More rain?

 

It's like Manitoba and Ukraine have switched weather this month. I have been in the extreme heat, with some huge thunderstorms (and even power outtages) while back in Ukraine, Garry has had cool wet weather. while it's been a little cooler here, his weather hasn't changed much. He had a student dinner outside Monday eveing which ended shortly after the rain started. He said they were still eating when it started but the hotdogs did get cooked over the fire this week.

Early in the week (Tuesday) they got ready to pour the next batch of concrete. Around two o'clock they finally finished getting the ground in front of the 'old' heifer barn level and ready to pour cement.  Garry likes to get a full truck since transportation costs remain the same. The area in front of the feeder gets hard to drive on when it's wet weather so they are upgrading to cement to drive on, and upgrading the maure storage so it holds more than a couple days worth. More cows means more milk made and more manure pushed out every day when they clean the barn, so a taller wall and larger pad is happening too. The truck had been ordered for four o'clock, but they had to cancel it when the skies opened once again and it poured, just as they finished leveling the ground. 

The next day they didn't get much done. Garry went to the city and got his renewal done for his resident card. Mine expires on July 7th, which is why I have a return ticket for June 25th. Victor has to go twice, because you are supposed to do it three weeks ahead. We used to do this in the fall, but every year it

They did have two dry days, and even got back to putting drip line in a couple times, however it is not finished. Thursday they did get the concrete poured, and put drip line in the smaller corn field until the rain came down around four o'clock. The big field isn't finished but they thought it might be wetter. All the fields are a lot wetter now. They got an inch of rain Thursday and another inch today, when the rain started around ten am as they finished taking the forms off.

Garry tells me many sunflower fields have powdery mildew with all the wet weather. So far our fields look good, after we had some problems with it a few years ago, the guys have purchased seed varieties that are resistant to the disease. Garry tells me that someone got the guys to cultivate up their pumpkin field for them, about 75% of the plants were dying, they planned to replant it, however there's been two inches of rain since. 

Hopefully the wheat doesn't have problems with mildew, right now the plants are just starting to look a little yellow in the setting sun I'm told. Also hoping all these rain storms doesn't flatten too much of the fields. The wet grain heads get heavy for the stems and the wind knocks them down. Garry thinks the crop will be ripe two weeks later than last year, with all the cool wet weather they've had. 

Garry tells me the cherries are just starting to ripen and he found two pods on the Chinese peas in the garden. He's worried a bunch will ripen and get old while he's away next week. He is going to Kramatorsk to teach English at the church's kids camp. At least he is feeling better today, he had a bout with food poisoning Thursday afternoon and went to bed right after the cement was done. So the exact timing of Thursday's rain is in question, but he heard it on the roof and there was an inch in the rain gauge this morning.