The scurs were on target with the heat wave predictions, unfortunately. What are their predictions for this week? Starting Wednesday, clear skies with highs near 95 and lows around 75. Thursday, partly cloudy with a chance of an overnight shower. Highs around 85 and lows of 70. Partly cloudy on Friday and Saturday with a chance of an overnight shower both days. Highs of 85 - 90 and low of 70. Partly cloudy on Sunday with highs of 85 and lows dropping to 65. Mostly sunny on Monday with highs of 80 – 85 and lows of 60 – 65. Mostly sunny on Tuesday and, are you ready for this? Highs near 75 and lows around 60. The normal high for July 23rd is 84 and the normal low is 62. On Wednesday the 20th we experience 15 hours of daylight the same as we did back on May 23rd. The scurs will celebrate the cooler temps with a short lemonade. Moderation in all things.
The past week saw more tremendous progress made in the crop although it was not without its share of issues for farmers to worry about. Heavy storms moved through the area last Friday not once but twice. The morning thunderstorm came as somewhat of a surprise as rain was originally predicted for later in the day with only small chances in the morning. The matinee was predicted and came through with a vengeance at the ranch. Decided it was a good idea to check the sheep at the kindly neighbors pasture before the storm broke and while there the sky turned pitch black. The sheep were fine and the yard lights were on as I left. It was so dark there the fireflies came out at 3:30 in the afternoon. Had never seen that one before as we hightailed it for home. Had intended to get the mail but by the time I got in the driveway it was raining sideways. It rained so hard by the time I made it in the garage that the barn was nearly imperceptible aside from the yard light on the south side. Total rainfall amounts on the day varied anywhere from 1.5” to near 6”. This meant some potential nitrogen loss in the corn and the winds that were part of both storms in areas caused corn to lodge as well as snapping some off. Soybeans fared better with only some minor leaf tattering from the wind. Some of them have now reached R3. Small grains went flat in places although most fields took it well. Pea yields have ranged anywhere from poor to slightly above average. The heavy rainfall made harvest efforts muddy and challenging. Rainfall so far for the month at the ranch has totaled 4.7” compared with about 5.3” for the month of June.
The heat and humidity have certainly made life miserable and some of that misery will be reflected in next months electric bill. The sheep have been extremely uncomfortable even though we’ve kept fans on them and cool clean water in front of them 24/7. Sheep don’t sweat so have to rely on panting to cool themselves, something they’ve been doing much of the last several weeks. Working with them when it’s been this hot is out of the question. The last thing we want to do given the circumstances is to stress them any more than is absolutely necessary. Ditto for the human component after spending many days working in the heat.
It’s become obvious one robin has it in for me because on many of the days this summer we’ve recorded precip, it has decided to take a dump in the rain gauge. Fortunately the garden hose is nearby to clean it out. It’s just the principle of the thing. The orioles stopped coming to the jelly feeder suddenly which seemed a little odd since it had recently been filled. Closer examination of the situation revealed the windblown rain had pretty well cleaned it out. It didn’t take long upon refilling it and orioles young and old were back feasting again. After Friday’s storms it was surprising to see a wild turkey hen being harassed by a red-winged blackbird as she and her two poults strolled around the grounds, grazing for bugs. Speaking of bugs, the first cicada at the ranch was heard buzzing on Monday the 18th.
Once again the local varmint population has reared its ugly head. A huge woodchuck has been spotted near the granary and it appears to have done some digging there. My double barrel is on the blink so I grabbed a pump shotgun instead and inserted a couple shells into the magazine. Trouble was after getting used to popping a couple shells into the old blunderbuss all these years, I neglected to chamber a shell. Imagine my disbelief after having the critter dead to rights only to hear a “click” when I pulled the trigger. The woodchuck apparently couldn’t believe it either as it lumbered merrily off to do some more digging.
Inside the house, a bat decided to show up about bedtime. It maneuvered around the living space quite nimbly and the only way it was detected was by the swishing sound of its wings. Bats are fine with me as long as they stay outside eating insects where they belong. Once they get in the house, it’s all out war. I grabbed the nearest broom and proceeded to do my best Michael Cuddyer impression. When the bat did his down and away slider impression I swung and missed. However I did manage to make contact with the pantry door. No biggy, I thought, as I hunted the little beast down and finally subdued it. After disposing of the bat I happened to look at the pantry door and to my horror discovered I’d made more than just contact; I’d punched a hole in it. The next day I called my little fat vertically challenged Swedish carpenter buddy and explained the situation. Add this latest tragedy to the hole I poked in the siding when clearing the snow off the roof and the one made by the rooster pheasant that flew into the side of the house this spring. I’m sure he’s thinking the way keep making holes in things he’ll be able to cash in and make a full day of it soon.
See you next week…real good then.