The Weather Eye from the ’74 Gremlin continues to run on the cooler side. Will the scurs tweak with it and warm it up this week, or are we stuck in the AC another week? Starting Wednesday, mostly sunny with a moderate chance of evening showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the low 80’s with lows in the upper 60’s. Thursday, partly sunny with a modest chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the low 80’s with lows in the upper 60’s. Mostly sunny on Friday with a slight chance of a shower or thunderstorm. Highs in the mid-80’s with lows in the low 70’s. Saturday, mostly sunny with highs in the upper 80’s and lows in the low 70’s. Mostly sunny on Sunday with a slight chance of evening rain. Highs in the upper 80’s with lows in the low 70’s. Monday, mostly sunny with continued slight chances of rain. Highs in the low 80’s with lows in the mid-60’s. Partly sunny for Tuesday with a decent possibility of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the low 80’s with lows in the mid-60’s. On June 30th we’ll see 15 hours and 26 minutes of daylight, having already lost two minutes since the summer solstice. The sun will rise at 5:35 a.m., two minutes later than it did on the solstice. The normal high for June 30th is 82 and the normal low is 61. The scurs are shuddering knowing the days are getting shorter once again. Odd reaction after such a pleasant winter.
Crops made some headway last week, although it was measured. Early-planted corn has reached the V7-V8 stage and is well past knee high, so there is that. A generally drier June has meant that corn roots are heading downwards, a positive when it comes to anchoring the plants for the rest of the season, not to mention getting after nitrogen that moved down in the profile by May rains. The change from the ugly duckling stage to the deep, dark green came almost overnight in some fields. Soybeans too are starting to puff the rows out and are V3-V4 in many cases. This next week will likely see the start of flowering in some of the earliest planted fields as the shorter days intensify the plants’ inclination to reproduce. Rainfall has been spotty with some areas getting doused while others receive amounts measured in tenths. Soil moisture continues to be a non-issue however in those areas where rainfall has been less.
At the ranch we continue to see some of our meager gardening efforts progress. More cannas have appeared since last week as have numerous weeds. Weeds are survivors, much the same as organisms such as rats, carp and fruitcake. Many of the common weeds are imports, brought here by settlers of one sort or another. Some such as lambsquarters were at one time utilized as food in their native land. Nowadays about the only things utilizing lambsquarters as food at the ranch are the sheep. True to the name, lambsquarters are indeed one of their favorites. Then it should only follow that pigs would like pigweed, right?
With the drier weather, some of the mosquito habitat has disappeared. Along with that, the mosquitoes themselves may be starting to slow down at the ranch. Not that one likes to stand around towards dusk to tempt fate, but they aren’t nearly as aggressive as they were last week. Still awaiting the appearance of some bats at the ranch. Haven’t seen or heard them. I purposely watched for them at dusk Monday night to emerge from their normal annual hangout. Usually I hear them squeaking and scratching around under the soffit then later see them on the wing, consuming mosquitoes and other flying insects. Went outside every 10 minutes or so to look. The sky stayed light until nearly 10 o’clock. Zero. Zip Nada.
While it’s not a good thing to be minus the bats, it is amazing sometimes to see how Mother Nature steps up to the plate and fills a niche with other players. While I was keeping a vigil for the bats I noticed a brownish colored blob an inch long on the white siding. After one of my several trips out the door I noticed the blob had suddenly expanded and was covering an area about the diameter of a softball. I got my high powered light out to investigate and discovered thousands of tiny spiders. Were these some potential replacements for the bats? Time will tell.
Took the Silver Hawk to the Back to the ‘50s car show at the State fairgrounds again last Sunday. H.B. was my copilot so that’s always a plus. The radio doesn’t work, so at least it’s entertaining to pass the time visiting with a friend to and from a destination. That and sometimes they bring refreshments to be consumed after we stop! The day was largely uneventful until it was time to go. Thunderstorms were brewing to the south and there was a sudden urgency to leave the fairgrounds. In retrospect, it probably would’ve been a wise idea to look at the radar before we took off. We ran smack dab into the heart of it from about Faribault and stayed in it.
The Studebaker performed admirably in spite of the heavy downpour. We had the side vents open and it kept the cabin pressure up so that very little water was leaking in around the door gaskets. It was also keeping the windshield clear so we could see. However when we stopped in Medford to wait out the storm a bit, then it began to leak. Once it leaked, the windows began to fog up. Good to know for future reference.
The Silver Hawk was a grimy wet mess when I pulled into the garage. I immediately started wiping it down and sopping up the wet spots inside, leaving the windows and trunk open to dry it out. Last I checked the garage fan with the humidistat was still running, but the car was nearly dry inside. Seems old cars are a lot like old people. It’s fun taking them out, but sometimes they leak and you have to deal with it. It’s reality and a small price to pay. You know you’d do it all again.
See you next week…real good then.