The scurs and Weather Eye rebounded last week with more favorable weather for all. Can we start dealing with Mother Nature and ditch Old Man Winter, or is this nice stretch just setting us up for disappointment? Starting Wednesday, cloudy with a good chance of forenoon rain. Highs in the mid-40’s with lows in the low 30’s. Thursday, mostly sunny with highs in the upper 40’s and lows in the low 30’s. Mostly sunny Friday with a slight chance of evening showers. Highs in the low 50’s with lows in the upper 30’s. Saturday, partly sunny with a slight chance of rain. Highs in the mid-50’s with lows in the mid-30’s. Mostly sunny on Palm Sunday with highs in the mid-40’s and lows in the upper 20’s. Monday, sunny with highs in the low 50’s and lows in the mid-30’s. Cloudy for Tuesday with a slight chance of a rain shower. Highs in the mid-50’s with lows in the low 30’s. The Full Moon for this month occurs on the 28th. Sunrise will occur just before 7 a.m. CDT on the 30th. The normal high for the 28th is 46 and the normal low is 28. The scurs are rationing their Valentine’s Day goodies as they know Easter won’t arrive until next week.
The Full Moon, as mentioned, is slated for the 28th and goes primarily by The Full Worm Moon. Other variations include The Crow Moon, as crows are noted to begin calling during this moon. The Full Crust Moon was also used by the tribes of the northeast, as the snow would thaw during the day and freeze, forming a crust overnight. The Full Sap Moon is also noted, as it’s during this timeframe that maple trees are tapped and syrup is made. It was also noted as the Lenten Moon, as it was the last Full Moon of the winter. The Ojibwe called it the Snow Crust or Wild Goose Moon, and the Sioux named it The Moon When Buffalo drop their Calves. At the ranch, as it has been known for many years, The Moon of the Muddy Border Collie. Happens every year about this time. Like clockwork, I tell ya.
Warmer daytime weather with freezing temperatures at night has meant delivery of seed in the past week. Road postings are on, of course, so care must be taken to avoid overweight loads. The frost is generally out of the ground, as was indicated back on March 12th at the SROC. The majority of the moisture in the snow we had last week went right into the soil as anticipated. No marked increase in tile flow coupled with very little change in area river and stream levels would attest to that. We garnered in excess of an inch of precip in most places as a result of that snow. It may come in handy, should the dry summer some are predicting come to fruition. There was still ice on St. Olaf Lake as of Monday night, but there was a growing ring of water around the outside. Odds are, with the rain forecast through early Wednesday, it should be out this week.
There are plenty of phenological signs, too, that spring has arrived at least in principle. While harvesting the second batch of pussy willows on Saturday the 20th, I heard my first western chorus frogs of the season. As the temperatures warm into the 70’s and beyond and it stays warm at night, the sound at the ranch can be almost deafening some nights. On Monday as I was poking through the peony residue, something was rusting underneath it. A garter snake suddenly appeared and was enjoying the warm sun and mid-50 degree afternoon. Likewise, a striped gopher was above ground, checking out the yard, probably for some of the corn the squirrels buried off and on much of the fall and winter. Lord knows, there’s plenty of it. The squirrels need to work on their spacing and placement however.
Monday, I got an email asking that we install the black cutworm pheromone trap received as part of the Black Cutworm trapping network. It seemed awfully early, but I looked back and found that some years we’ve put the traps out before the end of March before, so really not out of the ordinary. In other words the climate change alarmists will be disappointed to hear that. Black cutworm moths ride the wind currents north from down south, typically on systems pumping moisture from the Gulf of Mexico into our area. No moths were captured in the trap on the initial evening, so at least we know that. Might’ve been eaten by our pet garter snake.
The snow finally got off the fence,again, and I checked to see if it was charging again. It was not again, so after chores Monday night, I grabbed my fencing pail and some extra posts. I took off in the Gator, certain that it wasn’t a major issue. Guess again. The roving band of deer in the area apparently roved their way across the road and through the electric fence in three places. They’d also chewed the tops off the hazelnut bushes since the last time I’d been in the windbreak. The first time I saw the deer the week before, I thought they were calves the Dubya’s had weaned. Their “calves” were all sort of Jersey colored and there had been no bellering a few days prior to their appearance. Once they took off and ran, their speed convinced me they weren’t calves. I also became convinced the herd needs to be thinned. The deer are taking over. Your tulips may be next.
We opened the barn area up and put the yearlings in a separate pen Sunday, so we’d be able to move all the ewes with lambs out of the lambing barn when ready. Giving the lambs that were already down in the main barn, more room was just what the doctor ordered. They finally had enough space, so they could run laps during chores. Had to wait for the traffic to clear several times while I was watering the yearlings or the little buggers would’ve taken my kneecaps off. When we get through this rainy stretch, we’ll open the paddock in front of the barn up and they’ll really be able to rip and tear. This group of lambs is well ahead of schedule, so they should really be able to fly for those who do the gawker slowdown past our place. Traffic moves pretty fast by our place, so it’s OK to pull in, park in the driveway and watch. Careful though or we might put you to work feeding bottle lambs.
See you next week…real good then.