The scurs and Weather Eye spoiled us last week with highs in the 50’s last Wednesday and Thursday. Are we done seeing those wonderful temps or will Old Man Winter take another week off? Starting Wednesday, mostly cloudy with highs in the upper 30’s and lows in the upper 20’s. Thanksgiving Day, mostly sunny with highs in the mid-40’s and lows in the mid-20’s. Mostly sunny Friday with highs in the upper 30’s and lows in the mid-20’s. Saturday, sunny with highs in the low 40’s and lows in the upper 20’s. Becoming mostly sunny on Sunday with a slight chance of forenoon snow. Highs in the upper 30’s with lows in the low 20’s. Monday, cloudy with highs in the upper 20’s and lows in the mid-teens. Mostly sunny for Tuesday with highs in the low 30’s and lows in the low 20’s. Thursday the 26th is Thanksgiving Day. The normal high for the 26th is 35 and the normal low is 18. Tuesday is December 1st already. As the scurs always say, time sure flies when you’re having fun.
Monday the 30th ushers in another Full Moon and it generally goes by The Full Beaver Moon. It was at this time that early settlers were gathering furs for the winter. It was also a time in which beavers were actively working to stay ahead of the winter as well. It is also sometimes called The Frosty Moon. The Ojibwe knew this as The Freezing Moon and the Sioux called it The Moon When Winter begins. At the ranch we’re inclined to call it The Barn Cleaning Moon or The Moon When Ewes Return Home, whichever comes first. Take your pick.
Still some action in area fields as the weather has held, allowing some late anhydrous ammonia and manure applications. Relatively light November precipitation and some warmer than normal temperatures haven’t hurt. The extended fall made it possible for farmers to get at some of those projects that were shelved in recent years when harvest was delayed. Lots of junk being cleaned out of groves, brush being cleared from fencelines and brush piles being burned, much to the dismay of the DNR no doubt. If you’re a skunk, raccoon, coyote, opossum or a bunny reading this, you’d probably agree.
Speaking of bunnies, one decided to rain on my parade last Friday. Needed to charge the battery for the lift on the trailer. Wanted to use it on Saturday, so had put the battery charger on it last Thursday afternoon. Checked it that night and while the battery was taking a charge, it still needed some time. Left the charger on overnight and, while the battery was up good the next morning, the battery charger wasn’t working. It was damp that morning, so figured that was the culprit when it popped the GFCI on an outlet coming out of the breaker box. Then I discovered none of the outlets in the garage were working, aside from the freezer outlet. I frantically flipped breakers to no avail until I found another GFCI tucked behind a dorm refrigerator. Pushed the reset and problem solved. Sort of.
I went to plug the charger in again and, running my fingers along the cord, I found a notch in it. Sure enough it had been chewed and luckily for the rabbit, the GFCI tripped, preventing it from being electrocuted. It was a flat three-prong cord and I had no ends to repair it. Even if I’d had a male end, the cord would’ve been about 2’ long. Rewiring another cord would’ve been time consuming if it was possible at all. I’d already diddled away an hour figuring all this stuff out. The weather was holding too, so some soil sampling that had been delayed needed to get done. No time to get another battery charger right away. The day only went downhill from there. It was cold, windy and miserable sampling on rough, ripped ground. I finished about dark due to the late start. Then I did chores and made a trip to get a battery charger after that. All thanks to a stupid bunny. Yet another reason to shoot them.
At least the birds at and around the feeders haven’t disappointed. Seems like the chickadees were in perpetual motion Sunday afternoon with the nuthatches right behind them. A new addition and a bird I hadn’t seen before was a Sunday morning guest. A female evening grosbeak came to the crabapple tree and was curious about the sunflower feeder on the shepherd’s crook. A blue jay hastily bullied her and she moved to the hackberry where I got a good look at the bird. I’d been hearing some different birdsong recently. Without a lot of time to go looking for the source emanating from the windbreak, it remained a mystery. This seems to be happening with greater frequency over the years. Yet more proof that the windbreak, neighbor David’s windbreak and our EQIP planting are benefitting not only game birds, but non-game bird populations as well.
Ruby has been having a good fall season with all the maneuvering around the yard with the tractor, skidsteer, lawnmower and the Gator. Always something to bark or growl at along with tires to bite. The latest load of equipment from Mom’s was especially rewarding, involving three out of the four machines, spread out over the course of several hours. When I finished we went in the house for popcorn, which I shared with her. We got chores done just after dark and Ruby still wanted to play ball until bedtime. By 10 o’clock, Ruby was tired after the day’s chasing around. She conked out and was snoring loudly on the bed when I tuned on Bonanza. Sometime after the first commercial break, apparently I’d joined her, waking up around midnight. Must be why they call them the Lost Episodes.
As mentioned, I continue spending portions of weekends cleaning up, hauling things home and readying the building site at Mom’s for sale. 2012 was the last year we were able to have Thanksgiving with Mom. Rather than have her clean up the house and cook everything there, we’d pick her up Wednesday night. Then we’d have her stay with us until the weekend. Since we’ve recently assimilated a lot of her personal belongings from the house, it’s almost as though a part of her is still with us. And in spite of all the COVID crackdowns, the sheep will have their traditional apples and pumpkins along with Ruby getting her giblets. While it can never be the same without Mom present, the memories will be forever.
See you next week…real good then.