Fencelines

[Dotch]

Measuring a summer's day

I only finds it slips away to grey

After a rainy week, the scurs are readying themselves for another go round. Will we see more rain or will we dry out? Yes, say the scurs. Starting Wednesday, mostly sunny, high of 80 and low 65 with a chance of an overnight shower or thunderstorm. Thursday, partly cloudy and warmer, high of 85 and low of 65 with an increasing chance of a thundershower as the day progresses. Partly cloudy Friday with a slight chance of a shower in the morning. High of 80 – 85 and low of 55 – 60. Partly cloudy Saturday and Sunday, high of 80 and low of 60 with a slight chance of shower creeping in on Sunday. Partly cloudy Monday and Tuesday, highs both days 75 – 80 and lows of 55 – 60. Chance of afternoon thunderstorms both days. Normal high for the Summer Solstice is 82 and the normal low is 57. We will experience 15 hours and 28 minutes of daylight, making this the longest day of the year. With summer officially here the scurs will be officially lounging in their hammock.

More rain making grain this past week with the June rainfall total at the ranch reaching 2.84” as of Monday morning. There has also been measurable precipitation recorded on 10 of the first 14 days of the month thus far. June is typically our rainiest month and it was last year until October rolled around. Let’s hope the precipitation pattern last of year also doesn’t persist where July meant sparse precipitation. Corn continues to look more impressive from the windshield surveys and doesn’t disappoint once one tramps through the mud to take a closer look. One good thing about our precipitation so far: We’ve made maximum use of most of it as it as come in measured doses and the skies have remained cloudy much of the time following the rainfall events. This coupled with the wind has however slowed progress in herbicide applications to soybean fields. The delay will probably mean some higher application rates to control some of the larger weeds that have resulted.

Area lawns and gardens not surprisingly have really taken off following the rains. It was tough to squeeze my weekend lawn mowing in with the wet conditions this past weekend. Probably more after dark mowing in my future I reckon. Not much can be done in the garden either with the resulting muddy conditions. Running a garden tiller through there would simply transplant the weeds. Things look really good other than that however. The vine crops are starting to stretch out and with some warmer temps promised, it doesn’t take long and they completely cover the ground. When it gets wet like this though, it’s a good time to get ready for when the conditions are fit. It was also a good time to mow some bull thistles in the pasture that were starting to resemble small Christmas trees. Once they bolt, the mowing is just as effective as spraying them. And, it gives one great satisfaction seeing them being ground to a pulp.

The baby robins in the barn have left the nest and it will be interesting to see if they try to use that nest again next year. Some have noticed a slowdown in their oriole activity and while that’s the case here too, there are still at least one male and a female coming to the jelly feeder. The hummingbirds have been more loyal this year than normal at the ranch. After Mrs. Cheviot planted the big pots around the house, they’ve been actively working them over. One caught Ruby’s eye the other morning when we let her out for potty time. She watched it for a bit then decided it might be fun to get a closer look. The hummer was unfazed and just flew around her to some of the planters down the line.

Ruby has been a social butterfly, coming in to work most days and entertaining the little fat buddies at coffee time. She’s been a good little rider too when she has to go along for the day in the truck. Once the vehicle starts moving it’s lights out. At home, she’s become known as the little red and white terrorist. She has been tiring Mrs. Cheviot and me out with her antics. Ruby’s also growing like a weed. Hardly seems it’s been only a week that’s past since we picked her up and it almost appears like she’s doubled in size. Potty training is going about as expected and we’ve started her on retrieving a tennis ball. Not bad for 9 weeks. She likes Gus a lot more than he likes her but one can see he’s become more tolerant of this ‘intruder” on his turf. After brushing the better part of a 5 gallon bucket of fur out of him, you’d be hard pressed to tell by looking at him. Just a big, happy fluffy bale of fur.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

Still the rain kept pourin', Fallin' on my ears

While the scurs aren’t real good at forecasting severe weather, they have been hitting things pretty close lately. Of course it increases their odds of being right when it rains almost every day. Is this weeks forecast drier or just less wetter? Starting Wednesday, partly cloudy with a slight chance of a shower or thunderstorm. High of 80 and low of 60. Thursday, mostly sunny and warmer, high of 85 and low of 65. Partly cloudy and muggy on Friday, with and increasing chance of showers or thunderstorms as the day wears on. High of 85 and low of 65. Saturday and Sunday, partly cloudy high of 85 and low of 65 with a slight chance of an evening shower or thunderstorm on Saturday and likewise for Sunday morning. Mostly cloudy on Monday, hot, with a relatively good chance of a shower or thunderstorm. High of 90 and low 65 – 70. Partly sunny and continued very warm Tuesday. High of 90 and low of 65- 70 with an outside chance of an evening shower or thunderstorm. The normal high for June 26th is 82 and the normal low is 58. The scurs will be putting their air conditioning through its paces for the upcoming warm weather ahead.

The Full Moon for the month of June lands on the 26th. It is commonly known as the Full Strawberry Moon. Oddly enough the Ojibwe and the Sioux were big strawberry fans and they also referred to this as the Strawberry Moon. With the late Full Moon, strawberry production is beginning to wane for the season but it doesn’t make the berries any less popular. Out and about in the fields of mud, one can get a glimpse of the wild raspberries starting to blush in the adjacent fencelines and thickets. Always make for great snacking when trying to determine when it will be dry enough to get back out to control weeds.

In the fields, the abundant precipitation and warm temperatures continue to move the crop (and weeds) along at a rapid pace. Torrential rains and high winds have thwarted the plans of many sprayer operators. Corn has reached 9 – 10 fully exposed collars and the soybeans are starting to flower. There has been a lot of noise made about soybean aphids but in this area where we have traditionally seen a later build up of populations, the pattern of past years continues. There have been few soybean aphids found anywhere including on volunteer soybean plants in the corn. These plants usually serve as an excellent indicator of when to start scouting production fields in earnest. 2nd cutting hay is progressing nicely and if the weather cooperates, it wouldn’t be surprising to see some knocked down this week. Storm damage from the last week tended to be rather localized in this area. One can definitely see where the tornado east of town cut a swath across the fields where it had touched down, not more than 2 miles from the ranch as the crow flies.

Thoughts and prayers have been with those who lost so much this past week in the severe storms. Having gone through the experience when straight line winds hit the ranch back in ’96, I think I can understand some of what people are going through. The same sorts of things that happened then happened this time around. Neighbors pitching in to help neighbors clean up and get back on their feet as well as a lot of people driving around gawking. I can’t speak for those who suffered losses but feeling like a sideshow at a circus wasn’t my idea of a good time.

On a more pleasant note, at the kindly neighbors pasture, the bluebirds have fledged from their nesting box. It was pretty neat to see the bluebird family occupying the ranks of shanks and shovels on the folded up field cultivator by their shed. The robin in our shed has decided to start nesting again in the same nest from a few years ago. They’re definitely getting their money’s worth out of that one. The male rose-breasted grosbeak has returned to the sunflower feeder and we continue to see not only the male oriole but also the female at he jelly feeder. They’re a little sloppy though as one of them left a gob of grape jelly on the living room window Sunday. Checked out the wood duck nesting box in the CREP acreage last week on the outside chance that one was actually using it. As I opened the hinged door on the side I saw a rusty brown feathered body with black bars suddenly hunker down making it more difficult to see. Recognized the pattern immediately. It was a female kestrel and rather than have her fly in my face, I closed the door slowly and latched it securely. Some seem to have little good to say about birds of prey but they were here first. And last I checked, no rodents or insects have developed resistance to kestrels.

Was fortunate to be invited to the MSRA car show at the Sate Fair grounds on Sunday. Riding shotgun with Vista’s noted Swedish astronomer in his ’57 T-Bird provided lots of entertainment. Some people just have it figured out and that’s just part of why they’re fun to hang out with. The car show was huge with the fairgrounds full of cars up to the 1964 model year. It made for a lot of nostalgia gazing through the windows at the interiors on the ‘57 Buicks, remembering monkeying with all the knobs, buttons and cigarette lighters when our parents were shopping or running errands. Saw Bemidji Bill there. He had his ’38 Plymouth coupe all gussied up and Bill as always was gussied up. Saw lots of Studebakers too and with Round 1 of weed control coming to a close, it’s time to focus on that restoration project once again. My guess is my brother would like his trailer back one of these days although speaking of controlling weeds, it’s doing a really nice job of that.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

Said I've been crying, my tears they fell like rain…

For the last forecast period the scurs were tracking pretty well but got a little overzealous with the temperature and rainfall for Monday and Tuesday. We’ll take it after the beating some have taken recently. Drier this time around? Starting Wednesday, clear skies with a high of 80 and a low of 60. Ditto for the first day of July. Continued sunny on Friday and warmer becoming partly cloudy by evening with a chance of showers or thunderstorms. High of 85 and low around 65. Partly cloudy Saturday, high of 85 and low of 65 with a moderate chance of showers and thunderstorms for the evening hours. About the same story for Independence Day and Monday with warm temps continuing under partly cloudy skies. Highs should top out in the mid-80’s and lows in the mid-60’s. Cooler Tuesday, highs reaching 75 and lows near 55 with a chance of a thunderstorm. Normal high for July 4th is 83 and the normal low is 60. The scurs will be laying in a transport of mosquito repellent and keeping a wary eye out for the Fireworks Police.

Speaking of mosquitoes, they’ve been about enough to carry one off when it hasn’t been storming. However, those who haven’t suffered crop damage from hail and excess rain should be witnessing some of the most tremendous growing conditions we’ve experienced in quite some time. Corn and soybeans look about as good in most areas as we’ve seen since some of the banner years such as 2004. Small grains appear to be maturing about on schedule with the potential for harvest likely about 3 weeks to a month away. Delays in spraying soybeans due to wet conditions have dampened spirits somewhat but fortunately, soybeans can take more weed pressure than corn for a longer period of time before it impacts yield, especially with the soil moisture we’ve got. A few soybean aphids were found locally last week. However infestations continue to be extremely light and jumping the gun by treating at this point demonstrates a lack of respect concerning this pest. 2nd cutting hay has been dampened too especially if it’s been cut.

Thistles are probably my least favorite weed as they are a constant battle thanks to people who don’t attempt to control them. With the products available nowadays, it’s really not that difficult. Cultural methods can still be used especially with biennial species such as bull thistles and musk thistles. As written a few weeks ago, mowing works well and if they decide to come back, a second mowing finishes them off. Something else that’s kind of handy to get at thistles in those nooks and crannies is one of those old bean hooks, one of those like we used to use to take volunteer corn and other weeds out of the soybeans with. It’s also a device that is capable of taking your finger off as I discovered. No wonder my typing is so slow! Can’t find bean hooks in hardware stores anymore so you almost have to go online to order one. Mine has provided hours of entertainment since it arrived.

Is Ruby a budding entomologist? It just could be. Letting her out at night, the fireflies keep her occupied as do the moths that fly out of the grass when she goes outside to do her business at night. She also knows the word “bug” and will look to see if there are any flies buzzing around nearby inside the house. Gus on the other hand is more apt to pursue four-legged prey. On Sunday afternoon, 4 squirrels happened to be under the ash tree in front of the house so uttering the word “squirrel” was all he needed once the door was opened to roar off after them.

Some have noted a decline in the oriole numbers at their feeders and while ours haven’t increased, they’re still eating jelly and pulling the nectar feeder down on a regular basis. Last week there were 2 brightly colored males and a female that seem to be regulars. We seem to have a corner on the finch market right now too. There are typically a couple dozen at a time, about half of them female and half the bright yellow males, catching the attention of several guests over the past week. There is also a good report on the bluebird status at the kindly neighbors pasture. Was going to clean out the house that had fledged one batch of bluebirds already and get it ready for round 2. Too late. They had re-nested and there were 2 hatchlings, with 3 blue eggs yet to hatch. Mrs. Bluebird was letting me know about it too. Another bonus was an additional house that was added in case the wrens had moved into the other house as they had last year. The post the house was attached to was in a logical spot and within a day, there appeared to be a pair of bluebirds checking on it, going in and out. Sure enough, upon opening the house, there was a bluebird nest being constructed inside.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

Well now they call me the breeze…

The scurs are thinking the July dry-out is underway although with the Waseca Co. Fair looming on the horizon, they aren’t counting their chicks before they hatch. Starting Wednesday, slight chance of showers with a high around 80 and low of 65.Thursday through Sunday, partly cloudy, highs of 80 and lows near 60. Next Monday, cloudy, high of 75 - 80 with a low of 60. A little warmer Tuesday under partly cloudy skies, high of 80 and low of 65. The normal high for July 9th is 83 and the normal low is 61. The scurs are working on a line of tiny shotguns for controlling the burgeoning mosquito population.

The seasons are rolling along. The Big Dipper is descending towards its autumn position in the NW evening sky after being nearly straight overhead in the month of June. Some Native American lore has it that the autumn leaves were poured out of the upside down bowl. Some weather folks also comment about the dipper being full of water when it’s upright or empty when upside down. Venus continues to dazzle in the western sky, appearing yellow almost like a mini-moon as it approaches the horizon. As of the 9th, we will have already lost about 10 minutes of daylight since the summer solstice with the sun beginning to set again before 9 p.m. on the 4th.

Well, we made knee high by the 4th of July in both crops this year, something we don’t always achieve. It helps that there hasn’t been any more ponded water in fields, hail or tornadoes for awhile. We should notice some tassels appearing in the corn soon, particularly in the sheltered fields and areas of fields that are protected. Soybeans have really come on and with weed control operations complete for the first go round, some really look impressive. Fields with soybean aphid detects are increasing but the aphid numbers are still very low and finding them has been a challenge to this point. Small grains are turning and it won’t be too many more weeks and they’ll be off. Some good haying weather this past week for a change with many fields of 2nd cutting being harvested.

Can’t recall a period of time where the mosquitoes have been any more vicious than the past week or so. The back of my neck is pebbled about like a basketball. It should come as no surprise I guess with the amount of rain we received in June and the standing water that followed. 8+ inches of rain at the ranch for the month will do that. Still, it is nearly impossible to go outside without being attacked by swarms of the little dip(terans). It has made lawn mowing, gardening and almost every other outdoor chore just that, a real chore. No doubt, repellents work but getting yourself covered well enough so they don’t find a chink in your armor is a challenge. Luckily the wind on Friday and Saturday made life a little easier. The lawn got mowed and the garden was salvaged. It avoided the fate of being sprayed with Round Up and having been declared a total loss. Both operations went OK at least until you got in behind something or around the trees and shrubs. No doubt about it, the wind definitely didn’t blow them all away.

Gus has been shedding his coat more rapidly as of late with much of it blowing away in the breezy Saturday night brushing episode. Have to wonder if that heavy coat wasn’t part of his plan to thwart the biting insect population. Knowing Gus and his propensity for planning, it’s highly doubtful. Ruby’s bare tummy affords her little protection so when she comes inside, the first order of business is to squash as many bugs as possible before they escape into the house. At 3 months, she’s honing her ball retrieving skills and the next move is to get a soft Frisbee to start on. She likes the sheep, especially the little “berries” they leave behind.

Baby birds are scattered everywhere around the yard. It certainly doesn’t take long for the allied birdie warning system to go off when a cat or small hawk happens by. There are young downies coming to the feeders and young orioles are appearing at the jelly feeder. Young house wrens are strewn about the bushes and young blue jays can be seen but mostly heard. Most of the nesting boxes here are empty and quiet now, the young tree swallows having fledged. They seem to congregate over by the lake, leaving the barn swallows in charge of the lawn and pasture. And one can see little heads already poking above the used but not abused robin’s nest in the barn. That sure didn’t take long.

The little fat buddies had a good month of June in which to have training sessions. Rain makes grain and goodies seem to appear as a result on the training table. P.H. (otherwise known as S.H) took pity on us this past week. Easy to do as we are a rather pitiful looking lot. The homemade sweet rolls not only were a welcome sight, they were delicious. In our hunger for wisdom and knowledge, we must maintain our stamina. Man cannot live on coffee alone.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

How many more times...

With the rainfall pattern starting to take on that July feel, the scurs are confident that it will continue, at least to the end of July. Starting with Wednesday, partly cloudy skies with a good chance of showers and thunderstorms. High of 85 and low around 65. Clearing on Thursday but continued warm with highs once again near 85 and lows of 65. Mostly sunny becoming partly cloudy on Friday, warmer and humid with a chance of showers. High of 85 – 90 and lows of 65- 70. Slight chance of a shower on Saturday under partly cloudy skies. High of 85 and low near 65. Sunday, partly cloudy with highs once again near 85 and a low of 65. Monday mostly cloudy with a good chance of rain. High of 85 and low of 65. Partly cloudy again on Tuesday with a high of 85 and low temps of 65. Normal high for July 17th is 84 and the normal low is 61. The scurs will have money left over following Farm and City Days. Luckily they bought stock in a putty knife company beforehand. Edna has been doing land office business selling putty knives to scrape all those road kill Tootsie Rolls off the bottoms of people’s shoes. The scurs next stop: The Waseca Co. Fair.

Gotta love our little local celebration. It causes kids young and old to complain the next day they have a bellyache from eating too much candy. I must’ve been looking a little gaunt. People kept feeding me things. First, there was plenty of candy thrown my direction during the parade. Then someone fed me some deep fried green beans followed by some other folks feeding me fresh mini donuts. That scale at home has to be wrong.

Corn should be nearly tasseled out by week’s end and soybeans should be starting to show some initial pod set, all the while blooming profusely. Third cutting hay has benefitted from all this moisture although the southerly winds have brought enough potato leafhoppers into the area that alfalfa should be watched for this pest. And potatoes of course. Pastures have never looked so lush. Our own pasture has an abundance of white clover flowering in it, giving the appearance of a light snowfall at times. Did happen to see a painted turtle when the pasture was mowed last, probably from the wetland down below on an egg laying mission. Even turtles need to get out of the water once in a while. Rainfall patterns while giving us plenty of rainfall in general have been more erratic. For instance, rain that fell on the 7th amounted to.25” at the ranch, .4” - .6” in Bugtussle proper and a couple miles to the north, 3 inches. The problem is that those who get doused once seem to keep getting doused.

There have never been more orioles at our place than this summer. Usually this time of year we have a few but this year, we counted a half dozen in the tree with the nectar feeder. It looks like Mom, Dad, Uncle Charlie and the kids. It’s possible there are more than that as they are excellent at concealing themselves in the dense foliage. The way they’re going through grape jelly and sugar water, one can only ponder how much of either product sold at Wagner’s actually is consumed by humans.

In the garden we should see some ripe tomatoes this week, Champion is the variety I believe. The squirrels already ate one last week so it probably doesn’t count. Appears our zucchini have been tormented as well by the rodents. I see squirrel fricassee come about the weekend of the season opener. The snap peas have been a little disappointing but it should come as no surprise with all the warm wet weather and harvest delayed by the mosquito invasion. The lettuce is about ready to be worked under and replaced with a planting of early maturing string beans. Had green beans through September last year doing that so it ought to be worth another try. The larger vine crops are like an emerald carpet right now, unrolled across the garden. In the mornings the yellow flowers add a beautiful accent much to the delight of the bees pollinating them.

On the insect front, we heard something strange and thought for a minute there was an electrical problem down by the barn. Nope, just a cicada getting cranked up for the season. We’ve written about the next insect many times and probably will write about them many more times. There have been some comments and questions about all the red and brown butterflies this season and whether they should be sprayed with something. The answer to the first question is they are red admiral butterflies and the answer to the second question is absolutely not. The varying colored, spiky covered caterpillars that develop into these butterflies consume nettles and plants in the nettle family as their primary source of nutrition. The butterflies themselves are rather omnivorous, dining on tree sap, decaying fruit and bird droppings. Yum! When they can’t find these treats, they will dine on nectar from sources such as alfalfa, clover and milkweed. There are generally two generations produced in the northern U.S. and they migrate south in the fall. They can’t survive the coldest winters here so it is generally believed that they are repopulated by migration from the south each spring. In addition to being pretty to look at and fun to watch their sputtery yet rapid flight, they’re actually one of the good guys.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

Will your tongue wag so much when I send you the bill?

The scurs were tight about the rainfall being spotty. Like most things though rainfall tends to average out. Sometimes it just takes longer than others. Starting Wednesday, mostly cloudy with an increasing chance of showers and thunderstorms as the day wears on. Highs 80 – 85 and lows of 65- 70. Mostly cloudy with a chance of rain Thursday and Friday. Highs 80 – 85 and lows 65 – 70. Partly cloudy to mostly sunny for Saturday, Sunday and Monday with highs again running 80 – 85 and lows around 65. Clouding up Tuesday with a chance of rain. Highs near 80, cooling down with the passage of the front with lows of 55 – 60. Normal high for July 23rd is 84 and the normal low is 62. As of the 21st we will officially be below 15 hours of daylight for the first time since May 22nd. More twilight hours for the scurs to sleep in the hammock now their mosquitoes have been sprayed.

The Full Moon for July will occur on the 25th. Yes, I know most calendars say the 26th but it’s the old UTC trick where we get a chance to be ahead of the game. This Full Moon goes by the Full Buck Moon as velvet covered antlers are beginning to protrude from white-tailed deer noggins. It is also known as the Full Thunder Moon for the numerous thunderstorms that commonly occur during the month. Some also know this as the Full Hay Moon for obvious reasons. The Ojibwe knew this as the Full Raspberry Moon and they were absolutely on target as there are many wild raspberries for the snacking across the countryside. The Sioux were more into stone fruit calling this the Moon When Wild Cherries are Ripe.

Crops are thundering along with corn fully tasseled and pollinating for the most part and most soybeans reaching R3, that is one pod 3/16” long at any of the uppermost 4 nodes on the main stem with a fully expanded trifoliate. Some are even R4 which is one pod ¾” long at one of the uppermost 4 nodes with a fully expanded trifoliate on the main stem. In other words, development is progressing well. Second pass glyphosate applications are nearing completion and soybean aphid detects continue to rise. Numbers however remain well below thresholds at this point so waiting to combine the last pass of glyphosate with an insecticide application at this point is probably not going to be an option. Small grain harvest should start soon with lowered expectations than what we had last year. Pea harvest is winding down and yields dropped off substantially once we ran into all the heat and rain. Peas don’t like wet feet or hot weather.

The garden at the ranch mirrors some of what we’re seeing in the fields. For instance, the cooler season crops such as the snap peas and onions have been OK but haven’t reached the level of production we saw last year. However, things like carrots, beets, string beans and tomatoes appear to be having a banner season. The cucumbers are right there too with a few reaching pickling size last weekend. Can’t wait for those slicers however. Most of the vine crops are loving life as are the waterhemp and redroot pigweed. Lambsquarters have taken a hiatus and not a moment too soon. The vine crops look promising at this point with a lot of squash, pumpkins, gourds, etc., being set already. The old fashioned tiger lilies have burst into bloom adding some bright orange color to the yard. They attract some attention from the hummingbirds although they much prefer the impatiens and petunias.

The orioles continue their feeding frenzy although they are somewhat fussy about their table fare. Ran short on grape jelly the other day though and only had enough for a dab in one of their dishes. Decided to put some apple butter in the other one to see what they’d do with it. They weren’t buying it, licking the jelly side clean and scolding me to put the real McCoy back on the menu.

Ruby continues to grow rapidly and get into more things she shouldn’t. She become familiar with the term “no” pretty well and usually doesn’t continue the offending activity once she’s told to stop. She’s a popcorn and crumb lover, keeping the floor clean when she’s inside. Multi-tasking seems to be a strong suit as playing with 2 toys at once is to her liking. That Border Collie crouch and stare have suddenly become part of the little dog’s repertoire when attempting to herd Gus. Gus has become the wise older brother whom Ruby idolizes and sticks to like glue. Gus doesn’t mind until he gets about fed up with being herded.

Another Waseca Co. Fair is in the books so Moms and Dads across the county can breathe a sigh of relief as their summer running can let up a little. Fair time was always fun for us as kids, finding all kinds of activities and new kids to have fun with at the fairgrounds in Preston. Water fights and dropping the rubber spider suspended from the rafters with a piece of fishing line on people were standard operating procedure. A stuffed pair of pants stuck in a pair of boots tucked under a cow’s paunch was always a crowd pleaser. It was that is until someone panicked one time thinking someone had been squashed by the cow and ran off to get the sheriff. Oh yes, our parents had many of the same issues to deal with although as we got older, we matured somewhat and became more self sufficient. We were always amazed however to see the parents of kids our own age feeding their animals for them, bedding the critters and jumping into the pens to get the animals ready for show while the kids stood and watched while talking smart. Wonder if their parents ever got their records done for them so they could collect their premium check?

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

…but I ended up alone at the microphone.

The scurs hit the first rain right but somehow forgot the Friday night event. Oh well, given the generous rains that fell this past week, no harm no foul. This week? Starting Wednesday, partly cloudy with a chance of morning showers. Highs near 85 and lows around 60. Thursday, partly cloudy with a high of 85 and a low of 60. Partly cloudy Friday and Saturday, highs of 80 – 85 and lows of 60 – 65. A slight chance of an evening shower both days. Sunday starts off partly cloudy becoming mostly cloudy by afternoon with a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs of 80 – 85 and lows near 60. Cloudy Monday with a chance of rain. High of 80 and low of 55 – 60. Becoming partly cloudy Tuesday, high of 80 and low of 55 – 60. Normal high for August 1 is 83 and the normal low is 61. The ads are out so the scurs have to start their back to school shopping soon to avoid the rush.

Crops moved along once again with warm temperatures and abundant rainfall falling across most of Greater Bugtussle and environs. At the ranch between the Thursday and Saturday rainfall events the gauge tallied 3.2”. Prior to that only about 1.2” had been recorded for the month of July. Some locations received more than that but since the crop is consuming water rapidly, there was room in the soil profile for most fields. Corn has pollinated well and grain fill will be commencing rapidly. Soybeans continue to set pods and are ahead of schedule in most fields. Small grains have been a mixed bag with spring wheat disappointing from a yield standpoint but the quality has been good. Oats have yielded well but the test weight is not heavy, not to be unexpected with the kind of heat we received on the tail end of the fill period.

The garden has really started to kick it in gear. String beans, both green and yellow made it worth my time to don the mosquito repellent and pick a couple 6 qt. buckets full. The cukes fired up too, with the first half dozen being consumed quickly, followed on their heels by another dozen with dozens more set that should be ready within a few days. More tomatoes are ripening too so BLT’s can’t be too far behind. Being slathered with repellent also made me feel brave enough to take on the weeds that had overgrown the onion patch. Since some of the weeds were so large, it made for an early harvest for some of the onions. Oh well, nothing wrong with cucumber and onions in vinegar or with sour cream is there? Sweet corn is available at the local sheep shearers. All these things make me a regular columnist.

Warm season grasses are heading and flowering as are many warm season plants. Just at the ranch alone, we have big bluestem, little bluestem, yellow Indiangrass and switchgrass all heading out. In lawns including ours at the ranch, crabgrass has made its lighter green presence known, especially after it gums the mower deck up. Wild bergamot and cup plants can be seen flowering in many CRP acreages across the countryside.

On the bird front, someone has taken the bullhorn away from the robins at the ranch. At least that’s the way it sounded some mornings. The wrens end up alone at the microphone as they start in shortly before 6 a.m. It’s still better than the robins and their 4:30 solos. Sadly the bluebirds that had taken a shine to the nesting box at the kindly neighbors had their box taken over by an over ambitious wren. I removed the twigs in disgust and now there’s a male house sparrow eyeing it. Nothing a BB gun won’t cure. The brightly colored male orioles at the ranch seem to have disappeared. However the youngsters are still hanging around, keeping the sugar water and jelly feeder hopping most of the day.

One can tell it’s moving towards late summer as the sounds of the katydids can be heard through the open windows after the sun disappears. Katydids are a strange looking grasshopper and cricket relative generally lime green with long back legs and antenna. They are more frequently heard however than they are seen and they are loud. Males produce the distinctive “katy-did, kat- didn’t” sound by rubbing their wings together to attract females. Katydids primarily feed on trees and shrubs and the damage their feeding causes is typically noneconomic. Some would argue the racket they make causes economic damage. It usually just makes a nice white noise backdrop to drift off to sleep for this ink stained wretch.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

There in my truck the dog and I…

The scurs were once again on their game with last week’s forecast. What sayeth the scurs for this week? Starting Wednesday, partly cloudy, high of 85 and low of 60 – 65. Thursday and Friday, mostly clear with highs of 85 and lows of 60 – 65 both days. A slight chance of showers late Friday evening. Saturday, partly cloudy with an increasing chance of rain as the day wears on. High near 85 and low near 65. Sunday, partly cloudy with a chance of showers and thunderstorms. High of 85 and low of 65. Monday and Tuesday, warmer under mostly sunny skies. Highs near 90 and lows of 65 – 70. All in all a very seasonal weather pattern for early August. The normal high for August 7th is 83 and the normal low is 60. The scurs will be getting a cold fresh squeezed lemonade before seeing George Jones at the Freeborn Co. Fair.

The July weather we experienced was certainly a departure from what we’ve experienced the past couple years. Last year there were some days it didn’t get above 60 for a high and both of the previous 2 years were disappointing from a precipitation standpoint. Last year at the ranch we recorded a paltry 1.73” of precip for July. This year the tally was 6.07” and there were several reports of higher amounts than that. For the months of June and July, the total was 14.16”. Commercial canning company sweet corn harvest began in July and while yields weren’t fantastic, it’s not often we see it start this early. Much of the field corn last week was already milk stage and the soybeans were primarily R5 with pods beginning to fill. Last year we were starting to wonder whether or not the crop would make it to the finish line. What a difference a year makes.

Garden produce is abundant too and by the looks of things will only become more so. At the ranch the string beans continue to pump out buckets full with the cukes just starting to hit full stride. The melon crop took awhile to get its act together but there are plenty of melons being set along with loads of blossoms. There appear to be a lot of squash set and they’re almost full size. They’re also running out into the windbreak area to get away from each other. There are also some orange pumpkins although we cheat a little as Autumn Gold starts out yellowish-orange.

Elsewhere around the yard, the chokeberries were bountiful, making a surprising tasty snack while mowing the aforementioned windbreak. Apparently someone must’ve told the birds because they’re rapidly disappearing. The serviceberries suffered the same fate while the nannyberries while plentiful are still green yet. There was one plum on the little tree planted last year so was waiting with great anticipation to pluck it before the birds got to it. Too late. Took a look at one side of it and it looked perfect and the other had been taste tested likely by someone with feathers. The apples are not as abundant as last year and there is evidence of tampering there as well. Finding some half eaten apples scattered around the yard tends to make think something with 4 legs is one of the responsible parties.

Looks like we may be seeing the start of the hummingbird migration from the north. There was a male at the oriole feeder on Sunday. Up until then most of what we’ve seen has been female or young birds. Regardless, all of them love the pots containing coral nymph salvia, followed by petunias and impatiens for dessert. There are a few 4 o’clocks blooming now as well so that ought to keep them happy for awhile. The young orioles are continuing to eat their fill of jelly and sugar water daily. One wonders how much longer that will continue with the seasons being pushed along as fast as they are. The goldfinches must be nesting or close to it. The sunflower and thistle feeders are occupied primarily by males along with some rose-breasted grosbeaks and house finches. There is one late nesting wren that occupied an unused bluebird house. There were 7 eggs in the clutch when I checked last week. As prolific as they are, it’s no wonder it gets so loud around here come June.

Almost every farmer has one and I’m no exception: That rusty old pickup truck that still runs, smells like an old pickup, looks like heck and is a good candidate for a shedding dog to ride in. I was dirty and unkempt (this happens when you do it all) so I fired up the old ‘90 Dodge Saturday morning as it was easier than unloading the other truck to make a feed run. It was licensed, insured, tires were all up and it hadn’t been run for awhile so what the heck? As a puppy Ruby gets most of the attention so it’s only fair to take Gus along on these excursions. He loves to ride so we roared off, leaving a trail of black diesel exhaust behind us. Of course since the air conditioning wasn’t functioning and the temperature was climbing rapidly we had both windows rolled down.

This precipitated a dog hair tornado of major proportions inside the cab as we rolled along towards our destination. Sitting in the seat beside me with one ear up and one ear down, Gus panted happily as the people we met along the way waved at us and smiled. Upon arrival, after spitting out the Gus fur and scraping it off my unshaven face, I went inside to visit the proprietor of my favorite feed store. I always get a charge out of Jim, nothing pretentious or sugar-coated, what you see is what you get and he doesn’t judge, even if you’re covered with dog hair. Feed loaded and the world’s problems solved, we set out for home as the “hair-storm” commenced once again. Had some business to discuss so stopped at neighbor David’s on the way by. He kinda gave us the hairy eyeball when we first drove up, probably wondering what kind of circus freak show had just landed in his driveway. After an initial look of bewilderment, it didn’t take him long to figure out it was just his goofy neighbor and a shedding black and white Border Collie named Gus.

See you next week…real good then.

[Steve Foss]

Wild and wooly, that's those shedding border collies. Great read, Dotch. I've rebonded with my veggie gardens this year (having added three new raised beds this spring), so was interested even more than usual how things are going at your place.

[Dotch]

Thanks Steve. I also watch with interest when you post info about your garden. A raised bed south of the house here would be a good idea. Finding someone ambitious enough to put it in would be a better idea. Gardening is a labor of love for those of us who enjoy fresh veggies and sharing them with others. The weeds are about doing me in though. Every time I go out there the sheep come on a dead run bellering in hopes that some of the lambsquarters and waterhemp will land on their side of the fence. And I think I'm getting fat!

[Steve Foss]

I even put in raised beds, Dotch, when I lived in eastern and central N.D., where the soil was deep, black and rich. So many advantages. Love the way the can be easily converted to coldframes, and at our age the less bending over we require, the better!

[Dotch]

And once you're gone, you can't come back

The scurs forecast of the heat wave was a little late but it came none the less. Will it last into this week? Starting Wednesday, partly cloudy with a decent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs of 85 – 90 and lows dropping to 65. Clear on Thursday becoming partly cloudy with a slight chance of evening showers. High reaching 85 again and low of 65. Partly cloudy Friday with increasing chances of showers and thunderstorms as the day wears on. 85 for a high with a low of 65. Saturday marks what could be a cooling trend with a slight chance of a shower and partly cloudy skies. High of 85 and low of 60. Sunday, partly cloudy, high of 80 and low of 50. Sunny skies both Monday and Tuesday with highs around 75 and lows of 50 – 55. The normal high for August 15th is 82 and the normal low is 59. On the 15th we will be down to 14 hours of daylight, about the same as we experience on April 27th. The scurs are taking a break from the fair circuit this week and sleeping in, taking advantage of a tardy sun rising now after 6 a.m.

In the fields more rapid progress as this crop is racing to the finish line, already. Was in a field of corn late last week that was denting. Granted it was 100 day corn planted early. However compared to where we were last year at this time, there’s no comparison. Soybeans too are far ahead of schedule across Greater Bugtussle, with some fields starting to reach past R5 and some early varieties planted early pushing R6. There should be ample time for one more cutting of alfalfa yet although the rainfall may have something to say about the tonnage that will be harvested. Rainfall accumulations in August have slowed somewhat as compared to July but there should be ample soil moisture for us to finish without needing a lot more rain. It’s a sign too that there is still a fair amount of corn left across the countryside as one can hear the bin fans running in the evenings in an attempt to cool down some of the corn that’s not keeping well. Most would agree, it would be nice to finally get the 2009 crop behind us, especially the corn that was a bear to store.

Used to be at the Mall for Men we knew it was sweet corn season by watching the sweat line on the water tower in the morning hours. Since the old water tower was torn down a few years back the little fat buddies have been scrambling to come up with another method. The discussion was that maybe we could tell by checking the sales of high end toilet paper at Wagner’s. Wouldn’t you know, recently we received a $1 off coupon for high end bathroom tissue in the mail. We may have a mole in our midst.

Hummingbird numbers continue to increase around the ranch. There is usually one sitting on the wire feeder hanger to protect his/her turf. The young orioles continue to gobble down nectar and grape jelly at a breakneck pace although there was a brightly colored male there recently. Peeked in the wren’s nesting box to see if they’d hatched and they were almost big enough to leave the nest. About all one could see was long beaks, feathers and eyes as I slowly closed the door on the nesting box.

There have been lots of questions about the abundant yellow butterflies, primarily where did they all come from. The obvious answer of course is from other yellow butterflies. Actually most are alfalfa butterflies also known as the Orange Sulphur. They are among the first butterflies to appear in the spring, with larvae feeding on alfalfa and other legumes like clover as well as soybeans. Orange Sulphurs will typically produce at least 2 generations per year at this latitude. Numbers are rarely high enough to cause economic damage in the midwest while they tend to be more of a concern in the southwestern US. The butterflies over winter as pupae and given the ample snowfall and depth last winter, chances are their overwintering survival was much better than usual.

The Pro Farmer Crop Tour is coming up so decided with the rain last Saturday it was time to enhance my tattered work wardrobe. Headed the soccer mom van down the road to the store where you go the bathroom in the silo with the orange roof on it. While going commando had crossed my mind, wearing underwear is unfortunately one of those necessary evils. There are some in the sock drawer that are probably illegal to wear in several states. At least they come in colors now which is a good thing. It’s a lot tougher to mess up if you have to do a few loads of laundry yourself as opposed to the days of the “tidy whities” and the dreaded pink underwear when something red snuck in there. Jeans were next on the agenda so shopped and found bargains even though my size is rarely available in all the different styles. I can see I definitely have to spend more time at the training table so I can fit into everything they have.

On to the shirts. There were so many to choose from but since I’m just going to beat the tar out of them anyway, it doesn’t pay to buy anything fancy. I do have to draw the line somewhere though. Found some shirts on the bargain racks where the colors were definitely not found in nature. I’m beginning to understand where some of the people on “What not to Wear” or those featured in those People of Wal Mart emails get their fashion sense. I mean who wouldn’t want a red and green striped shirt that makes you resemble a giant watermelon? Of course unlike women shopping at a ladies store, when a guy shops in a man’s store, it is never a wise idea to try any of this stuff on until after you get home. Why you ask? Because if it doesn’t fit it gives you a legitimate excuse to go back there. Since your primary mission won’t be to buy more clothes anyway, you’ll have more time to look at necessities like tools and weapons of mass destruction.

See you next week from the road…real good then.

[Dotch]

Old friends, old friends,

Sat on their park bench like bookends

The scurs were hitting on all cylinders once again with heat and rainfall coming as advertised. This forecast period? Starting Wednesday, partly cloudy with a chance of overnight showers. High of 85 and low of 65. Thursday, partly cloudy with a chance of showers increasing throughout the day. Highs 80 – 85 and lows of 60 – 65. Friday, partly cloudy with a chance of rain. Highs 80 – 85 and a low around 60. Partly cloudy Saturday, Sunday and Monday with highs of 80 – 85 and lows of 60 – 65. Tuesday mostly clear and humid. High of 85 and low dropping to 65. Normal high for August 20th is 81 and the normal low is 58. The scurs will be salivating over the wide array of edibles at the Steele Co. Fair.

The 24th marks the date of the Full Moon for the month of August. It is known by several names including the Full Sturgeon Moon, the Full Red Moon and the Full Green Corn Moon. The Ojibwe knew this as the Full Berry Moon, probably for the abundant blueberry crop they shared with the bears. The Sioux called this the Moon When Geese Shed Their Feathers and the Moon When Cherries Turn Black.

Crops continue to progress towards harvest at a rapid pace. Last year at the same time we were wondering if we were going to make it with corn still in the milk stage and soybeans exhibiting a lot of flat pods. Taking to the air this past week there is more nitrogen deficiency in the corn than we would’ve imagined. What kind of impact it will have on the yields won’t be known for certain however until the combines roll. The soybeans may be the Cinderella crop this season. They’ve had a rough couple seasons and are about due to let us know that we can still raise them in a profitable manner.

The soybeans have been loaded with all kinds of insects this year and there have been questions about yet another butterfly. The painted lady is medium sized butterfly that belongs to the same family of butterflies as the red admiral we’ve written about previously, the true brush footed butterfly family. These butterflies migrate in from the southern US and Mexico each season. The larvae feed primarily on thistles, mallow family plants but can also feed on legumes including soybeans. Rarely are they a problem unless an unusually large spring migration occurs. The larvae feed on soybean leaves and fasten them together with silk. The body is dark with yellow spots and has numerous spines covering the body. The butterfly itself has an upperside that is orange-brown with a darker wing base. The forewing has a black apex patch and white bar on leading edge. The hindwing has a row of 5 small black spots sometimes has blue scales. The underside has a black, brown, and gray pattern with 4 small eyespots.

Sadly we said goodbye to a couple of old friends in the wee hours of the morning this past Friday. The strong straight line winds that blew through the area snapped the large ash in the front yard at ground level and also uprooted the old spruce that was 60+ feet high on the side of the house facing the road. Both were a part of the landscape for many years. The ash was planted sometime back around 1964 as we have some black and white photos of the then freshly remodeled house. In front of it were two small whips, the one on the east being the female ash that was a fixture since that time. The orioles were extremely upset after sunrise Friday morning that the tree that had held their jelly feeder was horizontal and they spent much of the morning diving into it trying to locate their breakfast.

Difficult to tell exactly how old the spruce was but pictures from the 1950’s show the 2 spruce trees on that side of the house, looking almost as large as they did when the wind destroyed the first one in 1996 and now its mate in 2010. The tree was still very healthy and was a landmark when driving up the hill by the ranch. Like the ash it had been home and shelter to many of our feathered friends over the years. Sure, our house was damaged by another smaller tree that was snapped off and the house can be repaired. We’ve also planted a new windbreak and many other trees to supplement and replace some of the trees as they age. However in our lifetime there will be no replacing the loss of these two large trees that stood sentinel over the yard we call home.

See you next week…real good then.

[MN Shutterbug]

Hey Dotch,

Sorry about your loss. I'm sure you and the birds will cope.

[Dotch]

Thanks x. No doubt about it, birds and all, we'll manage. We already have plans for replacement trees. Fortunately as I wrote, especially for the numerous ash that were planted long before we bought the place, there's hackberry, spruce, oak and other assorted "stuff" we planted over the past decade or so. They're all doing well and will be ready someday to step in and take the place of the ash trees. Sure didn't look forward this a.m to being greeted by the mess after being tuckered out from a week on the road. I'm getting way too old for this. It sounds like over the course of the next week the cavalry may arrive to help clean up and put things back in order.

[Dotch]

Oh let the sun beat down upon my face, stars to fill my dream…

The scurs were in the ballpark but didn’t quite grasp the heat we experienced over the past weekend. Let’s hope this forecast is closer to real time. Starting Wednesday and Thursday, mostly clear with highs of 75 – 80 and lows of 45 – 50. Friday, clear with a high around 80 and low of 60 – 65. Warmer Saturday and Sunday, highs of 85 and lows of 60 – 65. A slight chance of showers creeping on Sunday evening. Partly sunny Monday, high of 85 and low of 60 with a return of the humidity. Mostly cloudy on Tuesday with a good chance of thundershowers. Highs of 85 and lows dropping to a comfy 55 overnight. The normal high for August 26th is 79 and the normal low is 56. Speaking of August 26th, the scurs will be readying themselves for another foot long culinary delight at the Great Minnesota Get Together.

August 26th is one of those watershed days in terms of our late summer season. The sun will rise at 6:30 a.m. and will set at 8 p.m., making for 13 hours and 30 minutes of daylight. And that’s O.K. because on the 27th it will be over a full 2 hours less than at the summer solstice. The State Fair will be underway and that signals that the end of summer is nearing and autumn cannot be far behind. The largest planet Jupiter has made a showy appearance in the eastern sky if you go outside about 9 p.m. and look almost due east. About that same time if you look high in the northwestern sky, the Big Dipper continues to sink slowly closer to the horizon. If you’re lucky you may see a falling star from the tail end of the Perseid meteor shower as you sit on a blanket and put your arm around your sweetheart. Or in my case Gus and Ruby.

Crops continue to move along. The milk line is coming down rapidly on the corn which means we’re heading for a potentially much earlier harvest than what we had last year. Soybeans are almost entirely R6 with the exception of replants and soybeans planted after peas. SDS (Sudden Death Syndrome) continues to show up in more soybean fields and in a broader scope in those fields that were detected several years ago. This disease is caused by a soil borne fusarium fungus that infects the roots earlier in the plants development. It is expressed when the plants become stressed at a later date and the fungus gives off a toxin that basically shuts the plant down, suddenly. At present, there is no commercially available genetic resistance. There are differences in tolerance however so that will need to be part of the criteria when selecting a variety to plant on the field the next time.

Our garden woes at the ranch continue. The mosquitoes started it on the downhill slide and the recent hailstorm pretty well cooked the goose of the sweet corn with a little assistance from the raccoons. The squash and pumpkin vines took a major hit too although most of them were far enough along to assure we’d still have a decent crop. Same thing with the tomatoes. The produce may be marred with some pock marks but hopefully the insects and pathogens leave them alone until harvest. Fortunately the muskmelons and cukes were protected by the trees so they escaped relatively unscathed. Much of the rest of large plot has become infested with weeds to the point that I’m considering using a lawnmower or the brush blade on the weedeater to reel it back in. The orioles may have flown the coop after being without nectar or jelly for several days. The hummingbirds remain in their stead though, busily working over the flower pots and planters.

Another Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour is in the books once again. Seems like we just got over the 2009 version not all that long ago. We covered a lot of territory on the eastern leg, sampling corn and soybeans in fields through the best parts of OH, IN, IL and IA east of I-35. Essentially, when one adds up the numbers it amounts to a crop not all that different than what we had last year in terms of bushels nationwide. However, corn grain quality should be improved over 2009. As some of you can attest, that shouldn’t be too difficult.

Thank goodness for little fat buddies. On Saturday 2 of us did battle with the chainsaw on the ash tree the Friday the 13th storm knocked down and won. We were soaked with sweat because of the sun and suspect we would’ve both been on the verge of heat exhaustion had we not taken some breaks for water allowing our ageless bodies catch up. This gave us an opportunity to expand our minds as well. The little hackberry that was planted to the SE of the ash has already proven itself as shade tree as we sat in the lawn chairs underneath and admired the hackberry nipple galls on the undersides of the leaves. Doing my best Cliff Clavin impression, I explained to my little fat buddy, these galls are caused by psyllids or jumping plant lice, small native insects that resemble miniature cicadas. Adults are about 1/8” – 3/16th” long and emerge from the leaf litter in the spring. They deposit eggs as new leaves are opening. The eggs hatch and the nymphs feed on the leaves, with the gall measuring about 4mm wide by 6mm tall. Adults emerge from the galls in September then hibernate in crevices in the bark overwinter. Normally these insects aren’t economic but can cause premature leaf drop if they’re heavy enough. And here I bet he thought I was making this stuff up.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

Don't sit down it's time to dig another one.

The scurs forecasting prowess was put to the test last week and they responded masterfully. A little more typical early September weather? Starting Wednesday, partly cloudy, high near 80 and low of 60 with an increasing chance of showers and thunderstorms by the evening hours. Partly cloudy Thursday, slightly cooler with a chance of some lingering showers. Highs around 75 and lows near 55. Clear to partly cloudy both Friday and Saturday with highs of 75 – 80 and lows of 55 – 60. A slight chance of an overnight shower Saturday or a morning shower on Sunday. Monday and Tuesday put us back into summer again. Highs 80 – 85 both days with lows of 55 – 60. A good chance of thunderstorms both days. Normal high for September 6th is 76 and the normal low is 51. The scurs will have had about enough State Fair and will be sipping coffee while watching those large yellow livestock carriers deliver the kids back to school.

It looks like we should be safe from the September 7th frost that would’ve been calculated from the date of the first thunder for the season. Seldom are such dire predictions right but when they are you can bet everyone will hear about it. As it is, as a result of last weekend’s blast furnace-like conditions, the crops have moved extremely rapidly toward maturity. As of last week already there were reports of early planted, early relative maturity corn that had reached maturity. The soybeans are turning in most fields too. There are areas in fields where that maturity has been hastened beyond what would be considered normal and there may be some pod and stem blight or another of the diaporthe fungal disease complex speeding things up prematurely. This is not the easiest of pathogens to diagnose as it doesn’t necessarily behave or look like the descriptions or pictures in the books. It does however lower yields in those spots. Fortunately thus far anyway, they are just localized spots. Rainfall for this past month of August up through the 30th has been of the pace of June and July, totaling just 1.83” at the ranch so far. We have dried out substantially.

We finally got some decent haying weather. After seeing hay most of the summer any color but green, this looks and smells just as good as I remembered. It was also just as much fun to stack as I also remembered. Say the words “baling hay” these days and youngsters look at you like you’ve suddenly come down with the plague and can find more reasons why “that just isn’t going to work out for them” than imaginable. In the old days growing up, we were always looking for ways to make some money and if baling hay was what it took, that’s what we’d do. Times have certainly changed. Maybe if they had a Wi-Fi version…

On a more positive note, the orioles have been back at the ranch this past week after their feeders ran dry for a spell. I put a dollop of jelly in each bowl one evening and the next morning they were back. Filled their nectar feeder too and that brought even more out of the woodwork. There were still some mature males as of this writing and their colors had to make me believe we’d be seeing leaves that color sooner than we’d like. Hummingbirds continue to work the planters and pots over during daylight hours as do the white-lined sphinx moths after dark.

Cantaloupe explosion in the garden upon my return from the State Fair. Picked and gave away as many as I could find takers for then butchered the rest, placing them in containers in the fridge. The size is amazing with some of them being larger than dodge balls. They taste a lot better than dodge balls however.

I’ve read some articles decrying the lack of toads and frogs around the countryside as downright criminal. Apparently they haven’t been to the ranch. Earlier in the summer there were scads of little toads, each small enough to sit on a dime. With all the rubble and refuse to hide under after the storm a couple weeks back, I probably fished a dozen small toads out from underneath and placed them in shady flower beds or other cool, damp places where they could escape the noon day sun. They’re about an inch long and an inch wide now. Mowing lawn later that day to keep the place from looking like an abandoned farm site, an equal number of frogs and toads were seen hopping out of the way from the unkempt grass. No deformities when examined, just normal frogs and toads. When not digging holes, Ruby is frequently scolded for playing with the bigger toads by the steps when we let her out for evening potty time. There are also large toads down by the barn where they can be spotted catching flies with a flick of their tongues.

Of course stories like these don’t sell papers or galvanize people into action to carry out someone else’s agenda, now do they? One thing we don’t see as many of at the ranch as when we first moved here is garter snakes. Others have said the same thing. I’m sure someone is convinced it’s something we’ve done that’s to blame so we should all have a rally at the capitol to support a ban on whatever someone is convinced is causing it. Not me. Bills to pay. Got a column to write, even if it doesn’t sell papers.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

Here comes the rain again, falling on my head like a memory…

The scurs thermometer for the Labor Day holiday went a bit awry however the rain did threaten to make it a washout. Do we have a rainmaker this week? Starting with Wednesday, mostly sunny with a chance of evening showers. High of 70 and low of 55 - 60. Mostly cloudy Thursday with a good chance of rain. Highs of 70 and lows near 60. A chance of showers Friday with cloudy skies becoming partly cloudy by late afternoon with a better chance of an overnight shower or thunderstorm. High of 75 and lows around 55 – 60. Saturday, partly cloudy with a slight chance of showers in the morning then clearing by afternoon. High of 70 – 75 and low of 55. Mostly sunny on Sunday and Monday, highs of 75 and lows of 50 – 55. Partly cloudy on Tuesday with a good chance of developing showers and thunderstorms. High of 80 and low of 55 – 60. The normal high for Sept. 12th is 74 and the normal low is 49, about the same as we see on May 22nd. We slipped below 13 hours of daylight on the 6th and the autumnal equinox looms closer. Now another State Fair is in the books, the scurs will be tuning in to watch the Vikes attempt to avenge their NFC championship loss to New Orleans, who will be sans Darren Sharper.

With that upcoming equinox, farmers will be getting anxious to get their harvest underway. It’s coming but with a little slower pace since temperatures have moderated. That’s OK, there should be plenty of time barring unforeseen circumstances. We should be past the danger of a frost doing much to harm either the corn or soybean crop. As mentioned, symptoms of pod and stem blight can be identified in the soybeans. Fortunately the areas affected appear to be relatively minor in size. In the meantime, patience is a virtue.

Was finally able to saw up the storm casualty spruce tree despite its large size. Counting the rings on the tree, it appears to have been roughly 85 years old. Calvin Coolidge was President and we were in the middle of the Roaring Twenties. My Mom was born in 1925 so that was around the same timeframe as whoever planted the tree. Maybe someday someone will wonder who planted all the trees 85 years ago on the place here. I hope so. They’re growing well and are starting to have the desired impact. Odd the things one thinks about after running a chainsaw.

It appears the orioles may finally be gone for good this time. At both the ranch and my Mom’s place, neither of us had seen one since last Saturday. Although, one never knows. The last one seen at the ranch was wearing a little Brett Favre jersey. Oh well, we had them here from early May and the first part of September is about when we’ve generally seen them leave. Means more grape jelly for us. The swallow numbers continued to build last week and it will come as no great shock to go out for chores one September morning to find them gone too. Don’t even want to talk about the hummingbirds leaving yet. Am afraid a couple swans flying up off of the pond area may be a harbinger of things to come however.

Insects have been on the minds of many lately and judging by the bites apparently on many bodies. Yes, those late season mosquitoes are back with a vengeance, not messing around, just biting aggressively. Dragonflies at a recent plot tour just ahead of the thunderstorm on August 31st were absolutely amazing. There must’ve been over a thousand of them buzzing around eating whatever they could find. Their aerial display made it difficult to concentrate on what the speaker was presenting. A few minutes before the downpour they were gone, leaving us to fend for ourselves against the mosquitoes. Saw more lacewings in one place than I ever recall seeing. The sliding glass patio door was just covered one evening before a rain shower. And yes, those pesky ladybugs, namely the multicolored Asian ladybeetles are starting to appear in area houses. Hope you put out the welcome mat.

Despite the weedy mess it became later in the season, the garden continues to crank out produce. The cantaloupe crop has been nothing short of phenomenal and couldn’t believe my eyes when digging carrots. It had been many years since growing the last carrots so it was a pleasant surprise to see the long orange roots appear when lifting the soil with the potato fork. Not to knock store bought carrots but these were mighty tasty. There was even another picking of yellow wax beans, well after one would’ve guessed they were done. Before digging some onions and potatoes, decided it was a good idea to run the mower over those areas after raising the deck up as high as it would go. Made me smile to once again know where the rows actually were. Can save a lot of time digging that way.

At the Mall for Men the little fat buddies have been sequestered in the back corner of the newly established cubicle maze. Apparently the intent is to keep all that wisdom and knowledge from falling into the wrong hands. We were recently discussing the windmill project to the south and decided it wasn’t windy enough around Bugtussle proper to make windmills feasible. Others would argue that fueled by coffee, there’s plenty of wind at the Mall for Men especially in the morning on a rainy day.

See you next week…real good then.

[MN Shutterbug]

I just noticed this year, how the dragonflies appear to go nuts right before an approaching storm. It's pretty weird.

[Steve Foss]

Geez, Dotch. Annie Lennox? Who knew?

Great column again, buddy.

We got an inch of easy rain here overnight, while we were sleeping. Best kind of rain.

[Dotch]

Heh, heh, heh thanks Steve. That means a lot coming from someone of your literary talents. Ya know, I've never had any Annie Lennox albums but always loved her voice. Throaty, raw, and able to "bring it" at any given moment. Having been a singer over the years, I can really appreciate that. Like one of my pals told me, she could hurt a guy. I told him, "Ya, especially now that she's menopausal!"

P.S. Talked to my Mom tonite & wished her a happy 85th birthday. She had 2 orioles at the jelly feeder again today.

[Dotch]

Man, you been a naughty boy, you let your face grow long...

The scurs weren’t kidding about rain and as they predicted we saw some rain last week. Fortunately accumulations in and around Bugtussle weren’t excessive so few weekend plans were spoiled. This week? Starting Wednesday, cloudy with a good chance of showers with a possible thunderstorm. High of 65 and low of 50. Thursday, cloudy again, high of 65 – 70 and lows of 45. Partly sunny Friday, high of 65 and low of 45 with a slight chance of an overnight shower. Cloudy on Saturday with a chance of showers, highs near 65 and lows again in the 45 – 50 range. Still cloudy on Sunday with highs of 65 and lows near 50. Clearing on Monday and cooler. Highs near 70 and lows of 50. Cloudy and cooler on Tuesday with another chance for showers. Highs of 60 and lows around 40. Normal high for September 17th is 73 and the normal low is 47. These are roughly the same highs and lows we see on May 18th – 19th, the difference being that we have almost 2 ½ hours more daylight that time of year. Look for our sunrise to be back to 7 a.m. on September 21st. Jupiter is spectacular and is the first object seen in the early evening eastern sky. The scurs are predicting the Gophers vs. USC football game Saturday will be like watching Custer’s Last Stand.

Crops continue to mature although the cooler weather has certainly slowed progress, making some of the optimistic predictions that we’d see some soybeans harvested by Labor Day just that. Most corn has black layered and soybeans for the most part will be out of the woods concerning frost danger in about another week. Some of the 1.8 maturity beans will probably go next week or before. Soil moisture varies in areas. As one gets closer to Mankato, rainfall accumulations have nearly doubled what we’ve received at the ranch, making soils there saturated. With little crop uptake, days becoming shorter and average temperatures becoming cooler we start adding to the stored soil moisture for next year.

After cleaning up as many sticks, leaves and spruce needles, gave the lawn another shave. It’s face had grown fairly long, not an all bad thing after the warm summer. The crabgrass has begun to retreat and the cooler days have allowed the bluegrass to regain control once more. That’s the way farm yards work. Sure, you can make work out of it if you want but when you drive over it with a tractor, truck, skid loader, hay rack or a manure spreader you’re just thankful it’s green. Shouldn’t be too many more trips across the yard this season before the inevitable anyway. Pasture thistle mowing should be about history for another year at the ranch too. Most of the time mowing off biennial thistles such as bull thistles and musk thistles once they bolt and put on flower buds is enough to keep them at bay. This year variable time of emergence required repeat mowings to keep them at bay. Not just at the ranch but all over, yellow foxtail found something in the season that met with its favor too, crowding out some of the dormant cool season grasses when the weather was hot in August. The sheep aren’t fond of it so mowed that off also.

At the ranch the hummingbird numbers continue to swell. There are more now than at any time up to this point and it shows in the amount of sugar water being consumed. No jelly consumption so am assuming that unless the squirrels decide to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, the oriole feeder can come down for the season. Speaking of squirrels, they seem to be leaving the bird feeders alone at least temporarily. There’s suddenly plenty of ear corn to feed on and evidence of them feeding on the acorns from the red oak tree is fairly plain. Goldfinches continue to lose color although one of the still bright yellow males was investigated closely by a hummingbird apparently to see if he was a yellow 4 o’clock. He got all huffy and took exception to the intrusion which caused the hummingbird to zip away quickly to the safety of the nearest nectar feeder. There are still swallows gathering on the wires across the road from the ranch. Wonder if they can see the lid to the Weber grill that has been absent since the August 13th thunderstorm. A few robins have been passing through and the occasional bluebird here and at the kindly neighbors pasture too, their rather demure call to be heard on still mornings and evenings.

There are sign that fall is knocking on the door. The sumac has begun to blush on the road cut and the walnut trees have started to lose their leaves already. Hemp dogbane is yellowing up as are some of the grasses namely switchgrass and cordgrass. Nannyberry clusters continue to turn from a yellowish color dark blue, making for a tasty treat when performing one of those fall mowing expeditions. While the berries from the chokeberries were eaten long ago, their leaves are turning a flaming red. If these previews are any indication, we may experience some of the best fall colors in several years, that is if the autumn winds don’t blow them all away first.

Ruby is growing up. She’s a small dog, not just a puppy anymore. The focus when playing with a tennis ball has become an obsession. It does no good to try to distract her. Staring at a tennis ball for long spans of time until the ball is thrown is more than sufficient to her being. The holes she digs now versus what she could muster just a few months ago would make even J K Routh Construction proud. Gus even joins in for old times sake. The resulting craters in front of the house will be filled shortly before freeze up with the hope that neither Border Collie will be able to dig through the permafrost. At least not until spring anyway.

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

No time for a gentle rain…

The scurs were on task last week, calling the cloudy, damp, cool weather about as expected. Do they see a repeat performance for this forecast period? We shall see. Starting Wednesday, partly cloudy becoming cloudy in the afternoon with a slight chance of rain during the day and a good chance of showers for the overnight hours. Highs 65 – 70 and lows of 55 – 60. Thursday, cloudy with a good chance of showers and thunderstorms during the day with showers decreasing by evening. High of 70 – 75 and low of 50 – 55. A welcome return to some sunshine under partly cloudy skies on Friday. Highs 65 – 70 and lows around 50. Partly cloudy Saturday with a slight chance of showers. High near 70 and low of 50. 3 nice cookie cutter days in a row for Sunday through Tuesday. Highs of 70 - 75 and lows of 50 – 55. The normal high for September 24th is 70 and the normal low is 45 so we should be seeing some seasonal weather with lows slightly above normal. While the autumnal equinox falls on the 22nd here, we actually don’t see our daylight slip below 12 hours until the 26th here. This will give the scurs plenty of twilight hours to find their old Brett Favre doll. Rather than stick pins in it like they did when he played for the cheeseheads, they’ll use a match instead to see if they can light a fire under him.

The Full Moon for September falls on the 23rd while the equinox actually falls on the 22nd here due to the Universal Time differential. The Full Moon for this September is the Harvest Moon as it is the Full Moon closest to the autumnal equinox. Some years it is known as the Full Corn Moon as this is the time the Indian tribes of the northeast harvested corn, beans, pumpkins and other staples for the long winter. The Ojibwe knew this as the Full Rice Moon as they would harvest wild rice in their birch bark canoes. On the prairies the Sioux called this the Moon of the Drying Grass as the native prairie grasses such as Big Bluestem, Little Bluestem and Yellow Indiangrass were mature. In the Bugtussle area this is known as the Moon of the Growling Combine as farmers curse the remaining green stems and pods on the soybeans.

Aside from the soybeans planted following peas, the vast majority of soybeans are close to combining. Notice I said close. The weather has been uncooperative and some of the stems and pods without a good hard frost have been stubborn about getting ready. This is probably a blessing in disguise for those who are tempted to harvest them anyway, throw some air on them and put them in a bin. Horror stories of later discovering those green pods have rotted out bin walls are all too common. There has been some hail damage to soybeans in the area that will cause people’s anxiety level to rise even higher if the season becomes more drawn out. With the first warm sunny day such as Monday afternoon, pods pop open on their own and shatter when the sickle or the bats on the reel come in contact with them. Where evident earlier the SDS spots are noticeable now as more weathered areas with pods and stems being a lighter color. Some early corn has been harvested. Yields have generally been very good with quality and moisture vastly improved over last year.

As of 9/20/10 the hummingbirds remain at the ranch. Monday morning was wondering if they were still around until noticing one foraging in the patch of blooming 4 o’clocks. Shortly after that another one appeared and the aerial acrobatics were on. Maybe one more partial batch of sugar water for them as October looms closer on the horizon. A few swallows still drifting through yet as one drives the area, however the large groups appear to have vanished. Some nuthatches, red-bellied woodpeckers, blue jays and flickers are commonly seen in the backyard now that the leaves are beginning to turn. Speaking of turning, the goldfinches have all but lost their yellow plumage now, coming in droves and nearly covering the ground beneath the sunflower feeder. It won’t be long and the leaves will join them.

Ruby continues to learn new and useful tricks like how to take naps on a drizzly weekend afternoon. After eating a little lunch, tune the TV to a lopsided or boring football contest (the Gophers or Vikings have qualified recently), turn the sound down to a murmur then climb into the recliner. Trouble is the rate Ruby’s growing it won’t take long and the two of us won’t fit anymore. She’s also getting fussy about which teams she watches, requesting a Twins dog collar after we purchased her a nice new purple one for her. Somehow Bert Blyleven and Richard Bremer seem to put her right out.

A friend of ours from Chatfield was by on Saturday to pick up a ram for fall again. He got another natural (black) colored Cheviot from us and like those we’ve raised in the past, this one was equipped with overdrive. After beating on us to the point we were gasping and wheezing to catch our breath, Gary and I wrestled him to a standoff, setting the ram on his behind to trim his feet. A freshly trimmed set of wheels for trooping up and down the hilly limestone outcroppings while following his harem should be just what the doctor ordered. We were just thankful the ram went in the trailer and neither of us wound up needing to see a doctor. In the hillside pasture at the ranch the ewes have been enjoying their melon rinds and the last of the leaves from the storm damaged boxelder trees sawed up over the weekend. See? Boxelder trees are good for something..

See you next week…real good then.

[Dotch]

This is the mystery of the quotient - Upon us all a little rain must fall.

The scurs were successful in getting Brett Favre fired up after lighting a match to his backside. They also predicted the rains as forecast and am quite sure most had wished they’d missed. The upcoming forecast period should help. Starting Wednesday, mostly sunny with highs around 75 and lows of 45 – 50. Thursday and Friday, clear, highs of 65 – 70 and lows of 45 – 50. Mostly sunny Saturday through Monday. Highs of 65 and lows around 40 – 45 with frost possible on Saturday night. Warmer on Tuesday with highs reaching 70 and lows of 50. The normal high for October 1st is 68 and the normal low is 42, much the same as we see the latter part of the first week in May. Sunset will occur at 7 p.m. CDT on the 28th, 2 hours later than what we experienced during the summer solstice. This week the scurs expect to lounge on the porch swing while watching the trees turn and take in all the sunshine, if the ladybugs leave them alone that is.

After barely getting a start in areas, farming came to a screeching halt last Wednesday with the onset of a record breaking storm that deposited over 11” in parts of the area and 8.13” at the ranch. In town it’s hard to say because there is every kind of rain gauge known to man, each differing in their degree of accuracy. Incidentally, those Pioneer rain gauges will hold about 7.8” of rain total even though the markings stop at 5.5”. Here again just how accurately the gauge is calibrated may be in question. Trust me on this one; it wasn’t a rainfall amount contest you wanted to win for bragging rights. Coming to town and seeing the streets lined with refuse and people’s ruined belongings piled up was about enough to make one wonder how something like this could happen. Crops are still submerged in places and it’s anyone’s guess exactly how much and what kind of damage we’ll see once we get back into the fields in earnest. Scuba gear is still at the cleaners.

Looks like the last of the hummingbirds may have left the ranch. Saw what was likely the last one on Saturday the 25th. None on Sunday or Monday so unless they make a curtain call, it was probably the last we’ll see until spring. Lots of robins moving through right now, gobbling down earthworms and picking at the nannyberries in the yard. The pheasants have shown up in the yard again and are using the shrubby plantings as anticipated as a corridor between heavier cover. Some of the stubby tailed young roosters are getting cocky (no pun intended), strutting out a bit too far where the red-tailed hawks could potentially draw a bead on them. Adjacent to the pond in neighbor David’s field, Sunday night a pair of sandhill cranes was making their presence known about dusk with their almost prehistoric sounding call echoing off his buildings in the hollow. On the pond itself 4 blue-winged teal took flight, rapidly disappearing into the dimming evening sky.

The garden is waning as fall progresses. Still, it’s fun to go out to see what one can scavenge from its remains. Found several cucumbers that looked like they might be OK yet. Sure enough, there were no seeds, they were crisp and sweeter tasting than many of those picked in August. Tomatoes are getter harder to find and when I do find them, they seem to spoil more rapidly than their predecessors. Somehow it doesn’t stop me from looking. Took a gamble (fruit is a gamble) on some of the remaining muskmelon and was handsomely rewarded. Some of the ugly duckling cantaloupe left in the patch have been extremely tasty, much too good to throw over the fence to the sheep. Once it dries up a bit it’ll be time to finish digging the spuds, carrots and beets as well as gathering the remaining vine crops. By next weekend the fall colors should be more intense making the task a little more enjoyable.

Moles have been on my mind lately. Actually they’ve been on the newly landscaped slope on the south side of the house. They’ve managed to make a mess of things to a certain extent so want to get them out of there before winter sets in before they really screw it up. Have weighed all the options and even watched Caddyshack for some pointers. Unfortunately, moles are a little more difficult to deal with than the occasional pocket or striped gopher that shows up in the yard. Moles feed primarily on grubs and earthworms so am sure given the high organic matter content of the composted manure in the area of concern that’s likely what they’re after.

Doing a little research the best approach may be to trap them. One needs to understand the little beasts before engaging them in combat. First, every once in awhile moles will make a mound or a “molehill”. These mounds are typically connected to deeper tunnels and nesting cavities. Second, moles consume somewhere between 70 – 100% of their body weight on a daily basis. This is why the series of surface tunnels is so extensive. They are also capable of digging about 1 foot per minute. When trapping, it’s important to identify the surface runs that are being actively used by poking some holes in them with a stick to see if they are filled back in with soil. If so, for a harpoon trap such as the one I have, one needs to smash down a small area on top of the ridge on an active tunnel and set the trap accordingly. A fairly comprehensive reference on controlling moles from the University of Nebraska can be found at: http://www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/epublic/pages/publicationD.jsp?publicationId=1234

Still not 100% convinced this is going to work. If you hear a loud series of explosions somewhere east of Bugtussle you’ll know it didn’t.

See you next week…real good then.

[Steve Foss]

Good one again, Dotch!

I hate reading flood stories. Always takes me back to Grand Forks in '97.