Back at The Little House, afternoon rain was sufficient to leave puddles in the street. Having removed my rain gauges for winter I don't know how much it rained. Apparently it also rained yesterday and one report was .3". This pauses corn harvest for a bit but that's not all bad. Harvest can only proceed as fast as a dryer bin can dry the corn. and modern combines can fill a dryer bin very quickly. Rain, for the first time in weeks, is welcome for trees, pastures and hay fields. Rain also temporarily boosts the moisture content of corn and waiting a few days lets it dry.
A farmer, who I saw at lunch, had an interesting report. Wildlife, such as pheasants, in a corn field being harvested, tend to congregate in the unharvested part of the field. As the combine makes its final pass at the completion of the field they will fly out at field's end. This farmer said he saw several pheasants. However, what surprised him was that a large fluffle of rabbits ran out, he thought as many as 40! I have noticed more rabbits in my fields this year than previously.
Well, rabbits reproduce like...rabbits. For the last several years the plethora of coyotes have significantly reduced the rabbit population. Does this mean that there are fewer coyotes? They do go through disease cycles that reduce their numbers. Said farmer said he'd seen only one coyote while combining beans and corn.
Takk for alt,
Al
No comments:
Post a Comment