The scurs were relatively certain we’d get a respite from the heat and indeed we did. We didn’t however receive much rain as July continued to be miserly in that department. Will August treat us better? Starting Wednesday and Thursday, partly cloudy with a modest chance of a shower or a thunderstorm Wednesday. Highs near 85 and low around 65- 70. Partly cloudy on Friday with a slight chance of daytime showers with a good chance of showers and thunderstorms in the evening. Highs of 85 and lows of 65. Partly cloudy and cooler on Saturday with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs around 80 and lows near 60. Mostly sunny and cooler on Sunday with highs of 80 and lows near 60. Mostly sunny Monday and Tuesday with highs of 85and lows of 65. The normal high for August 7th is 81 and the normal low is 61. We’re also losing over two minutes of daylight each day now. The scurs need all the daylight they can get to stockpile wood, thinking we’ll pay the price for the hot dry summer we’ve had.
There are actually two Full Moons in the month of August, the first one occurring here on August 1st and the second one, a Blue Moon on August 31st. We’ll focus our efforts on the first one at this point however. The Full Moon on August 1st goes by several names, with the most common name being the Full Sturgeon Moon, as this was the month when the tribes of the Northeast were catching sturgeon in the Great Lakes region. It also goes by the Full Red Moon due to the reddish color it frequently takes on due to dust in the air this time of year and by the Full Green Corn Moon and the Full Grain Moon. The Ojibwe called this the Full Berry Moon, presumably for the abundant blueberries in season during August. The Sioux called it the Moon When Geese Shed Their Feathers as well as the Moon When the Cherries Turn Black. At the ranch it is known as the Moon When No Vacations Are Possible.
Crops continue to move rapidly towards the finish line. With GDU’s running a good 10 days to two weeks ahead of normal, one suspects harvest will start early this year. The little dribbles of rain most have received in July have been disappointing and the heat has taken its toll on the corn. Looking in just about any corn field, one can find ears that are tipped back and not filled to the end. There is corn denting already so in roughly three weeks we should see some reaching physiological maturity. The soybeans at this point appear to be taking the hot dry conditions more in stride with some early maturing fields already approaching the R5 stage. There have been some increases in pest pressure and both corn and soybean fields bear watching. Some who sprayed insecticides early banking on residual claims should pay particular attention as knocking the beneficial insect populations out of fields can make them prime targets for infestation.
The garden has kicked it into gear producing abundant zucchini, yellow beans, cucumbers, onions and some new potatoes. Taste testing those first potatoes is always a treat and even zucchini is tolerable after not having any fresh for a year. Watering has become a necessity to help tide things over however until we can garner a decent rain. It helps, but it’s still tough to beat Mother Nature on these rich prairie soils.
Around the ranch the evenings are hallmarked by the sound of happily singing crickets, katydids and toads. The toads should be singing happily as fat as they are. Several are about tennis ball size and shape, apparently having dined well on the large insect population most of the summer. Much of the daytime singing by the birds is over with the exception of one wren that apparently still has young in a nesting box near the garden. Shouldn’t be long though and they’ll be on the wing. Another hummingbird has shown up although between the two of them, they really haven’t been competing for feeder space. The orioles have slowed down finally with primarily the orchard oriole group consuming sugar water and jelly. Not a bad gig if you can get it.
There have been all sorts of questions about those pesky biting flies; first and foremost what are they other than names we can’t print. They are known as stable flies and they have been a real nuisance this summer. They love to bite exposed flesh and the bite from their sharp proboscis feels about like someone sticking a pin into your skin. Old farmer tales claim that these flies are merely house flies that bite when they are in fact a separate, distinct species. They are slightly smaller whereas the common house fly is larger and has sponging mouth parts. The habitat they inhabit is much the same although they generally don’t survive well in a fresh manure pack situation. They prefer a more mixed bag of damp, loose bedding and manure mixed in, grass clippings, wet straw, etc. Both males and females bite and suck blood. Like mosquitoes, the female must consume blood to produce viable eggs. The warm winter we had was probably a boon for their survival. They tend to overwinter as pupae in an environment that doesn’t freeze such as a manure pile that generates heat. That’s why after hauling manure before fall freeze-up, I spend all winter worrying about them freezing their poor little hineys to death. ;-)
See you next week…real good then.