Winter is inching even nearer

The scurs/Weather Eye combo predicted the first measurable precip of October and it primed the pump for November. Do our above normal temps continue or are we living on borrowed time? Starting on Thursday, mostly sunny with highs in the low 50’s and lows in the low 30’s. Sunny on Friday with a slight chance of an evening shower. Highs in the mid-50’s with lows in the upper 30’s. Mostly cloudy on Saturday with increasing clouds and a good chance of showers. Highs in the low 50’s with lows in the low 40’s. Sunday, partly sunny with a slight chance of forenoon showers. Highs in the low 50’s with lows in the low 40’s. Sunny on Veteran’s Day Monday with highs in the mid-50’s and lows in the low 40’s. Tuesday partly sunny with highs in the upper 50’s and lows in the low 40’s. Mostly sunny on Wednesday with highs in the low 50’s and lows in the mid-30’s. On November 8th the sun will rise at 7 a.m. CST. The normal high for November 8th is 45 and the normal low is 36. The scurs will honor all those who served on Monday. The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.

 

Our fall recharge has seemed to follow that mantra as well. After going through an extremely dry September and October, we seem to have caught stride once again in November. Rainfall recorded on Halloween, plus what has been received thus far in November appears to be moving the dial somewhat. It may postpone some of the fall fieldwork somewhat, but it provides some needed moisture to bind fall applied ammonia to the soil where it was needed. Prior to the rain, some ammonia applications had been attempted with varying degrees of success depending upon the situation. On heavier soils as one went west, anhydrous seemed to go on better as there was moisture from 3” – 6” in the profile. Where the ground rolled more, getting the toolbar in the ground was a challenge and it wasn’t covering well as a result. In addition, there was a lineup at the welding shops with applicators and rippers needing repairs before operations could resume. A wise man told me you might want to look closely at used rippers for battle scars before purchasing.

 

At least the fire danger has lessened. Lord knows there were abundant opportunities for a blaze to get out of control in the blink of an eye. Many, myself included, were amazed there weren’t more fires than there were given the tinder dry conditions. I know at the ranch we have lots of brush piles that have been accumulating for quite some time. Now if I get my burning permit from the People’s Republic of Steele Co., that will only be good for two months before it needs to be renewed. I can do battle with all that raccoon, skunk, and opossum habitat. Judging by all the road kill recently, we have plenty of all of the above. But opossums eat ticks, right? They might, except where the grass is kept short in the lawn and pasture, there are no ticks. They can go eat ticks somewhere else. We definitely don’t need them in the barn eating cat food and defecating in the hay, spreading disease. We have plenty of that to contend with already.

 

Winter is inching ever nearer, even though we appear to be avoiding Old Man Winter so far. Most don’t miss the curmudgeon. Like here at the ranch, there are plenty of things to get under wraps and functioning before the inevitable. Repairing livestock equipment has been at the top of the list as of late. The electric fence at both pastures had issues that consumed a lot of time during the week and Saturday forenoon. Afternoon meant fixing the two troughs we use to feed the brood ewes. I don’t know how many times I’ve repaired them, but if I couldn’t design something better than that, I’d hang it up. One rule about sheep, or any livestock, if they find a weakness in equipment or a fence, rest assured they’ll work on it until it breaks. They have absolutely nothing better to do. The crowning touch was when they snapped a T-post off that held a gate shut. I repaired that one in the dark when it was too dark to see. More fun than a person should be allowed to have.

 

Grinding the leaves up has been on hold since the rains came. The oaks, hackberries and the Norway maple are all still stubbornly clinging to their leaves. That and the leaves that are down are pretty soggy yet. It’ll take a few days for them to dry out. The oak leaves in particular are leathery and the drier they are the better. Pretty sure I won’t be lucky enough for them to all blow out of the yard. Burning them really isn’t a good option either. About the time they’re dry enough to burn, a burning ban is put in place. There are too many places to get into trouble doing that anyway. Over the years, I’ve had several close calls and an instance that meant sheepishly calling the insurance company who kindly told me, why yes, we do have insurance for your stupidity. Just don’t do it again.

 

Poppy and I will be operating unsupervised starting next week for a ten-day stretch. It looks like we’ll have plenty of projects to stay busy. Most of the leaves are off the bushes, so she can help me with the bunny guards. Appears the snap peas are likely done for the season, so they can be yanked out and tossed over the fence to the sheep. The garden is where this Corgi likes to hang out anyway. She could also help me manufacture sweet corn bundles and build a corn shock if she gets really ambitious. And there’s always junk to sort through and throw away too, until the dumpster gets full anyway. By then it’ll be getting dark and time for chores. Lots of popcorn, cheese, crackers, kippers, and winter radishes to be snacked on once our days are done. After daily activities such as these, we’ll probably need a nap. Poppy glues herself to my leg when I sit on the couch. Within seconds she’s fast asleep, reminding me we need to pace ourselves. A lot of short days lie ahead. More naps will follow, guaranteed.

 

See you next week…real good then.