After the snow left, again, the weather turned a tad nicer than the scurs had predicted. How will the predictions compare this week? Starting Wednesday, your May Basket could be slushy. Cloudy with a chance of accumulating snow. Highs near 40 and lows in the lower 30’s. Mostly cloudy on Thursday with a chance of rain and/or snow. Highs in the lower 40’s and lows in the low 30’s. Same thing for Friday with highs once again in the lower 40’s and lows in the mid 30’s. Cloudy and slightly warmer for Saturday with a continued chance of rain. Highs in the upper 40’s and lows in the upper 30’s. Sunday, mostly cloudy with a lesser chance of rain. Warmer with highs in the mid 50’s and lows in the low 40’s. Monday and Tuesday should get us back to partly cloudy skies with a slight chance of rain. Highs in the mid 60’s and lows in the low 50’s. The normal high for May 1st is 64. The normal high for St. Patrick’s Day is 40. The normal low for May 1st is 42. The normal low for April 8th is 32. The scurs are convinced their thermostat is broken. That or someone keeps flipping the calendar back and is having a good laugh about it.
Despite the cold and wet conditions, some fieldwork was accomplished over the weekend. It was however not widespread or very long-lived. A small amount of corn has been planted particularly in areas of lighter textured soil. There were fields worked down in anticipation of planting Monday only to be rained on overnight Sunday. Anhydrous ammonia, bulk fertilizer spreading and rock picking have been the order of the day for most. Fields remain just a hair too wet in many cases with some black areas apparent particularly after the overnight. Some found them wet enough when performing some of the aforementioned actions to wait before doing more fieldwork. The calendar still said April 28th, not May 28th, and given the way this spring is behaving, the key is planting once and making it count. There may not be another opportunity without taking a severe yield penalty.
So why are fields staying so wet? It’s no secret that we’ve been cold. How cold? Highs were in the upper 30’s as late as the 23rd and 24th, with the snow on the ground the 23rd, soil surface being frozen several time last week. Couple that with lots of cloudy, damp days. I recorded measurable precipitation on 17 out of 30 days for the month. and it shouldn’t come as any surprise things are in the shape they’re in. Yes, but don’t we have all this tile now that should help? It helps; however, we also have recorded 6.3” of precipitation for the month of April at the ranch. Unfortunately tile can’t make the wind blow or the sun shine. Check the weed growth. We’re just starting to see some of the early emerging species such as giant ragweed and lambsquarters. Tree buds are also a clue. Typically by corn planting time we see wild plums in bloom. This spring/winter is a throwback to the good ol’ days. Those tales your grandpa told you were true. Patience, grasshopper.
The garden at the ranch is in the same category as the planting progress in area fields. I look longingly at the small garden on the south facing slope, thinking that one day it will be fit, only to see moisture still at the soil surface. To add insult to injury, a robin was using some of the mud from the garden for a nest being constructed nearby. Seeds are ordered although when they arrive and are planted are anybody’s guess. There are several things including winter radishes and snap peas that can be planted in the summer for a fall crop, so not to worry. The rhubarb is progressing though, the warm days finally allowing actual leaves to be detected from the sliding glass door. Putting in some replacement trees had to satisfy my need to plant something, the muddy soil under sod providing a clue about the soil moisture status.
The warmth did green the grass up, and that has made everyone at least think that spring may possibly be here to stay. While the snow may sour everyone’s attitude temporarily, it won’t stay long and we can get back to more positive thinking. The arrival of new birds seems to convince me that the sky is not falling, at least not yet. After hearing about fox sparrows from the kindly neighbors, there was one in our yard too on the 25th. The redpolls they mentioned were here as well although they apparently split sometime over the weekend. They had a good run of about 3 months, their longest stay in recent memory. There are still a few juncos remaining though, apparently thinking there may be something to eat when the snow arrives. They’ve actually been eating from the feeders as opposed to ground feeding which is a little unusual. Barn swallows and tree swallows arrived almost simultaneously at the ranch on April 26th. White-throated sparrows were spotted that morning, so we’re getting closer to on schedule. A brown thrasher was also heard, although not actually seen until the 30th. Not unusual as they’re secretive and nearly as talented at hiding as the little fat buddies.
The resident rooster pheasant has continued to amuse us and some visitors alike. A friend from South Dakota was picking up some sheep to take to a show and happened by when the rooster was crowing on the edge of the lawn. We still think the rooster is a descendant of Little Jerry as he struts his stuff while dressed to kill in his breeding plumage to attract the hens. Every once in a while a hen can be seen slinking along the pasture fence then in a sudden burst of speed running as fast as they can to his lair in the plum and sumac thicket. You’d think they’d be wise to his ways by now.
See you next week…real good then.