Like Grandma on the farm would say!
We are not shaking our fist at the smoky unprecipitating sky this day, for — on the day after Independence Day in the year of our Lord 2023, the skies did open up and it raineth most deliberately. A darn good soaker!
So welcome and longed for that we popped open a can of Karben4 Midwesty clean, fresh pilsner and from a chair in the open garage watched the heavens release its life-giving mercy.
Our romano pole beans thank you, our struggling asparagus patch thanks you, our new echinacea circle thanks you, the Madison Water Utility thanks you. The white bucket of truth here at the Blaska Experimental Work Farm recorded 2.25 inches of precipitation! Our four-tenths of an acre swallowed every drop of it!
Because the U.S. Drought Monitor for Wisconsin showed a blotch of red for “Extreme Drought” — the fourth most dire of five categories — extending from Baraboo southeast through Madison and onto Lake Mills as of July 4. So we hope the farm fields prospered, as well.
Where is ‘here’?
What little rain we have been getting in southern Wisconsin for the last couple of weeks have been of the “pop-up” kind — making even 24-hour predictions a guess and a hunch. Rainfall totals were all over the place, making social media reports especially valuable. Which leads us to our pet peeve. This morning many of those rainfall totals reported from a place called “here.”
“It poured here,” Pat V. reports.
“Hardly anything here,” says Rhonda F.
“Need rain here,” adds Lillian K.
“Not a drop by me,” Cathy S. complains.
Alright, the Head Groundskeeper at Stately Blaska Manor is a cranky old man. Embracing it!
Middleton’s Morey Field reported an official 0.77”. Dane County Regional Airport on the NE side reported 0.46 of an inch. In Cottage Grove 0.5″. Belleville, near the Green County line an even 0.5”. Just north of Odana Hills Golf Course (maybe 2 miles as the crow flies from Stately Blaska Manor) Paul Schlecht reported 0.8″. In Lake Mills, 0.6″. Nothing in Montello to the north. Rose Van Sustern reports 2.6 inches in the Town of Springfield, west of Middleton, so the white bucket of truth couldn’t be that far off. As for the Experimental Farm’s rain gauge — turns out it sprang a leak!
→ Moved the Tony Evers veto here.
Blaska’s Bottom Line: If Wednesday’s 07-05-23 rain saves crops in Dane County it could be help pay Tony Evers’ higher taxes.
4 responses to “As right as rain!”
[…] This post originally appeared at https://davidblaska.com/2023/07/06/as-right-as-rain/ […]
“What little rain we have been getting in southern Wisconsin for the last couple of weeks have been of the ‘pop-up’ kind — making even 24-hour predictions a guess and a hunch.”
The last coupla month’s rain events in these here parts (Midvale Heights) have been little more than cruel jokes; barely wetting the pavement or requiring more than one_swipe_of_the_windshield_wipers types.
It’s a critical time for Urban Vegetable Ranchers generally and the Gotchberg Organic Gardens And Lefty Conversion Therapy Emporium specifically: Sweet Peppers, Tomatoes, Zukes, & Cukes are flowering-n-fruiting like crazy making this indeed timely.
Glass half full?
From Top–Black Magic Zukes, and Wautoma Heirloom and WESconsin SMR 58 (AKA Mini-Watermelon) Cukes, destined for (respectively) Zuke Fritters, the lovely and long suffering Mrs Gotch’s Cuke/Olive/Red Onion/Chickpea Salad, and Quickles
Monster April Cross Daikon Hybrid (direct seeded ~April 7th) two (2) feet/.61 meters, it’s truncated pal (whose severed portion was subsequently rescued) would’ve been bigger. Shredded Daikon in Spud/Mac/Cole Slaw salads in the On Deck Circle!
Speaking of critical, let’s hope this was enough to help out area corn, soybean, alfalfa, etc. farmers. The fields observed in Vienna, Westport & Middleton TWSPs were as paltry as The Gotch has ever seen.
The Gotch
After tons of $$$ spent to prevent vlooding on e wash ave too. If they would just check out those tunnels gas co built in 60’s maybe that was a cause of the flooding from lake monona??? Ba…can’t be.
More of a concern is the hidden crime explosion over july 4th weekend. Over 500 police calls but someone ONLY LUSTED 5 to 10 of them each day. Sure as hell didn’t see reports on our joje of lical media of course. Did deep to find the increased crime explosion here. Its out there, but local media hides it. Crime stoppers was halted during ekection by the way…can’t have those crimes showing up when im running against a cop.
More of a concern is the hidden crime explosion over july 4th weekend. Over 500 police calls but someone ONLY LUSTED 5 to 10 of them each day. Sure as hell didn’t see reports on our joje of lical media of course. Did deep to find the increased crime explosion here. Its out there, but local media hides it. Crime stoppers was halted during election by the way…can’t have those crimes showing up when im running against a cop.