The Weather Eye had the right idea as the scurs predicted snow last weekend. Are we in for more frozen precip or will it be the liquid form again? Starting Thursday, mostly sunny with highs in the low 40’s and lows in the upper 20’s. Mostly cloudy Friday with a slight chance of rain showers. Highs in the upper 40’s with lows in the mid-30’s. Mostly cloudy on Saturday with a slight chance of rain. Highs in the upper 40’s with lows in the low 30’s. Sunday, mostly cloudy with a slight chance of rain. Highs in the mid-40’s with lows in the mid-30’s. Mostly cloudy on Monday with a good chance of rain. Highs in the mid-40’s with lows in the low 30’s. Tuesday, partly sunny with highs in the upper 30’s and lows in the low 30’s. Cloudy on Wednesday with a good chance of rain. Highs in the upper 30’s and lows in the low 30’s. On the 4th the sun will set at 6 p.m. and like magic on the 5th, it will set at 4:59 CST. On the 7th we slip below 10 hours of daylight. The normal high for November 5th is 47 and the normal low is 29. The scurs will dutifully change their clocks back an hour at precisely 2 a.m. on the 5th.
Harvest continues as roughly 70% - 75% of the corn has been harvested locally. Rainfall brought most fieldwork to a standstill last week with total accumulations locally from 1.5” – 2”. The snowfall on Saturday didn’t help as snow clung to the ears. Anyone who has plugged a combine full of snow knows better. Anyone who hasn’t may experience a sudden steep learning curve. The rainfall generally remains welcome as once it percolated into the soil a few days, field operations could resume with a minimal amount of mud on the roads. Tillage was also still a “go” as some tried it Sunday once the snow left. It may not allow the shattering that was occurring earlier, but the ground still appears to be working up nicely. Best of all the worries about wearing the points off the ripper in rapid fashion have been tossed on the trash heap, right on top of spraying for tar spot.
Gardening at the ranch has wound down with the digging of the cannas on Sunday. The bulbs were enormous once again and took some effort to pry loose. Ideally it would’ve been nice to dig them earlier when the soil was drier. However, I was able to get a firsthand look at the soil moisture conditions up close and personal. Wearing insulated rubber gloves, it was plain that while a little tacky, it probably would work fine for primary tillage in the field. Harvesting red osier dogwood the day before made me wonder as I didn’t track much mud back into the yard. It was a good time to get some of that cut before the snow prevented it and the wildlife gnawed off the very best stems. There were some twigs that were fire engine red. Luckily dogwood thrives on abuse. Cutting the oldest third of the branches back to the base of the shrub every year or two enhances the number and quality of the stems for the upcoming year.
The fall colors hung on a while although you just knew that after the rains, one day of strong wind and they’d be gone. At least there were still a few days’ worth of color in the trees when I arrived home from Canada. The lack of sunshine, however, made even the brightest trees seem a little dull. Thursday afternoon after a little shower, the sun suddenly peeked through the clouds. I grabbed my phone, hoping to capture some better shots than I had earlier. As I started snapping photos, I noticed a rainbow coming down over the top of the red oak tree. The tree was about at its peak, so the sunshine was just what the doctor ordered. Now if the doctor would just order the weather to warm back up and be spring again in a few weeks, we’d all be happy.
It’s a slow transition into winter with the sheep. Still enough pasture and fallen leaves to keep them occupied but where pasture is dwindling, it’s definitely time to supplement them with some grain. The mineral block tells the tale. The screenings supply hasn’t been as bountiful as it once was either so will be relying more heavily on cracked corn. That’s OK with the price of corn being more reasonable and being able to feed it more sparingly than the screenings. Probably a good idea to get it ordered when the ground is frozen solid unlike last year. No one’s fault, it’s just part of the deal. It took some doing to get all the ruts filled in and smoothed over, so no one was killed or maimed while mowing the lawn.
Poppy got reacquainted with the snow over the weekend. Her attitude hasn’t changed. She still loves it. One quick look at the large circular patterns from the high-speed zoomies in the snow and there’s no doubt. Once inside though, she morphs into a lap dog. This is always nice when you come in from chores and crawl under a blanket. Having 20 lbs. of dog adding warmth to your chilly bones never hurts. After about an hour or so there’s still a Corgi sleeping on your leg that’s fallen asleep. Eventually something has to give especially when you’re hungry. Since dogs evolved from wolves, Poppy likes to follow suit. It isn’t surprising she’s ready to grab anything that accidentally hits the floor during food prep. Gotta earn your keep when you live with a kitchen klutz.
See you next week…real good then.