The scurs forecast the rain about right with the exception of the dabs that fell in Saturday and Sunday. Will we get back on track for harvest once again? Starting Wednesday, mostly sunny and breezy with highs in the mid 70s and lows in the low 50s. Thursday, mostly sunny and breezy once again. Highs in the low 70s and lows in the upper 50s. Mostly sunny on Friday with a slight chance of daytime showers with a slightly increased chance overnight. Highs in the low 70s and lows in the low 50s. Saturday, mostly sunny with a slight chance of a daytime shower. Highs near 65 and lows in the lower 30s. Mostly sunny Sunday with a high in the low 60s and lows in the mid 40s. Mostly cloudy Monday with highs in the upper 50s and lows in the low 30s. Tuesday brings the chance of a killing frost. Mostly cloudy with highs in the mid 50s and lows near 30. For October 14th, the normal high is 61 and the normal low is 38. In honor of Columbus Day, the scurs will take their tiny Alumacraft canoes to St. Olaf Lake, in search of new lands.
A start to the harvest season was made last week only to be put on hold with the Wednesday night rains. Yields have been somewhat variable, although soybean yields have been far better than what we would’ve thought even a month ago. Late season rains and a warm September made a world of difference. Corn moisture has been a pleasant surprise as well and the previously mentioned warm September is primarily why. Some breezy days mixed in here and there pushed maturity along quickly. Corn yields have been more erratic with some reporting yields near 200 bu./acre with excellent test weight while others were disappointed with yields of 140-150 with lighter test weight. Corn on corn was a part of the equation in many of those cases. All told about 2.62” of rain fell at the ranch with 2.4” in town at the Mall for Men. Our soils have been accumulating moisture with little evapotranspiration occurring. It will be a departure from the past two falls where we were extremely dry going into winter and wondering if there would be enough moisture to keep a crop growing in the spring.
Now that the hummingbirds appear to officially be gone from the ranch, one is hopeful the fall birds begin to take up the slack. The activity at our feeders has been slow, just the same as many other readers have indicated though. We have the odd blue jay, a scattered goldfinch and the occasional nuthatch who would rather be heard than seen. Saturday while the sun was shining was a good time to clean some of the feeders after the rainy spell we’d been through. A long handled scrub brush along with the laundry sink in the garage filled with hot water and a 10-percent bleach solution usually does the trick.
After thoroughly rinsing and allowing the feeders to air dry, they were refilled and open for business once again. Not many takers other than four squirrels feasting on the spilled seed, so it was time to watch the migrating birds instead. One of those perpetual strings of blackbirds showed up in the afternoon along with several groups of robins. Last year they had to rely largely on the berry crop as they moved through the area. This year they were lucky. There are plenty of berries and plenty of earthworms. Yellow-rumped warblers have been common recently, spending much of their time in the flower garden. About sundown on Monday the sphinx moths were still present, making one wonder how much longer they’ll continue.
There is some color starting to show locally and our yard is no exception. The sumac is becoming a little brighter every day and the nannyberries are blushing, heavy laden with black fruit in contrast. The ash trees by the road cut are bright yellow, making a statement that fall has arrived. Evergreen trees have been casting their needles. Everything from arborvitae to Austrian pine has been shedding, making a mat of needles under the trees.
Our apples were a mixed bag this year. Both the Haralson and the Fireside started out like a house afire, loaded with fruit. In July the Fireside suddenly dumped most of its crop, leaving a scattered apple here and there in the dense canopy. The Haralson was less affected, although those apples had a lot of scab to the point that the skins broke open, resulting in ugly, damaged apples. Not surprising, given the wet May and June we had. The Honeycrisp tree was a no-show, but the SnowSweet was a pleasant surprise. The tree has only been in the ground 4 or 5 years at most and it rewarded us with 4 nice eating apples. Not sure what to expect, I brought them inside when it looked like they were ripe so the birds wouldn’t get them. They were excellent, a nice balance of sweetness and apple flavor. It was almost a shame to melt caramel to dip the slices in. I wasn’t taking any chances though. As years of watching Seinfeld have taught me, fruit is a gamble.
What ever became of the “A” in the A & P Corporation? You gotta admit, he has been awfully quiet for a long time. That all may be about to change. Rumor on the street has it that there will be a new, secret livestock enterprise taking shape on his property soon. The great thing about it is it’s so hush-hush even he doesn’t know about it. (yet)
See you next week…real good then.