I think it's a shame when I get feeling better when I'm feeling no pain

The scurs had the Weather Eye operating at peak performance. Will Old Man Winter have a say about that, or will his silence constitute tacit approval? Starting Thursday, partly sunny with a good chance of evening snow. Highs in the low 40's with lows in the mid-20's. Partly sunny Friday with a good chance of forenoon snow. Highs in the low 30's with lows in the upper teens. Sunny on Saturday with highs in the upper 20's with lows around 10. Sunday, mostly sunny with highs in the low 20's with lows in the mid-teens. Mostly sunny on Monday with highs in the mid-20's and lows in the upper teens. Tuesday, cloudy with highs in the mid-30's and lows in the mid-20's. Mostly cloudy on Wednesday with a good chance of rain. Highs in the upper 30's with lows in the low 20's. On February 23rd, we will have gained two hours since the winter solstice. Sunrise will occur at 7 a.m. CST on that day. The normal high for February 23rd is 29 and the normal low is 12. The good news: The scurs scored big time on recent Valentine's Day goodies. Even better news: Easter is early this year, on April 5th.

 

There have been many curious about frost depth with our recent warm temperatures. The measurement taken February 16th at the SROC under bare soil measured 2rd. Some areas around our yard continued to become semi-frozen overnight, even though the lows remained well above freezing. With some of our crocuses and daffodils on the south side of the house emerging, I was interested to see how far down the ground might be thawed. On the north facing slope, the frost was only out down about 3" - 4". The flower bed area mentioned was frost-free down to 2', as were both gardens on the south facing slope. The soil surface there is still very muddy, so I'm not inclined to plant anything anytime soon. Covering the emerged spring bulbs to protect them when it cools down will keep me busy. It will be spring and time to plant garden soon enough.

 

By the time this reaches print, it will likely have cooled down again. Still, it was fun to get a sneak preview of spring while it lasted. The exodus of fish houses a few weekends ago served as a prelude as ice conditions deteriorated rapidly. Suddenly there were birds appearing that hadn't been seen for several months. Friday the 13th I spotted horned larks. Their sightings continued to climb during the warm spell. Lumbering swans were honking overhead as rooster pheasants cackled around sundown on Valentine's Day. On Sunday, Canada geese were in the skies and small flocks of red-winged blackbirds flew over the ranch as the chickadees sang their springtime "fee-bee" song.

 

Some of the birds that had been missing in recent weeks began to reappear. A few goldfinches were starting to show more yellow coloration already. The male cardinal hasn't sung yet, but he will. He always does.

 

Morning chores are now happening during sunrise and nighttime chores finishing up around sundown. It lends credence to the old saying that a farmer works from sun to sun. Lambing season is nearing the halfway point.

 

Luckily we got some help from some great friends moving ewes and lambs on Sunday, so chores became more streamlined. Small pens are efficiency killers with individual feed pans, water buckets and slices of hay. In larger groups, feeding goes faster and there's less waste. When you're an aging Hay Fairy you think about the latter. Hay, especially small squares, doesn't just magically appear. It should not become green bedding. The gestating ewes have been loving life in the warm weather. They rarely go inside and lounge about the round bale feeders in the lot as though they're on some Club Med vacation. The only things missing are the beach umbrellas.

 

The lambing hasn't exactly been a bed of roses for us as humans. Battling with at least two varieties of aliens has made life miserable at times. It wears a person down, so that functioning at full capacity becomes difficult. When it goes on for so long and others still have it, you almost feel guilty when you start to feel better. Then, late last week I started noticing some tingling on the hide of my abdomen and on my back. Sunday night when I showered I saw the telltale signs of what was likely shingles. I'd had it before, so not surprised given the circumstances. The doctor's diagnosis concurred with my guess, so a prescription was filled later that afternoon. The capsules were big blue horse pills, reminiscent of some of the worming boluses we gave the sheep many moons ago. Understandably, it took a pill gun to stuff them down their gizzards.

 

The warm conditions were a double-edged sword for Poppy. While the temperatures were nice, it meant the mud was out in full force, especially on the north side of the house. Luckily the south side of the house changed dramatically in just a few days, making it the prime area for potty as well as squirrel and bunny pursuit. The conditions also allowed me to flick the now dry Poppy bombs off the patio. Overall however, it's meant more indoor time for Poppy. When Monday evening rolls around though, the toaster oven is fired up and there will be crumbs in the form of grated cheese loose in the frozen pizza package. If you want to see a Corgi come unglued, that's your big chance. No barking is allowed, however.

 

See you next week...real good then.