Summer sun is fading as the year grows

The scurs and the Weather Eye garnered some rain to end August, but so far nothing in September. Does this continue or do we see some rain again soon? Starting on Thursday, mostly sunny with a modest chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 70’s with lows in the low 50’s. Sunny on Friday with a slight chance of rain. Highs in the upper 60’s with lows in the mid-40’s. Sunny on Saturday with highs in the mid-60’s and lows in the low 40’s. Sunday, sunny with highs in the upper 60’s and lows in the upper 40’s. Sunny on Monday with highs in the mid-70’s and lows in the mid-50’s. Tuesday, partly sunny with highs in the mid-70’s and lows in the mid-50’s. Sunny on Wednesday with highs in the low 80’s and lows in the upper 50’s. We’ll slip under 13 hours of daylight on September 5th and won’t see that much again until April 6th. The normal high for September 5th is 76 and the normal low is 55. The scurs will be looking for their blankie in case they fall asleep in their hammock this week. Too early for the long winter gatkes just yet.

 

The heat moved the GDU needle slightly last week, but odds are Mother Nature will pull that back after this week’s cooldown into more late-September like temperatures. This will likely put some on edge, especially those with later planted crops. For the most part though, we’ll need all of September to get to the finish line, not unlike many years. It can go quickly once harvest starts, however, and given the likelihood that yields will be down, that hopefully will be the case. There is already some speculation about corn test weight and quality. It might be too soon to tell that just as it was last year. A moderately warm finish last year definitely made for a better corn crop that way than expected. This year, there will likely be more issues keeping the dryers in tune with the variable corn moisture coming out of the field. If that proves to be the case, will want to keep a close eye on bins, so corn doesn’t develop hotspots.

 

August rainfall went back to well above normal, although they don’t call it the start of a fall recharge for nothing. At the ranch we tallied 8.1” for the month with 7.02” falling in Bugtussle proper. Normal for the month at the SROC in Waseca is 4.82”. Their rainfall for this August was 5.7”, also above normal. As we’ve written before, normal growing season rainfall from May to September at the SROC is 23.72”. For May through August at the ranch we're sitting at 31.97”, in Bugtussle 33.73” and at the SROC, 28.91”. NOAA’s September outlook for this area is calling for better than even odds of above normal temps and below normal precipitation. At any rate, unless it takes it to the extreme on both, we should have enough soil moisture to take most of the crop to maturity, thus eliminating one more variable that could negatively impact yield and quality.

 

The early fall bird migration appears to be underway. Swallows gather in large numbers on the electric lines daily. Usually around Labor Day at the ranch we bid farewell to our oriole visitors. As of this writing we’ve still been seeing some, so have been keeping their jelly feeders filled. The hummingbird numbers have recently jumped. There are plenty of floral offerings in addition to the nectar feeders. They’re busy going from one site to another and chasing each other as they do so. That makes them entertaining to watch, but can wear you out trying to keep up with them. Usually if you wait long enough, they return to the same general area before zipping off again. One of their favorite spots is the morning glories that climb the light pole. They use that as a staging area to feed on the cannas below, perfectly camouflaged until they fly out. It’s just good to see hummingbirds again after a summer where we didn’t have near the number in the yard that we do some years.

 

The last two sheep are back home from the State Fair, thanks to some kind folks in Waseca. Now it’s time to focus on getting ready for winter by laying in enough small squares of hay and bedding. Pastures have provided an ample amount of forage all summer long for the flock with the abundant rainfall. Now they’re also getting the vegetable castoffs, peelings, husks and cobs from the garden. It helps keep the fruit fly population at bay in the house and allows the ewes to eat something other than grass and leaves for variety. If the ewes see you approach their enclosure with a bucket or other container, it’s game on. Amazing sometimes how much stuff one can toss over the fence only to see that it’s all vanished when you repeat the process.

 

With all the time away in August, the garden has suffered some. I’ve pitched several dozen overgrown cukes over the fence to the sheep, along with numerous zucchini. They didn’t complain. The heat didn’t help matters. I should’ve picked string beans during the heat, but I figured they’d be there tomorrow. They’re mighty tasty right now and, true to their later planting date, are rather sweet after some of the cool nights we’ve had. Cukes are producing well after some hills had a go round with aphids, not unlike some soybeans did. Not the same species of aphids as most are rather host specific. I had a little permethrin surprise for them, so that solved that problem, along with a little help from beneficial insects such as parasitic wasps. The mummies are a dead giveaway, pun intended. Tomatoes are coming but slower than some years. Usually September is tomato month at the ranch, hence also BLT month. Still nice to have fresh garden produce whenever we’d like, even though it’s for such a relatively short time.

 

Poppy has started to have the run of the house at night. She appears to have decided that it’s good policy to wake us up when she needs to go outside for potty. I think all of us are happy about that, especially Poppy, who’s not cooped up in her carrier all night. She also continues helping in the garden. One night when picking cukes, I heard some rustling in the string bean patch followed by a crunching noise. Sure enough I could see Poppy’s tail above the string bean canopy, and she was underneath it, helping herself. Another night I’d picked a bucket of string beans and set them aside while I was harvesting some zucchini. I looked over to see that she’d decided it was easier to eat the beans I’d already picked vs. picking them herself. It wears us out just trying to keep up with her. Taking a nap usually doesn’t hurt.

See you next week…real good then.