The scurs didn’t see the above-normal temperatures coming but, as usual, no complaints. Will our charmed life continue? Starting Wednesday, mostly sunny with highs of 80 - 85 and lows near 55. Clear on Thursday with highs remaining well above normal for this time of year at 75 – 80 and lows of 55 – 60. Partly cloudy on Friday and Saturday with highs near 75 and lows of 55. There may be a slight possibility of a shower on Saturday but don’t hold your breath. Sunday, partly cloudy with another slight chance of showers. Highs 70 – 75 and lows around 50. Partly cloudy for Columbus Day with yet another slight chance of showers. Highs around 70 and lows near 50. Tuesday, partly cloudy and continued warm. Highs 70 – 75 and lows around 50. The normal high for October 10th is 64 and the normal low is 39. The scurs will be decorating for Columbus Day and awaiting the Full Moon on the 11th.
The Full Moon on the 11th is known as the Hunters Moon. This was the moon when the tribes of the northeast were busy hunting and putting away food in sufficient amounts to survive the long winter ahead. A feast was often scheduled on the date of the Full Moon in observance of the season. The Ojibwe called this the Falling Leaves Moon and the Sioux called it the Moon of Falling Leaves or the Moon of Changing Season. The leaves should be pretty this week but it won’t be long and they’ll be off the trees making us wonder where the growing season went.
Garnishing only .99” of precipitation at the ranch and .8” in Bugtussle proper, area harvest progress continues to move along at a rapid pace. Once again, Mother Nature has turned up the thermostat making LP suppliers moonlight as the Maytag repairman. Yields are continuing to be a pleasant surprise as is the moisture content of the corn. Funny what last week’s 47 mph wind gusts and this week’s 80 degree heat can do. About the only way to describe field conditions is dry and dusty. Combining beans without a breeze or auto steer can lead to a combine enveloped in dust, making it difficult to see. Hard to recall a year where soybean plants been pulverized into an almost powder-like state. The dry conditions have also resulted in numerous fires as well, so extra precautions need to be taken to clean out areas where dust and crop residues tend to collect. Monday afternoon saw two fires on the horizon and resulted in one fire call locally.
The warm temps have also made insects come out in force for one last hurrah. Last Wednesday’s warm temperatures led to an explosion of those little native pink ladybugs at the ranch and along with them lots of northern corn rootworm beetles adults. Luckily for us, neither of the species was interested in coming in the house. As quickly as they had appeared, the next day they were gone with the wind and cooler temperatures. Syrphid flies have been annoying and while some mistakenly call these hovering flies “sweat bees” they are harmless. The larvae consume loads of aphids so we can be thankful for that. Another nuisance has been the small, wedge-shaped minute pirate bug. While pirate bugs will taste test your arm and make you itch, they don’t leave a long lasting calling card. They also consume aphids and as the growing season has wound down, so have aphid populations. Saturday afternoon led to the first of the spider “ballooning” events. By evening as the sun was getting low, the gossamer strands from thousands of tiny spiders could be seen blowing in the breeze from tree trunks, grasses and fences just about anywhere you looked.
The aforementioned northern corn rootworm adults along with their little chrysomelid buddies, the striped and spotted cucumber beetles continued to attack the remaining squash and pumpkins left in the garden at the ranch. It was time to spring into action on Sunday night and rescue them from their plight and place them up closer to the house. The pumpkins and squash that the beetles had ruined soon were tossed over the fence to the sheep who were only to happy to devour them, bugs and all. The blue jays have been fingered as the culprits in taking some nasty hunks out of the apples. Again the sheep have been the beneficiaries of their criminal activity. Robins continue to move through in small groups. While there are few earthworms near the soil surface, our travelling guests enjoy dining on the nannyberries and remaining chokeberries. Think they’d be my choice too even if there were worms available.
See you next week…real good then.