The scurs actually called for rain over the weekend and we received a generous helping, to the point where our cup runneth over, among other things. Will we be so blessed this week? Starting Wednesday, mostly sunny becoming partly cloudy with a steamy high in the low 90s and an equally uncomfortable low in the low 70s. Partly cloudy on Thursday with an increasing chance of a shower or thunderstorm as the day wears on. Highs in the upper 80s and lows again in the lower 70s. Partly cloudy on Friday with a modest chance for showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid 80s and lows in the mid 60s. Mostly sunny for Saturday and cooler with highs in the lower 80s and lows in the mid 60s. Partly cloudy Sunday with an increasing chance for showers and thunderstorms into the evening hours. Highs in the lower 80s and lows in the mid 60s. Partly cloudy Monday with a good chance for showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the lower 80s and lows in the lower 60s. Tuesday, mostly sunny and cooler with highs near 80 and lows in the lower 60s. On the 20th we slip back below 15 hours of daylight, about the same as we experienced on May 22nd. The normal high for July 22nd is 82 and the normal low is 62. The scurs should recover from their tummy ache from the Farm and City Days parade candy by then.
The Full Moon for the month of July falls on the 22nd this year and goes by several names. Known by most sources as the Full Buck Moon, so named for the month when white tail bucks begin growing their antlers. It is also known in some circles as the Full Thunder Moon for the numerous thunderstorms common during the month as well as the Full Hay Moon for obvious reasons except if your alfalfa winter killed. The Sioux knew this moon as the Moon When Wild Cherries are Ripe and the Ojibwe called this the Full Raspberry Moon. Indeed there are black raspberries ripening under the lilacs, apparently the result of some avian visitor once upon a time.
The weekend rain caught most of us off guard. When the chances were reduced to 20% Friday night, one didn’t expect rainfall amounts of over 3” in spots. In the fields crop progress is becoming readily apparent. The heat plus the rain has had the desired effect on the corn, namely making it tall enough so you can’t see the big holes from the road anymore. Corn has stretched to a height of 4’ and up to 5’ in places. Some of the early planted sweet corn has begun tasseling with most of the regular dent field corn not expected to tassel yet until closer to the end of the month. Soybeans are flowering like crazy although some of the later planted fields have yet to bloom. The rain also seemed to encourage a growth spurt in the soybeans as well as another flush of small weeds. Small grains are starting to show signs of turning in areas and the rains were also beneficial for them.
The rain was also wonderful for the late planted gardening attempt at the ranch. The string beans show signs of filling in the gaps in their stand and the squash have turned green after having been a sickly yellow color for much of their duration in the ground. The cukes are growing rapidly after emerging like a house afire as well. Even the tomatoes have set fruit on the vines even though they’re less than a foot tall. The flowers have taken off with the rains halting what was promising to be a lot of watering. After munching on the gazania the bunnies have been conspicuously absent. Apparently they dislike the shots ringing out from the school book depository or perhaps the recent appearance of an old friend.
The feathered friends in the yard are very subtly changing their pattern. No longer are the robins singing at the top of their lungs at 5 a.m., with their song period becoming shorter and of lower intensity. Their second brood is scattered around the yard and keeps them hopping. The wrens continue to pick up some of the slack as do the common yellowthroats. They remain well concealed, rarely seen but frequently heard. Something had the entire yard in a tizzy shortly after dusk on the 10th. A great horned owl was perched on the granary and the barn swallows in particular were taking exception to its presence. Of course I was glad to see it as great horned owls prey on my nemeses, the striped skunks and bunnies. The enemy of my enemy is a friend of mine.
It has been difficult to keep lawnmowers operational this summer. Last summer I purchased another one just so we’d always have one that worked. Well that didn’t go quite as planned. It appears Howard blew a head gasket if the puddle of oil underneath it in the garage was any indication. Not to worry. Whitey was still functional even though the battery wasn’t charging; fine as long as the battery charger was handy. Whitey’s status suddenly changed when turning around some trees in the backyard, it became apparent that steering it was no longer an option. Thankfully it didn’t happen as I was doing my outrigger crew impression on the road cut. Again, not to worry.
Whitey Jr. hadn’t been run for a few years so it was time to pump the tires up and dig it out of the shed to see if we could get it to commence. A new battery was procured and we’ll be working on getting it online once again. If that doesn’t work, there are posts and at least a couple hundred feet of electric fence wire in the shed. It would take roughly 10 minutes for the entire yard to be fenced in. Of course it wouldn’t take the sheep 10 minutes to devour all the trees and flowers, but at least the lawn would be mowed.
See you next week…real good then.