The scurs and the Weather Eye are on fire. Old Man Winter continues to nod off and we continue to reap the benefits. Will our fortunes change in February or are we golden? Starting Wednesday, cloudy with highs in the low 20’s with lows dropping into the mid-teens. Thursday cloudy with a slight chance of evening snow. Highs in the upper 20’s with lows in the low 20’s. Mostly cloudy on Friday with snow chances increasing later in the day. Highs in the low 30’s with lows in the mid-20’s. Saturday, partly sunny with a modest chance of forenoon snow. Highs in the mid-30’s with lows in the upper 20’s. Mostly sunny on Ground Hog Day with highs in the upper 30’s and lows in the mid-20’s. Monday, partly sunny with a slight chance of snow. Highs in the mid-30’s with lows in the mid-20’s. Mostly sunny for Tuesday with highs in the upper 20’s and lows in the mid-single digits. On Ground Hog Day we go over 9 hours and 54 minutes of daylight, having gained slightly more than an hour of the precious commodity since the winter solstice. The sun will rise just before 7:30 a.m. on the 2nd as well. The normal high for Ground Hog Day is 24 and the normal low is 5. The scurs are likely to see their shadow. Whether they do or not, spring here in the hinterlands is always 6 weeks away, even in May.
Still, this was a kinder, gentler January than last year’s model. Last year at this time we’d faced a couple snowstorms of major proportion, not to mention enduring some of the coldest low temperatures in years. It didn’t get any better in February and in fact, overall got worse. This February brings some promise even though some weather pundits are calling for below normal temps. How far below normal is what’s debatable. One of the sources is calling for a lot of highs in the 20’s and lows in the single digits. That’s bearable and some would say if it brings the sun along for the ride, all the better. Cloudy weather with nickel-dime snowfall is the price we have paid for the above normal temps we’ve enjoyed in January. Most furnaces are not complaining.
We’re not complaining either about the lower feed consumption or bedding necessary so far at the ranch. With the warmer temps the ewe flock has been glad to sleep outside most of January. The fresh air is healthy for them. Cramming them into a barn and closing the door at night without proper ventilation is probably the worst thing one can do. It helps spread diseases such as ovine progressive pneumonia (OPP). While it’s important to have shelter to allow them to get inside during windy and inclement weather, it’s amazing how fast they want to get back outside once the weather settles down.
Hay while not lacking at the ranch is still plenty tight. The round bale supply has held up so far but the small squares are the issue. Finding some decent hay to feed without breaking the bank is a challenge. I was fortunate enough last week to get a livestock trailer full of acceptable quality, alfalfa-grass mix small squares. It wasn’t as nice and green as what I’d baled but beggars can’t be choosers. I paid plenty for them but not as much as some ads I’d looked at. Good alfalfa hay in small squares is going for up to $10 a bale. If the bales average 50 lbs., that’s $400/ton. For that price it better be good.
The bottle lamb we saved last week continues to reside in the house in spite of a near fatal bout with some bug soon after press time. Whatever it was, the antibiotic treatment seemed to help. Feeding her some colostrum we’d saved from last year in the freezer probably didn’t hurt either once the antibiotic levels went down in her system. Without colostrum it’s difficult for a bottle lamb to get their immunity built up, especially when they’ve been stressed to start with. She definitely was picking up steam over the weekend, getting much more active and banging off the sides of the tote we had her in. Sunday night the banging stopped so we figured she’d gone to sleep. Nope, she was out of the tote and trotting through the kitchen to watch TV with us. Must be a basketball fan.
Ruby’s nose has been out of joint with the newcomer in the house. We have to feed the bottle lamb numerous times a day so that amount of attention doesn’t go unnoticed by an attention starved Border Collie. Actually I’ve tried to compensate by making sure to take Ruby out with me while doing jobs like moving round bales, unloading feed, cleaning out wagons, working on equipment, etc. She can let off steam biting tires and barking as we go about it. The extra time outside and exercise is good for her. Best of all, it seems to wear her out so she doesn’t need to go outside at night as frequently. The only downside is when she sleeps on the bed, she snores loudly. Not that I really notice. It can downright shake the windows and rattle the walls when I chime in.
See you next week…real good then.