Looking for peace anywhere

Another week of temps still ranging above normal, although the scurs donned sweaters based on Weather Eye data. Is this the week Jack Frost means business or does he continue dawdling for another spell? Starting Thursday, sunny with highs in the mid-50’s and lows in the low 30’s. Sunny on Friday with highs in the low 60’s and lows in the upper 30’s. Mostly sunny on Saturday with highs in the low 60’s and lows in the mid-40’s. Sunday, partly sunny with a slight chance of showers. Highs in the low 60’s and lows in the upper 40’s. Mostly cloudy on Monday with a good chance of rain showers. Highs in the low 60’s with lows in the low 40’s. Tuesday, partly sunny with highs in the low 50’s and lows in the upper 30’s. Partly sunny on Wednesday with highs in the upper 40’s and lows in the upper 30’s. On October 26th, we slide below 10 hours and 30 minutes of daylight, roughly where we’ll be again come Valentine’s Day. The normal high for October 26th is 53 and the normal low is 33. Given that forecast, the scurs will be looking for that extra blankie soon. 

 

Harvest is nearing a conclusion for many this week, if they haven’t already finished. The 10-man dryer began operating early this week after sitting idle most of the fall thus far. This has been a common occurrence with area corn dryers as much of the early maturing corn needed very little artificial drying. I know neighbor Jon’s dryer has only run during daylight hours. This is a little disheartening as the sound of that dryer knocks me right out when I hit the hay. I’ve missed a lot of Gunsmoke reruns over the years as a result. Seeing the recent FFA Corn Drive, it was interesting to reminisce about the FFA Corn Drives of my youth. If I remember correctly, with all the dairy operations still in business, there was still some ear corn being donated. It required someone to shovel it into the combine. We also walked to school uphill through the waist deep snow both ways. Ah, the good old days... 

 

Anhydrous ammonia season will soon be upon us. If Monday’s rain materializes, it may have to wait a while for soil conditions to be fit in places. Last week’s rains served as a reminder that we’re not running on 15 hours of daylight with highs every day in the 80’s anymore. A forecast changing from a quarter inch of rain to over an inch can put a damper on fieldwork for longer stretches. The soil temps should be nearing the magic 50-degree level soon though and staying there. Fall nitrogen prices have historically been lower than they are in the spring. However, many years of data indicate that spring application of anhydrous ammonia is still the gold standard when it comes to yield. With heavy July and August precipitation this past growing season, in many cases it yielded better than fall applied N, especially when sidedress nitrogen was also part of the equation. Still, it’s nice to have some fall N applied in this latitude. Peace of mind knowing it’s on.

 

And that brings us to the winter that lies ahead. With the announcement that a weak La Nina had developed, forecasters were scrambling to explain some of the potential ramifications. Some of those forecasters include the likes of NOAA, The Farmer’s Almanac and The Old Farmer’s Almanac, written by old farmers of course. There is some agreement between NOAA and The Farmer’s Almanac as far as being a colder and in places snowier winter. For us, NOAA is leaning towards colder than norma temps with even odds of above or below normal snowfall. Normal snowfall here is around 52”. The Farmer’s Almanac is predicting a harsher version with more snow and cold on a roller coaster. The Old Farmer’s Almanac is basically saying a warmer repeat of last winter. Not having to battle ice, snow and below zero on a daily basis would certainly resonate well with livestock operators in particular. I think a lot of us would vote for that.

 

We broke away Sunday to do some leaf watching in the Studebaker. It had been over a month since the last excursion, so it took a while to get it cleaned up and ready to go. Once that was accomplished, off we went. Aside from the breeze, it was as good as it gets for fall weather. The Silver Hawk purred as we rolled along the byways. The leaves? Still a bit on the uncooperative side until we got to Mankato. While not yet at its peak, the MN River valley color was starting to light up the hillsides. We had high hopes that New Ulm would be even better, but were disappointed. It was still very green yet with only small pockets of color. Back home again, there was a tree in the CREP acreage that had mystified me. It was fire engine red earlier last week, turned orange midweek, and was turning more yellow over the weekend. I had my suspicions, so made a point to check it out. My suspicions were confirmed: it was a chokecherry. The leaves were coming off rapidly too. Blink or come home in the dark and you’ll miss it.

 

Poppy has been busy getting into her fall routine. Some of the dreary fall days like Tuesday lead to long naps on her part and who can blame her? With nothing better to do while we’re away, it’s not too difficult. I’ve been trying to keep her little buddies' ear corn feeder stocked, so there’s an opportunity for her and the squirrels to get some exercise. Otherwise both parties tend to get fat and lazy. There’s not much left in the garden to contend with either, so there’s less time being spent there. Eventually there will be a corn shock fashioned from the Indian corn in the front yard. That way Poppy will have a place to sniff for the mice that have mistakenly assumed they have a winter home. More exercise for all parties involved, including the shocker. 

 

See you next week…real good then.