Tuesday, July 9, 2024
It’s been a relatively quiet few days. We had some rain last Thursday and Friday, and that put off some of the spraying of soybeans that we have on our “to do” list. We have a little drizzle this morning, too. But it is expected to pick up around noon today as the remnants of Hurricane Beryl makes its way through. A few days ago, the center of the storm event was predicted to cross right over Knox County, but now the track is a bit further north of here, around Terre Haute. That is probably a good thing, for most of the rainfall will likely fall into the Wabash River watershed, and not the White River. They have cut back the rainfall prediction for this area from 2.5″ to 2.0″ (64mm to 50 mm).
A current screenshot of the Weather Channel app showing the track of Beryl to go north of us…
During this quiet time, I have been doing some ‘Gator spraying’ and mowing roadsides. With the Gator, I spot spray from the driver’s seat, weedy spots around the farm and along the edges of fields along the roads. I also spent a good part of the hot day yesterday, mowing riparian strips along Kessinger Ditch, and the roadsides at Huey, Burke, VanVleet, and Downen. The mowing does not seem to come to an end…by the time I get around to every field, I need to start again! My goal is to get every roadside mowed this month, and than again in late August or early September.
This is the rig I use for spot spraying. I use the hand-gun you see on the sprayer tank in the bed of the Gator. It’s really a pretty nice set-up… the Gator’s A/C makes it more comfortable.
The 6145R, hooked to the R15 cutter, is washed and ready to go out and mow roadsides on the next dry day.
I got word from one of our French kids, the one who lives in Geneva. His family’s farm is near Troyes, and the Tour de France passed directly by their farm on Sunday. What an exciting thing for that family! He sent pictures of his 2-year-old son Benjamin with grandpa enjoying the spectacle.
Benjamin and his grandpa enjoy the TDF
They were ready to cheer on the riders, and it was a beautiful day!
So, this afternoon, we’ll batten down the hatches and see what kind of storm arrives!
