Like a boomerang, I need a repeat

The scurs got the Weather Eye tuned back into summer and just in time. Will sales of sweatshirts continue their current slump, or will they be selling like hotcakes again? Starting Thursday, sunny with highs in the low 80's and lows in the mid-50's. Mostly sunny Friday with highs in the low 80's and lows in the mid-50's. Mostly sunny on Saturday with highs in the upper 70's and lows in the mid-50's. Sunday sunny with highs in the upper 70's and lows in the low 50's. Sunny Monday with highs in the upper 70's and lows in the mid-50's. Tuesday, mostly sunny with highs in the low 80'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. On May 30 we'll see our gain in daylight drop below one minute and 30 seconds per day. The normal high for June 1st is 74 and our normal low is 55. The scurs will be celebrating the blue moon, or the Moon with No Name. Clint Eastwood made a name for himself with a character with no name.

 

As we wrote a few weeks back, we'll see a monthly version of the Full Blue Moon as opposed to the Seasonal version. The difference being that, in order for the monthly version to occur, the Full Moon must occur on the 1st of the month. The seasonal variety is defined as the third Full Moon in an astronomical season with four Full Moons. Either kind is rare and occurs once every two to three years. Occasionally there can be enough dust from sources such as volcanic eruptions to turn the moon blue as well, but these are not officially denoted as Blue Moons.

 

Enough about moons for now. We've got bigger fish to fry.

 

Crops finally got some heat and with sunshine, they're starting to look more respectable. Corn in particular was looking pale green from the road. Up close and personal, the whorl was yellow in many cases. Fortunately the weather turned when it did or the likelihood that we'd see the old "disappearing corn" trick might've happened.

 

When we've had extended periods of cold, cloudy weather, the corn can turn an almost purplish-brown color, about the same color as the soil in some fields. This crop, however, should recover nicely. The weed growth should be ideal for applications of postemerge herbicides. Soybeans are emerging, but they have been slow, not unlike some of the early May planted corn. Some timely rains have helped those who had seed lying in dry soil. We've led a charmed life so far this spring.

 

Our weather, particularly the rainfall, has thus far been part of our charm. We do drier weather better here than we do wet weather. Most in the area have seen a May with rainfall totals between 2" - 2.5" for the month. While it's definitely below normal, it's rained in a timely fashion and hasn't overdone it as it has the past couple growing seasons. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of time for it to change, but for now we have plenty of soil moisture. As long as it doesn't get carried away with heat and wind, we can go a long way into the growing season with what's in the tank. Continued, timely, beneficial rains become the name of the game. Lately we've been getting surprise rains with the heavier amounts generally falling to the west. Forecasters still can't fool Mother Nature.

 

The lawn continues to be on the minds of many, especially the cursed dandelions. Seems as if one can mow and two days later the ugly heads return like a boomerang, looking like nothing was done. The grass in many cases really doesn't need mowing, but if you're like me, you tire of looking at the spent flower stalks and mow it anyway. So much for "No Mow May." I always wonder about some of the people advocating this practice. It's bad enough to mow weekly with all the sticky white dandelion goo resulting in pack manure under the deck. Trying to jam a month's worth of vegetation thru the mower must leave the lawn looking like someone's freshly mowed CRP. If you like creating woodchuck and gopher habitat, then that's what you should do.

 

Major garden progress this past week at the ranch. The early garden was established, including onions, snap peas, carrots, radishes and salad greens. There are two kinds of onions, three kinds of snap peas, four kinds of radishes and four kinds of salad greens. Variety is the spice of life as they say. The rain held off Sunday night long enough so the cannas and four o'clocks could be planted. More planters were completed by Mrs. Cheviot, so the hummingbirds and pollinators have something to occupy their time. Tomato and pepper transplants are ready to go. Any evening when the weather and soil conditions are fit, those will be in the ground. So will the bunny guards.

 

The day for Poppy's pedicure finally arrived. I am sure she will be relieved once it's over. She had a pretty good Memorial Day weekend with all the planting and bird feeder filling. Not to mention chasing squirrels and bunnies.

 

Of course, that was all between lengthy naps. It still amazes me how much a Corgi can sleep. Once one of those chasing or ball playing sessions is over, it's suddenly lights out. Even the lengthy outdoor dawdling sessions are followed by naps. Apparently, it's a lot of work wandering around the yard sniffing and looking for things to roll in. I know it wears me out just watching her sometimes.

 

See you next week...real good then.