Our house is a very fine house

More nearly ideal fall weather last week as the scurs dial in the Weather Eye to see what’s in store this go round. Does Jack Frost return or is he off on sabbatical again? Starting Thursday, partly sunny with highs in the low 50’s and lows in the low 30’s. Partly sunny on Halloween Friday with highs in the mid-40’s and lows in the low 30’s. Mostly cloudy on Saturday with highs in the upper 40’s and lows in the low 30’s. Sunday, partly sunny with a modest chance of showers. Highs in the low 50’s with lows in the mid-30’s. Partly sunny on Monday with a slight chance of rain showers. Highs in the upper 40’s with lows in the low 30’s. Tuesday, sunny with highs in the low 50’s and lows in the low 30’s. Mostly cloudy on Wednesday with highs in the low 50’s and lows in the mid-30’s. Daylight Saving Time officially ends for the year on Sunday the 2nd. Sunset will occur at 4:59 CST on the 4th. The normal high for November 4th is 48 and the normal low is 29. The scurs will be noshing Halloween treats as they set their clocks back an hour at 2 a.m. Sunday morning.

 

November 5th ushers in our next Full Moon, known as the Full Beaver Moon. The beavers will work feverishly to construct their dams that provide not only shelter, but food for the winter as well in the form of hardwood trees. It was also at this time that Native Americans and fur traders would begin trapping these large rodents for the warm coats and hats that could be made from the pelts. Rivers and streams remained open during the month of November making the task easier before the heavy snow made travel more difficult. The Ojibwe knew this as the Freezing Moon while the Sioux knew it as The Moon of Falling Leaves or the Moon when Winter Begins. At the ranch, it usually goes by the Moon of Draining Hoses. Carrying water to livestock is overrated.

 

Most finished harvesting corn and have gone after the last of the green soybeans surrounding the drowned out spots. Most have since moved their focus on fall tillage and fertilizer applications. So far the anhydrous appears to be going on well and soil temperatures have cooperated. Tillage also appears to be satisfactory despite the dabs of rain Mother Nature keeps dishing up. So far we’ve avoided the multiple-inch rainfall events and, with a few more weeks of that, it should be all done but the shouting. Quite the growing season it has been. The SROC in Waseca broke the growing season record for GDU’s at 3003, breaking the record from 115 years of record keeping. Trust me, that’s about what would be expected points well to our south. 

 

At the ranch, we bottomed out at 27 on both the morning of the 24th and the 24th. Most tender foliage showed the impact as did the rooftops and windshields. It looks official. Still, there were sensitive plants in places that were relatively untouched. The cannas in the backyard looked none the worse for wear as did the four o’clocks. Of course, there are no hummingbirds or sphinx moths to feed on them either, so it really doesn’t matter. I dug the cannas in the main bed and cleaned the bulbs up as best I could. They’re on the drying racks set up earlier for the onions, so if we get some rain as was forecast, it should clean them up even more. It should also allow the four washtubs full of bulbs to dry and harden off before their long winter slumber in the heated garage.

 

Last weekend was one of preparation for the colder months ahead. Time to get equipment ready to grind up leaves and to clean barns after that. Along with that this year, we’re anticipating a major change with our water system, namely moving the pressure tank into the basement and filling in the old well pit. While not perhaps necessary, it still brings some major peace of mind when the winds are howling and temps plummet well below zero. It will mean the end of placing bales over the well pit and pumping the water from rain and snowmelt out if it periodically. Getting ready for the procedure meant getting a lot of things done, including cutting and digging the cannas as mentioned above, pumping the water out of the pit, moving rocks and debris, as well as covering the pit in the meantime, so whoever moves the tank won’t have to swim to do it.

 

It doesn’t seem possible, but looking at the calendar year, we moved to the ranch 40 years ago in October. My how the time has flown and the place has changed. Had a black Lab named Patti that stayed in the old barn inside her doghouse at night. The barn was beyond fixing and was replaced with a 40’ x 72’ shed. A straight line wind took it out in May of ’96, so it was replaced that same year. Many of the trees have come down as well, some due to storms, the REC removing them, or when we added on in ’08. We have planted far more trees than we’ve lost. Adding them up, I lost track somewhere over 50. I count them all when mowing the lawn. The soil has been very productive with the areas we’ve gardened producing bumper crops of vegetables. Soil tests taken in those areas would tend to indicate a lengthy livestock history. That history continues to this day.

 

Looking at the original house, there are almost as many additions as the White House. The original small garage would hold a Plymouth Horizon, a Chevy Luv and not much else. The attached garage as part of the west wing will hold a lot more vehicles and junk. The cistern under the kitchen crawlspace speaks to a time before electricity. The rainwater collected was likely for bathing and laundry. Also likely there was a windmill in the yard pumping water into the cistern there that gravity flowed water to the livestock on the north side of the building site. The aforementioned pressure tank in the basement project will be another welcome improvement to a work in progress for 40 years. It isn’t perfect, but we call it home. 

 

Poppy’s role in all of this? She assumed the mantle of “Resident Dog” from Ruby and has performed her duties admirably. Looking back, she’s the 7th dog to reside with us. Unlike all but Murphy the Sheltie, she’s a lapdog, especially as we move into the colder months. As Mrs. Cheviot calls her, a veritable baked potato, capable of pinning you against the backrest on the couch if you’re taking a nap. Poppy is an absolute little bum too when it comes to getting up in the morning, a far cry from the Border Collies’ “pitter patter, let’s get at ‘er” attitudes. Once she’s up, however, it’s time to chase kitties, bunnies and squirrels. A large responsibility for such a small dog.

 

See you next week…real good then