The scurs had the Weather Eye tuned in once again and warmer temperatures prevailed. Is this a harbinger of things to come or will we still be stuck with pieces of April? Starting Wednesday, partly sunny with a good chance of evening showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid-70’s with lows in the upper 50’s. Partly sunny Thursday with a good chance of rain in the overnight. Highs in the upper 70’s with lows in the low 60’s. Partly sunny on Friday with a good chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 70’s with lows in the low 60’s. Saturday, partly sunny with a good chance of rain. Highs in the low 70’s with lows in the mid-50’s. Partly sunny Sunday with a modest chance of a shower and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid-60’s with lows in the upper 40’s. Monday, mostly sunny with highs in the low 70’s and lows in the low 50’s. Partly sunny on Tuesday with highs in the low 70’s and lows in the mid-50’s. On May 13th, the sun will set at 8:30 p.m. CDT. The normal high for May 13th is 67 and the normal low is 47. The scurs have their transport of mosquito repellent ordered. Can summer be far off?
As anticipated, monumental planting progress was made over the past week. The dry start to May made soil conditions nearly ideal. A sudden change brought progress to a screeching halt on Friday and Saturday with some heavy rain in and around New Richland. Reports of up to 4” fell with roughly 2.6” over the two-day period in town itself. At the ranch to the east, approximately .9” fell over the weekend. While it wasn’t the dousing others received, it still left the soil surface too damp for field operations. Monday night’s surprise showers prolonged the dampness. Some have wondered how that earliest planted corn has fared. Quite well for the most part. Corn planted April 13th was starting to emerge when checked Monday afternoon. After the pounding rain some were concerned about crusting. Given the wet forecast, that’s unlikely. It’s still not a bad idea to figure out where your rotary hoe might happen to be just in case. The weather can turn on a dime and doesn’t give change.
The wetter weather pattern has put a hold on the garden at the ranch. It was starting to look like one of those garden at will springs. Now it’s starting to look like one of those where a burndown application to control some of the weeds might be in order before tilling can take place. Not to worry. When it gives us lemons, we make lemonade. Soil conditions were getting too dry prior to the rain to even think about expanding the garden to accommodate more vine crops including muskmelons, which we grew with great success when the garden was located in the windbreak. Now the garden is permanently on the south facing slope, it should be faster and even more suitable for melons. We’ve also discovered it’s possible to garden into the fall successfully. Staggered plantings of string beans, radishes and snap peas in the fall are welcome treats to the point that we tire of picking them.
Around the yard, the fruit trees are starting to burst into bloom. The wild plums and serviceberries started late last week. By Monday the pear trees just exploded with white flowers all the way to the top of both trees. Looks like the crabapples are right on their heels with the apples bringing up the rear. The Haralson and Fireside trees appear to be on their off year. The rabbits didn’t help matters. Getting on top of the snowbanks, they chewed a lot of the lower branches containing the flower buds off. Luckily, the Honeycrisp and SnowSweet trees are loaded with flower buds this time around. The SnowSweet tree in particular has struggled in recent years so hopefully it will live up to its potential. It would be especially nice to try making some pie with them just to see if they’re as good as I think they’d be. The rhubarb is ready after the warmer temps and beneficial rain. Auntie Mar Mar will rejoice.
Bird migration to the ranch had reached a virtual standstill with the cooler temps. The warmup meant game on for many of the species we’ve been waiting for. The goldfinches are sunny, and the warmer temps brought out the dandelions to provide camouflage for them. The contingent of white-throated sparrows grew so I put out the jelly feeder in late April just in case. I also put a nectar feeder out so both the orioles and hummingbirds could use it. Soon afterwards the floodgates opened, and the migration was on. There were yellow rumped warblers on the 3rd, and Harris’s sparrows seen at the ranch on the 5th. The 6th was an absolute watershed day with Baltimore orioles, rose-breasted grosbeaks, white-crowned sparrows, and a ruby throated hummingbird all gracing us with their presence. On the 7th we heard our first house wren of the season and on the 8th, a catbird was using the birdbath. Quite a week to gaze out the window into the backyard. Best of all there are many more returnees to come.
More fauna have been making their presence known as well. The wetland started out with western chorus frog song in the evenings and recently transitioned into American toad trilling 24/7. At night, leopard frogs and grey tree frogs can be heard adding to the mix. In the yard, of particular notice have been the red admiral butterflies whose migration can be in conjunction with that of the true armyworm moth. Sure enough, armyworm moths have been captured in the pheromone trap at the ranch. Never doubt the Boy Entomologist. Queen bumblebees have emerged from hibernation and have been noted on some of the perennial bulbs flowering by the house. Hopefully some of their offspring return to enjoy the lupines and planters Mrs. Cheviot has been assembling for them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5hHug1_JuU
https://www.umesc.usgs.gov/terrestrial/amphibians/armi/frog_calls.html
Poppy continues to take all this in as a young dog tends to do. She’s 10 months old and while still a puppy, about as curious and mobile as she’ll ever be. That means she needs nearly constant supervision. Like kids, it’s time to start worrying when it becomes quiet. Indoors, she’s developed a habit of chasing insects around, not unlike our Sheltie used to do. Say the word “bug” and Poppy begins to look around frantically for them. Outside, I had to stop her before she got into trouble. She’d found one of the aforementioned bumblebees and was about to grab it when I called her off. That might not have ended well. She has begun to shed in earnest too. Up until recently you could pick her up and get very little hair on your clothing. Now you’re so covered with fur it looks like you could try out for the Muppet Show.
See you next week…real good then.