The scurs continue to gain confidence in their latest Weather Eye. This one was rumored to be out of a ’74 AMX 401 that a little old lady only drove to church on Sunday. Will this lead to a truthful forecast or was she secretly racing it during the week? Starting Wednesday, mostly cloudy with highs in the upper 30’s and lows in the low 20’s. Thursday, mostly cloudy with a good chance of evening rain or snow. Highs in the low 30’s with lows in the upper teens. Partly sunny on Friday with a good chance of snow in the forenoon. Highs in the mid-20’s with lows near 10 above. Saturday, partly sunny with a modest chance of snow. Highs in the low 30’s with lows in the upper teens. Partly sunny for Sunday with highs in the low 30’s and lows in the mid-teens. Monday, partly sunny with highs in the low 30’s and lows in the mid-teens. Tuesday partly sunny with highs in the upper 20’s and lows in the low teens. On November 7th we will slide below 10 hours of daylight for the first time since February 3rd. The normal high for November 7th is 47 and the normal low is 29. The scurs have calculated that, given current day length trends, the sun will no longer shine in the Northern hemisphere within two years.
Many were fortunate enough to finish harvest last week and just in time with the weather deciding to give us an early taste of December. Up until the recent rain, tillage had been working as well as it had all fall. There is still some tillage that could be done although with the recent rain making the soil surface slick, it may have to wait until the ground is frozen. The same may be true of the remaining fall anhydrous and manure applications. The rains unfortunately put a damper on those livestock farmers wishing to bale cornstalks off their fields. With straw becoming nearly nonexistent in these parts, cornstalks have become the bedding of choice for many.
At the ranch we continue to monitor the weather closely and get ready for the onslaught that is sure to come. Winter weight oil and filters were purchased for the tractor and skidsteer. Putting the chains on the tractor might be a stretch just yet. Plans were formulated to get bales in place over the well pit before the serious cold sets in. Leaves were ground up with Howard the orange mower Friday night just before Saturday afternoon’s rain. The red oak leaves had formed an absolute mat over the grass, enough to smother it if something wasn’t done. It was well after dark when I started and I kept at it until 9:30. When I got off the mower I could barely move I was so cold. When I saw the thermometer I discovered why: it was 37 degrees!
We finally capitulated and started the furnace Saturday afternoon. Working outdoors in the late forenoon it was drizzling occasionally. I felt chilly even though I kept moving at a good clip. When I returned from a feed run in the early afternoon, it started to rain in earnest. I felt even colder and damper. The living room temperature was 62. We’d been running the floor heat in the addition and allowing it to bleed through into the rest of the house. That was fine when the lows were in the 40’s without much wind. Enough was too much. The thermostat was turned up after I ate lunch. I crawled under my blankie noting the Gophers football team getting pounded by the Illini. Rain was continuing to fall on the gray November afternoon as my body warmed up once again. Just in time for a nap, I thought as I dozed off.
Apparently others are looking for warmer places to hole up for the winter as well. I opened the walk-in door on the barn and was greeted by a smiling opossum. It was apparently thinking I was ready to feed him much as I’d apparently been doing the past several weeks. I thought it seemed like the cats were cleaning up a little more cat food than they probably should. I grabbed the nearest piece of lumber sturdy enough to withstand the clubbing the varmint was about to receive and administered it. I checked several days later and that possum must’ve been really good at playing possum.
There have also been some birds thinking they need to be in where it’s warmer. At the Mall for Men our office sage and I had heard something flying around inside. I’d been focused on the confuser, so it didn’t dawn on me at first. When I asked if there was a bird in the office the answer was affirmative. Luckily it was in an office where the door could be closed, so we were able to capture it and turn it loose outside. The next day I was in a farmer’s yard and had the pickup door open while reading a field map. All of the sudden a sparrow flew over my shoulder and began flying around the cab. What the…? I tried to let the thing fly out but it was determined to stay in there. It smacked into the passenger’s side window then disappeared under some stuff. I searched and could not find it, hoping that it had found the hole in the floor by the power inverter or had flown out when I wasn’t looking. It probably means it’s time to clean out the pickup although I haven’t smelled anything yet.
I’ve been fortunate enough over the years to convince Auntie Mar Mar that I subsist on freezer burned frozen waffles and egg rolls. She takes pity on me and recently sent me a slice of cherry pie. It was still warm and welcome after a long grueling day of toiling outdoors. Auntie Mar Mar is amazing. I don’t know how she finds the time to think of me when she’s so busy baking cookies and watching Hallmark movies.
And finally Ruby has a newest sworn enemy on TV. Any ad with a dog on it is a license to bark and I get that. It’s her space and they’re invading it. There was just such an ad on one night when Ruby and I were watching Gunsmoke that advertised pet supplies. It set her off while I tried to get her to shut up, which she did, eventually. That ad was followed immediately by one for Myrbetriq, a bladder control medication, featuring the little animated reddish-colored bladder character. That really got her dander up and I started laughing so hard I thought I was going to need a bladder control product! My laughter only made matters worse, making Ruby bark even louder. Once the ad was over I regained my composure and finally got her to be quiet. Mrs. Cheviot asked the next day what had upset Ruby so much. When I told her it made her laugh until she almost cried. Apparently Ruby must be the only one around here who takes bladder control products seriously.
See you next week…real good then.