The Acme fan the scurs ordered for the Weather Eye is proving to be more than they bargained for. Will it continue to mean windy conditions or will a new control switch solve the problem? Starting Wednesday, mostly cloudy with a good chance of showers, possibly turning to snow before morning. Highs in the upper 40’s with lows in the low 30’s. Thursday, mostly cloudy with highs in the mid 40’s and lows in the low 30’s. Partly sunny Friday with an increasing chance of showers. Highs in the upper 40’s and lows in the upper 30’s. Saturday, partly sunny with a slight chance of a shower. Highs in the mid 50’s and lows in the low 40’s. Sunny on Sunday with a slight chance of an evening shower. Highs in the upper 50’s with lows in the mid 40’s. Monday, partly sunny with a slight chance of showers. Highs in the upper 50’s and lows in the low 40’s. Partly cloudy for Tuesday with a slight chance of a shower. Highs in the upper 50’s and lows in the low 40’s. The normal high for November 1st is 51 and the normal low is 31. The scurs will be hosting as many trick or treaters as the candy budget will support. After that they’re on their own.
It’s that weekend we’ve waited all summer for: The end of Daylight Wasting Time! Time to set our clocks back an hour at 2 a.m. on November 1st. Nationwide, many people will once again wind up in the emergency room because they fell off a chair while changing their clocks back. Light in the morning and dark by 5 in the afternoon. Personally, I won’t be around. I’ll be in Canada where they also witness this nonsensical changing of the clocks thing. And guess what? I will still sleep another hour in protest!
There is still some corn left to be harvested in pockets, although those pockets are shrinking every day. Moistures did pick up slightly with last Friday’s rains so Monday’s breezes were welcome from that standpoint. The rain was also welcome as the dry conditions were putting us at greater risk for fires. Miraculously, very few incidents have occurred locally, although other areas have not been as fortunate. The rainfall also settled the dust on the gravel roads, something that was making them hazardous to travel, especially when meeting or following large trucks. Having recovered from the writer’s cramp after recording the summer rainfall, I managed to pencil in .3” and in town about .25”. It was the first measurable precip since September 24th. In the fields fall anhydrous ammonia applications are starting. The calendar and soil temperatures are all pointing in the right direction so it should be an acceptable time to begin.
Apple harvest at the ranch has concluded. Mrs. Cheviot got the apples the birds hadn’t pecked off the trees so it was up to Mr. Cheviot to finish the honors. Lucky for me the skid loader was handy as I used the scoop shovel on the last of the apples and proceeded to dump them over the fence to the sheep. Not exactly like they really need anything more to eat, although they never argue when extra vegetative material is tossed their way. The last of the tomatoes were a pleasant culinary find. Not always the case. They have been amongst the best flavored of the season, although they don’t keep for long. Finding that to be the case with some of the gourds and squash as well. The warm temperatures we keep getting seem to be having a negative effect in that department.
The summer bird watching and feeding has segued into the fall/winter segment. Bluebirds continue to filter through, looking over the nesting boxes perhaps for future reference. The hummingbird feeder was taken down and cleaned for the last time and the last of the suet feeders was hung in its place. The nuthatches, the downy, hairy, and red-bellied woodpeckers have all been busy on those feeders. They also seem to be annoyed by the house sparrows who try to horn in on the sunflower feeder, shooing them away when they want their turn. There are also five huge blue jays who were some of the likely culprits in destroying a portion of the apple crop. There are still more than we’ll ever eat though so they get a pass.
Saturday we mad another leaf-watching trip in the Stude, only to get to the other side of Lansing and discover that the ammeter was indicating it wasn’t charging the battery. Luckily, it had been working up until that point so we continued on our abridged journey. There were still areas of color as we went east, particularly in the small bergs and villages along the way. Lots of huge corn piles too at the local elevators where there was no room in the bins. As we came in our driveway at home we were greeted by the pin oak and red oak that were reaching their peak color. Probably could’ve just sat in the car, stared at those two trees and stayed home.
Sunday was relatively calm so it was a decent day to get the screenings cleaned up at the kindly neighbors’. After making the annual pilgrimage there for many moons I’ve long since forgotten how many years it is. It went smoothly and the small ewe flock there was happy to see the screenings suddenly appear in their feeders. There again, they don’t need extra feed either. They’ve picked up the few acorns that fell in their pasture and the grass grew exceptionally well with all the rainfall. Still, it’s nice to get them started on some feed and screenings work well in that department. And the price is certainly right, not to mention the exercise I desperately need this time of year. I have Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas in my sights.
See you next week…real good then.