Monday, June 15, 2015

Here we are in the middle of June already!  The calendar is zipping by!

Yesterday afternoon and evening, we received here at the farm .35″ (9mm) rain… it came in a couple of thunder-filled waves, with sunshine in between.  The second wave was at dusk, which allows the precipitation to soak into the soil overnight.  It was a very welcome rain event.  This morning, it looks like some more could be added to the rain total today.  The Weather Channel forecast shows an 80 or 90% chance of rain here tomorrow through Thursday.

Here is the little read-out of rainfall and temperature in the farm office. You can see yesterday’s rainfall at .35″, and the current temp at a pleasant 74.8 ºF (24C)

We will be reporting this week the planted acres to our crop insurance agent.  And, of course, the bush-hog will dress up some roadsides.  There is a big chemical bill to pay at CPS today.  At the end of the week, we will be making the first payment on the Dunlap farm–that first year went by fast!  The soybeans up there look very nice.

We will make a drive-by of most fields today to check on the progress.  In a couple weeks, when the corn gets about shoulder-high, it’ll be more difficult to get a thorough view from a drive-by viewing.   Then, we’ll take the Phantom II UAV (quadcopter drone) out for a fly-over to check the corn more directly.

Although many farmers across the nation are experiencing weather hardships with excessive rain or drought, we here in SWIN, should not be complaining!   Even though May was a chilly and wet month, the planting was completed fairly timely.  The temperatures and rainfall have been favorable in June.

I would expect the neighbors who have wheat will be commencing that harvest within a week.  It’s gonna feel a little weird not to have our combines going this June.

This is also a favorite time of year for me because of insects.  Yes, insects!  For the past several nights, if you go out on our front porch, you can see a dazzling light show.  The lightning bugs (some call them fireflies) are out in force from about 915 to 945 each evening.  It’s hard to describe how incredible is the show they put on!  Like green glitter floating over the corn, the little twinkling sparkles of green dots move in a cascade of color.  Maybe it just doesn’t take much to entertain me, but I think the word spectacular is appropriate.   Wish I could capture it on camera, but the photos or video does not capture what your eye can see.   Hope you too can catch the show some evening soon.

Have a great week.