Caught in the rain

The scurs and Weather Eye delivered a kinder, gentler forecast last week. Is Old Man Winter waiting in the wings this week or has he left for spring training? Starting Thursday, mostly cloudy with a fair chance of evening rain and snow. Highs in the upper 40's with lows in the upper 20's. Partly sunny Friday with a fair chance of evening snow.

 

Highs in the low 40's with lows in the upper 20's. Mostly cloudy on Saturday with a good chance of snow. Highs in the low 40's with lows in the mid-20's. Sunday, mostly cloudy with a good chance of forenoon snow. Highs in the mid-30's with lows around 10 above. Mostly sunny on Monday with highs in the low 20's and lows around 10. St. Patrick's Day, mostly cloudy with a slight chance of rain. Highs in the low 30's with lows in the mid-20's. Mostly cloudy on Wednesday with highs in the mid-30's and lows in the low 20's. On the 13th we'll see sunrise at 7:30 CDT. Our daily gain in daylight increases to three minutes and two seconds on the 12th and by the 15th, we've picked up 3 hours of daylight since the winter solstice. On St. Patrick's Day we'll see 12 hours of daylight. The normal high for St. Patrick's Day is 40 and the normal low is 23. The scurs are ready for March doing March things.

 

We got back to more spring-like temperatures this past week and were treated to an old-fashioned springtime thunderstorm last Friday night. Amounts varied anywhere from .4" - 1.45" in the Bugtussle gauge. Watching the mud around the yard was starting to get old, but on Monday morning, the frost was out at the SROC where it's measured there on bare soil. I'd noticed on Sunday that it was largely out at the ranch, except in areas that had been shaded or under heavy cover in the grassland. The pasture had a tinge of green to it as well. The sheep wasted no time capitalizing on that, not unlike a kid finding their first puddle of the spring. On Monday the dooryard had gone from slimy and slippery to tacky but firm underneath. Progress.

 

Progress on many fronts at the ranch over the weekend. We finished sharing up shearing Saturday. Not that we had a lot of head to shear, but they were all split up into small groups which meant lots of jockeying animals around. Luckily we had great help; people who could see the next step and if someone needed a hand, they were right there.

 

We finished by noon and had plenty of food to gorge ourselves. Sunday I got the fence back in order after the winter and deer had ravaged it. When I plugged it in to check it, it blew four bars on the tester. Perfect. Probably as early as I can remember the fence being operational. The ewes yet to lamb have been lounging as though they're at some beach resort sipping piña coladas. Soon time for them to get to work and for the ewes with lambs to occupy the lot by the road. It's fun to watch the lambs run with fewer chores. America wins.

 

It's been an exceptional spring so far to be outside watching and listening to the migrating waterfowl. Sunday we were treated to several large skeins of white-fronted geese, also known as speckle bellies or specks. They were up high where it'd take a surface to air missile to bring them down during hunting season. Canada geese are numerous, although they've been flying at lower altitudes. One small flock of snow geese made its way north of the ranch during Monday morning chores. What's probably the most interesting though is checking the barns before bedtime.

 

Sunday night I was amazed by the honks, squeaks, squawks and quacks as I made my way across the dooryard. I could only imagine what might be flying overhead.

 

St. Patrick's Day marks a sad day in automotive history 60 years ago. On March 4, 1966, operations would be shutting down; the last Studebaker rolled off the assembly line on March 17 in Hamilton, Ontario. They had produced fewer than 9,000 cars for that model year. Studebaker's 114-year history as a transportation company was over. From its humble beginnings as a wagon and carriage manufacturer in 1852, it began automobile manufacturing in 1902. Struggling through the Great Depression, it emerged to be a major contributor to the WWII effort.

 

Studebaker built over 63,000 engines for B-17 bombers and several hundred thousand trucks, most of which were sent to the Soviet Union. After the war, Studebaker built some of the most beautiful cars on the road, often ahead of their time. Some were also extremely fast, ushering in the muscle car era with the '56 Golden Hawk and later setting production auto speed records at the Bonneville Salt Flats with the Avanti. That part of the company's history ended.

 

However, Studebaker was not done yet. It continued on in 1967 as part of a merger involving Studebaker Corporation, Wagner Electric and Worthington Corporation. Studebaker had amassed a portfolio containing other companies over the years. When automobile production ceased, they still owned Onan, Gravely lawn tractors, Clarke Floor Machines and Schaefer Chemical Compounds, the company making STP. Jettisoning the automobile division, they were actually more profitable in 1966 than 1965. The Studebaker corporate name totally disappeared in 1979 when McGraw Edison acquired Studebaker-Worthington Corporation. It still left an indelible imprint on automobile and American history, something to think about when driving the Silver Hawk.

 

Poppy has enjoyed having her yard dry up enough so she's not getting all mud every time out. Actually, it's probably just avoiding getting her feet wiped off that makes her day. It's nice to have her outside with us though. That way she can get as much Corgi dawdling in as she wants. When she stays where we can see her, it's all good. The traffic moves at a ridiculous pace on our blacktop as one poor whitetail had the misfortune of discovering. An eagle spotted the roadkill and was perching in the tree behind the house waiting for the coast to clear. Probably a good idea for Poppy to stay in the house when that happens. Plenty of time to chase bunnies and squirrels when the eagle isn't around.

 

See you next week...real good then.