Steady in Jerks

This storm ended a pretty good run in the month of May.  The month had started out slow, with nearly six inches of rain the first two weeks.  Soon enough things began to dry out and it was time to go to work.  I finally started planting corn on the 20th of May.  Last year I was done planting corn on the 14th of May for comparison.  Although the two years have started off a little different, they are beginning to look very similar.  We went right from corn into milo, and after a few hiccups the milo planting was finished Thursday evening the 29th.  Last year, I didn't get an acre of milo planted until June 5th, so we are ahead of the game so to speak. After some spraying and an attempt to finish some discing to knock out some ruts from last year's harvest, the streak of dry weather ran out.  It rained Friday night, and then off and on for the rest of the weekend.  I dumped out 2.40" of rain from the gauge near the preserve.  We had another rain day on Tuesday and then caught a pretty good shower last night again.  I'm sure we're sitting somewhere near 3.5-4 inches of precipitation depending on the location since the weekend.  We've got food plots and sunflowers left to plant, the good news is, the cover looks great, and the hens have been busy nesting and should begin hatching chicks within the next week or so. 

Although I've been busy running from tractor to tractor and swapping out the planter for the sprayer, I have had a chance to snap a few pics while being out and about.  I found this badger one morning as I headed to the planter.  I think she may have a couple young ones in this den because she's kept it pretty cleaned out, and been there for several days.  I've caught her out and about a couple times going to and from the field, but she seems fairly undisturbed unless you get too close.  A few growls and hissing was enough to send me back to my pickup after peeking into the hole.

 I happened to come across this nest as I jumped out of the tractor to check on my sprayer.  I noticed a hen sneaking away only a few feet from me, and then found the nest tucked into the laid over vegetation.  There are 13 pheasant eggs and a duck egg.  Once it dries out enough and I can get back down to where I found this I will see how she's doing.  The hen didn't go far and as soon as I moved my equipment she made her way back to the nest.  Speaking of ducks, I happened to come across two nests of theirs while planting and spraying also.  There are plenty in the country and the weather that we've had the past couple of weeks has been excellent for nesting, producing cover, and raising lots of bugs for those chicks to eat once they hatch.  We should begin to see chicks soon, but will have a better idea of how things are shaping as we near the end of June.

Cordie has finished pouring "spring" bins and is moving onto other projects.  Things will remain busy the next month or so, and then we should be able to find a little down time in July before we gear up again and begin preparing for the fall.  Hope everything is going well for all of you.  Take care.