The scurs were close once again with their temperatures but missed the rain that fell on Sunday. Will they clean their crystal ball better this time around? Starting Wednesday, mostly cloudy with highs of 15 and lows near 5 below. Colder and cloudy for Thursday with highs struggling to make it to zero and lows dropping to 10 below overnight. Partly cloudy and warmer for Friday with a slight chance of snow in the evening. Highs of 10 – 15 with lows near 10. Partly cloudy and warmer for Saturday with highs of 25 and lows around 10. Partly cloudy and slightly warmer with highs near 30 and lows around 15. Mostly cloudy with highs of 25 and lows of 15 – 20. Mostly cloudy and warmer again for Tuesday. Highs should reach 35 with lows near 20. The normal high for February 2 is 24 and the normal low is 5. We will experience a few minutes more than 10 hours of daylight on February 4th for the first time since early November 5th. The scurs are just hoping they see their shadow on the 2nd, meaning spring is just around the corner. It usually is, only somewhere farther south.
We continue to struggle accumulating much for precipitation although we did finally manage to garner some measurable snow, 1 inch, finally, at the ranch. It was so fluffy however, there wasn’t enough moisture in it to even make a hundredth of an inch worth of water. It was enough however to cover up the remaining patches of ice, making booby traps in the yards which Mrs. Cheviot discovered too late. When the afternoon winds came up however it was all in the fencelines, ditches and groves once again. Something that was of a concern on Friday was the presence of blowing soil with the lack of snow cover. While it wasn’t long lived it still served as a reminder of how dry it is and how long it is yet until spring is likely to arrive. Luckily the Sunday and Monday night rains came to the rescue, dumping .2” and .08” respectively at the ranch. To our benefit, the rain didn’t run off. While rain in the winter can be a real pain, about the only thing that happened at the ranch was loss of satellite TV reception.
It has remained deceptively slippery on the highways and byways however in spite of the recent warm air temperatures. Watching the weather as is my wont, it only makes sense that when we’ve had zero or below for highs that the road surfaces will refreeze with a vengeance. Apparently for some this is not the case as they continue to tailgate and travel at unsafe speeds. Now, I drive a 4-wheel drive pickup and have for much of my life. I am equipped with tow straps, tow hooks, clevises, chains, etc., to pull people out. However, my inclination when I see people driving like maniacs who end up in the ditch is to (1) smile, (2) wave, (3) utter some vituperation and (4) keep driving. And while you likely won’t get a ticket, there are plenty of friendly tow truck operators who will gladly take your money.
Ruby hasn’t allowed the recent cold or ice to change her daily routine much. She uses her toenails as ice cleats and is ready to go whenever the words “do the chores” are uttered. She’s had some company too as Fudgie has made an extended stay. It’s a big job to roust the brood ewes from their slumber outdoors in the 10-below stillness of a dark morning. Both Border Collies get plenty of exercise running between the house and barn while keeping the sheep eyeballed and intimidated with their ferocious growling. Now if that energy could just be channeled into hauling buckets and bales we’d really have something.
Ruby still responds to “Should we watch the Gophers?” although the way the men’s basketball team played the past couple weeks I’m not exactly sure why. What looked like a program turning the corner now looks more like one that made a wrong turn down a dark alley. The same players who were contributing to their wins have suddenly disappeared in their losing streak. The hockey team however continues to make those hours after chores enjoyable. Even when they’ve lost, there’s been no question about their effort. Perhaps the basketball team could learn something about team play by watching some hockey game film sometime. Or perhaps giving them sticks would help.
Our little feathered friends, the redpolls, continue to delight, their numbers at the birdfeeders swelling to a couple dozen over the past couple weeks. While I’m not sure if the cold made them more numerous, it probably didn’t hurt. More thistle seed has been procured to satisfy their hunger. Several, including a former pygmy goat farmer and his muffin, have also noticed these numerous wayward little finches. The redpolls are towards the south edge of their winter range here but seldom do we see numbers such as we have this winter. As I restocked the thistle feeder, a couple more ears of corn were put in place. The red-bellied woodpeckers were glad to see them as were the super-sized blue jays. There has been a Cooper’s hawk sighting as of late so that has suddenly meant fewer house sparrows and starlings. He’s always seems happy to have them over for lunch.
Speaking of lunch, there was another sighting of an impromptu little fat buddy meeting last Thursday noon, which oddly enough coincided with Artery Clogging Day at the Willows. There were 6 little fat buddies in total, snarling and hurling epithets at one another while waiting for their food. When the plates arrived, it looked like a hungry pack of wolves working over a deer carcass. You wouldn’t want to stick your arm in there or you could lose a limb.
See you next week…real good then.