The scurs' disillusionment with the Weather Eye continues. They’re thinking those who made blankets out of their horses once their pulling days were over were onto something. Tough to do with used automobile parts. Will the scurs begin yet another search for a Weather Eye or give Nash-Rambler and Co. one more shot? Starting Wednesday, mostly sunny with highs in the low 30’s and lows in the low 20’s. Thanksgiving Day, partly sunny with highs in the upper 30’s and lows in the low 30’s. Mostly cloudy on Friday with a slight chance of a rain/snow mix in the forenoon with snow possible in the afternoon, perhaps into early evening. Highs in the low 40’s with lows in the low 30’s. Saturday, partly sunny with a modest chance of evening snow. Highs in the low 40’s with lows in the upper 20’s. Cloudy for Sunday with a modest chance of forenoon snow. Highs in the low 30’s with lows in the upper teens. Monday, cloudy with highs in the upper 20’s and lows in the low teens. Tuesday mostly sunny with highs in the mid-20’s and around 10 above. The normal high for November 22nd is 37 and the normal low is 21. The scurs are taking solace in the fact that on the 22nd we’ll only lose 30 minutes of daylight before the winter solstice. You just can’t have it all.
The Full Moon for the month happens to fall on Thanksgiving evening about 11:39 p.m. This Full Moon goes by the Full Beaver Moon although other names include the Full Frost, Trading, Snow and Oak Moon. The primary reason for being named the Beaver Moon is it is the moon in which trappers and fur traders were collecting beaver pelts as they were at their prime. The Ojibwe called this the Freezing Moon and the Sioux denoted it as the Moon of Falling Leaves. The Lakota were to the point, naming it the Moon When Winter Begins. At the ranch it goes by the Full Barn Cleaning Moon. Much snarling and gnashing of teeth can be heard until its completion.
No one saw the -4 to -6 degree temperatures coming this past Sunday morning. It in all likelihood put an end to the arguments about whether or not we’d be seeing much more fieldwork done this fall. Certainly not the end of the world however and not the first time this has happened. Corn stalks that weren’t tilled with rotational plans for soybeans next year are easy-peasy. If conditions are dry enough for disking, that works fine or for those with planters equipped to allow no-till, it’s a no brainer. Unworked soybean stubble becomes somewhat more problematic although an early break in March weather can allow plenty of time for some light primary tillage with little or no yield penalty.
Snow two weeks in a row hasn’t deterred the various highway departments from dumping copious amounts of salt on the roadways already. Roads were white with packed on snow that while slippery, certainly didn’t warrant he kind of pasting they received. After melting off, many roadways were white again, this time because of a layer of salt. Not only is salt hard on roads and automobiles, it causes many of us to swerve around the places where the snowplow has dumped out a wad of the corrosive material. In that respect one could argue it actually makes the roadway more dangerous. And, worst of all, it’s put the final nail in the coffin for one more Studebaker cruise I’d been hoping for. Gee thanks.
It’s hard to admit defeat and declare winter just yet. The sheep remain at the kindly neighbors for the time being. They were the beneficiaries of the kindly neighbors frozen pumpkins. It took them a few days to finally bore a hole in them but once they did, it was game on. Within a few days about all that was left were a few hunks of orange pumpkin flesh. After the last snow I was somewhat concerned they needed some supplemental forage so took a few bales of hay to tide them over. When I arrived they were way out in the pasture paying little attention to me. After seeing them come on a dead run in daylight hours, it convinced me that probably wasn’t necessary. At the ranch as well, the round bales I’d put in the lot the prior weekend had been picked at a little but only briefly before the flock took off for the back side of the pasture.
Elsewhere at the ranch, preparing for winter continues at breakneck speed. The pots that kept the hummingbirds attention all summer were placed upside down in the small garden. The hope is that a sunny afternoon would thaw the soil in the pots enough to allow them to be dumped. Light bulbs that had burned out in the barn have been replaced with a few more needed before crossing that off the list. The hazelnuts that had done well this past summer had nearly been forgotten about. I feared the bunnies or deer had likely gnawed them to the ground especially with the snowfall events since mid-October. I was pleasantly surprised to find them largely untouched. Anything worth having is worth caring for so tree warp was quickly put in place. Take that, bunnies!
I made a trip to Wagner’s to procure our Thanksgiving dinner supplies. As usual I was able to find everything I needed and probably some things I really didn’t. We’re very lucky to be living in a country where food is relatively inexpensive and plentiful. And it’s nice to share. Auntie Mar Mar once again took pity on me between Hallmark episodes and baked me rhubarb cake. In addition to that Unkie Gregory delivered frozen waffles without freezer burn. I think there are still some freezer burned egg rolls in my secret stash though.
It’s even nice to share with the livestock. We pulled into Addie’s Floral shop in Albert Lea on Sunday where Mrs. Cheviot bemoaned the fact the sheep at the ranch would have to forego their usual Thanksgiving Day pumpkin feast. We had no time or soil conditions fit once we did have time to plant pumpkins. Suddenly, right in front of us we noticed frozen pumpkins and squash that adorned the front of the shop. They were in need of removal by Wednesday anyway so the sheep were in luck. And it wasn’t even Festivus yet!
See you next week…real good then.