The scurs are becoming more comfortable with The Weather Eye’s recent data. Will we make it through September without a visit from Jack Frost or is he lurking in the shadows? Starting Thursday, mostly sunny with a slight chance of rain showers. Highs in the low 80’s with lows in the upper 50’s. Partly sunny Friday with a good chance of showers and thunderstorms by evening. Highs in the upper 70’s with lows in the low 60’s. Mostly cloudy on Saturday with a good chance of showers. Highs in the low 70’s with lows in the upper 50’s. Sunday, mostly cloudy with a good chance of forenoon showers. Highs in the low 70’s with lows in the low 50’s. Partly sunny on Monday with highs in the upper 60’s and lows in the low 50’s. Tuesday, sunny with a slight chance of rain. Highs in the upper 60’s with lows in the low 50’s. Partly sunny on Wednesday with a modest chance of rain. Highs in the low 70’s with lows in the mid-50’s. On the 22nd the sun will rise at 7:01 a.m. CDT. The autumnal equinox will occur on September 23rd. On the 26th, we slip below 12 hours of daylight, the same as back on St. Patty’s Day. The normal high for September 26th is 69 and the normal low is 46. The scurs are thinking raking leaves is overrated.
Some early harvest progress as some combine early maturing soybeans and continue picking early maturing corn. Yields have been variable depending on location and soil type. As we get deeper into harvest we’ll have a better idea of where this crop really is. Yield estimates have looked particularly promising on the corn. While it doesn’t appear to be the crop we had in 2021 or 2022, it should still be respectable and meet local demand. The stalks attached to this corn crop are somewhat suspect and the upcoming rainy, windy forecast may test the stalk quality. One other potential question may be the grain quality, especially where it involves the replant corn. It’s always a good idea to pull the centers out of bins anyway, but it may be one of those winters to pay particular attention to snowfall on the bin rooftops.
Where is our fall precipitation potential heading? In the near term it appears more promising than it has been for a while. Sure, we could’ve used the rain back in August, but we’ll need to get our soil profile recharged again somehow. We can’t rely on a winter like last year where wet snowfall melted and percolated into the soil much of the winter with little or no frost. Spring rains such as we had in May are no slam dunk either or at least many of us would rather they weren’t. When the El Niño was being talked about earlier in the year, one of the possible scenarios was no major increase in precip until the fall. Some of the private weather outlets are indicating that may be the case. We shall see.
The cooler weather allowed us to finally get some of the sheep moved around and into the pastures with the proper rams. We purchased a ram lamb, JJ, from John and Judy Moore in MI earlier this summer, so it was nice to see how big he’d grown. He had a fair amount of fleece on him, but no more than some of the brood ewes. Pleasantly surprised to see he compared favorably in size. So far I’ve really liked his demeanor too. Sometimes rams develop an ugly temperament when breeding season arrives and it intensifies once they’re brought home off of pasture. So far he’s been a teddy bear, not offering to take a whack at me when feeding grain or being mean to the ewes if they don’t stand for him. It cuts down on productivity when brood ewes and shepherds are battered and bruised.
Auntie Mar Mar comes through again in the clutch. I subsist fairly well on produce from the garden and can fend for myself in the kitchen or grill when it comes to main courses. When it comes to dessert though, I struggle. Not that I can’t make things; it’s time consuming. After a long day, it’s probably not high on my list of priorities. Taking pity on me for having to stay home to keep the home fires burning, I was the recipient of a pan of peach crisp. The peaches were fresh from Colorado, so nothing could be better. Microwaved and paired up with some ice cream, it was absolutely heavenly. A more than even trade for a few tomatoes and peppers I’d say.
Got the Studebaker out for a run over the weekend with the car club. We kept it closer to home this time with a visit to the Faribault Woolen Mills. Sometimes those trips to places you’ve never been in your own backyard are the best. I’d seen the signs for years, but had no idea where the place even was. The tour was very interesting and, being a longtime sheep producer, it was fun to connect the dots. The tour guide grew up in Hartland, so that made the experience all the better. Afterwards there was time for me to attend the 30th anniversary of some sheep friends in Faribault. Another interesting venue in an old limestone apple orchard building. That was fun too, visiting other sheep friends and the family. And when it came time to leave, it was real easy to find my car.
Poppy continues to rid our home of household insects. Just say the word “bug” and she goes into a frenzy, looking to see where the offending intruder might be. Not unusual to see her snapping at flies or trapping crickets between her paws. The only trouble is we can’t usually get them away from her before she devours them. That’s OK. Crickets are safe for dogs to eat as long as the insects haven’t been exposed to insecticides. On the bright side, it’s certainly made a difference on the amount of racket they’ve made inside the house this fall. There’s a lot to be said for peace and quiet.
See you next week…real good then.