The scurs found the sun once the Weather Eye determined it still existed. Are we on a collision course with spring or will Old Man Winter send us careening off the road into the ditch? Starting Thursday, mostly cloudy with a good chance of rain. Highs in the low 50’s with lows in the mid-30’s. Mostly sunny Friday with a slight chance of a rain/snow mix. Highs in the upper 30’s with lows in the upper 20’s. Partly sunny on Saturday with highs in the mid-30’s and lows in the low 20’s. Sunday, partly sunny with highs in the mid-30’s and lows in the upper 20’s. Cloudy on Monday with highs in the low 30’s and lows in the low 20’s. Tuesday, cloudy with highs in the mid-30’s and lows in the low 20’s. Sunny on Wednesday with highs in the mid-30’s and lows in the upper teens. The new moon will occur on February 9th and Lincoln’s birthday, the real one is February 12th. The normal high for the 12th is 25 and the normal low is 7. The scurs saw their shadow so alas, there will be at least six more weeks of winter. There always is anyway. Can’t kid a kidder.
Thus far, February has picked up where January left off. More 50-degree highs are forecast and no one is complaining. Maple trees being tapped are rumored as temps get into the 40’s and back down into the 20’s at night. With the soil surface frozen in the morning, it allows for manure hauling or loading trucks without totally mangling the yards. The dry weather continues as well. January precipitation data includes Bugtussle, .55” liquid equivalent and 6.1” snow; .84” liquid equivalent with 7.5” snow at the ranch and at Waseca’s SROC.45” liquid equivalent & 5.7” snow. Normal for the SROC in January is 1.27” and 10.7” snow respectively. The frost depth at the SROC under bare soil was reported at 8” on February 1st and had decreased to only 3” on the 5th. A recent blurb on Twin Cities TV complained about the lack of snow potentially affecting soil moisture. While it may have some impact on the soil surface, when soils remain frozen, most of the snowmelt runs off or into wetlands. With our frost nearly gone, it opens up the possibility of future precipitation percolating into the soil profile. There is still a lot of winter and early spring left to cover, so careful what you wish for.
There are some signs at the ranch in the garden that the warm temps are having an impact. The miniature daffodils were noticed poking through the soil on the south side of the house January 31st. Upon seeing that and looking at the calendar date, I had to plant some radishes and a mesclun blend just to say I did it. I’ll plant some in February too, despite the fact my past efforts in early March have been abject failures. The regular daffodils started poking through a couple days later, so will have to monitor them closely. They’re close to the house and can take a fair amount of abuse from cold temperatures. However, would hate to see one of the sure signs of spring ruined. As mentioned above, the soil surface has been freezing overnight. At the ranch, it’s made feeding the ewes less sloppy. It’s also made it possible to put round bales in the lot without tearing up the yard or dragging large amounts of mud onto the yard stuck in the chains. It’s enough fun taking them off and hanging them up the way it is.
We had a couple more ewes come in last week on Thursday. Two more sets of twins with the ewes taking good care of them, no assistance needed. Three natural colored and one white lamb. The warm temperatures and dry precipitation are a real boon to their development. They’re not burning up the calories they would be if the temperatures were extremely cold or even normal for this time of year. It’s noticeable too in the feed consumption by the rest of the animals. We should be able to stretch our hay farther than first anticipated, although no one ever has too much hay. Before you know it, it’s gone and it’s time to find or bale more. Shearing comes at us on Saturday, so hoping the rain forecast on Thursday is a no-show. I can’t say for certain how many years of shearing I’ve lived through, but it’s probably somewhere north of 50. Not that I’ve always been a lot of help, but I’m there.
I continue to enjoy my nightly westerns, both television series and movies. The western channel started running Tales of Wells Fargo a while back. I shied away from it at first, thinking it was perhaps a second-rate western they were using to fill time. Once I started watching it, I became interested not only in the plots, but the actors as well. Like many of the cowboy stars of the day, these westerns often starred actual heroes and horsemen in their own right. James Arness (Matt Dillon in Gunsmoke) was wounded in WWII and the resulting chronic leg pain was later a problem when riding horses. The star of Tales of Wells Fargo, Dale Robertson, was no exception. He was a decorated veteran, wounded twice in WWII, receiving the Bronze Star and Silver Star. One of the first things I noticed about him was when he threw punches during fights, they looked very real. With good reason. He was a professional boxer prior to his serving in WWII.
His wounds didn’t allow him to continue boxing, so he started his acting career in CA upon his return home. Like Ben Johnson (Sam the Lion from The Last Picture Show) Dale Robertson was an avid horse owner and trainer. Ben Johnson was a rodeo champion in the 1950’s whose horsemanship caught John Ford’s attention. At one point, Robertson owned over 200 horses. He used his own horse, Jubilee, for the entire run of Tales of Wells Fargo. Not sure how I missed out on watching this show as a wee lad. It ran from 1957 – 1962. I would’ve been four when it ended, so it’s possible I don’t remember it, we may not have had a TV yet or perhaps it was past my bedtime. I do recall lots of evenings in my Dad’s lap watching Gunsmoke and Bonanza while playing with the ticking pocket watch he kept in the breast pocket of his striped bib overalls. It’s fun for me to watch Tales of Wells Fargo now. Each of the 201 episodes are new adventures. And like most old television series, countless guest starring actors later became big stars in their own right. It truly was the golden age of television.
Poppy continues leading her charmed life. Her morning ritual at chore time includes herding the half-dozen cats. It usually doesn’t amount to a lot of actual herding as opposed to the cats being scattered or steamrolled if they get in her way. Once the cats are safely inside and their dishes are filled, the frenzy comes to a screeching halt. One small white cat and Poppy have become buddies. They seem to really enjoy playing together and seek each other out whenever Poppy is out for extended periods of time. They chase each other around and after a while, they wear out and are fast asleep together. Who says we can’t learn to get along?
See you next week…real good then.