SUMMER?

Happy summer! Last week was cold and wet. We passed it at the farm with just our two dogs. Sometimes as I watched the fog float through the gullies and draws, I had to remind myself that summer was just around the corner. The rule of thumb here is that you can’t count on summer until after the Fourth of July. Sometimes we just have a cool summer.

 

Farmer Kyle said we could use some rain, and he got his wish. An article in Friday’s (June 20) Lewiston Tribune said that the rain had indeed saved the region’s winter wheat crops, some of which had been stressed by lack of spring moisture. Apparently the rainfall was sufficient to assure a good crop.

Speaking of the weather, now that we have weather apps at our fingertips, we seem to demand ever-increasing accuracy. Mike reads the hourly forecasts for rain, wind, and temp, especially if he plans an outdoor activity. He recently switched weather apps – from “The Weather Channel” to “Weather Underground,” which he finds more accurate. As far as I’m concerned, the weatherman has always been unreliable. Perhaps he’s making an effort to improve, but I don’t trust him.

We have a digital “weather station” on the farm – in town, too, for that matter. At the farm we especially enjoy watching wind velocity and the rain gauge, but those are broken now. I suggested we buy a new unit, preferably one that does not require that Mike access the barn roof to install the wind gauge. So, he’s shopping and hopefully there’s an updated “weather station” in our future.

I have adorned this post with pictures of the wild roses at Gilbert. Hallie pruned the bush back of the house two years ago, and this year it’s so large and prolific you can’t tell. I’m not sure it improves a wild rose bramble to prune it, but I can attest that it certainly did no harm. It is blooming vigorously. [These two photos show last week's bloom compared to this week.]

I still want to take a start from the beautiful yellow rose out on the road. The neighbor says it originally came from West Virginia – or was it South Carolina? He couldn’t remember. But when those homesteaders sold out and moved on, many of the neighbors took starts. I should be able to do it. It’s just a matter of taking a cutting, starting it in a pot, and then transplanting successfully. Simple, right? KW