You got a fast car

The Weather Eye remains dialed into summer per the scurs settings. Does Mother Nature keep the pedal to the metal or does she let off on the gas? Starting Thursday, sunny with a good chance of rain. Highs in the low 80's with lows in the upper 50's. Sunny Friday with a slight chance of p.m. rain. Highs in the low 80's with lows in the upper 50's.

 

Mostly sunny on Saturday with a slight chance of p.m. rain. Highs in the upper 70's with lows in the upper 50's.

 

Sunday, mostly sunny with a slight chance of rain. Highs in the mid-70's with lows in the mid-50's. Mostly sunny becoming cloudy Monday with a slight chance of rain. Highs in the mid-70's with lows in the mid-50's. Tuesday, partly sunny with a good chance of rain. Highs in the low 70's with lows in the mid-50's. Mostly cloudy on Wednesday with a continued good chance of rain... Highs in the low 70's with lows in the mid-50's. We'll see a sunrise on June 14th at 5:30 a.m. and one minute later at 5:31 a.m. on the 17th. After the 17th, we'll gain only about 26 seconds more of daylight before we start going the other direction. The normal high for June 17 is 79 and the normal low is 59. The scurs will be debating whether to turn off the AC after the mini heatwave.

 

Crops responded to more heat this past week as we saw corn reach knee high in sheltered areas by the 4th of June.

 

Soybeans too responded by starting to puff out the rows, making them look more like a crop than something green that trickled out of the planter. Corn was V6 last week and V7 in those sheltered areas. Add another leaf collar to that starting this week and likely another by the end of the week. Spraying glyphosate over the top on most corn will be off label by next week. Postemerge soybean weed control operations were underway in some fields late last week. With the heat and wind in the updated forecast, some fields were in need of attention. The heat and the recent rain definitely have this crop moving at warp speed.

 

The garden at the ranch is also moving in overdrive. The early season planting hasn't benefitted from the heat or dry conditions. We've had this issue before and the longer it takes to germinate, the greater the likelihood it will be disappointing. The onions look good and carrots take forever to emerge most years, but the radishes, salad greens, and snap peas are crummy. They can be planted again late summer for fall harvest. That seems to work better here anyway. That said, the vine crops are on fire. The larger vine crops like squash & pumpkins are 100% and the gourds are just starting to catch up to them. Even some of the muskmelon and cucumbers planted a couple days later are making their presence known. After a banner muskmelon year last year, I'd love to see a repeat performance. Oh ya, and the tomatoes and peppers are dynamite. Off to their best start in years.

 

Insects are enjoying the warm June as evidenced by the appearance of fireflies at the ranch. There are several species of fireflies in MN, and I haven't the foggiest what variety this one might be. I do know that their appearance corresponds roughly with the hatch of corn rootworm larvae from eggs that were laid late last summer. Other notables seem to be appearing too as more dragonflies have made themselves known as I've been close to wetlands and drainage ditches. Also present are deerflies that like to land on me unannounced then start biting. I can't hear them over the noise of the Gator, so they can catch me by surprise sometimes. Luckily they're also pretty stupid, so I can swat them before they do much damage. Dragonflies also like noshing on them, so there is that.

 

Weed control is a never-ending battle at the ranch. Apparently there were a few bull thistles that headed out last fall behind the brush pile out of view. Their offspring made themselves evident recently, so, after a lull in the mowing activity, war was declared. Now, since they're a biennial thistle, they can be controlled by cultural methods. Taking a spade and cutting them off at the taproot works well. However, when they're as numerous as they were, chemical means were quicker and more effective, provided you hit them all. There were also patches of stinging nettle to contend with. I mixed up a witch's brew and within an hour or so I'd nailed them. The next morning it was pretty easy to see where I'd been. There were large bull thistles twisted and gnarled up. The nettles were even more pronounced. Glad to see I got their attention.

 

The Silver Hawk is back online and I'm asked from time to time if it's fast. Fast enough, but not as fast as some of the other Hawks preceding it. The Golden Hawks set the gold standard starting in 1956 when Stude was using a 352 Packard V8 after the merger between Studebaker and Packard. The following year, the Golden Hawk was available with a supercharged 289 Studebaker V8 that continued making it a real screamer. The Silver Hawks in '57 and '58 also used the same 289, but weren't supercharged. Equipped with the four-barrel card they were very adequate. In '59, the Silver Hawk almost disappeared. Studebaker had bet the farm on the Lark, but dealers complained they wanted some eye candy to lure buyers into the showroom as well. Equipped with the 259 V8, it wasn't as powerful, but got the job done.

Poppy continues her dog days routine. Of course it means chasing whatever needs chasing along with naps and treats when deserved. She's also good at trampling plants and wandering around the garden. Luckily she doesn't weigh 400 lbs. Recently I was alarmed upon finding what appeared to be divots left when a striped gopher was digging up some of the vine crop hills. Watering and a rain or two later I breathed a sigh of relief. My hard work hadn't been for naught. The plants started emerging and were looking fine. Poppy tracks I can tolerate.

 

See you next week...real good then.