The scurs continue to be mystified by the moisture emanating from beneath the Weather Eye. Will the forecast leave us crying or just misty eyed? Starting Wednesday, mostly sunny with a good chance of rain. Highs in the upper 50’s with lows in the mid-40’s. Thursday, mostly cloudy with highs in the upper 50’s and lows in the low 40’s. Mostly sunny on Friday with increasing clouds and a good chance of a shower or thunderstorms in the evening. Highs in the upper 50’s with lows in the mid-40’s. Saturday, mostly cloudy with a good chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 50’s with lows in the mid-40’s. Partly sunny on Sunday with a slight chance of a shower or thunderstorm. Highs in the low 60’s with lows in the mid-40’s. Monday, sunny with highs in the low 60’s and lows in the low 40’s. Mostly cloudy for Tuesday becoming with an outside chance for a shower or thunderstorm. Highs in the low 60’s with lows in the upper 40’s. On the 6th we slide below 11 hours and 30 minutes of daylight, about the same as we were on March 7th. The normal high for October 6th is 64 and the normal low is 41.During Monday’s warmth, the scurs abandoned their wood splitting to lounge by the ceement pond. They know full well that it won’t last but they can always dream.
Harvest got started in places last week with some earlier maturing earlier planted soybeans coming off. Yields while not spectacular were satisfactory. Most were reporting upper 50’s to mid-60 bushel per acre yields and some of this was across the scale, not involving the combine monitor. The expectation is that as we get into the later plantings yields may tail off some. Some corn was also harvested although moisture content was in the upper 20’s yet. There is some time although those who are aware they have stalk and root issues will likely press the envelope as well they should. While farmers sometimes have short memories, the memory of picking down corn last fall is not something they’ll soon forget. The volunteer corn common in many soybean fields served as a constant reminder much of the season. LP was purchased right in many cases so picking and drying it while the air temperatures are warmer vs. colder only makes sense.
At the ranch we continue to slide slowly into fall. There isn’t much leaf color yet and aside from those being knocked out of the trees by the wind, not much on the ground. There have been plenty of branches, sticks and twigs to pick up however which makes for great recreational fire material. The trouble is we’re seldom able to burn anything due to the wet conditions or getting home later than we’d like. Eventually it gets burned up but the bigger piles are becoming problematic. Not only does one have to contend with Mother Nature’s bladder control issues, the Nanny State and trash fire police make it difficult to burn anything without feeling guilty about it. Things like raccoons, skunks, feral cats and opossums love it however and lord knows we know we all need more of those. Not.
We’ve been watching the yard as it transitions into fall. The four o’clocks have run their course aside from a few scattered blooms. The impatiens have remarkably hung on after a little additional nitrogen that greened them up and seemed to lengthen their flowering period. The cannas too have kept flowering, adding new spikes of red flowers almost daily. The white-lined sphinx moths have appreciated the impatiens and four o’clocks, making appearances in both daytime and after twilight. The last hummingbird was seen on Sunday the 29th. Last year the last one we documented was on September 30th. Regardless, they once again had a good run. We saw the first one on May 5th so almost five months’ worth of enjoyment on our part.
Bumblebees have been numerous this fall as well. They’re generally fonder of the blooms on the coleus and some have parked there for the day when we’ve had some of cooler nights. We enjoy seeing them now but as kids we were generally not bumblebee fans. Their relative size and the perceived potential for getting stung spelled trouble. There was a large nest in the old pump house that we had as a playhouse. The bumblebees had a perfect place to enter and exit as well as a dry spot in the insulation for nesting. When Dad tore the siding off the size of the nest was amazing. No wonder there was a humming sound coming from inside the wall!
Then there were times baling straw during a dry August when we’d disturbed bumblebees apparently nesting in the ground under a windrow. If you were driving the tractor you generally were oblivious to the situation. If you were on the rack however, the angry bumblebees suddenly flying around your head meant hopping off the rack and running to where they weren’t. When the coast was clear you’d jump back on the rack. Normally by the time you made the next pass the bees had forgotten all about it and weren’t an issue. Or so you hoped.
Monday was as mentioned a warm one. Temperatures climbed into the upper 80’s and made one think it was July once again. Looking at the calendar, trees and crops one knows better. Of course when done with work, I checked on the sheep at the kindly neighbors’ sheep pasture only to find the electric fence grounded out. It took a couple attempts walking around the fence to locate the ground but at long last I did, finding me sweaty and grumpy when I plugged the fencer back in. When I got home Mrs. Cheviot was already in the middle of chores so I started pulling water buckets out of the pens. As I grabbed the second one a buck lamb greeted me at the panel and blew snot all over my face as is their wont. Raise sheep they said. It’ll be fun they said.
See you next week…real good then.