With most of the snow now gone, the scurs can focus on getting the temperatures right. Will our snow-free luck continue? Starting Wednesday, mostly cloudy with a good chance of rain becoming snow after midnight. Highs of 40 and lows near 25. Thursday, partly cloudy and cooler with highs of 30 and lows of 15. Partly cloudy on Friday with highs of 25 and lows around 15. Partly cloudy and warmer on Saturday with highs of 30 and lows of 20. Sunday, warmer again with a chance of overnight rain/snow mix. Highs of 35 – 40 and lows near 25. A slight chance of snow Monday with highs near 30 and lows around 20. Mostly sunny for Tuesday with highs of 30 and lows of 15. The normal high for December 15th is 26 and the normal low is 9. The scurs will be taking some time off from preparing to get mentally prepared for Christmas shopping. Lots of time yet.
The December 10th early morning eclipse largely was a disappointment in this area of the state, although it was probably more interesting than what we’d been led to believe. From the view at the ranch, about ¾ of the moon was covered by the earth’s shadow when it disappeared under a cloud deck before setting. That’s O.K. If we can wait until November 28th, 2012, we can see a penumbral eclipse at moon set. In 2013 we’ll see a penumbral eclipse on May 25 and a total eclipse again on April 15th, 2014. Of course if the Mayans are right we won’t have to worry about it.
The snow has largely disappeared from the landscape and much of it has ended up in the ground as dry as it is. Add some of the forecast rain to the mix and we may be starting to recharge our soil moisture. There is still a long way to go and anything at this point is welcome. Looking at many of the small wetlands and shallow ponds in the area certainly makes one aware of that. Interestingly enough, St. Olaf Lake has opened back up again amid reports of other area lakes still maintaining a cover of ice. The geese that stayed on the lake until the initial freeze up and the strong winds over the weekend probably had a lot to do with it. There is still an ice shelf in the NW corner of the lake visible from the road however, reminding one that it won’t take long once it gets cold to refreeze.
The chickadees are back again at the ranch! Yeah, it’s no big deal to some but to those of us loyal birdfeeders; it’s like it just isn’t winter if those little guys (and gals) don’t show up. The birds in general have been keeping a much lower profile at the feeders than some winters in recent memory. Others who are avid bird feeding fans are reporting much the same. It does keep the bird seed budget more in line to be certain. The irruption of redpolls and siskins a few years ago is still fresh in my mind when filling the thistle feeders. Trying to keep up with them was almost impossible and makes the weekly trek to fill the feeders seem like a cakewalk.
Slow steady progress is being made on the Studebaker project. The carburetor is getting a thorough going over at Pete’s Service. A wise idea before discovering the mouse urine found in the air cleaner also damaged the carb. More literature has also been procured to help expand knowledge of the model and trim package. The most recent yet-to-arrive purchase from the Studebaker National Museum includes what’s known as the factory production order.
By supplying the VIN#, this basically will tell me what options the original car was equipped with, date of manufacture, the destination (likely Marzolf Implement in Spring Valley, the local Studebaker dealer), the paint color (there were two different colors of blue used on 1960 Larks) and other info to hopefully make the restoration go more smoothly. There are some items on this vehicle that were likely add-ons such as the hood ornament, some additional trim and a side-view mirror. Studebaker was big on having some options installed at the dealership as they felt it helped keep the dealers’ shops busy. In addition, it allowed customers to purchase some options at a more reasonable price than if they had been installed at the factory.
We’re hoping it refreezes soon. With the recent thaw, Ruby really stinks after running around in the freshly cleaned barn. Somehow she enjoys frequenting the areas where the spreader traffic was heavy and there is thawed manure. Add a little moisture from the melted snow and voila! Her favorite eau de cologne!
See you next week…real good then.