It's not unusual to have fun with anyone

The scurs and the Weather Eye dished up some dream fall temperatures and sunshine last week. Will Old Man Winter stay on sabbatical, or does he return to teach us a lesson? Starting Thursday, partly sunny with highs in the upper 40's and lows in the mid-20's.
Mostly sunny Friday with highs in the low 40's and lows in the mid-20's. Mostly sunny on Saturday with highs in the mid-40's with lows in the low 30's. Sunday, mostly sunny with highs in the upper 40's and lows in the upper 20's. Mostly sunny on Monday with a slight chance of rain showers. Highs in the upper 40's with lows in the low 30's. Tuesday, mostly cloudy with highs in the upper 40's and lows in the low 30's.

 

Cloudy on Wednesday with a slight chance of a rain or snow shower. Highs in the upper 30's with lows in the mid-20's. On the 22nd, our loss of daylight slows to just under two minutes per day. The normal high for November 22nd is 38 and the normal low is 22. A sneak peek at Thanksgiving Day shows mostly sunny with highs in the mid-30's and lows in the low 20's. The scurs will be looking forward to all the Thanksgiving festivities, especially the pies.

 

Another week passes with excellent weather to accomplish a lot of those things that have been back-burnered out here in the hinterlands. Brush that has encroached on waterways was removed, trees in fence lines that tear off unloading augers suddenly disappeared and headlands that remained unworked were suddenly black. Just about the time one figures that everyone's ground is well tiled, a major tiling job is completed. There are still some applying fertilizer and anhydrous ammonia as well, so fall still isn't over until it's over. At least until the ground freezes hard enough to stop progress and temperatures make staying indoors a much more attractive option.

 

At the ranch, we've been operating about the same speed. Thursday, I dug up the crocuses I'd wanted to move for several years and put them in the spring bulb bed by the house. Also planted more crocus bulbs there I'd purchased as well. Have always loved crocuses. Generally one of the earliest signs that it's spring in a flower bed. Many of the leaves that suddenly fell after the hard freeze and dried to a crackly crunch were ripe for a good grinding Friday afternoon. A buck lamb was picked up by a gentleman from Long Prairie Saturday and afterwards, the leathery oak leaves were pulverized with the mower's mulching kit. Ready for winter is ready for spring at the ranch.

 

Landscaping around the well was completed on Sunday with additional black dirt dumped in the area where we've planted cannas for many moons. Wouldn't want the hummingbirds thinking they're lost if they aren't planted back there again. Hopefully the morning glories will repopulate their spot in that area as well. After all, they're considered weeds in much of the Midwest. Now I need to move the official rain gauge back to its former spot by the well. Doing a nature hike down the hill to the garden every morning takes a lot more time. Much simpler and faster to read the gauge on my way to or back from the barn.

 

Of course, barn cleaning looms ever nearer on the horizon as the weather deteriorates. Tough to waste nice days on a job that can be done once it turns uglier. There are limits of course, but at this point it doesn't appear imminent.

 

Given a few oil changes and lubing equipment on one of the warmer days ahead, we're ready to go. After a few days' work with the skidsteer, tractor, pitchfork, and spreader, the job is done. We were lucky to get a nice load of small square cornstalk bales for bedding laid in. Few things are more soothing than seeing the ewes and lambs chewing their cuds in nice dry cornstalks inside the barn. That's especially true when the weather outside is howling.

 

With the mild late fall conditions, it hasn't been as tough keeping the birds fed as some years. I finally replaced the thistle seed in the tube feeders with fresh seed to see if that would draw in some goldfinches. Within minutes of going back in the house, several appeared. I mixed the old seed that looked and smelled decent in with the sunflower, then placed the mix in the bulk feeder. The birds emptied it over the course of the week, wasting very little, judging by the small amount on the ground. As expensive as the thistle seed is, it was nice to see something had eaten it. It's likely the bird activity will increase, especially once it snows.

 

Despite all the fall chores that need to be done, there still needs to be people time for Poppy. She made it through her appointment at the vet's office, although they discovered she'd gained a little weight. Not unusual for a Corgi. Have to cut back on treats, play more ball and have her do more zoomies. As the weather continues to cool down, it should become easier for her to burn off more calories as we spend more time outdoors with her. She loves snow, so if and when it shows up, it's one more excuse to take her outside with us. Seeing the rooster tail of snow churned up by those short legs is worth the price of admission, once you stop laughing.

 

See you next week..real good then.