More cool weather concerning the scurs that the Weather Eye will need to go to the Nash-Rambler dealer for servicing. Will they get a loaner or will they have to do the forecast all by themselves? Starting Wednesday, cloudy with a good chance of evening showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid-70’s with lows in the low 60’s. Thursday, partly sunny with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid-70’s with lows in the upper 50’s. Mostly sunny on Friday with a modest chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 70’s with lows in the low 60’s. Saturday, mostly sunny with a slight chance of daytime showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 70’s with lows in the low 60’s. Sunny on Sunday with highs in the low 80’s and lows in the low 60’s. Monday, mostly sunny with a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the low 80’s with lows in the low 60’s. Partly cloudy and warmer on Tuesday with increasing chances of developing thundershowers. Highs in the low 80’s with lows in the low 60’s. On the 21st of course we will experience the much ballyhooed solar eclipse. The normal high for August 21st is 81 and the normal low is 60. The scurs will have their eclipse glasses at the ready.
The solar eclipse has been all the rage for quite some time. According to several websites it will likely be at its peak shortly after 1 p.m. in Bugtussle. Unfortunately it will not be a total eclipse at this location and as such (if it isn’t cloudy to begin with) will probably look more like early morning light than the total blotting out of the sun some might be anticipating. Here is a website to play with that should give you an idea of when to expect the blessed event to occur. Just plug your zip code in near the top of the site where it says “click to begin”: http://time.com/4882923/total-solar-eclipse-map-places-view/
Crops continued to make progress in spite of the cooler conditions. According to the last calculation of GDU’s from the SROC, we were only about 2% ahead of normal at last check. We definitely need some warmer weather to keep us on pace so we’re not in trouble should a frost occur earlier than normal. Our rainfall has been slightly behind as well and that has helped keep the soybean aphids on farmer’s minds as we start heading down the homestretch. Corn is still in the dough stage and soybeans continue at R5, with some plants noticed in some early planted, early maturing fields approaching R6 where the beans fill the entire seed cavity on one of the pods at the uppermost four nodes of the plant with a fully developed leaf. Flowering is largely over in many area soybean fields and soon it will be what you see is what you get. Sort of. White mold has been found in many more fields as well as some SDS. Stay tuned.
It has definitely had the feeling of fall in early August this year. Lows in the low to mid-50’s are common the first two weeks of September here. Acorns are beginning to fall out of area bur oak trees, making that unmistakable thunking sound when they bounce off a metal roof or automobile. A few leaves on the sumac at the ranch have also given notice that they were paying attention to the cooler conditions as well. The lawns show no sign of slowing down as the temperatures and frequent rainfall events are exactly what cool-season grasses such as bluegrass like.
There has been subtle but noticeable change in bird behavior at the ranch. About the only bird singing in the morning is the cardinal who moves between our establishment and neighbor David’s. The robins’ song is history as is that of the house wren. Every once in a while we can hear a feeble attempt at the melody we heard all summer long although more commonly we hear scolding as there must be young wrens scattered all over the premises. The orioles grape jelly consumption has slowed to the point that I’m waiting for the higher end jelly to go on sale to make room for the new crop in their warehouses. The resurgence of the goldfinches has been gratifying. For several years their numbers dwindled to the point that the thistle seed would remain in the feeders for months. No more. The bright yellow males are back and keeping their feeders full is an every three or four day event. The hummers too have noticeably increased although there are so many flowers for them to attend to their consumption of the sugar water blend is nominal.
The bunnies have been making the gardening miserable as of late. One either has to put up with their constant eating of certain plants or erect a fence. The snap peas planted in late July came up rather nicely so it made sense to move the fence off the string beans over to the snap peas that are absolute bunny candy. Once that was accomplished of course the bunnies decide the string beans were fair game once again. There’s a double barrel 20 gauge that might convince them otherwise.
Last Thursday we had another car club event, this time to the Whispering Oaks care center in Ellendale. Sure enough as if on cue a freak rain shower came down from the north through minutes before departing. It made me question if I should take the Studebaker out. I decided that it was just a little rain so took off for Ellendale anyway. I got no further than the T south of my place when I spied Vista’s noted Swedish astronomer in my rearview mirror in his familiar old Pontiac. We made it on time and as a group, proceeded to give brief presentations about our automobiles to the appreciative residents. Afterwards we were treated to root beer floats as a few more showers moved through the area. Overall it was an evening that made you feel good inside. Sure, our collector automobiles were rained on but at least mine wiped down nice and clean. The rain might’ve made an excuse for us to stay home but the reaction of the residents made it time well spent.
See you next week…real good then