It is the time of the year when the foxes seek their mates. The wood stirs; there is hardly a night that we do not overhear some odd living sound or uneasy cry. The clock of the stars has struck, and life has awakened in the cold and has turned and has heard. – Henry Beston, Northern Farm

Weather Trends

Even though average temperatures are the lowest of the year, the 15th though the 18th bring more highs above 50 degrees (a 15 percent chance for such warmth) than any days since Jan. 4. Chances for highs in the 30s or 40s, on the other hand, are about 50 percent, and for chilly teens or 20s about 20 percent. Bone-cold afternoons in the single digits fill out the remaining 5 percent. Not only that, we are still in the middle of the period (which lasts through Jan. 22) most likely to bring below-zero mornings. Just what are the chances for such cold? About 15 percent per morning.

The Countdown to Spring

• One week until the traditional January Thaw time and blue jays give their bell-like mating call. Bluebirds return from their brief vacation in the South, and crows migrate north

• One and a half weeks until the beginning of Late Winter and the day’s length surpasses 10 hours and skunk cabbage blooms in the wetlands

• Two weeks until cardinals start to sing before dawn. Flies and cabbage butterflies sometimes hatch on indoor plants

• Three weeks until doves join the cardinals, and maple sap is running

• Three and a half weeks until the first red-winged blackbirds arrive in the wetlands

• Four weeks to the very first snowdrop bloom and the official start of early spring

• Five weeks to major pussy willow emerging season

• Six weeks to crocus season

• Seven weeks to the beginning of the morning robin chorus before sunrise

• Eight weeks to daffodil time

• Nine weeks to the major wildflower bloom

• 10 weeks until the yellow blossoms of forsythia bushes appear

• 11 weeks to tulip season

In the Field and Garden

Test a sample of old seeds for germination. Order supplies for February lawn and pasture seeding.

Have supplies ready for the birthing of lambs and kids.

Keeping animals in poorly ventilated barns can lead to disease and can encourage parasites. Make sure their housing provides the necessary mix of good ventilation but adequate heat.

Don’t forget that the spring ethnic markets include demand from not only Middle Eastern immigrants and Muslims but from people who have roots in the Caribbean (including Haitian and Jamaican populations), Latin America and Africa.

Estimates of Muslims in the United States point to 8 million people. Consumers with Hispanic or Caribbean backgrounds exceed 20 million.

Prepare for the seeding of broccoli, cabbage and kale after new moon. And get ready for the January thaw. Check perennials; cover them with extra mulch if they are sprouting early.

 Christmas cacti – a common seasonal flower – can be saved and propagated during the warmer months. You can turn one cactus into a lucrative business if you’re willing to work at it for a few years.

Prepare landscaping, garden, and field maps, including plans for double cropping, intercropping, and companion planting. Do your mid-winter pruning and other wood cutting. Spread manure as conditions permit. Test farm and garden soil as soon as possible.

Avoid giving greens to your outside rabbits when the temperature remains below freezing.

Almanac Literature

Sunshine: The Car-Chasin’ Sheep

By Nancy Minor, Bergheim, Texas

I don’t run a rescue ranch for unwanted or abandoned sheep (although my husband would disagree with that statement). However, one day several years ago, I received a call from a friend that intrigued me.

“Do you want a free sheep?” my friend asked.

Suspecting a trick, I played along and said, “Sure.”

“Well, come out to my place. There’s a ewe that some neighbors abandoned and she’s running out in the road and chasing cars. Animal Control won’t take her, and she’s going to get hit if you don’t come out and get her.”

Half-suspecting it was all a big joke, I hitched up the trailer and jumped in the truck to go out and see the car-chasing sheep.

I was about a half a mile down the dirt road leading to my friend’s house when she suddenly appeared out of some bushes. Trotting up toward the truck, she stood in the road as if waiting for me to pick her up. I was amazed and stopped the truck, opening the door to get out to get a better look at her.

She was a mature Rambouillet ewe with dirty, matted wool and so fat she couldn’t walk…she waddled. As soon as I opened the door to the truck, she tried to climb into the cab, but because of her obesity and the height of the truck, she couldn’t get her legs up. I slipped a halter over her head, and led her around to the trailer, where she hopped in.

I continued down the road to my friend’s house, hoping to get more information on this strange ewe.

We live in an area that has become very popular, where city people think it is cool to move to the country. After a few years of hysterical living, they get fed up and move back to the city, leaving behind unwanted memories and unwanted animals.

That is how Sunshine, the Rambouillet ewe, came to be chasing cars. She was kept as a cute pet in a small pen, fed God knows what (probably dry dog food), and never got any exercise. When her people moved away, they abandoned her, fat and miserable, to fend for herself.

What they did not know is that Sunshine, being a sheep, was going to try to find her people, because they were the only flock she had ever known.

Poor Sunshine took about a year to adjust to being a sheep again. Slowly she got used to our flock, made friends and began to enjoy rambling out to the field to stretch her legs. She lost weight, and with regular shearing, she was more comfortable in the hot Texas summer weather.

Sunshine’s proudest moment was the day she delivered her first lamb. I’ve seen a lot of new mommas lovingly lick and talk to their lambs, but Sunshine was beside herself with for her baby.  She was a wonderful mother and now this year, is a grandmother. When I drive through the field now, she never comes near the truck. Sunshine has become a sheep again and has found her flock.

Answers To Last Week’s Sckrambler

In order to estimate your Sckrambler IQ, award yourself 15 points for each word unscrambled, adding a 50-point bonus for getting all of them correct. If you find a typo, add another 15 points to your IQ.

SSIIOMN MISSION

ISIFNOS FISSION

NOISDASIM ADMISSION

NOITIBMA AMBITION

TTTAIIORN ATTRITION

UIIOADTN AUDITION

OIIONTNGC COGNITION

SIONMISMOC COMMISSION

IAIONCGL LOGICIAN

CIANCTRIELE ELECTRICIAN

This Week’s Rhyming Sckrambler

LUFL

OLOW

FULWOPER

OEULFRDNW

UUCPFL

UAEBIFFUL

ERICFULM

LUFRETSAM

EAOOUTSPNFL

ULPL

ULFITNUOB