The scurs and the Weather Eye got it warmed up big time, but now the rainfall spigot has been shut off. Will we see a return to rainfall, or will we need to be patient? Starting Wednesday, sunny with a slight chance of an afternoon thunderstorm. Highs in the low 90’s with lows in the low 70’s. Thursday, sunny with a slight chance of a thunderstorm. Highs in the low 90’s with lows in the low 70’s. Mostly sunny on Friday with a good chance of a daytime thunderstorm. Highs in the low 90’s with lows in the mid-60’s. Saturday, sunny with highs in the mid-80’s and lows in the mid-60’s. Sunny on Sunday with highs in the low 90’s and lows in the upper 60’s. Monday, sunny with highs in the mid-80’s and lows in the low 60’s. Mostly sunny for Tuesday with a modest chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid-80’s with lows in the mid-60’s. On the 14th the sun will rise at 5:30 a.m. The normal high for June 14th is 78 and the normal low is 59. The scurs have their hearts set on sitting around the cement pond while listening for sonic booms. They’ve even ordered their DDT for mosquito control.
What a difference a week makes! After schlepping through May wondering if it would ever warm up, June has had the burners turned on high. It’s been nothing this past week to accumulate over 25 GDU’s a day. Crop growth responded with corn jumping to V6 and soybeans to V3. While that’s generally a good thing, the soil moisture supply is finite. Weed growth also responded and in some cases will be competing for moisture and light with the developing crop. No sooner will we have finished postemerge herbicide applications in the corn and we should in some instances be considering them in the soybeans.
Some such as we at the ranch came through May with 6.75” of rain. In Bugtussle, the amount was less, but still substantial at 4.15”. The pattern we followed in May appears to be in place once again. Or let’s hope so anyway. Rainfall really wasn’t part of the equation in May until the 19th. So far in June we’ve recorded .06” at the ranch and nothing in Bugtussle other than a trace. There are indications by some forecasters that we may see a turn towards a wetter pattern again once we get to the latter part of the month. In the meantime, a little cooler wouldn’t hurt to conserve the moisture we have. Corn was rolling in some fields already on Monday. Not necessarily a good sign as the plants are determining their ear girth around this stage of growth.
At the ranch we were fortunate to get more garden in place late last week. The tomatoes are adjusting to the transplanting after the blast furnace on Saturday and Sunday. All Mrs. Cheviots planters and pots have been thriving in the heat. Of course, without watering every few days that probably wouldn’t be the case. The four o’clocks made it into the ground along with a couple stretches of cannas. Was even able to transplant a few of the nicest volunteer four o’clocks into large pots to give the hummingbirds something to look forward to earlier this year. Have to keep the little buggers happy while we have them. The bird bath has had frequent use as well now that the puddles have largely dried up. Keeping it filled with fresh water through the heatwave has made for another chore albeit a rewarding one.
The bird population appears to be in full nesting mode. Consumption at the jelly feeder, while still being frequented by a few orioles, has slowed to a more manageable pace. I’m curious to see how many orioles and which species are nesting in the Norway maple in the yard. It is so dense that seeing anything once it gets under the canopy is next to impossible. The wrens have certainly kept us entertained with their singing, as have the common yellowthroats. Have to enjoy them now because in a few months the singing ceases as the days become shorter. Then we need to rely on pheasants and a recent newcomer, a wild turkey, for amusement until the winter birds are in place.
The puddles and ponds from the last rain may have dried up, but no one told the mosquitoes. It had been rather pleasant in the calm, cool evenings to sit out on the patio to listen to all the birds and other wildlife such as the frog population. No more! Once the wind dies down towards evening, the little bloodsuckers are out with a vengeance. Their presence may be short-lived, however, if the weather doesn’t cooperate with additional rain. I’m sure the stable flies will be happy to fill in for them until it does.
The cat population at the ranch continues to be steady. We’ve had four up until recently when one went missing. Since cats are, as Betsy’s Dad claims, a renewable resource, I wasn’t concerned. Until I was putting the tomato cages on that is. I’d gone over by the silver maple tree where I’d stashed a few extra cages. There was a stench coming from inside a plastic doghouse we’d used several dogs ago. It had been setting on an angle with the door side up. Something had crawled in it and died, although I wasn’t sure what. The sloshing sound as I picked up the doghouse wasn’t a positive.
When I dumped out the contents of the doghouse, I still wasn’t positive what it once was. The puddle of black liquid whatever it used to be was so decomposed and gunky that it was unidentifiable. No fur really, just some occasional bones. I cleaned it up with a scoop shovel and tossed the remains over the fence as it had prime dog rolling material written all over it. I theorized it could’ve been the missing striped cat. Seemed a tad large for that, but even being the nerd I am, I wasn’t about to determine mass or volume using a similar sized cat. A few days later my theory was proven wrong as the striped cat suddenly reappeared. One life down, eight to go.
See you next week…real good then.