A Day a Month

[Kiwi Pete]

Much the same here, but it is quite a major player when we are down to half inches per month, of precipitation.
Without wanting to dismember this thread too much, do you know what your dew point is/ do you get dew?

 

[Blaithin]

Much the same here, but it is quite a major player when we are down to half inches per month, of precipitation.
Without wanting to dismember this thread too much, do you know what your dew point is/ do you get dew?

Right now it’s 1.6C.

Currently 10C with 62% humidity.

 

[chaffcutter]

@Blaithin did you get the thunderstorms yet?

 

[Blaithin]

@Blaithin did you get the thunderstorms yet?

No. This afternoon and evening is when they’re supposed to start.

 

[Blaithin]

Tuesday, July 3, 2018

Current temperature: 17C, feels like 17C
Normal temperature: Max 23C Min 10C
Wind: 13 km NW, gusting to 19 km
Humidity: 59%
Sunrise: 5:22 am
Sunset: 9:54 pm

Weather Info from June:
- a high of 29.1C
- a low of 1.9C
- total precipitation of 70.9 mm
- maximum wind gust of 75 km/h

Storms continue to be hit and miss. Some areas will get an inch in a go while a couple miles up the road get 2/10. Local farmer had to dig a whole last week, says the top 6" are damp but after that it's just powder. Subsoil is bone dry. Currently it's a bit unsettled today but after this the forecast rarely even has a cloud in front of the sun. Crops are managing well other than the odd one hit by hail, pasture and hay land isn't faring quite as well.

The Front Yard - I have a second calver who's a bitch on permanent fences so she's in lock down in these little hot wires in the front yard for now

The Field Across the Road - Wheat is starting to head out and get the nice wave look in the wind. Even Canola is starting to bloom although you can't see any in this photo.

The Back Pond - There is still water in there. Not much, but some! The trees are looking worse for the wear this year since the bull thinks it's his main purpose in life to destroy all tree life.

 

[holwellcourtfarm]

The trees are looking worse for the wear this year since the bull thinks it's his main purpose in life to destroy all tree life.

We had one like that many years ago who used to flatten concrete posts

A very interesting thread Angie.

 

[Blaithin]

Wednesday, August 8, 2018

I did take these photos and information on Wednesday, I've just been busy at work and haven't had time to post!

Current temperature: 30C, feels like 30C
Normal temperature: Max 32.1C. Min 6C
Wind: 10 km S, gusting to 16 km
Humidity: 24%
Sunrise: 6:08 am
Sunset: 9:10 pm

Weather information from July include:
- a high of 33.8C
- a low of 2C
- total precipication of 34.8 mm
- maximum wind gust of 74 km/h

July really brought no rain to my yard. All precipitation is very hit and miss now as it's generally from isolated thunderstorms. My weather information comes from ThreeHills and all the storms have been blowing over my head and then raining when they get there But did get a belter on the 3rd that dropped off half an inch and some hail in about 20 minutes so that helped green things up a little bit! BC is currently on fire and the smoke has finally made it here so these photos are a little bit more orangey than the plants actually are thanks to that. Yesterday was a record breaking heat day in many areas, not just for daily records but even some all time. We hit 38.5C, plenty warm for me!

Harvest is starting, they were desiccating the peas just south of me last week and have seen some loads of new crop peas in at work. Moisture in the 12% range. Seen some Rye down as well and heard tales of Barley coming down next week. That race is beginning!

The Front Yard - Isn't really as green as the shadow of the house and the smoke is making it look Although I have had my sprinkler going fairly regularly to help it along. About the only thing happy in it are those sage bushes

The Field Across the Road - The wheat is turning quickly. You can see the smoke more in this photo, especially if you compare the previous photos of clear days and how obvious the wind turbines are in them.

The Back Pond - The water is almost all gone here. I'm actually surprised it lasted this long. You can see the Barley in the back is turning quickly as well. Hard to say if the trees have started to recuperate since the bull hasn't been in here for a month or not

 

[Blaithin]

Sorry I'm late! Got caught up in harvest.

Friday, September 14, 2018

Current temperature: 0C, feels like -4C
Normal temperature: Max 18C. Min 4C
Wind: 14 km SE, gusting to 21 km
Humidity: 86%
Sunrise: 7:08 am
Sunset: 7:50 pm

Weather information from August includes:
- a high of 38.5C
- a low of -1.9C
- total precipication of 24.7 mm
- maximum wind gust of 53 km/h

Winter is showing us it's on the way. Woke up to some snow on the ground this morning and more in the forecast. Harvest is struggling along hoping for more dry days. Leaves are turning colours and I had to dig my toques out of the basket to warm up my poor, summer ready ears.

The Front Yard - Grass greened up nicely in the last bit of rain we've got, now it'll be going dormant. The trees are changing quickly and the road on the other side of them is covered in leaves every time there's a bit of wind.

The Field Across the Road - You can see the sprayer tracks on the right. Landlord brought the combine up to do some tests on areas of the field the other day. Must not have been dry/cured enough as he never came back (Although it has rained or snowed since!) They're having issues with things curing this year, 2 - 3 weeks post spraying and there's still many squishies in the grains.

The Back Pond - Finally ran out of water back here. Very surprised it took that long. Now it's just a little muddy spot. The barley in the field behind was harvested last week so that's all stubble now.

 

[chaffcutter]

Really interesting thread this, thanks. Do they always spray the wheat pre harvest? Seems to be the use of glyphosate most likely to be banned here.

 

[Blaithin]

Really interesting thread this, thanks. Do they always spray the wheat pre harvest? Seems to be the use of glyphosate most likely to be banned here.

If they’re going to combine it standing then they desiccate it. Doesn’t necessarily have to be glyphosate although that’s the most common one probably.

Some still swath it and pick it up with the header so they don’t spray.

 

[holwellcourtfarm]

Really interesting thread this, thanks. Do they always spray the wheat pre harvest? Seems to be the use of glyphosate most likely to be banned here.

I suspect a premium market will emerge for certified Glyphosate free flour in due course.

 

[Blaithin]

I suspect a premium market will emerge for certified Glyphosate free flour in due course.

Then they’d just use other desiccants.

Plus would it be completely glyphosate free or just not pre harvest use? Technically spraying prior to seeding isn’t on the wheat so then they’d have to say glyphosate free land... which would eliminate its use on other crops which is not going to happen unless they ban glyphosate use.

If a company wants wheat that’s not sorayed pre harvest then they’ll just buy it from areas that don’t require it as a helpful harvest tool.

 

[Blaithin]

Tuesday, October 2, 2018

Current temperature: -1 C, feels like -5C
Normal temperatures: Max 15C, Min 1C
Humidity: 86%
Wind: 10 km/h E, Gust 15 km/hr
Sunrise: 7:37am
Sunset: 7:08pm

Weather info from September:
- a high of 29.5C
- a low of -9.8C
- total precipitation of 42.4 mm
- maximum wind gust of 64 km/h

It's not looking good. Every time the forecast tempts us with days that might dry something up, they get changed to more rain or snow. And even on those sunny days, the temperature isn't forecast to get above 10 degrees. Farmers are stressing out big time. Harvest might be 20% done in my area. There's a lot still out and a lot of standing crop that's now laying down. At this point, there will be a lot of spring threshing going on.

The Front Yard

The Field Across the Road - Not much to say here... looks the exact same as last months photo, just with some snow.

The Back Pond - Conn still loves the snow so at least he's happy with the weather

 

[Kiwi Pete]

Not looking real great now, is it?

 

[Blaithin]

Nope. Not even a little bit.

 

[KennyO]

Your photos illustrate how hard it must be to farm in Canada in some (all) years. We get some difficult harvests in Scotland but nothing like that.

 

[holwellcourtfarm]

A great thread @Blaithin

@Farmer Roy isn't the only one facing weather challenges

 

[Blaithin]

Saturday, November 10, 2018

Current weather
-2C, feels like -8C
Normal temp: Max 2C, Min -9C
Wind 23km/hr NW; Gust 34 km
80% humidity
Sunrise: 7:45 am
Sunset: 4:50 pm

Info from October:
Max temp: 24C
Min temp: -9.8C
Total precipitation: 17.1 mm
Maximum wind gust: 84 km/hr

Shortly after last months post the weather smartened up. After the combines sitting and the swaths collecting snow for at least 5 weeks, more for many, things switched up and harvest was back on. Quality was lower but almost everything came off dry and, more surprisingly, almost everything came off. There's only the odd field here or there that's still out for whatever reason.

It hasn't been stupendously warm by any means, but it hasn't been very cold either. The odd chilly wind chill at night but still easy access to grass which the cows are taking advantage of.

The Front Yard - A nice sunrise view. Had some rain and snow last night, otherwise the yard is just brown.

The Field Across the Road - Hey! There's no crop in this field

The Back Pond - Time to start collecting snow to fill this puppy back up next year.

 

[Blaithin]

Sunday, December 2, 2018

Current temperature: -6C, feels like -11C
Normal temperature: Max -2C Min -13C
Wind: 12 km NW
Humidity: 87%
Sunrise: 8:19 am
Sunset: 4:27 pm

Weather Info from November:
- a high of 13.5C
- a low of -21.1C
- total precipitation of 25.5 mm
- maximum wind gust of 62 km/h

The last one! This should make it 36 photos showing the changing seasons for the last year. Being the year it was... there's a lot of white Next year it could be mostly brown, you never know! Still trying to decide if I'm going to do this again and if so, do I do the same photos or pick a couple different views instead. Let me know what you think!

Currently it's snowing. While we aren't actually in a snowfall warning, of course that just means we've gotten the amounts they usually call for during those warnings. Has to be about 4 inches out there since yesterday!

The Front Yard - I had to go dig out the bird feeders, they were closed to business due to snow

The Field Across the Road - Camera actually had trouble finding anything it would focus on in this view today!

The Back Pond

And just for fun.... I took these photos at about 12:30 and this is what the road looked like. Not many people travelling today! (Except apparently my dogs )

 

[holwellcourtfarm]

Sunday, December 2, 2018

Current temperature: -6C, feels like -11C
Normal temperature: Max -2C Min -13C
Wind: 12 km NW
Humidity: 87%
Sunrise: 8:19 am
Sunset: 4:27 pm

Weather Info from November:
- a high of 13.5C
- a low of -21.1C
- total precipitation of 25.5 mm
- maximum wind gust of 62 km/h

The last one! This should make it 36 photos showing the changing seasons for the last year. Being the year it was... there's a lot of white Next year it could be mostly brown, you never know! Still trying to decide if I'm going to do this again and if so, do I do the same photos or pick a couple different views instead. Let me know what you think!

Currently it's snowing. While we aren't actually in a snowfall warning, of course that just means we've gotten the amounts they usually call for during those warnings. Has to be about 4 inches out there since yesterday!

The Front Yard - I had to go dig out the bird feeders, they were closed to business due to snow

The Field Across the Road - Camera actually had trouble finding anything it would focus on in this view today!

The Back Pond

And just for fun.... I took these photos at about 12:30 and this is what the road looked like. Not many people travelling today! (Except apparently my dogs )
View attachment 744576

Thank you for this thread @Blaithin

It's been a fascinating insight into a landscape ecology and climate that we Brits have no real comprehension of.