The scurs are into recycling. Forecasting Canadian wildfires seems to be part of the equation. Will the Weather Eye bring hope and change or are we stuck in the smoker box another week? Starting Wednesday, sunny with highs in the mid-70’s and lows in the mid-50’s. Thursday sunny becoming cloudy by evening with a good chance of rain. Highs in the upper 70’s with lows in the low 60’s. Mostly cloudy on Friday with a good chance of daytime showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 70’s with lows in the low 60’s. Saturday, mostly sunny with a slight chance of evening showers. Highs in the low 80’s with lows in the mid-60’s. Mostly sunny for Sunday with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms by evening. Highs in the mid-80’s with lows in the mid-60’s. Monday, mostly cloudy with a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the low 80’s with lows in the low 60’s. Partly cloudy Tuesday with possible morning showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the low 80’s with lows in the upper 50’s. The normal high for August 26th is 79 and the normal low is 58. On the 26th we’re down to 13 hours and 30 minutes of daylight for the first time since April 16th. The sun will set at 8 p.m. one hour later than it did on the summer solstice. The scurs are brushing up on their leaf raking skills. It’s coming fast people.
The 26th also ushers in the Full Moon which goes by many names as most do. It is primarily known as the Sturgeon Moon for the fishing tribes who harvested the large fish from the Great Lakes region. It also goes by the Full Red Moon thanks to the haze frequently experienced this time of year. The smoke from the wildfires should qualify. Other names include the Green Corn or Grain Moon. The Ojibwe called it the Berry Moon and the Sioux knew it as the Moon where Cherries turn Black. At the ranch we’re hoping it’s the Full Pear Moon. Hopefully we at least get a taste of those still on the tree anyway.
Warm weather is keeping the crops heading down the homestretch. Most area corn is full dent with some inkling that soon we should start to see a milk line heading down the kernel. Soybeans also are nearing R6 with some of the early planted earlier maturing varieties already well into that growth stage. Actually some of those fields will likely be showing some turning within the next 7 – 10 days. Not to say there aren’t some concerns. SDS continues to increase in scope in some area soybean fields. Recent rains may have somewhat muted the symptoms we might’ve otherwise seen. Likewise with white mold although the incidence of the disease is unlikely to reach the proportions it did last season. Soybean aphids have largely been treated although some fields never did reach treatable levels. Some fields that were sprayed well in advance of aphids reaching economic threshold need additional treatment. In addition some fields are exhibiting an intermediate response to synthetic pyrethroids. In other words, it appears the chickens have come home to roost.
And while we’re on the subject of crops, this is the week I’m on the road checking the crops on the Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour. Being written en route, the crop we’ve seen from the pickup looks as advertised not only by media pundits but also by some who have travelled the Corn Belt recently. As anyone who looks at fields through a windshield can attest, things are not always as they appear. This is why we get out of the pickups and sample the fields; either to confirm or refute the prevailing wisdom.
Mast crops, that is those tree crops such as acorns and black walnuts, seem to be having a banner year. One can easily tell when stopping at farm sites, hearing the familiar sound of acorns pinging off of metal shed rooftops. This should make for some happy squirrels as they bury those nuts in the yard. Someone asked if they just forget where they put them. The answer is perhaps, if the squirrel is still alive anyway. Since most are lucky to live much more than three years or so, odds are there may be some attrition involved. Life as a squirrel ain’t always easy.
Last week we had 15 – 20 visitors at the ranch. We’ve seen wild turkeys occasionally but not that kind of numbers. There were a couple hens, 17 poults and a young tom in the group. They were largely unfazed by our activities around the yard. When we’d approach them, they’d kind of saunter off towards the denser cover. Apparently they hung around a while because the next morning there was a voicemail on my cell phone telling me to get my turkeys off the road.
Last week I pulled a good one. After scouting fields for soybean aphids much of the day I decided I needed a few groceries so went to Wagner’s. I spied my checkbook in the cubbyhole so decided I’d lock the vehicle. I was a little grubby but no worse than I am sometimes so went inside. Got everything I needed, paid for it and went out to the truck to tuck it away. In the meantime it had been raining hard but had let up as I went out the door. Reached in my pocket for my keys and they weren’t there! Looked in the ignition and sure enough there they were. The spare keys were also inside the pocket of my long pants in the pickup as I’d changed into my shorts earlier in the day. .Luckily I “knew someone” who graciously offered to come and get the truck open if I was willing to wait a little. So wait I did. Standing around I suddenly felt the soybean aphids I’d been scouting slowly crawling off my pants and down my legs. Fortunately soybean aphids are host specific so nothing to worry about in the produce aisle. They’d have to be some tough buggers to attack the frozen edamame.
See you next week…real good.