The scurs were on target for some much needed rainfall and a welcome cool down. Will our good fortunes continue? Starting Wednesday, partly cloudy with a good chance of a shower during the day and a modest chance of a shower overnight. Highs of 80 - 85 and lows around 65. Partly cloudy on Thursday with a slight chance of a shower. Highs of 80 and lows close to 55. Mostly clear and cooler on Friday with highs of 75 and lows near 55. Partly cloudy on Saturday with a slight chance of a shower. Highs near 75 and lows of 55 - 60. Partly cloudy and slightly warmer on Sunday with a slight chance of a shower. Highs around 80 and lows of 60. Mostly sunny on Monday with highs of 80 and lows near 65. Partly cloudy on Tuesday and warmer with a chance of showers. Highs of 85 and lows near 65. The normal high for August 14th is 82 and the normal low is 59. On the 14th we will have 14 hours and one minute of daylight, having lost 1 hour and 27 minutes of daylight since the summer solstice. The scurs will be breaking out the sweaters while roasting weenies and marshmallows to celebrate our cooler evening temps.
Crops continue to thunder along following what was a lifesaving rain on Saturday morning and a kinder, gentler temperature regime. July was not kind to us at all with 1 inch of precipitation total being recorded at the ranch. Trouble was that inch of rain fell in 9 separate rainfall events. High temperatures for the month did not fall below 80 degrees at Waseca until the 28th and there were 10 days when the highs were 90 degrees or more and eight overnight lows where the temperature was 70 degrees or higher. Corn has definitely lost some top-end yield as a result of the heat and lack of rain, but relative to other places in the country we have very little to complain about and everything to be thankful for. Soybeans have really benefitted from the recent change in conditions and given another rain or too could be the Cinderella story once again. Crop health has been excellent and odds of a pest outbreak catching them before they’re out of the woods become a little slimmer each day.
The Olympics have brought something to watch on TV the past couple weeks. We’ve watched as the athletic events are showcased with competition conducted under a peaceful and cooperative atmosphere. Even Ruby has been interested and sometimes so much so that we’ve had to let her outside to cool off. The equestrian events get her so worked up that the growling, barking and running at the TV set is more than we can stand after laughing about at first. The reaction is the same as she has when Bonanza comes on with Hoss, Ben, Little Joe and Adam riding up to the screen. Apparently Ruby is not a horse fan.
The swallows have been congregating on the wires around the ranch in recent days and soon they’ll be heading back south. Most appear to be tree swallows, but they are joined by the resident barn swallows as they feed on the flying insect population. Some evenings the dragonflies have done much the same only to a lesser degree. The last batch of baby bluebirds at the kindly neighbor’s should fledge this week or next. Opening the observation door revealed three nearly fully feathered nestlings hunkered down. The orioles continue to show up after leading us to believe they’re gone. Sunday there was another brightly colored Baltimore male among some younger models. For the birds moving through this fall, there will be very few acorns in the yard at the ranch. Just as we suspected, the freeze this spring put a real hit on their flowering. The chokeberries, however, are loaded with purple berries. The berries from this aronia species are noted for their antioxidants, so popping in a handful of the juicy-but-mouth-puckering fruit is a special treat when mowing the windbreak this time of year. They last on into winter if they’re not all eaten first so I tend not to borrow too many from my feathered friends. Could be a long tough winter for them.
Vista’s noted Swedish astronomer made another visit to make me aware of the Perseid meteor showers that occur during mid-August. The meteors occur when the earth passes through the dust left over from a comet. The clear nights should make for some good viewing. August 11th from 11 p.m. until an hour or so before sunrise should be the prime observation hours. If one desires to take their sweetie out on a blanket to watch in the yard, the noted astronomer’s suggestion is to remain fully clothed even though the mosquitoes aren’t too bad. It could be cold out.
The garden continues to produce in abundance. Crisper drawers are full in the fridges and it’s beyond our capability to eat it all so we’ve been distributing it to those without. Made a journey eastward to Mom’s last Saturday with string beans, potatoes, carrots, onions, cucumbers and zucchini in tow. Made a stop at the neighborhood sheep shearer while I was at it to take along some sweet corn as the patch at the ranch is a week or so away yet. Once at Mom’s, the produce and lamb chops I’d brought along provided us with the raw material for a feast. It was a relaxing afternoon finally, one devoid of people calling and asking questions that could’ve waited until Monday. It was also one of those times when I was able to learn about all kinds of people I’d only heard about when growing up but had never met, primarily because they were already dead and gone by the time I arrived on the scene. These were days before Twitter, e-mail and Facebook when people actually talked and really communicated. The time always passes too quickly however and before I knew it, it was time to head back home. I was glad I’d taken the time though. Some of what I learned helped put things into perspective not only in my life but in the perspective of humanity. Those good ol’ days weren’t any bowl of cherries and were truly times when people pulled themselves up by their bootstraps and helped each other out. Sometimes it appears this is a lesson we need to learn all over again.
See you next week…real good then.