The Thursday-Friday dip in temps churned out by the Weather Eye last week made the scurs groan. Have we seen the last of Old Man Winter or does he have a comeback tour planned? Starting Wednesday, sunny with a slight chance of evening snow. Highs in the mid-30’s with lows in the mid20’s. Mostly cloudy on Thursday with a modest chance of afternoon snow into the evening. Highs in the low 30’s with lows in the upper teens. Partly sunny on Friday with highs in the low 20’s and lows in the lower single digits. Saturday, sunny with highs in the upper 20’s with lows in the low 20’s. Partly sunny on Lincoln’s Birthday, the real one, with highs in the mid30’s and lows in the low 20’s. Monday, mostly cloudy with possible snow late. Highs in the mid30’s with lows in the mid-20’s. Mostly cloudy on Valentine’s Day with a fair chance of snow. Highs in the mid-30’s with lows in the mid-20’s. The normal high for Valentine’s Day is 26 and the normal low is 8. The scurs saw their shadow on the 2nd, but it was faded. The upcoming Valentine’s Day goodies should help them cast a good, dark shadow.
More moderate temperatures arrived and not a moment too soon. It hasn’t been a horrible winter thus far, but when temperatures get below zero for any length of time after having mild conditions earlier, people start to get anxious. This return to milder, more seasonal temperatures is just what the doctor ordered. Road conditions with the relative lack of snowfall so far in February have made grain hauling easier, and for those wishing to head out for some winter recreation, it’s been ideal. The frost depth did creep slightly deeper at the SROC in Waseca, measured at 10” on the 6th. Was wondering if it hadn’t moved down some as there was a big, long crack in the driveway ice at the ranch. Fortunately, it hasn’t been deep enough to heave the frame on the walk-in door to the barn. Hopefully, I won’t need it, but there’s a bungee strap at the ready just in case.
The moderate temps have meant an easier time in the lambing barn as well. With a few of them born with temps in the teens below zero, you appreciate 20 – 30 degrees very quickly. So far, we’re about 25% finished lambing in the main barn as of this writing. It’s been interesting as there have been some natural-colored (dark) lambs born to white ewes and vice-versa. This makes one think about the genetics behind the coat color. Over the years, we’ve had animals carrying the natural-colored gene, both rams and ewes. Since it’s a recessive trait, it isn’t expressed in the offspring unless both parents carry it. Even then, if both parents have a white coat and carry the dark gene, only about 25% of the lambs will be dark colored. If one of the parents is dark colored and the other white, but carrying the dark gene, it increases the odds of darkcolored lambs to about 50%. Your ovine genetics lesson for the day.
Checking for new lambs at 3 – 4 a.m. has been part of my routine since mid-January. The weather has been warm enough, so most of the sheep have been sleeping outside, even on evenings that are well below zero when wind is light. Looking at them with the flashlight every night reminds me of the scene from The Sound of Music where the Nazi’s are search-
ing for the Von Trapp family. With the sheep moving the steel hay feeders, the clanging sounds eerily like the iron gates being shaken in the movie. In order to get the ewes to go in the barn at night, shearing needs to happen soon. In a perfect world, the ewes are shorn in advance of lambing season. With all the upheaval at the ranch since mid-November, that’s been put on the back burner. They can be shorn after lambing, but it’s more labor intensive.
We’ve been blessed to observe some resident pheasants who’ve camped out in the yard much of the winter. There have been varying numbers, but they’ve been faithful visitors on a daily basis. They’ve been humorous to watch as they clean up under the bird feeders. They even got up and perched precariously on the ear corn feeder, picking off kernel after kernel as the squirrels and red-bellied woodpeckers looked on. Recently, I had some screenings that had been spilled in the barn. They were full of dirt and other debris, hardly something I wanted to feed the sheep. Scattered south of the house, however, they made excellent table fare for not only the pheasants, but cardinals, blue jays and juncos. It may not qualify under some definitions of sustainability, but ask me if I care.
Mrs. Cheviot continues making major headway on her recovery. The surgeons did a terrific job and therapy has worked wonders. She’s begun to walk again for short distances and is able to drive for the first time since her accident back in mid-November. She demonstrated satisfactorily that she was able to load the walker into the car herself, so her independence is becoming closer to reality once again. It’s also nice that she’s been able to contribute at chore time. Mixing up feed ahead, so I’m not doing it myself helps a lot, as does distributing the feed pans in the lambing barn. It’ll probably save me a couple hours per week. Last week I mentioned the walker, which was graciously loaned to us by Hope’s noted philosopher. This week a walking stick my Mom had, designed with winter in mind, was pressed into service. When it wound up in my possession a couple years ago, I figured it would likely never be used. Little did I know.
Poppy has been my faithful little companion during the countless trips to the barn. As puppies will do, her attention span wanes, and she likes to wander off into the lot. The sheep seem to accept her and are skittish when she starts heading for their hocks. Still more puppy than adult, there are subtle hints of a potential herding dog. Indoors, she continues to monitor TV shows. There have been programs with dogs featured that catch her interest, only for her to lose focus when a bird flies past the window. She seems to like The Incredible Dr. Pol, cocking her head at some of the different animals on the screen. Poppy’s favorite pastime otherwise is still watching the birds, including the pheasants. She’ll sit for long stretches in front of the sliding glass doors, especially on sunny days. Not long afterwards she’ll snuggle into Ruby’s old dog hole for a long nap on the couch. Sometimes there are little twitches and “oofs!” during that slumber. Tough to be a Corgi some days.
See you next week...real good then.