teach the dog any of it. After running through it a few times, Ruby knows the drill.
She was curious about what I was doing during lamb check the other night when we’d started for the house though. I heard a ewe bleating where it didn’t belong. Sure enough there was one off by itself in front of the east side of the barn. After corralling the ewe and getting an ear tag number, she belonged in the other barn so I started to drag her uphill across the yard. About that time I encountered a patch of ice, discovered I was airborne and gonna land on my back, hard. After impact I determined nothing was injured except my pride and lying on her side, the ewe had apparently found the same patch of ice. Looking up, there was Ruby staring at me quizzically wondering why I was lounging around on the ground. Her eyes were saying, “Get up, dummy! We have sheep to move!” I quickly dusted myself off, grabbed the ewe and Ruby tailed her as we made our way across the yard to the proper facility. All in a day’s work.
The little fat buddies missed out on a treat on Monday. Apparently their busy schedules got the best of them and they weren’t present when CS stopped in with fresh caramel rolls. They were just as scrumptious as I remembered. The fact there was no quorum present to sample them was fine. There were more for those of us who had become famished after a long morning of seeking wisdom and knowledge. And not necessarily the kind they taught in school.
See you next week…real good then.