The scurs still haven’t stopped the leak in the hose, so the Weather Eye is in for more repairs. Will it dry out or has the rainy season officially started? Starting Wednesday, mostly sunny with a modest chance of rain. Highs in the upper 60’s with lows in the mid-40’s. Thursday, mostly sunny with a moderate chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 60’s with lows in the mid-50’s. Mostly cloudy on Friday with increasing clouds and a good chance of a shower or thunderstorms. Highs in the low 70’s with lows in the mid-50’s. Saturday, partly sunny with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the low 70’s with lows in the upper 50’s. Mostly cloudy on Sunday with a slight chance of a shower or thunderstorm. Highs in the mid-70’s with lows in the mid-60’s. Monday, mostly cloudy with a slight chance of a shower. Highs in the low 80’s with lows in the mid-60’s. Partly sunny for Tuesday becoming cloudy with a decent chance for a shower or thunderstorm. Highs in the low 70’s with lows in the mid-50’s. September 26th we slip below 12 hours of daylight for the first time since March 16th. The sun will set before 7 p.m. CDT on the 29th. On Tuesday we will have burned up the month of September. The normal high for October 1st is 67 and the normal low is 43. Time for the scurs to get their wood split and brace for another long, cold winter.
Crop progress was dampened and expedited by this last week’s weather events. More rainfall fell and soils are remaining wet as crops are no longer pulling on it as they did a month ago. Temperatures will also begin their annual descent. We’ve been fortunate though to get a warm second half of September to allow the crop that was behind most of the season to finish under the wire from Jack Frost. Corn yield checks appear to be variable from field to field with the stalk breakage and lodged corn from earlier thunderstorms weighing heavy on many minds. Soybeans have lost most of their leaves and now it’s just a waiting process for them to dry down before combines can roll. Cloudy, damp weather won’t help the cause at this point regardless of temperature.
Another rain delay put making the last cutting of hay for the season on hold. Hopefully the weather has one more window of opportunity left before it’s too late. It’s been another miserable year to try to get dry hay put up. Rainfall delaying earlier cuttings put us in the bind we’re in. Not getting this cutting of hay made will mean looking for additional bales of small squares on the open market, which takes a lot of the fun out of it. Not that there was a lot fun in it to begin with. “Are you going to bale/haul/stack hay? Gee, can I help?” said no one ever…
Made another excursion to Canada to check up on things to the north with BB. It’s still there and the fall colors were just getting going in spots, primarily pockets of sugar maple. The loons were still on the lake, their echoing call soon to be gone for the season. Watching Saturday night’s rain moving in across the lake made for some interesting time as well when we ran for cover from the gazebo to avoid getting drenched. The light show was spectacular although the thunder was certainly something Ruby would not have enjoyed. Once the storm was over, the sun was down, but it did shine off the undersides of the clouds making it worth our time and effort to see it.
Much of the rest of the flora and fauna are winding down their season. The song of a white-throated sparrow greeted us as we unloaded our gear. It might be a while until I hear another one, probably in April or early May. A ruffed grouse nonchalantly moseyed by the lakeside porch the first morning we were there. The hummingbird feeders were empty, so we partially filled them again. Afraid the hummers have flown south already, but in case there happens to be a straggler, at least they’ll have something to tide them over. The asters attract a host of pollinators getting in their last licks. An underwing moth was trying to get in the cabin window Saturday night. Slightly smaller than a white-lined sphinx, the underwing moths are common in the Ontario forests. Their coloration makes them a natural. As my friend the Boy Entomologist points out, they’re engineered to blend in with birch and popple bark.
I checked the log book at the cabin to note that it’s been six seasons and a dozen odd trips now that I’ve been graciously allowed to be a guest there. I knew the number of visits was beginning to add up, as I’ve begun to figure out where most of the light switches are. I still get turned around direction-wise, as the roads aren’t exactly laid out in the mile square format as they are in prairie country. They just sort of meander off through the woods in a seemingly random fashion while avoiding lakes and streams. When it’s cloudy and one’s unable to see the sun, it makes it tougher. I hear the train at night as it rumbles down the track to the north, blowing the whistle occasionally at moose perhaps. In the evening, seeing where the sun sets and the moon rises, I’ll eventually get a handle on it. For now it’s enough to know that all is as it should be in the land of toques and tamaracks.
See you next week…real good then.