Running over the same old ground. What have we found?

The scurs calling for late week rain came true once again although the dire predictions of a Monday rainout didn’t come to fruition. This week’s forecast period will likely see us start to turn the corner with more nice days than what we’re accustomed to. Wednesday starts us out with mostly cloudy and a slight chance of a shower in the morning. High of 65 and low of 40 – 45. Thursday, partly cloudy, high of 60 – 65 with a low of 40 – 45. Friday, partly cloudy, high near 60 and low of 40. Chance of rain Friday evening. Saturday, cloudy, chance of rain, high of 60 and low of 40. Cloudy Sunday with a chance of showers, high of 60 – 65, low of 40 – 45. Partly cloudy Monday, 60 – 65 for the high with lows of 45 – 50. Tuesday clouds return with a chance of rain, high of 60 and low of 50. Normal high for May 9 is 69 and normal low is 43. We gained 17 minutes of daylight in the past week, with the sun rising shortly before 6 a.m. and setting shortly before 8:30 p.m. The scurs are readying for their maiden voyage on the lawnmower for the season.

What a difference a few days makes. Coming out of the weekend before last, the ground was frozen solid a couple of mornings. On April 29th was heading towards some farmers fields near Madison Lake and encountered snow banks in the road ditches. Cool days at the beginning of the week made us begin to wonder if it was ever going to warm up and dry out. By Wednesday, things had changed and planters began to roll in places. Thursday’s clouds threatened rain and kept ground conditions sticky after working but the rain fell to the west that evening. That gave us hope that maybe it would hold off Friday morning but it was not to be. The spring’s weather has been trying our patience to be sure. Let’s hope the forecasters are right and this week gets us back into the fields once again.

The flora has been slow coming too. Usually by corn planting time we see the plum thickets spreading their sweet perfume across the landscape, followed close on their heels by the crabapples and apple trees. If the oak leaves are supposed to be the size of squirrels’ ears for corn planting, this year they must be midget squirrels. There are signs however we are making some progress. There are dandelions blooming on the south side of the house and the violas or Johnny Jump Ups are also flowering. My radishes grew almost ½” this past week. I figure by August at this rate we may actually have some ready.

While the spring has been moving in slow motion, the birds are still coming through very close to what we generally see. This past week, saw bluebirds on Tuesday and was disappointed they hadn’t appeared yet at home. The next night they were here checking out the nesting boxes. May 1st brought the 1st rose-breasted grosbeak, actually a little ahead of when I’ve seen them here in years past. After talking to my Mom she had also seen a grosbeak and an oriole as well. Put the oriole feeder out here and sure enough on Saturday after the rain, there he was. Sometimes wish I had some photographic talents as by the brush pile, along with the male oriole there was a white-crowned sparrow and a brown thrasher all within 3 feet of each other.

Not a big fan of brush piles because of the bunnies and woodchucks they seem to attract but the birds seem to like them for shelter during certain times of the year. Was going to burn the small pile this spring but seeing the bird activity in and around it over the weekend, decided it could wait. Besides, there will no doubt be another small one out here someplace for them next spring. If you have trees like silver maple, boxelder and ash trees on your property seems like brush piles are perpetual.

Pastures continue to grow and after a winter of inactivity and getting chubby, the yearling ewes have been relegated to pasture as their main source of roughage. Gus and Lucy keep an eye on them from their side of the fence when they’re in sight. All critters were happy to get leftovers from the most recent Lions Pancake breakfast. Leftover bread crusts are fought over by the sheep. Cold, soggy French toast keeps both of the border collies happy although their favorites were the sausages fished out of the garbage with coffee grounds on them. Just what a Border collie needs I thought; caffeine. Was hoping to find a chocolate éclair with a bite out of it myself.

At the Mall for Men, the cold weather led to several early week decompression (sometimes decomposing) sessions. The little fat buddies had a wonderful start with a large pan of leftover bars. Once we got busy in the field, there was little demand for bars and therapy sessions. However, Friday we were blessed with more rain and lo and behold, an angel from the east showed up with a freshly from the oven, still warm pan of bars. At lunchtime, out of the blue 2 pizzas showed up and were devoured immediately. The slightly dampish but undaunted little fat buddies could not believe their sudden good fortune. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.

See you next week…real good then.

That's how it goes 'cause part of me knows what you're thinkin'...

If being close counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, the scurs were definitely in the ballpark last week. They’re going out on a limb here and predicting this forecast period should give us close to normal temps and keeps us slightly drier than the recent past. Little sunshine however. Wednesday partly cloudy, highs of 60 – 65 and lows of 40 – 45. Thursday starts off cloudy with a small chance of rain by afternoon. High of 60 – 65 and low near 40. Cloudy Friday, highs of 65 and low of 45, a slight chance of a shower or thunderstorm. Saturday, cloudy, slight chance of rain, highs near 65 and lows of 45. Cloudy Sunday, slight chance of showers, high of 60 – 65 and low of 45. Monday and Tuesday, partly cloudy, highs of 60 – 65 and lows 45. Normal high for May 16 is 71 and normal low is 46. We will have gained 16 more minutes of daylight in the past week and that trend is slowing slightly as we near the summer solstice. The scurs are readying their hammock for future reference.

Monday the 19th ushers in the Full Moon for the month, known by many appropriate names. Most call it the Full Flower Moon for obvious reasons, others call it the Full Corn Planting Moon for equally obvious reasons. The Ojibwe called this the Full Blossom Moon and the Sioux called it The Moon When Ponies Shed. At the ranch, we call it the Moon When Gus and Lucy Need Much Brushing.

Corn planting has been on everyone’s mind, what with the showers we seem to receive every 3 – 4 days. Conditions approach fair to marginal allowing for a day or two of planting at best, only to be followed by more rainfall. Fortunately, the amounts have generally been on the lighter side, avoiding the 3” – 4” gushers. Corn planted on April 30th had a ½” radicle on it as of May 7th. Mrs. Cheviot recently returned from Ohio and saw very few fields where corn was up. Similar tales of woe have been heard from other parts of the Midwest as well. Misery loves company.

The weather has been cool but has been warm enough to get area lawnmowers cranked up including yours truly. Has been the wettest start since 1993 when I registered my riding mower as a watercraft. Mowed up nice where the ground was dry but there were areas where the grass was still pretty short. With the cool weather, the amount of nitrogen mineralized has been slowed as evidenced by the nice green doggie spots. There have been some plum and cherries in bloom, especially in area burgs and other sheltered areas. This week should make for an explosion of flowering trees across the greater Bugtussle viewing area.

Despite the cool conditions, the birds continue their migration north. This past week saw many newcomers. The first house wren of the season at the ranch arrived on May 7th along with a black and white warbler and some barn swallows. As if on cue, when Mrs. Cheviot took off for a sheep show in Ohio on May 8th, Harris’ Sparrows showed up again this year along with their buddies the white-throated sparrow and white-crowned sparrows. They must read the show and sale catalog. After reports of hummingbirds several days earlier at Mom’s, one lone male made his way to one of the oriole feeders on the 10th. While not in the yard, a yellow-headed blackbird flew across the road by a slough a few miles up the road to the north. These striking birds are not as common as they once were but have been seeing more the past few years. Some goslings are already showing up on area ponds. Wetland restorations are having a positive impact on wildlife.

Male goldfinches are now the color of dandelions and it still amuses me when what appear to be dandelions from a distance suddenly take flight and perch in the trees. 2 male orioles were tangling over the nectar feeder so decided to put out another spare one we had lying around on the other side of the house. All went well until we discovered there were 3 orioles not just the 2. Not planning on putting out any more feeders though. Enough chores the way it is. Little Jerry, the rooster pheasant continues to court the ladies in the wild plum thicket in our yard. Picked the corn in the food plot a few weeks back and placed it where it was easily accessible for him in case he needed some extra energy.

The night before Mrs. Cheviot took off for Ohio, saw her writing down chore instructions so it came as news to me that she was going. Apparently my mind reading capabilities have been compromised or the scurs must have failed to apprise me of this event. Another surprise the morning she left was the high pitched squeal being emitted by the elderly living room TV. After spending copious amounts of time looking for resets, punching buttons and turning small knobs on the back, I pronounced it dead. Luckily the TV in the bedroom still sort of works when you pound on it several times until the picture comes on. Unfortunately it’s not hooked up to the satellite so no Twinkies games for me while she was gone.

After Mrs. Cheviot arrived home and we came in from chores the other morning, couldn’t figure out where she’d disappeared to. Needed to get to work so I ran through a shower quickly. Upon heading into the bedroom to grab some clothes, found her napping in a big wad of covers on the end of the bed with the TV blaring away. No doubt about it, we need to get a new TV to once again receive 100 channels with absolutely nothing worth watching and so Mrs. Cheviot can get her beauty sleep.

See you next week…real good then.

What a gorgeous morning! First time we've seen the sun since I don't know when and to top it off, got to see the first indigo bunting of the season at the thistle feeder. When the sun rays catch them, there's no mistaking who they are.