The scurs continue to get the Weather Eye to kick out some much needed heat. Will they extend the warm spell or have we seen all the summer we’ll get? Starting Wednesday, mostly sunny with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid-70’s with lows in the upper 50’s. Thursday, sunny with highs in the upper 70’s and lows in the low 60’s. Mostly sunny on Friday with a slight chance of an evening shower or thunderstorm. Highs in the mid-80’s with lows in the mid-60’s. Saturday, mostly sunny with a slight chance of evening rain. Highs in the mid-80’s with lows in the mid-60’s. Mostly sunny on Sunday with a slight chance of an evening shower or thunderstorm. Highs in the upper 80’s with lows in the low 70’s. Monday, mostly sunny with highs in the upper 80’s and lows in the low 70’s. Partly sunny for Tuesday with a decent possibility of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 80’s with lows in the low 70’s. The Full Moon for the month occurs on the 16th. The normal high for July 16th is 83 and the normal low is 62. The scurs have their Farm and City Days button purchased and gunny sacks ready for all the candy.
As mentioned the Full Moon is on the 16th and as usual has several names. Most commonly it is known as the Full Buck Moon as the whitetail bucks are in the velvet stage of their antler growth. It’s also known as the Full Thunder Moon for the numerous thunderstorms common this time of year. The Full Hay Moon is yet another name and of course thunderstorms and haying generally don’t mix. The Ojibwe knew this as the Raspberry Moon while the Sioux called it The Moon of Red Cherries. At the ranch we know it as the Chasing our Tail Moon for the numerous events we’re involved in this time of year.
Crops made great strides this past week. Worrying about knee-high corn was the least of our worries. In visits to several corn fields on Monday, much of the corn was well over my head. Given the leaves left to unfurl it appears we should start seeing some tassels the middle of next week if the weather continues to cooperate. Some issue has been made of the corn rooting depth and that may vary depending on where your fields are located. In New Richland for instance, June precipitation was just a hair over two inches. While it wasn’t dry, average June precip at the SROC in Waseca is 4.69”. With warmer temperatures the end of June and into July and the crop taking up moisture at a rapid pace, root systems aren’t getting any shallower. Soybeans also made progress albeit more subtle. Most of the fields are R2 or full bloom. The iron deficiency chlorosis that suddenly appeared has nearly as quickly disappeared with recent rains. Soybean aphids, while detectable if you look hard enough, are nowhere near threshold.
Garden progress also keyed on the past week’s warm temperatures as did the weeds. I’d finally had enough of that and cleaned them up. The sheep were glad I did, fishing through the pile I tossed over the fence as though there was nothing to eat in their pasture. I got the tomato cages all in place after wondering if the tomatoes were ever going to grow. They suddenly did so it was time. The cannas too, especially after weeding, have hit full stride, not unlike area corn fields. Around July 4th I usually make one last string bean planting although like last year it was my only planting. It had to wait until the 8th due to the heavy downpour on the 5th but they’re in the ground. They beans were a 50-day maturity variety so they should make it, I hope.
The 4-H kids have been working hard getting their lambs ready for the upcoming fairs. Of course there are distractions such as Ruby begging for attention and a little black kitten that may go home with one of them. Then there are also our pet toads that frequent the barn this time of year. The fly population in the barn has really taken off so in turn several toads take advantage of the prey. We watched one large specimen gobble down numerous flies one morning. It’s no wonder the toad was as large as it was given its appetite.
Have had several people mention what has been up to now a relatively uncommon insect in this area. It’s the false Japanese beetle, dark brown beetle about 3/8’s of an inch long. They seem to enjoy annoying people by flying in their faces and getting stuck in the ladies’ hair. While harmless to humans, they will chew up lighter colored flowers like the kindly neighbors’ roses and Mrs. Cheviot’s while salvia. As the Boy Entomologist recently wrote, like the true Japanese beetle, they have one generation per year with the larvae feeding on grass roots. Unlike the true Japanese beetle they lack the more metallic elytra (hardened forewing) and the white tufts of hair on the abdomen.
False Japanese beetles aren’t as voracious or numerous however as the real Japanese beetles where they become a real problem. They denude flowers and entire trees, fornicate constantly and make a general nuisance of themselves. Fortunately we haven’t had the pleasure of dealing with the real Japanese beetles here yet, but when and if we do, they’ll be a real treat, something you won’t soon forget. Having seen the crop damage they’re capable of causing on the eastern leg of the Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour over the years, I can attest to it. A couple of them even hitched a ride home in my suitcase one year. No damage done, but the annoyance factor was still there.
See you next week…real good then.