Let's do the limbo rock

The scurs with the assistance of the Weather Eye were happy to see temps rebound into warmer conditions. Has Old Man Winter loosened his grasp or is he just positioning for a better grip? Starting Thursday, cloudy with a good chance of a rain/snow mix. Highs in the upper 30’s with lows in the low 30’s. Mostly cloudy Friday with a fair chance of a rain/snow mix. Highs in the low 40’s with lows in the mid-30’s. Mostly cloudy on Saturday with more rain/snow mix. Highs in the low 40’s with lows in the upper 20’s. Sunday, mostly sunny with highs in the mid-40’s and lows in the upper 20’s. Mostly sunny on Monday with highs in the upper 50’s and lows in the upper 30’s. Tuesday, mostly cloudy with a slight chance of showers.  Highs in the upper 50’s with lows in the mid-30’s. Cloudy on Wednesday with highs in the upper 50’s and lows in the upper 30’s. On April 3rd our increase in daylight slows to under three minutes per day. On the 6th, our daylight has increased to 13 hours per day. The normal high for April 6th is 51 and the normal low is 31. The scurs will be readying their fishing poles for a trip to Boot Creek.

 

It appears we will have dodged the proverbial “March: Out like a lion” bullet this time around. We still managed to garner some moisture, however. While it wasn’t any kind of a record, it still put moisture in the soil for us. Many areas in this state and others have not been so fortunate as lake levels across much of northern MN are low. Locally our wetlands appear to be at relatively normal levels. The pond in our CRP is full, and the chorus frogs have been croaking their approval nightly. They really get fired up when temps top out in the 80’s. Get down near the pond, and the sound is almost deafening.

 

That appears to be about to change for a week or so as our evening temps dip below freezing several nights over the upcoming week. Last Saturday it was one such night as I was able to yank a tree out that was threatening to land on the fence after all the windy conditions. Frozen ground from the 17 degree low was my salvation. A few days earlier I would’ve been lucky to get out of there, let alone getting back without being stuck. There is still some snow on the north sides of groves, in some fence lines and road ditches. Much of the moisture from this snow percolated into the ground as soils weren’t frozen very deep, if at all.

 

Some oats and possibly some other small grain went in the ground on the 29th. Soil conditions were ideal in these fields with optimal moisture at planting and the promise of more to come through the weekend. Small grains have always been near and dear to my heart. Sowing oats in the spring usually under seeded with alfalfa was almost an every spring ritual. We’d get the oats cleaned, work the field, borrow the neighbor’s Case drill and 10’ at a time, away we’d go. Usually we were seeding Iowa varieties such E 70 & E 73 multiline blends, early oats that had a heterogeneous reaction to crown rust. It was one way of dealing with this disease before fungicides to control it where available.

 

Like most small grains, getting oats seeded early was imperative. As part of a system that involved feeding the oats to livestock and using the straw for bedding, it worked for us. There was always some left for sale as well. Not a big money maker, but it taught some young lads the meaning of hard work. Little did I know how invaluable this experience would be when I wound up in North Central North Dakota fresh out of college. Working with malting barley, feed barley, durum wheat, hard red spring wheat, black oilseed sunflowers and the occasional field of oats was exciting. I couldn’t wait for the next lesson on varieties, IPM, and soil fertility. The specialty crops such as flax, confection sunflowers and commercial mustard were the icing on the cake.   

 

Speaking of hard work and livestock, we were finally able to turn the ewes with lambs loose in the main lot in front of the main barn. The fence was charging at full power after the snow was removed. Self-service hay with the round bales and cutting the chores down to fewer pens made it an absolute no brainer. The lambs do much better with more room to run and lots of fresh air. We’ve noted the annual gawker slowdown when people go past, and others have asked if the lambs have been turned out yet. Our response to that is please don’t be a distracted and get in an accident. Pull in the driveway to watch them run and play if you’d like. We don’t mind and it’s much safer for all concerned. I promise not to put you to work.

 

There is always work to be done. The barns were only partially cleaned over the winter, so hopefully finish the job this spring, weather permitting. It’s like playing limbo in the lambing barn after a couple years’ worth of accumulation. Tempting to wear a crash helmet to avoid a concussion from a support or doorframe. We’ve still got plenty of bedding once it’s cleaned, regardless of whether the manure is stockpiled or spread directly on the field. Stockpiling is nice as it can be hauled anytime once the crop comes off in the fall, allowing for incorporation into the soil. Hauling it direct out of the barn works too, although the schedule sometimes doesn’t jive well with harvest and field conditions.

 

Poppy has had plenty of “people days” recently. Saturday’s wind made it a good afternoon to stay indoors to watch basketball. It’s not unusual for Poppy to snuggle up beside your leg and fall fast asleep. Sometimes it becomes contagious. Sunday I was sitting on the couch when Michigan was dismantling Tennessee. As is her wont, she wedged herself against my thigh and conked out. I rested my hand on her back and closed my eyes for a few seconds during a commercial break. The game had become a blowout and within a matter of minutes, I zonked out too. There’s almost something almost hypnotic about a warm Corgi napping on you. You are feeling verrrry sleepy…

 

See you next week…real good then.