The muggy weather along with smoke from the Canadian wildfires once again had the scurs and Weather Eye on the hotseat with the locals. Will they get off the people’s naughty lists or are they doomed to remain on it for one more week? Starting Wednesday, partly sunny with highs in the low 80’s with lows in the low 60’s. Thursday mostly sunny with highs in the upper 70’s with 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. Mostly sunny for Sunday with a moderate chance of showers and thunderstorms in the evening. Highs in the low 80’s with lows in the low 60’s. Monday, mostly cloudy with a good chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid-70’s with lows in the low 60’s. Partly sunny Tuesday with possible morning showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the low 70’s with lows in the upper 50’s. The normal high for August 16th is 80 and the normal low is 60. On the 16th we slide below 14 hours of daylight for the first time since April 26th. The scurs are thankful we’re not waiting for snow piles to melt like we were then.
Crops continue to progress towards maturity. More fields of corn were noticed denting and at full dent it’s generally considered to be about one month away from physiological maturity. Last Tuesday’s surprise rain also helped the crop maintain some of those tip kernels which otherwise might’ve been lost. Rainfall varied although most garnered between a half inch and an inch, In Bugtussle rainfall measured at 2” with reports outside of town of over 4”. Soybeans too made progress and the rains were beneficial for setting pods on the uppermost nodes. Soybean aphids have increased in most but not all fields. Treatment has been warranted in many. It’s wise to check individual fields however as there is without question a lot of variability in levels from one to the next.
Haying 2.0 tried our patience as a result of the muggy weather, light winds and reduced sunlight from the wildfire smoke. Cutting was delayed by rainfall on August 4th then again Tuesday when heavier rains fell. Mowed last Wednesday when the ground was still wet; it remained tough. Staying on the field nearly five days it was bleached by the sun more than one would’ve liked. It’s just frustrating to look at the windrows and know after checking it that baling it that wet would be risky. Have seen one too many barn fires attributed to wet hay. Eventually it got done as a team effort with the Dubya’s however. The Cheviots can now enjoy their hay during the depths of winter.
Waiting for the hay to dry allowed me to get the Studebaker out last Thursday night for our local car club event at Whispering Oaks in Ellendale. I’ve made it the last three years in a row and am always impressed at how much the residents appreciate the visit. One of the women even surprised me by asking about how the overdrive works! I’m also impressed by how well coordinated the event has always been thanks to Pat Motl. To get everyone out there to see the cars, get the audio system out front so everyone can hear, not to mention root beer floats for everyone afterwards, is quite an undertaking.
More activities while waiting for hay to dry included putting the sharpened blades on Howard the orange mower as well as changing the oil. Howard had to step up to the plate last week after Whitey’s mower deck electric clutch bit the dust. That got repaired by neighbor Jon so now they’re both ready to finish the lawn mowing campaign for another season. I also decided it was a good time after the rain to put in some fall garden. The spring being late and wet much of the time kept much of our usual spring gardening from happening. I managed to put in some lengthy rows of snap peas, radishes and last but not least several kinds of salad and mixed greens. All the produce was such a hit last year I had to try it again while I had a few minutes. Usually what happens is not everything is a success every year so planting a variety of things usually assures a supply of something edible. Just like farming used to be.
We seem to be seeing more tiger swallowtail butterflies the past several growing seasons. These large beautiful yellow butterflies were seldom seen for many years. Conspicuously absent from any commentary about their sudden increase in numbers is global warming/climate change and reduced pesticide use. Unlike the black swallowtail cousins we grew up feeding dill and carrot greens in fruit jars, the tiger swallowtail larvae feed primarily on tree leaves such as ash, cottonwood, basswood, birch and willow. We have most of those species growing somewhere at the ranch. Tiger swallowtails overwinter as pupae. The adults like flowers, in particular milkweeds and Joe-Pye Weed. They also seem to like our tiger lilies although this year’s crop has been camera shy. Regardless of what is making their sighting more frequent, we enjoy seeing them floating around the yard.
The butterflies don’t have an exclusive on the flowers in our yard. Along with the bumblebees, the hummingbirds have taken note of the blue salvia starting to bloom. One of the cannas was open for business too with several more right on their heels. The four o’clocks aren’t wasting any time either with a couple of the volunteer plants flowering. Along with the planters surrounding the house, the hummers won’t be going hungry. We’ve also noticed the return of some of our bird friends from earlier in the season. The Baltimore orioles hadn’t been seen for almost a month. Last Friday night I heard what sounded like the chattering call from a male oriole so I put some more jelly in the feeder just in case. Sure enough the Saturday morning there were four brightly colored males bouncing from limb to limb and then to the feeder. I enjoyed their antics as they shooed the house sparrows away from their turf. Best enjoy them now because it might be eight months until we see another one.
See you next week...