So much for the scurs predicting high temperatures. Those 90-degree highs were unexpected and made everyone get acquainted with their air conditioner once again. Will we get back to reality soon or will September be the new July? Starting Wednesday, mostly sunny with highs near 90 and lows in the upper 60’s. Mostly sunny on Thursday with a slight chance of a shower or thunderstorm. Highs in the upper 80s and lows in the upper 60s. Mostly sunny for Friday with highs in the upper 80s and lows in the lower 70s. Saturday, mostly sunny with a slight chance of an evening shower or thunderstorm. Highs again in the upper 80s and lows in the upper 60s. Mostly sunny for Sunday with highs in the upper 80s and lows in the upper 60s. For Labor Day, mostly sunny and slightly cooler with highs in the mid 80s and lows in the lower 60s. Mostly sunny becoming partly cloudy with a chance of a shower or thunderstorm. Highs near 80 and lows in the low 60s. The normal high for September 1st is 77 and the normal low is 56. On August 27th the sun will set before 8 p.m. for the first time since mid-April. The scurs will be enjoying Labor Day in their hammock far from the madding crowd. Sheep farm, goofy dogs, yeah, it kinda fits.
Someone certainly decided we needed to come out of the refrigerator and onto the stove. While some are rejoicing that we are finally getting some warm weather for this crop, once again we need to be careful what we wish for. The pattern of sparse and randomly distributed rainfall in August has entrenched itself for the third year in a row. Without some rainfall in most areas, prolonged hot dry weather can only spell lower yields. Early planted corn has just begun to dent and without rainfall, tipping back on the ears given the generally shallow root systems is inevitable. Likewise on the soybeans. Where rainfall was received recently, the soybeans are setting additional pods on the plants. No such luck where it did not rain last week.
Soybean aphids exploded with a vengeance last week keeping sprayer operators hopping. There is some puzzlement over the dynamic increase in populations despite the hot conditions. Were the aphids conditioned for the weather extremes by the cold temperatures preceding this recent heat wave or have they been fooling us into thinking they prefer a cooler weather regime previously? Difficult to say at this point. About the only thing certain about soybean aphids this season anyway is they don’t follow the rules and would rather make them up as they go along. After the season is over there will be lots of time to mull over what happened and perhaps something in the data will point us in the right direction. In the meantime, the mosquitoes should have taken it on the chin, at least around soybean fields anyway.
Another Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour is in the books as is our showing at the MN State Fair. While I usually dread going in either case, I’m usually glad I went and this year was no exception. On the Crop Tour we saw a good corn and soybean crop in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois with Iowa and Minnesota being more problematic. The thing I’ve always liked about the Crop Tour over the years though is the people. I’ve made friends all over the country and I’d like to think all over the world as a result. The State Fair is no different in that respect. I ran into my little fat buddy from Bemidji and we spent time seeing what might work for a Canadian fishing adventure. The last time I took an entire week off other than for an illness, showing sheep, or to work at home was 1987. I think everyone deserves a small vacation once in a while, including me.
One of the things I look forward to the most when I get back from Crop Tour is checking out the garden to see how much it changed in a week’s time. Man did it ever. With the heat there were string beans and radishes coming out our ears. There were some tomatoes that finally ripened as well. Not only that but the leaf lettuce was already in its prime, enough so that I purchased some salad dressing at Pete’s to start my diet. It’s never a good idea to step on the scale for at least two weeks following Crop Tour. The evening meals are superb and eating at places like the Angry Pickle in Decorah during the day probably doesn’t help. Did I mention they had raspberry pie?
I was surprised to see there were still orioles hanging around the feeders when I got home. Their days are numbered however and usually sometime in September they bid us adieu. The goldfinches are numerous once again though after being almost nonexistent last spring and winter. The hummingbirds have been more sporadic this summer than some years with a few loyal customers at the feeders and planters, yet not consistently. There have however been plenty of white-lined sphinx moths taking advantage of the flowers such as the blue salvia. With the 4 O’Clocks just beginning to flower, they will be sure to enjoy them as well.
The dogs have been glad to have me back home while Mrs. Cheviot is riding herd on the exhibitors in the Open Class Sheep Dept. Even during the hot days the dogs would rather be outside watching what I’m up to as opposed to laying around the house. They do however seek shelter from the sun with Fudgie perching on the south porch while Ruby is content to watch the sheep in the barn. What for I’m not sure, but Border Collies will be Border Collies.
See you next week…real good then.