The alien with me for 10 days

The scurs and the Weather Eye called the warmup correctly along with the scant chances of rain. Does Mother Nature drop some precip on us, or does our early autumn flash drought continue? Starting Thursday, mostly cloudy with a good chance of rain. Highs in the upper 70’s with lows in the low 60’s. Partly sunny on Friday with a good chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the low 70’s with lows in the upper 50’s. Mostly sunny on Saturday with a good chance of an afternoon thunderstorm. Highs in the low 70’s with lows in the mid-50’s. Sunday, partly sunny with highs in the mid-70’s and lows in the upper 50’s. Mostly cloudy on Monday with a good chance of an evening thunderstorm. Highs in the mid-70’s with lows in the mid-50’s. Tuesday, partly to mostly cloudy with a good chance of rain showers. Highs in the mid-70’s with lows in the low 50’s. Mostly cloudy on Wednesday with more rain likely. Highs in the mid-70’s with lows in the mid-50’s. We will see our sunrise at 7 a.m. CDT on the 21st followed by the 1st day of autumn (astronomical) on the 22nd. The normal high for September 22nd is 71 and the normal low is 48. It appears the scurs will be donning their rain gear soon.

 

Crops progressed about as quickly as expected with the warmer temps. Some corn has black layered, although much of it still has about a week to go yet before the milk line completely disappears. That process has been hastened in some fields by the anthracnose top die-back, sometimes known as nature’s desiccant. Soybeans too made dramatic changes as leaves began to turn and in some areas began to drop. As we see the beans in the pods reach their mature color, it generally takes 7 – 10 days before soybean moisture content reaches 15% or less. There are some area fields that are grass green yet and some in areas with lighter textured soils where the leaf drop is nearly complete. In other words, the harvest could be somewhat staggered.

 

On September 9th, we bid adieu to the last of the Baltimore and orchard orioles for the season. They had a good run again this year, arriving on May 4th and keeping the jelly feeder hopping right up until the last day they were spotted. The barn swallows also left right in that timeframe, although there was still one in evidence on the 12th. It wasn’t seen or heard from again, leaving us with fewer weapons against flying, biting insects.

Hummingbirds will be next. They also appeared at the ranch on May 4th, but will usually be here yet for another few weeks. Once we get to September’s end here, all bets are off. The cannas keep producing ample blooms and the nectar feeders need filling every few days. Hate to say it but some rain wouldn’t hurt some of the cannas and other flowering plants. That way I might not need to fill the nectar feeders quite so often.

 

I decided, since it was International Drive your Studebaker Day Saturday, I’d take the Silver Hawk out for a spin. It was warm, but it was worth the longer than anticipated drive. Fueled up in Bugtussle, went through Ellendale and Geneva, then on to Hayward to check out Lucky’s Pub for an upcoming car club event. While it was a younger crowd, the AC and libations were cold. After a while a few couples shuffled in, some more my age. One of the guys approached me and said, “That must be your Studebaker out there. No one else in here looks old enough to drive a three-on-the-tree.” Sad but true. After that I got a glimpse of the vegetable harvest at Hollandale where the onions were curing on top of their beds. Then, on its own, the Studebaker suddenly bolted north on 218 as I struggled to maintain control. It stopped at the newly remodeled DQ in Blooming. Studebaker was definitely ahead of its time.

 

The alien has been with me now for about 10 days as of this writing. The coughing has started to subside, although it’s not difficult to get a coughing fit going. The worst thing is tiring out easily; a nap could break out at almost any time. There is always something to do too. Chores consume a couple hours a day with the show animals home and numerous small pens. Picking fruit and vegetables adds up quickly too. Nothing to spend an hour or two every few days while battling mosquitoes. Could do like some and just abandon the garden because the mosquitoes are so awful. I don’t blame them after feeling like a pincushion most of the summer. Lawn mowing enters the fray too. Luckily the drier start to September has minimized that somewhat, but like most of the summer, just waiting for the other shoe to drop. Then I go crawl around corn fields, swat mosquitoes, and wonder why I’m so tired.   

 

The multi-colored Asian ladybeetles are back in our houses once again. They’re getting an early start as their food sources outdoors are starting to dwindle. Soybeans are dropping leaves, which means soybean aphids are no longer there and corn is ripening. The lower leaves are nearly all dried up and the leaves are senescing on the rest of the plant as well. That means no place for bird-cherry oat aphids to exist, those that the ladybeetles and their larvae hadn’t already devoured in the first place. The ladybeetles are now looking for a place to hole up for the winter and we’re it. There are lots of products on the market to help keep them from getting inside. Most contain any of several synthetic pyrethroid insecticides, all of which are effective on the multi-colored Asian ladybeetles. 

 

Poppy has been waiting for a “real” dog day. Since it hasn’t rained much or often, that doesn’t allow it to happen with any frequency. I did make popcorn the other day when I couldn’t decide what to make for lunch. Then I made a frozen pizza several days later. The cheese that falls out of the wrapper on the floor is always fair game. When I make a sammich for lunch, there’s usually a chunk of sandwich meat that Poppy gets to claim. Also cheese whenever there’s a grilled cheese made. And there are always treats for potty time and her being a good girl. When I’m out and about, Poppy sleeps wherever she chooses throughout the house. Thinking about it, it occurs to me that every day is a dog day at the ranch. There are just varying degrees. It’s Poppy’s house and we just live in it.

See you next week…real good then.