The scurs and the Weather Eye dispensed with the rainfall and brought some wonderful weather. Are we done with our September prequel, or do we get another week? Starting on Thursday, partly sunny with a good chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid-70’s with lows in the low 60’s. Mostly sunny on Friday with highs in the mid-70’s and lows in the low 60’s. Mostly sunny on Saturday with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 70’s and lows in the upper 50’s. Sunday, mostly sunny with highs in the mid-80’s with lows in the low 60’s. Mostly sunny on Monday with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid-70’s with lows in the mid-60’s. Tuesday, mostly sunny with highs in the mid-80’s with lows in the mid-60’s. Mostly sunny on Wednesday with highs in the low 80’s and lows in the low 60’s. The normal high for August 19th is 79 and the normal low is 60. The scurs will be turning the AC back on for at least one more stint before September.
The Full Moon this month falls on the 19th and goes by several names. The most common one is The Full Sturgeon Moon, so named for the sturgeon abundant in the Great Lakes and other areas. It also can be called The Red Moon for the dust that causes the moon to appear reddish when it rises and is closest to the horizon. It’s also known as the Full Green Corn Moon as the corn starts to head towards maturity and harvest. The Ojibwe knew this as the Berry Moon, primarily for berries such as blueberries and huckleberries. The Sioux Called this The Moon when Plums are Scarlet. At the ranch we know it as the Overrun with Garden Produce Moon. It’s one of Poppy’s favorites.
Crops continue their progress to their destiny. Even though this crop wears the “what could’ve been label” after all the rain, there is still a crop that will need to be harvested. We are fortunate we have as much livestock and as many ethanol plants as we do. If we didn’t, prices would be even lower as demand simply couldn’t consume enough crop to even maintain them at the levels they’re at. The crop in parts of the Midwest, especially the “I” states is advertised to be pretty amazing. Even in MN, we have some pretty decent crop once we get outside of South Central and Southwest MN. Southeast MN in general looks good where last year much of that region looked anything but. The irrigated areas of MN look good too, having received abundant rainfall in addition to having the option to irrigate. Not every area has a good crop every year and this time it was our turn in the barrel.
We’ll be writing this next week’s column from the road on the Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour. We’ll be able to get an up close and personal firsthand look at much of the corn belt. In the meantime, this column was written in Canada. I was able to get away for a few days to exhale and play a little north of the border. Time for that becomes shorter and more precious as we go along. Getting away from people for a while is sometimes the best medicine, and Canada offers one such opportunity for that. Good or bad, cell reception has improved over the years to the point where most of the necessary and unnecessary communication can happen. It still doesn’t affect the flora and fauna. The hummingbirds were glad to see us. The feeders needed to be cleaned, refilled and rehung. Once that happened, they became very active. It won’t be long, and they’ll leave and move south, the same as the groups of loons that entertained us.
As usual, each venture north has its moments. I’d used my enhanced driver’s license to use as proof of residency at the border. We passed through customs quickly, speaking only when spoken to and answering quickly without hesitation. When we got to camp, the bugs weren’t even too bad after horror stories from suburban Flanders back in July. The next day we accomplished as much as we could between rain showers. I was starting to feel good about how seamlessly everything was going, then suddenly reached in my back pocket. My wallet was gone! The only place I’d been outside that day was to the outhouse. I really didn’t want to look, but thought I’d better anyway. I turned the light on my phone on and made sure I was hanging on tight. I opened the toilet seat lid and peered down the hole. No wallet. Whew! Where else could it be? Then I remembered pulling it out of my pocket before we went across. I pointed the light into the locked vehicle. There it was tucked in by the console. Another crisis narrowly averted.
At home Poppy awaits my return. I can’t say I haven’t missed her and her antics. I mentioned the garden as being one of her favorite places. The string beans were flowering heavily when I left, so upon my return, they should be starting to come online. That’s Poppy’s cue to hide in their foliage amongst other things. I know last year when picking the beans, I’d come across pods that had been chewed in two. Sure enough, several feet ahead of me in the row, the corgi was helping herself concealed under the canopy. Not that I really minded. There were plenty of beans, more than enough to go around. If Poppy ate a few, it was a few I didn’t have to pick. Now if we could just teach her to blanch and freeze them.
See you next week…real good then.