Another trip to the Nash Rambler dealer is in the offing for the scurs and the Weather Eye. Does the heartbreaking rainfall stop soon or continue for perpetuity? Starting Thursday, mostly cloudy with a good chance of rain. Highs in the upper 70’s with lows in the mid-60’s. Partly sunny on Friday with a good chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid-80’s with lows in the upper 60’s. Mostly cloudy on Saturday with a good chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the low 80’s with lows in the low 60’s. Sunday, mostly sunny with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 70’s with lows in the mid-50’s. Mostly sunny on Monday with highs in the low 80’s and lows in the low 60’s. Tuesday, cloudy with a good chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 70’s with lows in the upper 50’s. Sunny on Wednesday with highs in the mid-70’s and lows in the mid-50’s. On June 20th we’ll see the summer solstice, marking the longest daylength of the year at 15 hours and 28 minutes. Our Full Moon for the month occurs the next day on the 21st. The normal high for June 20th is 80 and the normal low is 60. The scurs know that with the shorter days that lie ahead, rainfall will lessen. Then it will snow.
The Full Moon is on Friday and goes primarily by the Full Strawberry Moon. Most agree that this summer delicacy is among their favorites. Few things better than strawberry shortcake with fresh ripe strawberries and real whipped cream. On ice cream, cereal or in jams, it’s hard to beat this sweet, juicy red fruit. Depending on whose info one accesses, the alternate names for this full moon include The Flowering Moon, The Green Corn Moon, The Honey Moon or the Rose Moon. The Ojibwe and Sioux who agreed on little at least could agree that this was The Strawberry Moon. At the ranch it has been the Full Lawnmowing Moon. Without a good mowing every four of five days, the ranch starts to look like the place has been abandoned.
More rainfall adding insult to injury this past week. Our rainfall amounts are on a record pace thus far. With 8.4” falling in May in Bugtussle and over 7.6” so far in June, we’re only two months into the official growing season. At the SROC in Waseca, the May – Sept. precip for the past 30 years is 23.72”. With three months remaining, the odds are pretty fair that we’ll give that a run for its money. Crop conditions here in South Central MN have suffered as a result. Some of the replant areas are back underwater again. In the corn, odds are against them replanting anything that will make corn even though there are some early hybrids that would still make corn given an extended growing season and no more drown outs. On the soybeans, past experience indicates we can still expect adapted soybean varieties to make it, planted up through about July 10th. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait that long.
Looks like the corn rootworm hatch is underway. On the 11th, I spied the first fireflies of the season which roughly coincides with the emergence of corn rootworm larvae from overwintering eggs. Unlike corn rootworms however, the fireflies cause no economic crop injury and are pleasing to the eye when they make their appearance each year. Those I saw that first night had a very rapid flashing cadence. Looking at it from inside the house, I thought at first it was an airplane off in the distance. Closer observation brought a smile to my face. Looking forward to another season of viewing these unique insects through much of August. Unlike some reports of their demise, our fireflies continue to flourish. If anything, numbers have increased over the years with some nights approaching surreal when gazing across the dark backyard and pasture.
One insect that didn’t make us smile this last week were the earwigs. Mrs. Cheviot had mentioned something was eating the potted dahlia and salvia. She’d mentioned earwigs as a possibility although none were seen on the plants. After finding earwigs in a birdfeeder full of damp seed, I investigated further. I lifted up one of the flowerpots on the patio and voila! There were dozens of earwigs underneath, seeking shelter from the daylight where it’s nice and damp. Earwigs are wet weather insects and can appear almost anywhere. I’ve even found them occasionally in soybean fields, especially near building sites. Their erratic shaped leaf feeding looks like nothing else and staying under a moist canopy is to their liking. We improvised and dealt with the bunch at the ranch harshly. Looking again later in the day, there was no sign of them. Since the insecticides we used had little residual, repeat treatments are likely. I’m guessing others may also be seeing these pests, so a link is included below on earwigs.
https://extension.umn.edu/nuisance-insects/earwigs
A slight window of opportunity opened early last week to till some garden after using another dose of burndown on the weeds last Monday. Early Wednesday morning I took advantage of it and planted much of the plot. Eight rows of sweet corn went in first, followed by eight hills of squash, 16 hills of pumpkins, and 18 hills of gourds. Since everyone was in spray mode with rain heading in, just before lunch, I snuck home to put the 16 hills of cucumbers, 4 hills of zucchini, and two rows of string beans in. I’d hoped to plant two more rows of beans, but it rained me out. A few days later I managed to squeeze those two rows in and plant six rows of four o’clocks for the sphinx moths and hummingbirds. On Saturday, with help from my friend, we planted the canna bulbs, placing the last of them in the trenches just as the rain began to fall. This Tuesday morning, several of the hills of vine crops were starting to emerge thanks to the warm wet weather. Timing is everything.
Poppy’s week was inhibited at times by all the rain but anytime there was an opportunity, we had her outside with us. The garden is still one of her favorite spots. She actually stays around fairly well when planting or picking vegetables. Her favorite veggies from last year were the string beans. The short stature of a Corgi worked perfectly as she’d nearly disappear between the dense foliage, while eating pods to her little heart’s content. The sunflowers were a favorite place to get cooled down. Their large leaves created a shady spot to hide and stay cool while doing it. Getting her to the garden has been more the issue this year. Poppy’s low undercarriage drags in the wet grass so keeping the lawn mowed has been a top priority. No one likes their tummy tickled by long wet grass or to be bothered by mosquitoes when they’re looking for place to relieve themselves.
See you next week…real good then.