Sunshine came softly a-through my a-window
Wed, 09/30/2026 - 11:00pm
The scurs had the Weather Eye dialed in for more sunshine than we actually received. Are our weather fortunes about to change or are we back in the soup again? Starting Thursday, mostly cloudy with highs in the low 60's and lows in the mid-40's. Mostly sunny Friday with highs in the low 60's and lows in the mid-40's. Mostly sunny on Saturday with highs in the low 60's and lows in the mid-40's. Sunday, mostly sunny with highs in the upper 50's and lows in the low 40's. Sunny on Monday with highs in the upper 50's and lows in the low 40's. Tuesday, mostly sunny with highs in the upper 60's and lows in the low 40's. Mostly sunny Wednesday with highs in the upper 60's and lows in the mid-40's. Thursday is October 1% already. On October 3rd, our loss of daylight begins to slow to 2 minutes and 58 seconds. On the 5th, we'll see 11 hours and 30 minutes of daylight. The normal high for October 5th is 65, and the normal low is 42. The scurs will be delighted to see the sunshine again. Won't we all?
Farmers should be happy to see this forecast. Until recently, it has been one of the cloudiest stretches in recent memory. While we haven't seen excessively heavy precipitation since the heavy rains on the 18th and 19th, we simply haven't seen much sunshine, had breezes or temperatures to dry things out. We are fortunate to have as much tile drainage in places as we do, but it still takes time for that water to work its way through the system. As of Monday, September 28, our rainfall totals for the month stand at 12.91" in New Richland, 12.55" in Ellendale and 9.52" at the ranch, which is nearly equidistant between the two. Remember when I wrote a few weeks back as we were easing into September that so far indications were that we'd have another drier than normal month, but that could change? We just thought we'd had a lot of rain in July when September said, "Hold my beer." There are some positives to all this rainfall. Some of the wetlands that were left wanting much of the spring and earlier summer have been recharged. This means better waterfowl habitat, especially when it comes to resting and feeding areas for migrating birds. It should also help some of the numerous toads from this year's hatch at the ranch to find places where they can stay moist and dig in for the winter. Damp weather such as we've had also deters the boxelder bug population. So far it doesn't appear to have had much impact on the Asian ladybeetle population as they were out in full force Monday when it warmed up and gave us some glimpses of sunshine. It remains to be seen if they'll be as bad as years past. There was some earlier indication the numbers of the pink colored 12-spotted ladybeetles were on the rise, perhaps taking their place in some situations. They're unlikely to be winter houseguests.
So how did the multi-colored Asian ladybeetle come to be here in the U.S.? While no one is exactly sure, there were releases in CA back in 1916 for aphid control in pecan groves. More releases were attempted from the 1960's – 1980's. They didn't become established until 1988 in Louisiana. From there they've spread across the US and Canada. While they are voracious feeders on aphids, they also cause a lot of grief not only due to their overwintering habits, but also for their propensity to damage fruit crops such as apples and grapes. In wine grapes they are particularly problematic when they hide inside the grape clusters. When the grapes are crushed, they can give the wine an off flavor known as ladybug taint. Another prime example of why biocontrol insects need to be properly vetted before they're turned loose in our environment.
It has been a bountiful harvest so far at the ranch. Continuing to pick muskmelons and give them away as fast as possible. It was great to fashion an apple crisp on Sunday for the car club picnic. It took some doing as I was out of stick butter and there was no Cool Whip to top it with, requiring a trip to town. After that was accomplished, I set about cutting up the apples. I found way more apple maggot trails in some of the apples than I liked, so many of those wound up over the fence. The sheep aren't very discriminating when it comes to infested produce. Once I got the apples cut up and everything combined in the pan, I set the timer for an hour at 350. The house smelled like heaven afterwards. Best of all, it was still warm when I took it to the picnic and tasted pretty decent, all things considered.
One of the evenings after it had stopped raining, I was getting ready for bed. I'd worked my way towards the bedroom, turning off lights as I went. I also tuned the TV in, so it'd be on when I climbed in the sack. I heard what sounded like a small horse whinnying. I thought maybe Gunsmoke was on, so I didn't think much of it. When they cut to a commercial break, I could still hear it. What the? I listened more intently and could tell it was coming from outside. I leaned my head out of the sliding glass door and heard it plain as day. I couldn't hear any footsteps, and the sound was actually coming from up in the trees. Then the sound changed to trilling and then it came to me: A screech owl! Here I'd almost called my neighbor, the Big Dubya, and accused him of buying a miniature horse for his daughter!
Poppy has been my faithful companion while Mrs. Cheviot has been out east for the past couple weeks. Lots of ball playing along with squirrel, turkey and chipmunk chasing. It's been a wet month, so her outdoor time has been more limited. Getting the lawn mowed so she can use it in its entirety has been a challenge, but we've done the best we could. Sometimes that doesn't make a difference either. Monday afternoon I'd finished off the backyard so she could use that space too. Nope. Let her out for potty and she used the patio instead. Yet more proof that it's her place and we merely live here.
See you next week..real good then.