Should I stay or go?

The scurs and the Weather Eye squeezed a few more decent days out of the fall before Old Man Winter came knocking. Is he here to stay or will he wander off again? Starting Thursday, mostly sunny with highs in the low teens and lows in the upper single digits. Mostly cloudy Friday with highs in the mid-20's and lows around 10.

 

Mostly cloudy on Saturday with a fair chance of forenoon snow. Highs in the low 20's with lows around zero.

 

Sunday, partly sunny with a high in the low teens and lows around zero. Mostly cloudy on Monday with an increasing chance of snow. Highs in the mid-20's with lows in the upper teens. Tuesday, mostly cloudy with a modest chance of snow. Highs around 30 with lows around 20. Cloudy on Wednesday with highs in the upper 20's and lows in the mid-single digits. Our loss of daylight slows to under one minute on December 8 and we'll see 9 hours of daylight. The normal high for December gth is 30 and the normal low is 15. Against their better judgement the scurs have begun their Christmas shopping procrastination. Can't get those last-minute deals if you shop early.

 

The 4 also ushers in the Full Moon for the month. It goes by the Full Cold Moon as December brings some of the coldest temps of the winter, particularly during the latter part of the month. It only stands to reason after the meteorological start to winter on the 1" and the astronomical beginning on the 21". Some old timers may also call it the Moon before Yule. It is also known as the Long Nights Moon as the evening hours are at their longest during its duration. The Ojibwe called this the Small Spirits Moon as a time for self-reflection while the Sioux knew it as The Moon when Deer shed their Antlers or the Buffalo Cow's fetus is Growing Large. At the ranch it is The Frozen Water Bucket Moon. What a treat when it stays warm enough that frozen buckets aren't hauled back to the house.

 

The snow and resulting cold put a stop to most field tiling operations. Ahead of the snow, one could see an uptick in urgency as machines and humans were moving at much more rapid pace. It also picked up the pace at the ranch as well. The bunny guards were put in place last Tuesday and not a minute too soon. The woody vegetation should slumber in peace now for the rest of the winter. Not long afterwards, the bred ewe we brought home from the kindly neighbors' had a set of twins. When I'd checked her about 3:30 that afternoon she hadn't done anything. When we did chores a few hours later there was a white buck lamb and a natural-colored ewe lamb with bizarre markings.

 

They arrived far enough ahead of the cold, so they've been able to adjust. They're growing quickly so it's only a matter of time before their tails will need docking.

 

Thanksgiving came and went. Another turkey on the charcoal Weber that Mitch hand selected for me. They're always good off the grill. Some are better than others, but this one was exceptional. Combined with all the fantastic sides Mrs. Cheviot had readied it was a downright feast. After cleaning up the mess and resting a spell, I loaded all our pumpkins and out of code produce up in the bucket on the tractor. It was deposited in the pasture where we could watch the ovines from the hill above. Black Friday was a sunny day, and the sheep spent much of it noshing on their pumpkins and other assorted goodies. One could see cars slow down as they approached, watching the antics of the Cheviots and their lack of opposable thumbs on the hillside.

 

The snow that arrived starting Friday night wasn't expected to accumulate in the amounts that many measured.

 

Reports of 8" - 9" were not uncommon and caused travel conditions to deteriorate as the snow kept coming down. It was an unusual storm from that respect as it snowed almost steady from about 9 p.m. Friday night until the early hours of Sunday morning. At the ranch, I'd readied the equipment by performing oil changes on Friday, a day that while cooler than we'd been experiencing pre-Thanksgiving, turned out to be downright pleasant.

I also got the chains put on the 656, something that's a necessity with a 2WD tractor and a yard with only one flat spot in it. You discover that very quickly when moving snow uphill, something that just can't be helped sometimes.

 

Snow removal didn't commence until Sunday morning. I hadn't put the snowblower on other than to move it out of the way, let alone to use it for the past two winters. In the meantime, upon neighbor Jon's advice I'd greased it up and lube the chains with JB chain lube last spring. I love the smell of that stuff, and it works very well. His advice was spot on as when I greased the five zerks on the blower, one could see fresh looking grease appear quickly. The drive chains shined up quickly when more chain lube was applied. It took a while to get it adjusted but the blower itself performed very well and didn't skip a beat. My greatest fear was catching a rock or a brick leftover from the well pit project. Apparently my diligence when landscaping must've paid off as nothing damaging made its way into the blower, this time anyway.

 

Poppy of course loved the new snow. The white background also helps her people avoid dog deposits on the lawn.

 

It's certainly preferable to being held hostage by the aroma of dog poo on your boot in a warm automobile.

 

Temperatures haven't been bitterly cold yet and after the snow was moved, it gave Poppy a faster track for chasing bunnies. And are there ever bunnies to chase. Their tracks are everywhere and it's not unusual to see several at a time before bedtime. Makes one feel even better about having all those bunny guards in place. During the daylight hours the squirrels take center stage although they're not as numerous as some years. It doesn't matter. One squirrel is all it takes to keep Poppy occupied. The snow on the south side of the house isn't as deep either so that makes it less taxing on those stubby little Corgi legs. Helps maintain her girlish figure.

 

See you next week..real good then.