With the windshield washer stuck on in the ’74 Gremlin X, the scurs were helpless to get any assist from the Weather Eye. Is there any relief in sight or are we doomed to wait until the washer fluid reservoir runs empty? Starting Wednesday, sunny becoming cloudy with a slight chance of evening showers. Highs in the low 60’s with lows in the upper 40’s. Thursday cloudy with a slight chance of forenoon rain. Highs in the low 60’s with lows in the low 40’s. Mostly cloudy on Friday with a slight chance of afternoon rain and frost overnight. Highs in the upper 40’s with lows in the mid-30’s. Saturday, partly sunny with frost in the a.m. and overnight. Highs in the low 50’s with lows in the upper 30’s. Mostly cloudy for Sunday with morning frost and a good chance of evening showers. Highs in the upper 50’s with lows in the upper 40’s. Monday, mostly cloudy with a good chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the low 60’s with lows in the low 40’s. Mostly cloudy Tuesday with possible showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 50’s with lows in the upper 40’s. On the 26th we slide back below 12 hours of daylight, about the same as we had back on March 16th. The sun will set at 7 p.m. CDT on the 28th. October is upon us Monday. The normal high for October 1st is 67 and the normal low is 43. Given the forecast it appears the scurs have a lot more wood to split.
Some area farmers wound up with a splitting headache as a result of last week’s encore rain and wind performance. Rainfall totals for the week of 3” – 5” were common with Thursday night’s heavy winds damaging farmsteads and flattening crops, again. Some have been quick to jump on the bandwagon, using it as an opportunity to sell fertilizer. One has to be careful not to jump to conclusions. Much of the corn going down had more to do with hybrid selection, position on the landscape, compaction, drainage, high seasonal precip, 60+ mph straight line winds and tornadoes than it did with any fertilizer programs. My recent lengthy windshield survey of MN would tend to confirm that. Corn that has been picked has been running well with yields commonly well over 200 bu./acre. Moistures have been in the low to mid-20’s on the early maturing hybrids. Early maturing soybeans that were harvested ahead of the recent monsoon were also a pleasant surprise with hopes of even better yields as the later maturing soybeans are harvested.
Garden produce continues to roll in at the ranch. Tomatoes are at their peak although the fall lettuce crop, an integral ingredient in BLT’s has not come on line just yet. The recent rains and abundance of cloudy weather haven’t helped matters. The string bean crop should be done as the last of it has been distributed or eaten. Given the mud and nasty mosquito population it’s likely the last ones weren’t picked anyway. The slugs have to eat too. Apple harvest can likely be in full swing as both the Fireside’s and Haralson’s should be mature. This means some of the best eating of the fall when it comes to apple crisp and just having apples to snack on. There are also loads of ground falls so the sheep will be happy about that.
Blue jays around the yard at the ranch are loudly announcing the arrival of fall. Lots of flickers moving through the area right now as are some robins and waxwings. They have plenty of berries to nosh on as the nannyberries have turned from blushing red to nearly black. There was still a hummingbird at the feeder yet on the morning of the 25th so scrambled to change the sugar water that had become cloudy in my recent absence. While I doubt that they’ll stick around one doesn’t want to make them sick either.
Before harvest was in full swing, I managed to squeeze in one more adventure to Canada. I broke the trip up a bit this time, stopping at my brother’s place north of the Twin Cities the night before heading to Bemidji to meet my buddy Billy. It did make it less stressful dealing with the traffic and it was a long overdue visit. I had some produce to distribute as well. We stayed up way too late visiting but that’s just standard Bernard operating procedure. Before I knew it, it was time to head northward again.
My primary focus is to help my buddy Bill get his family’s cabin headed towards buttoning it up. The preliminary work isn’t a lot different than what happens on a regular basis at the ranch. The scenery is different though and sometimes that needs to happen after a long hot summer without a lot of days for recreation. The weather this time left a little to be desired with rain falling every day and sleet falling overnight on the 22nd. Regardless, the neighbors there are always a hoot and I’ve come to look forward to their visits as much as I do the change of scenery. I consider them friends and enjoy catching up on what they’ve been up to north of the border. In addition we share some edibles back and forth. No tariffs or trade wars involved! As it should be.
Ruby is always glad when I return from these road trips. Every part of her wiggles and squirms. The squealing and whining that ensues leaves no doubt she’s happy to see me. Putting up with the severe thunderstorm while I was away couldn’t have been pretty for Mrs. Cheviot though. Ruby is not a fan. She likes to hide although that’s not her only trick. Trying to get on top of you and licking as she crams herself in closer and tighter gets old in a hurry especially when you’re trying to read the paper or watch TV. I ran across another Border Collie with the same affliction not long before I went to Canada. He was busy hiding upstairs in the shop while I was visiting a farmer during a thunderstorm. We both just shook our heads in disbelief. They definitely keep life interesting.
See you next week…real good then.