The scurs were right on the money until Tuesday rolled around with some higher-than-anticipated temperatures. As the days lengthen, will the cold strengthen or are we out of the woods? Starting Wednesday, partly cloudy with a moderate chance of snow. Highs near 35 and lows around 15. Partly cloudy and slightly cooler Thursday and Friday with highs of 25 – 30 and lows near 15. Mostly cloudy on Saturday with highs again of 25 – 30 with lows cooling down to the low single digits. Partly cloudy and much colder with highs on Sunday of 10 and overnight lows of 5 below. Partly cloudy on Monday with highs between zero and 5 above and lows of zero to 5 below. Temperatures rebound slightly for Tuesday with highs stretching to near 15 and lows of zero to 5 above as we see a possible shift towards some precipitation. The normal high for January 20th is 22 and the normal low is 3. The scurs are bracing for the longer days ahead even though it means less dark in which to sleep. Naps are always a prime alternative.
We finally got on the scoreboard for precipitation in January, although we have yet to record any measurable snowfall. That’s right, at the ranch we collected .13” of rain on the 11th and at the SROC in Waseca, .22” was tallied. Frost depth there was measured at 14” back on the 8th under bare soil. Under cover or snow there would likely be less. Of course that would mean there would actually have to be some snow as much of that left with the rain and warm late-week temperatures. Probably the best part of it was since the rainfall amount was relatively light, virtually none of it ran off. However, snow left packed on the driveways made them into hockey rinks and very treacherous to navigate. It also made some of the ice fishermen who had put their houses out a tad nervous that the ice conditions on the lakes would deteriorate as they’ve done some years. Not to worry as the weekend cold came through with a blast of arctic air that reminded us what wimps we’ve become. It’s supposed to be cold this time of year.
Some have wondered what impact the open fields and cold temps have had on what appeared to be a rather large population of overwintering insects from this past summer. Probably not much yet anyway. In order for it to really trim their numbers it will likely need to get well below normal and stay that way for a few weeks in order for soil temperatures to become cold enough. The good news: If that happens it may be a good deal for killing them off. The bad news: As dry as the soils are, the risk of frozen water lines increases dramatically. Open, dry soils freeze more quickly and deeply than wet soils so careful what you wish for.
We continue to see a substantial number of redpolls at the birdfeeders, primarily on the thistle feeders. Nice to have them as the goldfinches that typically occupy them are virtual no-shows. Was afraid with the warmer temperatures the redpolls might move out but they have remained. When they’re hungry they’re fairly undeterred, remaining in the trees as one walks by. Since they’re finches their song sounds similar to the goldfinches and always makes me grab the bird glasses to see for sure who they are.
The ewes continue to enjoy what for them has been a relatively mild winter. Their 3 – 4 inch-long wool comforters are about a month from shearing and allow them to sleep outside even when temps are in the single digits. The exception of course is when there are windy conditions. While the erect ears on a Cheviot allow them to hear very well, they also catch the wind making the breed exceptionally good at finding places to get out of it. Hence part of the reason for shearing in February. Rather than dump their lambs outside in the snow banks behind the barn where they can get their ears frozen off, the ewes are forced to seek the warmer barn. This makes the whole process more user friendly, particularly for the dummy who has to pen them up.
As more garden seed catalogs continue to pile up it’s time to get the seed ordered. Last year’s drought took its toll on supplies and the prices of the seed reflect that in some cases. For instance, some varieties are sold out already or simply unavailable from the usual distributors. In addition, the muskmelon seed that used to run about $1.95 for generous packets of seed, more than I’d have room to plant, is now over $4 for a packet containing 25 seeds. Do you suppose it’s because Michelle has everybody all fired up about eating more produce, thus creating more demand? More likely to be caused by an increasing number of people throwing the rotten produce at politicians methinks.
Vista’s noted Swedish astronomer paid a visit the other day to inform me of some of the celestial changes. As January continues to roll on, we see some changes in the nighttime sky. Mars will eventually be taking a leave of absence from the western horizon. It will be several moons until it reappears. Venus will be disappearing from view low on the horizon in the early morning eastern sky after mid-month. Jupiter continues to be a little higher overhead in the east each night as chores are wrapping up around 7 p.m. I asked the astronomer if it can be viewed without the chores and he said most definitely. I might have to try that sometime.
See you next week. real good then?