Only time will tell

The heat was on, again as the scurs and Weather Eye predicted. Does Jack Frost come calling this week or do we get another bye week? Starting Thursday, mostly sunny with a slight chance of evening rain. Highs in the upper 60's with lows in the low 50's. Mostly sunny on Friday with highs in the low 70's and lows in the upper 40's. Mostly sunny on Saturday with a modest chance of evening showers. Highs in the mid-70's with lows in the upper 50's.

 

Sunday, mostly sunny with a fair chance of rain. Highs in the mid-70's with lows in the mid-50's. Mostly sunny on Monday with highs in the upper 60's and lows in the upper 40's. Tuesday, mostly sunny with highs in the mid-60's and lows in the upper 40's. Mostly cloudy on Wednesday with a good chance of rain. Highs in the mid-60's with lows in the mid-40's. On the 15", we'll drop to 11 hours of daylight. The sun will also set before 6:30 p.m. CDT.

The normal high for October 15' is 59 and the normal low is 37. The scurs are readying their leaf rakes.

 

Harvest progress continues with many finishing up soybean combining, or at least as much as they could. There are many areas of fields with green patches remaining, particularly where water stood or flooding occurred. Some have started to pick corn, although much of what has been picked are fields that had disease issues, especially those with anthracnose top die-back. Since many of those fields died prematurely, yields typically haven't set the world on fire.

 

Some are quick to jump on the fungicide bandwagon, but fungicides have very limited effectiveness on anthracnose top die-back. True to its nickname, "nature's desiccant,"

much of the affected corn has been dry enough to dump in the bin without drying. What will be more telling is the impact of fungicides on later maturing hybrids as farmers get into them. There was plenty of southern rust in many fields, although much of it stayed low to mid-canopy or when we had the cooler temps in early September. Only time will tell.

 

Another car club outing was in the books as of the weekend. This time a trip to Granite Falls to visit the Fagen Fighters museum. There were numerous WWII warbirds on display with most of them in flying condition. There were many displays about the war effort itself, including the island hopping by the US to stop Japan from expanding its grip on the Pacific. Of course there was also the journey there that makes the trip as interesting as it is every year.

 

One car was reluctant to start, but after tinkering, it commenced. The '63 VW Bug I rode shotgun in didn't disappoint either. After behaving flawlessly on the trip up, it decided to blow the main fuse to keep us entertained.

 

Fortunately, the pilot wisely had a generous supply of fuses along. The trouble was they'd only last from 5 - 20 miles before blowing another one. We got it down to a routine after a while. Still rolling on the shoulder, the pilot changed the fuse while I steered from the passenger seat. At least we weren't text messaging.

 

I mentioned seeing the Harris's sparrows when in Canada in last week's edition. There were also some white-throated sparrows and all kinds of warblers moving through. This week, there were lots of warblers moving through at the ranch. There were so many and moving as quickly as they do, it was nearly impossible to identify them with all the leaves still on. I haven't seen them. I've certainly heard what are likely white-throated sparrows. The warm weather last week made for a slower than expected transition to our "fall birds." There are a few nuthatches, blue jays and house finches using the small red feeder. The red-bellied woodpecker discovered the ear corn quickly, however. Their call reminds me of Curly from the Three Stooges sometimes. I've never seen one poke someone in the eye or hit them over the head with a mallet though. Go figure.

 

Getting time to think about putting the lawn to bed for another year. I should get the oil changed, change the air filter, then sharpen the mulching blades and get ready to grind up the leaves. Crabgrass had a great year at the ranch and by the looks of things, I'm not alone. I had designs on inter-seeding where the crabgrass was the worst, but suspect that ship has sailed. A doe and her fawn have done an excellent job of picking the apples up. Also a good job of looking in the windows and knocking the birdbath over. After the wind over the weekend, there are a plethora of sticks to pick up ahead of the leaf drop. As much fun as it is to take them off, there's no need to dull those blades up any faster than necessary.

 

Summer-type garden vegetables are getting near the end. Finally got some muskmelons ripe and they were well worth the wait. Unfortunately, the picnic beetles were first in line on some of them. They wound up going over the fence to the sheep, along with some battleship-sized cucumbers and aircraft carrier-like zucchini. If I can cut the melons up and refrigerate them before the picnic beetles get there, we should have a supply for a few weeks. The replant pumpkins and squash are starting to make an appearance. The shorter days and the powdery mildew are catching up with their dense canopy. Once Jack Frost shows up, they can run but they can't hide.

 

I keep getting these flashback pictures on my phone telling me Poppy has been here for three years already. It was a long trip to Missouri that Sunday, but I still remember it as if it was yesterday. The pictures are priceless and serve as a reminder of just how little she was. And cute of course as all fur babies are. There was a large corn shock in the yard that fall. I can still remember her curiosity, sniffing around the shock, likely catching the scent of the mice that typically frequent them. Fast forward to present day. Poppy treasures her "people time," especially on weekends when we tend to be around more. It usually means Sunday afternoon popcorn and a long nap for humans and Corgis alike.

 

See you next week...real good then.