10/1/26  We should teach our children how to pray, make something, fix something, grow something, and be content with what they have.

    Dense fog, 5 degrees. Sun this afternoon, high 76, a SSW breeze.  Tonight's low 61.  Rain tomorrow afternoon becomes partly cloudy overnight. A west breeze, high 72, low 47.  Sunshine Saturday, a NW breeze, high 66, low 38.  Mostly sunny Sunday, a SE breeze, high 65, low 49.  Rain Monday, a stiff SW breeze, high 59, low 40.  Partly cloudy Tuesday, strong WNW wind, high 56, low 35.  The frost warning is now a frost advisory.  Sunshine Wednesday, a brisk WSW breeze, high 63, low 42. Partly cloudy next Thursday, a brisk SSW breeze, high 69, low 45.  Partly cloudy next Friday through Wednesday the 14th with stiff NW breezes, highs in the lower sixties to upper fifties. lows about 40 except for 46 Sunday the 11th.

     Enjoy the warmth this afternoon.  Up here on the hill we may not get a frost next week unless the low temperatures drop back to yesterday's forecast.  Beyond five days the forecasts haven't been very reliable!

     Most of us have hostas, they are beautiful, hardy to 40 below and versatile plants. Hummingbirds love to feed on their blossoms.   Their roots need to be well hydrated to winter well.  But slugs like to fill the leaves with holes.  I don't have much problem with slugs because after a hard frost I cut off the dead foliage and clean it and the ground around the plant making sure there is nothing slugs or their eggs can overwinter in.  .Then I mulch around the plant with straw or pine needles.  Not on the plant.  Even though I only leave a couple inches of stem, mice might make a winter home in them if they are covered.    Come spring I like to plant impatiens in the mulch around the hosta.  If hostas need to be divided it is better to divide them in the spring.

    May your day be blessed, Sally

 9/30/26 As we bid farewell to the first of the "ber" months, may October bring you beauty, inspiration, and simple joys.

Cloudy, calm, 53 degrees.  Some sun today, a gentle WNW breeze, high 70. low 52. Partly cloudy tomorrow, a SSW breeze, high 76, low 60.   Rain Friday, a WSW breeze, high 74, low 49.  Sunshine Saturday, a stiff NW breeze, high 66, low 37.  Partly cloudy Sunday, a SSE breeze, high 64, low 46.  Partly cloudy Monday, a  strong west breeze, high 61, low 36,  possible frost advisory.  Sunshine Tuesday, a NW wind, high 52, low 30.  FROST WARNING  Partly cloudy next Wednesday through Tuesday, October 14th.  Stiff WSW breezes next Wednesday, high 60, low 45. A strong SW breeze next Thursday, high 66, low 44.  Stiff NW breezes Friday the 9th through the 14th. Friday's high 62, then the highs will be in the upper fifties with lows around 40.

   The ground soaked up that three inches, there are just a few small puddles in the driveway.  The sump pump only ran once, when Bekah tripped it to make sure it was working.

   The forecast says to pick everything and put it in the greenhouse to ripen.  We usually wait until the last weekend in October to plant the garlic.  This year the forecast is cool enough to plant it when there is time.  Forecasters are predicting a stormy winter.  Rain? Ice? snow?

This is the month to think ahead and be prepared for a hard winter.  It is better to be prepared and not need than to need and not be prepared.

    May your day be blessed, Sally

 9/29/26  Next time you admire the wonderful things God has made remember you are one of them.

    We've gotten three inches of rain from this storm, more rain is forecast for this morning.  Cloudy this afternoon, high 60, low 42. A stiff NNE breeze today.  Partly cloudy tomorrow, a gentle NW breeze, high 69, low 51.  Partly cloudy Thursday, a SSW breeze, high 77, low 60.  Showers Friday, a west breeze, high 70, low 49.  Sunshine Saturday, a brisk NW breeze, high 67, low 39.  Perhaps some PM showers Sunday, a brisk SE breeze, high 64, low 47.  Perhaps some morning showers Monday, a strong west breeze, high 63, low 36. Possible frost advisory Monday night.  Partly cloudy next Tuesday, a NW wind, high 54, low 31.  Frost warning Tuesday night. Mostly sunny next Wednesday, a west breeze, high 59, low 36.  Partly cloudy next Thursday, a stiff SSW breeze, high 66, low 46. Possible showers Friday the 9th and Saturday the 10th.  A stiff east breeze Friday, high 64, low 44.  A strong NW breeze Saturday, high 60, low 41.  Partly cloudy Sunday the11th, a stiff WNW breeze, high 61, low 41.  Possible showers Monday the 12th, a stiff NW breeze, high 59, low 38.  Partly cloudy Tuesday the 13th, a stiff NW breeze, high 59, low 40.

   Forecasters had a hard time with this storm.  At one point it dropped from the original three inch to a half inch.  We are thankful the orginal forecast amount was right.   We are also thankful that the winds weren't as strong here.  There were a few power outages, our lights only flickered.Our sump pump hasn't run but we are watching the cellar closely because water is starting to seep in. Usually three inches of rain would have the pump running steady.

   Our main accomplishment yesterday was cleaning the dryer.  First was moving things around so it could get pulled out.  We vent our dryer inside to trap the moisture and heat.  Between the lint filter and bucket we collected so much lint that the girls were surprised by the handfuls of lint, hay and straw we pulled out. I've always cleaned the dryer before.   Most people don't deal with hay and straw but there was enough lint to be a fire hazard.  Dryers are listed near the top as causes of house fires.  Most people only need to clean their dryer yearly.  Large families, long hose vents or people with pets need to clean their dryer more often.

   A school assembly this morning, Aydan is getting a surprise recognition for something.  The school called and said his family would want to be there.  Then I will finish my house plants.  I still have some to repot and windows to wash.

    May your day be blessed. Sally

 9/28/26  May this Monday bring hope, blessings and plenty of reasons to smile.

   Rain and wind today and tonight.  It's 49 degrees, today's high 55, tonight's low 53,  Rain tomorrow morning, afternoon showers, cloudy tomorrow night.  A stiff NNE breeze, high 60, low 53.  Cloudy Wednesday, a gentle NW breeze, high 68, low 59.  Partly cloudy Thursday, a brisk WSW breeze, high 76, low 63.  Mostly cloudy Friday, a WNW breeze, high 72, low 48. Mostly sunny Saturday, a NW breeze, high 66, low 39.  Showers Sunday. a SSE breeze, high 63, low 47.  Shows next Monday, strong WNW breeze, high 65, low 39.  Partly cloudy next  Tuesday, a WNW wind, high 58, low 35.  Sunshine next Wednesday, a brisk west breeze, high 64, low 40.  Cloudy Thursday the 8th, a stiff SW breeze, high 65, low 44.  Showers Friday the 9th, a strong north breeze, high 63, low 41. Partly cloudy the weekend of the 10th and 11th, highs 64, lows 42.  a stiff WSW breeze Saturday, a stiff WNW breeze Sunday.  Showers Monday the 12th, a stiff NW breeze, high 60, low 39.

   A rainy day, we're happy, the ducks are happy.  The house is happy, this is a good day to start fall cleaning.  We'll decorate for fall but we decided not to take the birthday banners down, we have five more birthdays this month.  Azalea's party was here Saturday, Lainy's was yesterday.  She is Jordn and Chiara's youngest so her party was at their place. 

   This week is a good week to mulch around our rhubarb. There is a lot of grass encroaching on the plants, we'll put some sged manure in a ring around each plant.  Then cardboard.   After a hard frost we'll clean up the plants and put straw over them.

   We have a strong hive of bees but the bees moved into the hive this summer so we aren't going to take any honey off.  Saturday we got a two gallon pail of honey from an 82 year old beekeeper who has had bees all his life.  He wraps his bees about October 15th.  Jay will do that this year.

   May your day be blessed, Sally

 9/26/26 A peaceful heart knows how to find joy in the little things, beauty in the ordinary, and contentment in the moment.

Mostly cloudy, a NE breeze now, becoming a NE wind later today.  High 73, low 53.  Occasional overnight showers.  Showers tomorrow morning, cloudy in the afternoon, showers tomorrow night.  A NNE wind, high 66, low 51.  Rain Monday, a  Strong NE breeze, high 58, low 52.  lighter rain Monday night.  Showers Tuesday, a NE breeze,  After Tuesday the forecast is about the same as yesterday's.  Dry with a bit of a warm up. slightly cooler than average but no frost.

   There often isn't much time between a hard frost and cold weather.  As dry as we are, we are hoping nature balances itself out with cold wet weather.  I'm making a list of what needs attention after the hard frost.  Peonies, the top jewel of the June garden,  I cut them back and clean up every bit of the foliage.  It is a good idea not to put it in the compost pile in case there are any disease spores in it.  Then mulch it with straw, shredded bark, pine needles or compost.  I use an inch of compost and  four or five inches of straw.  In spring I pull the straw back from the plant a little at a time so the new shoots can harden off.  I put organic  fertilizer around the plant, not on top of it.  My peonies are so lush with such large blooms I put a peony ring in to support them.  Usually the one I took out in the fall, they last several years.

   This afternoon is Azalea's birthday party so it is a busy morning.  May your day be blessed, Sally

 9/25/26  Wishing you a Happy Friday and a beautiful weekend.

Fair, calm, 48 degrees.  Partly cloudy today, a NNE breeze, high 75, low 53.  Cloudy tomorrow and Sunday, NNE winds, highs 72 and 64.  Lows 54 and 50.  Rain Monday (the edge of the Nor'easter), A stiff NE breeze, high 58, low 53. Showers Tuesday, a NNE breeze, high 62, low 52.  Partly cloudy Wednesday through Friday the 9th.  A NW breeze Wednesday, high 69, low 51. A WSW breeze Thursday, high 76, low 56.  A stiff west breeze next Friday, high 75, low 54.  A brisk NNW breeze next Saturday, high 69, low 47.  A NNE breeze next Sunday, high 67, low 49.  Brisk WNW breezes the next 5 days .  High Monday the 5th 65, low 43. Highs about 59 the next four days, lows about 39.

    Another beautiful fall day.  No one has to cook today.. Yesterday Maegin made two pans of lasagna for their church potluck supper.  Maegin, Bekah and Darel all go to the same church. By evening they were all too tired to go.  That gives you an idea how busy these fall days are.  Antibiotics cured what aled me and I've recovered from my reaction to the antibiotic so today I'm hoping to get back to battling creeping charlie and other weeds.  I'd like my gardens to be all ready to plant come spring.

    The storm will drop significant rain south of us.  Our forecast has dropped to a half inch from an inch and a half.  A dry weekend is good for the Common Ground Fair and for Azalea's birthday party tomorrow.  Three more great grandchildren's birthdays  in the next few weeks plus son Mike's.  I 've already got gifts, I'm wrapping them all this morning.

    May your day be blessed, Sally

    

 9/24/26  Be the reason someone smiles today.

 Low 42. Sunshine today, a NNE breeze, high 73, low 47.  Partly cloudy Friday, a stiff NNE breeze, high 75, low 51. Perhaps some afternoon showers Saturday, a NNE wind, high 70, low 53.  Showers Sunday, a NNE wind, high 64, low 50.  Rain Monday, a strong NE breeze, high 59, low 53.  Showers Tuesday, a NE breeze, high 63, low 50.  Partly cloudy Wednesday, a west breeze, high 70, low 53.  Cloudy next Thursday, a stiff WNW breeze, high 71, low 49.  Partly cloudy next Friday and next weekend, brisk WNW breezes highs about 67, lows 47.  Mostly cloudy Monday the 5th, a WNW breeze, high 65, low 45.

    Perhaps some people got a frost, there was a frost advisory.  We didn't.  There is still heat in the sun, it is 48 now.  

    I got the scented geraniums and Christmas cactus repoted.  Christmas cactus should be repoted after blooming or in the summer, not now.  But it wasn't doing well.

    A pair of cardinals are joining the chickadees at the feeders.  Saturday there was a Canadian jay.  None of us has seen one this far south before.  It has been dryer north of us, perhaps the seeds don't have much meat in them.  The chicadees have forgotten who fills their feeders, the scolded me when I went out to fill them this morning.

  We got three ton of pellets yesterday,  Last year's pellets from inventory at last year's price..  Lois said the first load of this season had just arrived.   She hadn't figured out the price yet but there was a significant increase, due to increase in cost of pellets and a diesel cost surcharge. I'm sure when our fall load of greenhouse supplies arrive there will be a fuel surcharge. Number 2 heating oil is $6.00.  We had a grain delivery yesterday, no price increase and no surcharge. 

   May you day be blessed, Sally