The return of sticky weather had some cursing the scurs and their vaunted Weather but it was soon forgotten when welcome rains fell over the weekend. Will the “stickies” be cause for more misery or will moderate temperatures and timely rains make weather great again? Starting Wednesday, sunny with highs in the mid-80’s and lows in the mid-60’s. Thursday, sunny with highs in the mid-80’s and lows in the low 60’s. Sunny on Friday with highs in the low 80’s and lows in the low 60’s. Saturday, sunny with highs in the low 80’s and lows in the low 60’s. Sunny for Sunday with highs in the low 80’s and lows in the low 60’s. Monday, sunny with highs in the low 80’s and lows in the low 60’s. Partly sunny Tuesday with possible showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid-80’s with lows in the mid-60’s. The normal high for August 10th is 81 and the normal low is 60. The scurs will be camping evenings on their blankie this weekend, eyes turned skyward to watch the Perseid Meteor Shower.
Crops continued to march towards maturity even though it cooled down some earlier in the week. Welcome rainfall events over the weekend totaled amounts in the .8” – 1” range across much of the area. Some early planted corn was denting as of Monday morning where observed and even the latest plantings were showing tassels. Soybeans also made major progress, with flowering complete on some of the early planted, early maturing varieties. Soybean aphid numbers showed increases especially in fields close to wooded areas near rivers and lakes. With low soybean prices most are content not to spray until the threshold of 250 per plant on 80% of the plants with numbers increasing has been reached. More white mold has been found in area soybeans although it’s been limited to scattered plants thus far and not affecting large patches as it did last year at this time.
The rainfall was a blessing in the garden at the ranch as well. The string beans planted shortly after the 4th are close to flowering. Actually eating produce from the garden eventually is a possibility. We have had some yellow pear tomatoes and they’ve been tasty. The Celebrity tomatoes are starting to turn so a ripe red tomato is also a distinct possibility. And zucchini of course is coming along with several set on the late planted crop. It was amazing to watch the response of the garden plants following the rain. It was getting to the point where I’d considered watering some of it. All of the plants including the weeds took off and with no frost it still should amount to something.
Sometimes the planting experiments I try at the ranch work out and sometimes not so much. An example of the former struck me the other day when I was heading towards the ranch from the south. I couldn’t figure out what the large orange “thing” was parked in our back yard. It didn’t dawn on me until I pulled in the driveway that it was the tiger lilies that had burst into bloom. I’d transplanted them a couple falls ago, moving them from where the old garage stood. They now reside around the LP tank. Apparently they must’ve found the sheep manure buried under each bulb. They stand over five feet tall. And they’re blaze orange.
Another success didn’t dawn on me until last week during the Freeborn Co. Fair. Mrs. Cheviot was entering some Honeycrisp and Haralson apples from our trees that looked rather appealing. When I was mowing lawn I noticed the pears were coming along nicely. They were pear-shaped, uniform in size and they had a nice blush on one side. There were enough on the small tree so that picking a few off wouldn’t hurt anything. In fact some of the small limbs they were on were bending from the weight. For laughs I selected enough to exhibit and sent them along with Mrs. Cheviot. I was totally shocked to receive a text saying the pears won the fruit division. It just goes to show that whether you’re eating it or growing it, fruit’s a gamble.
Our birds continue to be faithful although not as numerous as some years. The goldfinches have been steady customers at the thistle feeders and so have a handful of house finches. They always make me smile, remembering how they made my Mom’s last days more enjoyable when they’d visit her window feeder. The hummingbirds are increasing in number making one wonder if their migration is on already. Even though I’d thought better of it I put some jelly back in the jelly feeder to see if there was anything interested. I could still hear an occasional catbird and sure enough a young catbird was the first customer. Not long afterwards an immature orchard oriole was eating there. They appreciated my effort and I couldn’t ask for more than that.
Road construction continues to dominate many area conversations. The gravel roads are constantly in need of grading due to people detouring around construction zones. Fortunately the Hwy 13 repaving project is completed now. It’s amazing how quickly and efficiently they did it, especially given the wet weather. Granted it was inconvenient and there were some complaints about surly road construction people. The trick was to drive on it after the construction crew had gone home. You often had the road to your lonesome and could enjoy the nice wide lanes. Regardless, it’s done now and a colossal improvement over the rough road it was.
Speaking of rough road, the St. Olaf Lake road construction is underway and while the project is nowhere near as large, it presents some challenges. It can’t get done fast enough for those of us driving it daily. Hitting those expansion joints made your head bob up and down like one of those bobble head dogs. And that was on the good part. Some would maintain the road has already improved. When Mrs. Cheviot came back from the fair one night she came down the Lake Road. Only a portion of the pavement was ground off. She said the part that was ground off was much smoother than the part that was still paved. That’s a clue.
See you next week…real good then.