Once again, the Weather Eye delivers much to the delight of the scurs and everyone else. Has the dry weather been quelled or was this past week a mirage? Starting Wednesday, mostly sunny with a good chance of a shower or thunderstorm. Highs in the low 80’s and lows in the mid-60’s. Mostly sunny Thursday with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid-80’s with lows in the low 60’s. Partly sunny on Friday with a slight chance of a shower or thunderstorm. Highs in the low 80’s with lows in the upper 50’s. Saturday, mostly sunny with a slight chance of a shower or thunderstorm. Highs in the low 80’s with lows in the upper 50’s. Sunny on Sunday with a slight chance of forenoon showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the low 80’s with lows in the low 60’s. Monday, sunny with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid-80’s with lows in the low 60’s. Mostly sunny on Independence Day with a modest chance of a shower or thunderstorm. Highs in the mid-80’s with lows in the mid-60’s. On July 1st we’ll experience the last of the 9 p.m. sunsets until next summer. The normal high for the 4th of July is 82 and the normal low is 62. The scurs are certain to evade the fireworks police once again.
The Full Moon for July arrives on the 3rd and generally goes by the Full Buck Moon. It’s during this month that the buck whitetails start their antler growth. It also goes in some circles as the Molting Moon as several types of waterfowl molts during this month. The Ojibwe called this the Raspberry Moon for the delicious wild red and black raspberries. The Sioux, also fruit lovers, knew it as the Moon when Cherries are Ripe. At the ranch we’re torn between the Patchy Lawn Moon or the Moon of Frequent Watering.
The rains that fell over the weekend, while far from breaking the back of this unusually dry stretch, were welcome just the same. The fact that they were typically measured in nature rather than falling in only minutes was a plus. It didn’t hurt either that it stayed relatively cool afterwards instead of drying up by the next afternoon. It definitely gave the corn a boost as it shot up afterwards nicely. Given the massive accumulation of GDU’s thus far, the corn crop that didn’t get replanted is running ahead of schedule. As of last Wednesday, GDU accumulation measured from May 1st was 24% above normal at the SROC in Waseca. Some have wished they’d torn up whole fields of their ratty looking corn and replanted it rather than stabbing corn into the bare spots. A lot of intangibles, but toss in an early frost and a short crop elsewhere. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, at least not yet.
The early planted soybeans have made their move, although there have been a few fields exhibiting iron deficiency chlorosis. With dry weather conditions, especially the late planted soybeans have typically shown this the worst symptoms. Under wetter weather conditions, the symptoms are lessened and short lived. Since that’s not the case this year, guess what? In some cases there may be soybean cyst nematode compounding the problem as we’ve rode the 88788 source of resistance hard for many years. Can’t fool Mother Nature. Overuse and abuse catch up after a while. Otherwise, most of the first planted soybeans, especially those in narrow rows, actually look fairly decent. Flowering is getting underway in earnest in many fields. Some will be sweating a flush of waterhemp making an appearance after the recent rains. If a field has a waterhemp history, that concern may be justified.
It was a struggle, but except for a few latecomers, the ewes and lambs were weaned at the ranch last week. It was noisy as it always is afterwards. Some of the brood ewes were hauled to the kindly neighbors’ pasture where they could beller in peace away from the ranch. I hadn’t realized how much their appearance was anticipated by Huxley, one of the young lads over in that neighborhood. He kept asking the neighbors if the sheep were back, I was told, to the point he’d convinced himself they were already there. Apparently, he likes to look for them in the pasture on the walks he takes with his mom. It’s quite a hike, so I had no idea they were coming that far north. I was glad to inform the kindly neighbors after the sheep were in place and even happier to discover they brought some enjoyment to Huxley. Who knows? Maybe he’d like to have some of his own someday.
Made the trek once again to the Back to the 50’s car show in St. Paul on Sunday. Attendance appeared to be dampened somewhat by the rainy weather. It was actually cooler than the day before and less apt to be stormy. A little water is one thing, but a potential hailstorm to a collector car enthusiast is typically a dealbreaker. The Studebaker provided live entertainment on the way up. The wipers want to creep up the windshield from time to time. When you turn them on to attempt to return them to their pared position, sometimes they stop, usually right in front of your field of view. This time the wipers didn’t want to shut off either, giving new meaning to the term intermittent wipers. I don’t think the spontaneity feature was what the engineers had in mind. A new switch installed by the local Studebaker mechanic, and it should be good as new. Or at least as good as can be expected for a car old enough to draw Social Security.
Poppy keeps growing up as she nears her first birthday. There is still her obligatory exploring nature, but it can be controlled, and commands can be followed more than just whenever she feels like it. The thundershower this past weekend reminded me of the reaction of the Border Collies we’ve had. Normally it involved them hiding in their safe place, behind the couch or in the closet. Not Poppy. Growling and some occasional barking at the thunder, but otherwise, no cowering or evasive maneuvers. And when there was no thunder with rain pitter pattering on the roof, more than happy to curl up and nap beside me on the couch. Dogs take after their owners as they say.
See you next week…real good then.