The scurs are thinking the Weather Eye is stuck on the rinse cycle. More rain and cooler temps. Is Mother Nature going to turn the spigot off or are we in for more baths? Starting Thursday, partly sunny with a modest chance of rain. Highs in the low 60’s with lows in the low 40’s. Mostly sunny on Friday with a modest chance of rain. Highs in the upper 60’s with lows in the mid-40’s. Mostly sunny on Saturday with a slight chance of rain. Highs in the mid-60’s with lows in the mid-40’s. Sunday, mostly sunny with a slight chance of rain. Highs in the low 70’s with lows in the upper 40’s. Mostly sunny on Monday with highs in the low 70’s and lows in the upper 50’s. Tuesday, partly sunny with a good chance of rain. Highs in the mid-70’s with lows in the low 50’s. Partly sunny on Wednesday with a fair chance of rain. Highs in the upper 70’s with lows in the low 50’s. On May 12th we’ll see the sun set at 8:30 p.m. CDT. The normal high for May 12th is 67 and the normal low is 46. Given recent forecasts, the scurs have the umbrella at the ready.
Another nervous week as we waited for skies to clear and fields to dry. Neither happened and more rain fell, renewing the nervousness from last May. So far, we’ve probably dodged a bullet. Rainfall hasn’t been totally excessive as it was last May starting on the 6th. We had measurable precipitation on 9 out of 10 days with accumulations in the worst areas of 9” – 14”. The backbreaker was the three main rainfall events that totaled over an inch, with the final one going well over 3”. The stuation was similar last year as we had more stored soil moisture than anyone imagined due to the snow melt. These soils will hold about 11” worth in the top 4’ once the profile is full. After that, it needs to find a place to go. Unlike the soils in SE MN, particularly in the karst region, internal drainage is not the strong suit of these prairie pothole soils. Even when tiled, they are limited by the tile system’s ability to take water away.
So where are we in terms of progress? Planting has come to a standstill. A moral victory would be a week with an inch or less of rain. Luckily, the seed in the ground has fared pretty well. Water hasn’t ponded for long periods and the cooler temperatures have probably been a plus where it has. Corn planted on April 13th was seen spiking through on May 4th once the rain stopped. Some soybeans planted in the first window were cracking already on May 6th and appeared very healthy. Hay fields appear as nice as they’ve ever been despite concern over the open winter and some cold temperatures once the alfalfa broke dormancy. If the weather straightens out, forage harvest could be possible by Memorial Day weekend. Pastures are also ahead of schedule, which as mentioned in other columns should mean livestock can be moved onto them to conserve precious hay supplies.
What are farmers doing with all the rainy days? I see some are hauling corn and some come in or call to catch up on rain gauge reports. Mowing lawn is a given. At home, I decided I’d had enough slogging through ankle-deep quagmire doing chores. The open winter allowed the animals to hang out in the lot. By Monday night it had dried enough, so I could scrape the sponge-like accumulation of bedding and hay into a pile. That way it can be hauled out easily in the fall. It should make chores “less-worse” as my late son Roger used to say. The lambs should enjoy it too. It’s packed hard underneath the slop like a road. When the surface dries up, it makes for a faster track. One of the buck lambs is extremely fast. His mudder was a mudder.
At the ranch, same as many places across the landscape, we’ve seen the apple and crabapple trees burst into bloom. With all the rain, we probably haven’t ever seen the trees more loaded with blossoms. Likewise with the crabapple trees. The honeybees were out in force on Sunday pollinating them along with some of the native bees. I was a little surprised to see the number of honeybees. We don’t normally see very many of them this early if at all pollinating our apple trees. Someone either has some hives not too far away, or as pointed out by the Boy Entomologist, there is a wild colony somewhere, possibly taking up residence in any number of old buildings in the area. Beware.
Bird arrivals occurred slowly at first last week, but picked up steam as the weekend drew closer. On May 1st, the wrens and a catbird made an appearance. On May 2nd, we started seeing the rose-breasted grosbeaks. There were up to four males at times. On the 4th, we saw our first Baltimore orioles. There were several different males, some lighter colored and others more brightly adorned. Shortly after that, an orchard oriole came to the jelly feeder, dressed in his Hershey’s chocolate bar suit. Capping off the weekend was the season’s first hummingbird at the feeder Auntie Mar Mar and Unkie Gregory gave me for Christmas. Had to look quick and not blink, but there he was.
With all the rain, Poppy has been using her little built-in raincoat to its full advantage. As mentioned in other columns, her coat wipes dry relatively quickly. Unfortunately, she thinks it’s game, especially when you laugh as you’re trying to towel that long chassis off. The muddy feet on the end of those short Corgi legs are another ballgame. They’re a little ticklish apparently the way she acts, which is hilarious. The more you laugh however, the harder she wiggles and tries to playfully bite at the towel. Eventually, the process is complete, but not the slam dunk it might be. All well and good until the next squirrel appears in her backyard.
See you next week…real good then.