by Greg Koelker
At 6:00 this morning (Thursday) the clouds billowing up our ridge looked a little blood shot as the sun started to show through.
Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning, or so the old proverb goes. The morning weather guesser on WXOW (who is actually broadcasting from Eau Claire) says rain in the night. We shall see. The sun is out now.
On our walk down the coulee this morning, there wasn’t much color in the woods. There is a weed with clusters of tiny pinkish flowers, smartweed maybe along some of the hayfields providing some color and no doubt a nuisance. There is one bright yellow hardwood near the top of the neighbor’s ridge. Not sure what tree that is, but last year there were five such trees. I can see brown skeletons of tall pines reaching through the hardwood canopy. There was a small cloud, mist really drifting slowly halfway up the ridge.
While we were taking our coffee break this morning, our friend Will Beitlich stopped to check on the ditch crossing and his corn in a field he rents from us. He had gone down the coulee while Bo and I were taking a walk this morning. Selling stored grain maybe? Anyway, it won’t be long until the soy beans and corn will come off the fields.
Just a reminder for those of you who live anywhere near farm fields, when the crops come off, the asian beetles and box elder bugs come home to roost, so to speak. The plan here is to have the house sprayed this coming week. Last year, after the whole house drenching by Deboer’s Pest Control, we hardly saw a beetle or box elder bug in the house.
I canceled our Amazon Prime account a few months ago. Now we can’t watch Thursday night football. I think it is crap that we have to pay for an app service just to watch sports. We have the NFL channel on FUBO Sports streaming package, and I am recording the Packers replay at 11:00 PM. We shall see.
Anyway, we’ll be watching the Brewers on the MLB app; uh, well we paid for the app in April. We got to take in most of their 162 games. Can’t believe there are only four more regular season MLB games.
Upon further review, no we won’t see. The Packers, well, after seeing the score this morning, I won’t bother watching the recording. I read this morning that the Packers were booed off the field after the game IN LAMBEAU! Oh well, high hopes come with high risks sometimes I guess.
However, the Brewers won their 100th game last evening! With only three games remaining all at home against the Cardinals. The number 2 seed LA Dodgers lost to the surging Padres. After hitting their magic number of 2 yesterday, Milwaukee has clinched the number one seed, and homefield advantage throughout the playoffs. Too much fun. Hopefully it won’t be deja vu all over again. Go Brewers!
Until next time – the heavy rainfall we had last week washed out much of our recently repaired ridge road. Best laid plans and all that.
It is beautiful this morning, again. Bo says he’s ready for a walk, so I’d better oblige him.
Peace
Greg Koelker is a lifelong resident of the Driftless region along the Mississippi River. He is the acclaimed author of the “Grouse Hollow Journal,” a column that celebrates rural life, nature, family heritage, and the traditions that bind communities together. While technically focused on the “outdoors,” his writing often explores broader themes of community values and education.
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