The scurs and the Weather Eye continue on a tear. Someone must’ve given Old Man Winter a sedative. Do we start talking about an early spring or does the old curmudgeon have other plans? Starting Wednesday, mostly sunny with highs in the low 20’s and lows around 10. Thursday mostly sunny with a slight chance of snow. Highs in the mid-20’s with lows in the mid-teens. Mostly cloudy on Friday with slight snow chances decreasing later in the day. Highs in the upper teens with lows in the upper single digits. Saturday, mostly sunny with highs in the low 20’s and lows in the mid-teens. Mostly cloudy on Sunday with a modest chance of snow. Highs in the upper 20’s with lows in the upper teens. Monday, partly sunny with a slight chance of snow. Highs in the mid-20’s with lows in the low 20’s. Partly sunny for Tuesday with highs in the mid-20’s and lows in the mid-teens. On the 9th, a week after Ground Hog Day we have a normal high of 26 and a normal low of 7. Whether the scurs saw their shadow or not, we will have six more weeks of winter. We always do even when we don’t.
We escaped January relatively unscathed. Sure we got some cold temperatures but they were a far cry from what we experienced last January. Snowfall too. This time around we measured 10” at the ranch and in Bugtussle as well. Normal snowfall at the SROC for January is 9.5”. Much of our snow this time around has melted. The view across the prairie on Monday revealed a lot of soil starting to poke through across many fields. Last January snowfall was around 17” at the ranch and in town. The worst part of that was it fell during the last half of the month and much of it stayed. Once into February it got serious about snowing.
We finally saw the sun! Oh ye of little faith. It took until a brief spell on Friday then we got the forenoon sun on Saturday after many forecasts had changed indicating we wouldn’t see it period. Sunday was absolutely glorious with highs in the upper 30’s. People were downright giddy and who can blame them? One could hear the hustle and bustle across the landscape as snowmobiles were out on the trails, knowing their days might be numbered. Ice fishermen were out as well, knowing that with 16” – 18” of good ice they could drive out and park largely wherever it suited them.
At the ranch the cabin fever was starting to take its toll as well. Both Saturday and Sunday were good days to do things like move snow away from the LP tank, scrape the ice off the walk, fill the bird feeders and shovel the snow off the patio so the grilling could commence. It had been a while and there’s just something about preparing food outside that doesn’t have to be boiled, fried, baked or nuked that’s very satisfying. With the power the sun had already mustered it was amazing to watch the snow disintegrate on the dark colored pavers. To look out and see the large blocks of snow piled in testament to the effort it took made it that much sweeter.
The sheep liked the thaw as well. It’s interesting to notice them eating the snow when it becomes good snowball packing consistency. The subsequent reduction in water consumption is evident when you peer in the tank and notice not much has been consumed. The bad thing of course is in their full fleeces, there’s little reason to get inside to lamb. They’re warm and using sheep logic therefore everyone else is including a newborn lamb born outside. One ewe demonstrated that on Sunday, getting on the leeward side of a brush pile and completing the birthing process there. We were expecting nothing less and got them corralled in short order. We’ll change their strategy for them shortly with shearing slated in the near term. If temperatures remain moderate it should make everyone happy.
Chores have been much easier this winter than last so far without the constant snowfall and subzero temperatures to deal with. The additional round bale feeder makes the process go more quickly and there have been several times when the small water buckets haven’t frozen. We’re still graced with the presence of a surprisingly large contingent of pheasants to entertain us at choretime. Monday morning as we headed into the garage a group started flying out of the pine trees in the front yard. I lost count at about 20 and they kept coming. Good to see numbers that we hadn’t seen since the early days of the CRP.
The bottle lamb continues her extended stay in the house. She really grew this past week, a far cry from the half frozen baby beaten by her mother and left to die. The lamb’s wheels have really developed as has her Cheviot sense of curiosity. You really don’t want to turn your back on her. She’s gone in a flash, checking out the bedroom or the houseplants. The bedroom carpet and the houseplants attract her like a magnet. Fortunately she likes to be picked up and brought back to the entry way, convinced it’s feeding time. She’s usually right. And since she likes nibbling on the houseplants, we’ve given her a handful of hay and starter pellets to pick at. She’s about ready for the next step and that’s to move her kennel to the garage. Edging closer to time for her to learn she is a sheep.
Sometimes I get the urge to watch a movie especially on nights when Gunsmoke isn’t on. I saw The Last Picture Show Sunday night, a movie I hadn’t seen in over 40 years. Several Hank Williams tunes are featured and it sets the tone well for a movie about teens coming of age in a small dying town in north Texas circa 1951. The cast was star studded and including names like Cybil Shepherd, Jeff Bridges and Randy Quaid whose movie acting careers were in their fledgling stage. There was also some nudity and strong language which made it somewhat risqué back in 1971, at least in some circles. After watching the flick I had several thoughts, primarily that adolescents really haven’t changed much emotionally since then, small, dying towns are still dying and there were a lot of old Fords, Chevys and Buicks involved. No Studebakers however. Must not have been any dealers nearby.
See you next week…real good then.