Don't get fooled again, no, no

Sent reeling by the major spring snowstorm, the scurs and Weather Eye were wowed by Friday and Saturday's warm temps. Is Old Man Winter gone for good or does he still have a few tricks up his sleeve? Starting Thursday, partly sunny with highs in the upper 50's and lows in the mid-20's. Sunny Friday with highs in the low 40's and lows in the mid-20's. Sunny on Saturday with highs in the mid-50's and lows in the upper 30's. Sunday, mostly sunny with highs in the low 60's and lows in the low 40's. Mostly sunny on Monday with highs in the upper 60's and lows in the upper 40's. Tuesday, mostly sunny with highs in the mid-60's and lows in the low 40's. Cloudy on April Fool's Day with a fair chance of showers. Highs in the mid-50's with lows in the upper 30's. On March 27th we'll see 12 hours and 30 minutes of daylight. On the 29th, the sun will rise at 7 a.m. CDT. April 1st ushers in the Full Moon for the month. The normal high for April 1st is 48 and the normal low is 29. The scurs won't be fooled again this week. No sir.

 

The April 1st Full Moon goes by several names, the most common of which is the Full Pink Moon. It is so named due to the creeping pink ground phlox that blooms in the eastern forests. It is sometimes known as the Wind Moon and the Egg Moon. The Ojibwe called it The Broken Snowshoe Moon or The Frog Moon. The Sioux knew this as the Moon of Greening Grass, important to one of their primary food sources, the buffalo. At the ranch, we're with the Sioux. It's known as The Moon when Pastures Open Up. Usually anyway once the snow gets off the electric fence. It is a time when water buckets stay thawed and consumption of hay in small squares decreases. The hay fairy is much more content.

Speaking of that, the electric fence was still buried under a couple snowdrifts on the south side of the EQIP planting.

 

When examining it on Sunday, it was a surprise that Saturday's warm temps hadn't eliminated the snow. It was also a surprise to see all the pheasants on the run after I rousted them from their cover. Once I determined the fence wasn't touching the ground anyplace, I plugged it in. Miraculously it was charging, so I decided to dug it out of the snow Monday night. With that accomplished, the next step is to move a couple round bales and feeders into the lot for ewes with lambs at side. That will take a major amount of heat off at chore time. It'll also mean lambs running nightly. Gotta love it.

 

In the flower beds at the ranch, we saw the first crocuses start to flower last week. These were some I'd purchased last fall and stuck in quickly ahead of a weather change. Somehow, they all turned out to be yellow in color, something I didn't expect as the picture on the package seemed to indicate multiple colors. The purple crocuses I transplanted appear to be close, but only one or two have flower buds on them. The daffodils are getting very close to opening as the buds are showing yellow coloration. Saturday when I harvested pussy willows, the first chorus frogs began croaking away. Later that evening I heard some rustling in the leaf litter under the lot fence. I suspected it was nightcrawlers. When I stomped my foot, I could hear the sucking sound as they retracted and went back down their holes. Frost is definitely out there.

 

If it comes to fruition, we're blessed with a promising 7-day & 30-day outlook presently. It's looking very dry for the next week. After the snowstorm, no one is complaining about that, except perhaps some of the old car enthusiasts waiting for a rain to wash the salt residue off the roads. Beaver and St. Olaf lakes are wide open again after being nearly open earlier. Both had frozen over again after the blizzard. The 30-day outlook appears to call for even odds of above or below warmer than normal temps along with better than even odds of above normal precipitation. While the snow has largely disappeared, there is still ample evidence of its presence in groves, fence lines and road ditches. The high water content was evident when it started to melt, but it's also given it some staying power where it was the deepest.

 

Poppy gets to enjoy more time outside now it’s drying up again. Muddy feet become less common, although there are always some “delightful” smelling piles of something to roll in. Have to keep an eye on her or she’ll be wearing her favorite perfume, Eau de Ca Poo. She’s not the first dog we’ve had that’s been fond of that scent. All the Border Collies loved rolling in it. Fortunately they were easier to deal with as they could be hosed off outside.

Ruby would even hop right in the bathtub where we could work her over with the handheld shower head. A Corgi is unlikely to do that because of their short stature and even more unlikely because they’re stubborn. It’ll require being lifted into the tub. Poppy has yet to suffer that fate, although when she does, I’m positive she’ll be an absolute weenie about it.

See you next week...real good then.