View from the Cab: A wee bit early
Is it just me or is everything early this year?
I noticed the first yellow butterflies hovering over a mud puddle on the lane the other morning which got me thinking about my younger days. As a kid, I recall these wing-flapping creatures filling the air closer to back-to-school time not in the middle of July.
I think I even spotted a wooly worm crossing the road one day. Aren’t these things usually out the first of September? This was a dark one and according to former television weather lady Judy Frasier, that means we could be in for a harsh winter. The lightning bugs seemed to flash across the night sky a tad early this season and I even heard a few crickets chirp in our basement wall – something that typically happens after the first of August. If you listen really close to some of my upcoming radio broadcasts, you may hear a faint cricket sound in the background.
Have you noticed the harmonious sound of locusts each evening? I think I heard the first “wee” sounds back on July 3. Yes folks, that means they were out before the Fourth of July this year! Mark that one down in the record books. I don’t believe this is the year for the giant migrating cicadas but the ones around here are loud enough to hear through ear plugs.
How about that corn? I don’t think you’ll be surprised to find out the corn is way ahead of schedule when it comes to growth and development. Could we be harvesting by Fairbury Fair time in mid-August? OK, maybe not that early, but many believe we will see plenty of activity in local fields by Labor Day weekend. The guys and gals who oversee the Threshermen’s Reunion sure hope the farmers hold off. Soybeans don’t seem to be as far along as corn but things can certainly change in the next month or so.
After experiencing one of the longest winters in recent memory, Mother Nature has given us one of the fastest summers in recent memory. I don’t think we even experienced much of a spring at all in 2018. After four Sundays in a row with snow, temperatures reached the middle 80s in no time. This must have been the ultimate April fool’s joke.
No foolin’ here…my time is up and the deadline is here. Even my work seems to be on an early schedule!
(The View from the Cab blog is powered each week by Petersen Motors of Fairbury)
