Run me out in the cold rain and snow

Another week of temps well above normal as the scurs and Weather Eye keep crankin’ ‘em out. Is Jack Frost still on hold or does he end our growing season this time? Starting Thursday, partly sunny with a fair chance of forenoon rain. Highs in the mid-70’s with lows in the upper 50’s. Partly sunny on Friday with a fair chance of forenoon rain. Highs in the low 70’s with lows in the upper 40’s. Sunny on Saturday with highs in the mid-60’s and lows in the upper 50’s. Sunday, sunny with highs in the low 60’s and lows in the low 40’s. Sunny on Monday with highs in the upper 60’s and lows in the low 40’s. Tuesday, mostly cloudy with highs in the mid-50’s and lows in the low 40’s. Mostly sunny on Wednesday with highs in the low 50’s and lows in the low 40’s. On the 16th, the sun will rise at 7:30 a.m. CDT. The normal high for October 16th is 59 and the normal low is 37. The scurs trigger finger is getting itchy as we near the end of DST on November 2nd.
 

With soybean combining largely in the books, farmers focused their attention on corn harvest. Not unexpectedly, at least based on observations over a month ago, earlier maturing corn was disappointing. As mentioned many times in previous columns, anthracnose came to play this year, and those earlier maturing hybrids tend to take the brunt of it. Examining them last week, seeing the blackened stalks and being able to crush them between your thumb and forefinger, it’s a wonder it isn’t worse than it is. Even though we’ve had some extremely windy conditions, the stalks have allowed people to harvest it early and put the corn in the bin. Had we received cold, heavy rains along with that wind, it might’ve been an even more disappointing situation. Luckily, plant breeders have bred the corn to have stalks with a stiffer, thicker rind to help that problem. Trouble is, it doesn’t solve the disease problem. Hybrid ratings for anthracnose stalk rot remain mediocre at best.

 

As I’ve also written, this growing season was a struggle in the garden at the ranch for a lot of the same reason: too much rainfall at inopportune times. With rainfall well above normal in the months of April, June, July and August, it’s a wonder we had anything at all. Harvest has been an unexpected surprise. The frost ended the vine crop season for the most part, although the muskmelons maintained enough of their canopy to continue developing the melons. Should end up with 20 or so once they all ripen. It has meant a steady supply for a few weeks now. Cukes are done with the last of the crop in the fridge. Pumpkins and buttercup squash performed admirably with a couple dozen of each. Jack Be Little pumpkins were prolific as always. They keep showing up as the canopy continues to senesce. The tomatoes too put on a late-season spurt after being a disappointment for much of the summer. There will be more as the frost really didn’t affect them much. The BLT’s have been outstanding, thanks to the homegrown bacon from our local Studebaker mechanic.

 

The sheep have been loving the garden as they normally do. Whether it’s overgrown cukes or zucchini, vegetable peelings, rinds, cobs or husks, they’ve come to expect any and all of it. The recent winds have also dumped a plethora of leaves on their side of the pasture fence. You’d never know by looking at it, however. From my vantage point in the oval office in the morning, the ewes can be seen vacuuming up silver maple leaves as quickly as they hit the ground. Pruning some limbs to make backing the trailer less annoying, the sheep went after the leaves like piranhas. Pastures are getting shorter as is the quality of the forage at both the ranch and the kindly neighbor’s. An uptick in the mineral and water being consumed is usually a clue that it’s time to start supplementing their diet with some grain. Of course, it’s always a good idea to make sure they have access to mineral as well as fresh, clean water regardless. All part of animal husbandry 101. 

 

The bird transition from summer into fall and winter continues. We’ve seen several flickers at the ranch and while they generally don’t stick around, there have been some the past couple mild winters, keeping the suet feeder busy. Saturday I saw the first golden-crowned kinglet at the ranch in nearly 40 years. When we had yew and arborvitae bushes on the north side of the house, occasionally we’d spot one hanging out in them. Saturday night when I was grilling on the patio, the neighbor’s corn dryer was running. It’s loud, but it’s just background noise and hasn’t run much this year. Above the din, I heard the familiar sound of a great horned owl. It must’ve been close to be heard over the bin dryer. Sunday was a bit of a letdown. The first junco of the fall was picking at weed seeds along the edge of the driveway. Usually we see them when there’s a skift of snow on the ground. We don’t need no stinking snow.

 

Poppy has replaced most of her old coat with a bright, shiny new model for the winter. Amazing the amount of hair one sweeps up and brushes out sometimes. It’s all worth it, however. The time spent feeding her popcorn during a football game flies by and then it’s chore time again. Afterwards she patrols the kitchen, knowing she lives with a couple of klutzes. You might think she’d be extremely overweight, but not the case. She has put on a few pounds, but we keep her active enough playing with her and chasing her squirrels, so that the calories get burned off quickly. Lately I’ve been restocking the ear corn feeder, so there should be more of her little buddies to chase. Doesn’t matter. If there are blue jays or red-bellied woodpeckers feeding on the corn, they’re fair game too.

 

See you next week…real good then.