Communication breakdown it's always the same

The scurs and their Weather Eye are awaiting a return to near normal fall weather. Will Jack Frost make a reappearance, or will he stay busy farther north a while yet? Starting Thursday, mostly cloudy with a good chance of a.m. rain. Highs in the upper 40's with lows in the mid-30's. Partly sunny Friday with highs in the mid-40°s and lows in the low 30's. Mostly sunny on Saturday with a slight chance of evening showers. Highs in the upper 40's with lows in the mid-30's. Sunday, mostly sunny with highs in the low 50's and lows in the mid-30's. Partly sunny on Monday with highs in the mid-50's and lows in the upper 30's. Tuesday, mostly sunny with highs in the low 50's and lows in the mid-30's. Partly sunny Wednesday with highs in the mid-50's and lows in the upper 30's. We'll drop to under 10 hours of daylight on November 7, see our loss of daylight slow to under 2 minutes and 30 seconds on the 8th then see the sunrise at 7 a.m. CST on the 9th. The normal high for November 9th is 45, and the normal low is 27. The scurs may delay wearing their long winter gatkes one more week.

 

Harvest is nearing the end, although for some, it has dragged on longer than perhaps anticipated. More bushels to haul and on-farm storage reaching capacity sooner than hoped has slowed the process. The recent rain won't expedite it either, as driving semis in the field becomes iffy. It's not so much getting hung up as it is lacking traction once the soil surface becomes too greasy. Drier conditions over the next several weeks would help matters. Before this last rain, fieldwork was performed, mainly primary tillage, high-speed vertical tillage and anhydrous ammonia application. It is amazing how much can be accomplished so quickly with the width of the implements and the speed of travel. We've come a long way from the draft horses and sulky plows of a century ago.

 

Sparse rainfall in October was a boon for most after the wet September and cooler second half of the month. There were questions about whether it would be safe to drive in the fields after the mid-month dousing many received.

 

Initially there was some loading and unloading on the road in late September. October rainfall amounted to 1.22" at the ranch, 1.54" in New Richland and 1.79% in Ellendale. October air temperature averaged 9°F above normal, making it the 5th warmest October on record at the SROC in Waseca. The growing season officially ended October 17th with 2970 GDU's, 461 GDU's above normal. This was the third highest GDU accumulation recorded as well.

 

Overall we were very fortunate the weather turned when it did, resulting in dry crops and dry fields. Otherwise it could've easily turned our storybook growing season into a horror story.

 

At the ranch, it's been a struggle to keep pace the past several weeks with a new email system installed on the confuser, a new cell phone for each of us and a new to us car. Each has a steep learning curve, especially at first.

 

Getting the email programs on the confuser to communicate presented challenges, but thanks to the efforts of my computer sleuth, it has performed seamlessly. The cell phone has been more challenging, although it too has yielded to my queries to make it respond satisfactorily. The car has probably presented the greatest challenges. While it is not new, the previous owner's settings and preferences are still lurking. The technology of that era is apparent, although once the instructions are followed, the breakdown in communication melts away.

 

It has been a nice fall to get things done at the ranch. The leaves continue to come off the trees in a more staggered fashion than usual. Looking at some of the photos saved from past years in my phone, it appears many of the trees aren't following the rules. The burning bushes in the backyard are just starting to color up as opposed to the last week in October in the old time stamped pictures. Silver maples usually are dropping leaves earlier in those photos as well. The leaf drop has been sporadic though, so it's made grinding the leaves up periodically easier. They're also staying moist and supple, so when they land on their side of the fence, they become table fare for the sheep. Add in windy conditions and it makes cleaning them up that much easier.

 

Poppy continues to enjoy fall as we grind our way towards winter. She likes walking in the crispy leaves, although once they get wet, pooping on the sidewalk becomes more attractive. This is not unusual for low slung dogs like Corgis. We'd like to avoid that, so grinding up leaves takes on an additional level of importance. Early in the month also means preventative measures for fleas, ticks and heartworm. Get out the American cheese, cut the chewables up into pieces, insert the pieces into the balls made from cheese and it's game on. I don't think it's such a process because Poppy dislikes the chewables; it's just that she just likes the cheese. Always a method to her madness.

 

See you next week...real good then.