Growing Season Is Over

Soy beans are yellowing, clearly their growing season is over. The corn is definitely drying. We had only 0.46″ of rain locally in August, leading me to wonder if the cobs are fully developed. They appear to be okay. We’ll have to wait to know the bushel yields. It will be interesting to find out how yields will be reported this year. Will there be separate categories for normal vs. storm-damaged corn?

My little sample section appears to have survived for the most part. It is difficult to see the extent of the damage deeper in the field. I have noticed, while touring the countryside, damaged sections of large fields that appear fine on the perimeter yet are broken down within.

Bean crops look good wherever I see them

Downed and Damaged Trees

I could see it in the distance. I could hear the sound of the machine. If I had started my walk a few minutes earlier or walked just a little bit faster I would have pictures of the crane, extended, carrying workers with chain saws cutting the torn and twisted branch of the awesome tree I reported on in a previous post. I did see a dump truck full of branches drive away as I approached. Another took its place with yet another waiting its turn. There is a Bobcat loader holding large branch sections ready to load.

Cleanup continues throughout our town. The first round of debris removal is almost complete. But many homeowners were not able to get their trees cut up and to the curb in time for pick up. Most neighborhoods have large piles of branches waiting in the verge between the sidewalks and streets. Another sweep is planned.

But clean up has also revealed other interesting storm outcomes. You might recognize the fence in the pictures below. It turns out that there were four trees involved in that downing, three of which were uprooted, all toppling into one another, breaking the last tree mid-trunk. This scene still amazes me every time I observe it.