Turning to alabaster

The scurs and the Weather Eye have resigned themselves to the fact that Old Man Winter is here to stay. Or have they? Starting Thursday, partly sunny with a modest chance of snow. Highs in the low 30's with lows around 5 below. Partly sunny Friday with highs in the upper 20's and lows in the upper teens. Partly sunny on Saturday with highs near 30 and lows around 10 above. Sunday, partly sunny with a high in the mid-20's and lows in the mid-teens. Mostly cloudy Monday with highs in the upper 20's and lows near 20. Tuesday, mostly sunny with highs in the upper 20's and lows in the low teens. Mostly sunny on Christmas Eve Day with highs in the low 30's and lows in the upper teens. The winter solstice occurs on the 21st being our shortest daylight day of the year at 8 hours 54 minutes and one second worth. The normal high for Christmas Day is 24 and the normal low is 9. The scurs have the Festivus pole erected and all their Human Fund certificates sent. Mission accomplished.

 

So how is our winter coming after all the cold weather? Oddly enough, not as intense as one might imagine. There have been numerous pheasants picking at the garden leftovers. This past week I decided to place some corn in a corn crib aeration tube for them. I needed a way to anchor it though, so the deer and other corn consumers didn't knock it over. I had an electric fencepost handy, so for laughs I decided to see if it would go in the ground. It did and much easier than I expected. It made short work of the issue at hand. Now if the pheasants would find it, we'd be in business. Shortly after I put the feeder out, a red-tailed hawk appeared and the pheasants disappeared. Funny how that works sometimes.

 

I froze what would be the last of the squash for the season over the weekend. Like the carrots, there was a lot of variability not only in flavor but in texture as well. With the squash there were some odd looking markings in the flesh and when cooked, they were difficult to cook thoroughly. The flavor was off as well. One usually expects buttercup squash to be very sweet. These were bland and made good sheep feed. The carrots didn't follow the rules either. The carrots I'd dug in August were decent, those that didn't just rot in the ground from excess rainfall anyway. I got busy and left the rest, knowing that generally they get sweeter and better tasting later in the fall. Not the case this year.

 

One can only speculate that our unusually warm September and early October may have had something to do with both vegetable crops being subpar. It certainly had an impact on the corn crop and perhaps to a lesser degree on the soybean crop. A potential nod to the Canada wildfire smoke also. There were some months that solar radiation was compromised as well. There have been plenty of reports trickling in of white mold being found in the soybean samples. Not as bad as some years and not widespread heavy patches. Was there a delay in flowering in some cases?

 

We'll never know as replicating the conditions we had this summer would be next to impossible. Let's hope so for our sake.

 

So will this week warm us up as much as the NWS seems to think it will? We'll probably know by midweek as the forecast stands. There is still plenty of snow to our south and winds will tend to be blowing from the south across it.

 

Earlier south winds since the snowpack formed have felt anything but warm. The positive news is that the pack has shrunk some in northern Missouri which could disperse the IA snowpack more rapidly than anticipated. Starting with a clean slate for the New Year would certainly be a feather in our cap for those who have plenty left on their plate from fall to finish up. The abrupt halt made it difficult to finish many of those projects and a reprieve for a few weeks might be enough to get the job done.

 

Speaking of getting the job done, Monday was a typical Monday. Lots of delays and interruptions along with plenty of extra things dumped on my plate I was unaware of until the last minute. On top of that, I misplaced my phone for a spell, making a crazy situation even crazier. Now, I come from a generation where being available 24/7/365 wasn't important. When bag phones arrived that was fine. They could be left in the pickup where they belonged and with their power and range, they could make and receive calls from Mars. Today's cell phones do a lot more than just make phone calls. We're to the point where the phone is no longer our slave. They're your master. Don't think so?

 

Try losing one, then get back to me. By the way, I found the thing. Some days, I'd rather I hadn't.

 

Birds continue their winter festivities at the ranch. There have been more goldfinches at our feeders recently. What has been unique this winter so far is the number of juncos feeding on the thistle feeders, rather than picking up the seed spilled underneath. In the past they'd occasionally feed in the tray on the screen feeder, but this has been a new one. The cold weather definitely increased the number of birds using the suet feeders. The higher energy feed was just what they needed. Still no chickadees at the ranch, but have spotted a few in town. I see we also have neighbors to our south feeding the birds. The habitat for birds of all kinds is excellent there. The more the merrier.

 

Poppy is ready for Christmas, but then of course, Corgi's are always ready for Christmas. There are always dog treats to be had along with bunnies and squirrels to be chased. She's fortunate the rain reduced the snow depth and formed a crust that she doesn't break through anymore. Seeing her hung up in the snow is humorous for us, for her not so much. As the temps warm and the snow subsides even more, we should be able to spend more time outside with her.

 

It also means once we're back inside, it's time for popcorn, cocoa and a long winter's nap for all parties concerned.

 

See you next year...real good then.