The scurs have kept close tabs on the Weather Eye since it seems to have developed a penchant for throwing more heat than we care for. Are we in for more of the same or due for some cooler weather fare for the Waseca Co. Fair? Starting Wednesday, mostly sunny with a good chance of evening showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid-80’s with lows in the low 70’s. Thursday, partly sunny with moderate chances of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid-80’s with lows in the upper 60’s. Partly sunny on Friday with highs in the low 80’s and lows in the upper 60’s. Saturday, mostly sunny with a moderate chance of evening showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid-80’s with lows in the low 70’s. Partly sunny for Sunday with a moderate chance for showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid-80’s with lows in the mid-60’s. Monday, partly sunny with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 70’s with lows in the low 60’s. Mostly cloudy Tuesday with possible a.m. showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid-70’s with lows in the low 60’s. The normal high for July 15th is 83 and the normal low is 62. On the 15th we’ll be down to 15 hours and 8 minutes of daylight, having lost 20 minutes since the summer solstice. The scurs have it on good authority that Bugtussle is under investigation by the MPCA. Reason? Tootsie Roll pollution from storm sewer runoff into Boot Creek.
Another week of fantastic crop growing weather. Some dryness finally prevailed allowing the corn that hasn’t tasseled an opportunity to send roots down deeper in the soil profile. Several area fields have been fully tasseled out for nearly a week. Unless August puts the brakes on as it did last year we should be headed for an earlier than normal maturity date on the early planted corn. Bear in mind it wasn’t in that early relative to some years so that’s a reflection on the tremendous accumulation of GDU’s, nearly a quarter more than normal since May 1st at last check. Soybeans too have begun to look like they may amount to something. The early planted fields have reached R3, having a pod of 3/16” or more set at one of the 4 uppermost nodes with a fully expanded trifoliate. Some second cutting hay has been made resulting in some choice forage.
We continue to see lots of birds in the backyard at the ranch. The orioles went forth and multiplied, their young now appearing at the jelly feeder. There is a faithful contingent of goldfinches who seemed to appreciate the recently cleaned thistle feeders. Hummingbirds are going through a pint of sugar water every five to six days. The male cardinal is still flying into the sliding glass door on a regular basis, giving Ruby another reason for being. Probably the most rewarding sighting however was at the kindly neighbors’ pasture. Back in mid-June the bluebird house on the corner post had a clutch of six eggs in it. A few weeks later it appeared all had hatched and within about five days of that, they were nearly feathered out. Strangely enough though, I never saw the parents. One night the fencer wasn’t clacking so had to find where it was grounded out. When I got near the birdhouse, I felt a slight breeze next to my ear and heard something snapping, not once but several times. Looking up, sure enough one of the parents was ready to make another swoop at me. I could only conclude the babies must’ve been close to emerging from the nest. I felt lucky to escape with both ears intact.
Ruby has kept us entertained while we were waiting for the rain to stop. Between barking at horses, dogs and Clint Eastwood on TV, she plays with her play balls as Border Collies love to do. One night she was frantically looking for her favorite one, the one with a hole chewed in it. She looked in the usual spots and ran back and forth which usually means she lost it in a recliner or under the couch. We tore the living room apart, tuning it upside down and looking everywhere. Still no play ball. We finally gave up and Ruby played grudgingly with her second choice, the intact orange ball. The next night we came home and we noticed she was playing with a ball. But wait! She apparently located her favorite in the meantime as there were suddenly two again. She was back in business, crashing into furniture and batting one off the wall while carrying the other. She’s easily entertained.
The gardening at the ranch this year has been somewhat lackluster relative to what we’ve done in the past. We’re down to nine tomato plants, some zucchini, a recent planting of string beans and a few Charlie Brown cucumber transplants. The price was right so if they don’t make it, we ain’t got much in it. Actually the tomatoes are really taking off and the zucchini are in need of thinning. Planted last year’s leftover seed and almost every one of them grew. Go figure. Floral-wise the gardening has been more successful. The pots and planters have benefitted from the heat and up until recently from the frequent rains. The morning glories are ascending towards the top of their trellis with an occasional bloom apparent here and there. Weeding the mass of tangled volunteer morning glories from a bed of zinnias one understands quickly why they were the scourge of many a farmer to the south of here. And the mosquitoes didn’t help matters.
I’ve been waiting for a while to write this but the time never seemed right, until now. When I went to the car show Saturday it was an automatic to make it to the pancake breakfast if nothing else to find out who the Grand Marshal was for the Farm and City Days parade. I’d wondered earlier who would be a good choice. I thought perhaps Carlie Wagner would be the very logical one but my spidey senses are usually wrong so I really didn’t think much more about it. When the announcement was about to be made I happened to look right at Carlie and smile, knowing full well based on what I was hearing who it was. I could think of no one more deserving.
Speaking from our perspective at the ranch, I don’t know how many times we came in from chores cold and tired to livestream Carlie and the Gopher women’s basketball games. Every time we did though it was entertaining and she was to a large degree responsible. We also had the good fortune to head to Williams Arena several times and watch her play in person. Early on I wondered when the coaching change happened so abruptly if she’d remain a Gopher or transfer. Perhaps selfishly I was so glad she stayed. Even when it wasn’t all peaches and cream, she stuck it out. That’s probably what impressed me the most. Many her age would’ve bailed. It spoke volumes about her integrity and perseverance. Now her playing career with the Gophers is over, there’s no question in my mind she’ll be a success wherever the journey takes her. Thanks Carlie for allowing us to be a part of your career and know that your neighbors will still be pulling for you no matter what you do.
See you next week…real good then.