3/27/25  Going back to a simpler life is not going backwards

A dusting of snow overnight, sun and clouds, calm. 28 degrees.  Sun and clouds today, clear tonight.  Today's high 35 with a NE breeze,  Tonight's low 27.  Partly cloudy tomorrow with a WNW wind.   The high 44, the low 23.  1-3 inches of snow Saturday with a NE breeze, a high of 33, a low of 21.  Snow showers Sunday afternoon will become freezing rain overnight.  An east breeze with a high of 35, a low of 31.  Showers Monday with a south breeze, a high of 49, a low of 33.  Partly cloud Tuesday with a light NW wind, a high of 40, a low of 17.  Sunshine Wednesday with a WNW breeze, a high of 38, a low of 27.  AM snow showers Thursday, then rain.  A SE breeze, with a high of 41, a low of 24.  Cloudy next Friday and Saturday with NNW breezes, highs of 44, lows about 31.  Cloudy next Sunday and Monday with WNW breezes, highs of 49, lows about 32. cloudy the next few days, then some sun.  Brisk NW breezes, highs in the upper forties, lows around 31.  

    Sunshine and warm afternoon temperatures say spring, snow and cold breezes say winter is hanging on.  It was warm enough to move more plants to the new greenhouse    yesterday afternoon, 53 degrees.  The heavy dusting of snow overnight covered the brown needles on the bird's Christmas trees.  Last week the girls cleaned the grill and moved it outside.  It is back inside now.  A new grill cover came yesterday, spring will return and the grill will be moved back out.  The table and chairs will come out.  I want  to go get cedar to make new flower boxes this year. We put flower boxes along the garage to make sure soil doesn't build up along the garage wall.  It has been 8-10 years since we had new boxes.  Even though they are made of cedar they wear out..  

   The first load of next winter's wood came yesterday,  The woodyard road was frozen solid, the truck and trailer didn't make ruts.  Now it has to be stacked.

    May your day be blessed, Sally

 3/26/25  Do Justice, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly"

Mostly clear, calm, 30 degrees.  Clouds  this afternoon, Rain and snow showers this evening, snow showers overnight.  Less than an inch accumulation.  Partly cloudy tomorrow  and Friday with strong NW breezes.  Highs about 44, lows about 24.  1-3 inches of snow on Saturday with a NE breeze, a high of 33, a low of 22.  1-3 inches of snow Sunday before changing to a wintery mix.  Freezing rain Sunday night and Monday morning.  An ENE breeze Sunday with a high of 34, a low of 29.  A SSE breeze Monday with a high of 43, a low of 28.  Partly cloudy Tuesday with a strong NW breeze, a high of 38, a low of 18. Sunshine Wednesday with a NW breeze, a high of 38, a low of 23.  Rain/snow next Thursday with a SE breeze, a high of 41. a low of 33.  Morning showers next Friday with a NNW breeze, a high of 48, a low of 30.  Mostly cloudy Saturday the 5th with a  NNE breeze, a high of 47, a low of 33.  Morning showers Sunday the 6th with a WNW breeze, a high of 49, a low of 34. Clouds the week of the 7th with NW breezes, highs in the upper forties, lows around freezing.

     Late yesterday, much to my surprise, I found out it was Tuesday, not Monday.    I'm not sure where Monday went.  I'm feeling better this morning and hopefully I'll keep the days straight.

     The weather report is not very encouraging.  Jay has a lot to do before the soil and supplies come.  Fallen branches are still frozen down, covered with snow. Yesterday Jay and a friend spent the day mounting fans, putting up shelves, and other finishing touches in the new greenhouse.  They did some things in the store too.

   Yesterday Bekah got a message asking when the hanging plants would be ready. The first round was sold out when the customer came last year.  It's more like when will the weather be ready.  Even buying them the week before Mother's day there might be cold, windy days they need protection.  With the new greenhouse there will be twice as many hanging baskets available for the first round.  Since we have always sold out we aren't sure how many are needed.  Open greenhouse week runs from May 1st through the 9th.  In May the greenhouse is open Sunday afternoons and Mondays.  Starting in June it is closed Sundays and Mondays, open the rest of the week.

   May your day be blessed, Sally

 3/25/25  Today is a good day to have a good day.

6 inches of snow yesterday  Fog this morning, some rain showers this afternoon and evening.  A SW breeze with a high of 46, tonight's low 27. Cloudy tomorrow with a WSW breeze, a high of 46, a low of 21.  Strong NW breezes Thursday and Friday with highs about 45, lows about 24.  Winter returns this weekend with snow shows, mixed precipitation and 2-6 inches of snow Sunday.  Spring returns at the end of next week.

   Church yesterday morning followed by a quiet afternoon watching it snow.  The afternoon was spent checking all the greenhouse supplies from seeds to fertilizer.  Last chance to order supplies to come on the trucks next week.  The last seed order goes in today.  I went to bed early and got up late, sleeping off a cold.  Bekah is out collecting eggs for me.  The hens have decided they all want  to lay in the same nest so we collect them early before the hens jostling for room breaks them.

  May your day be blessed, Sally

3 /24/25  Maybe the best time to start was years ago. But the next best time is today.

Beautiful sunrise, some clouds, calm, 15 degrees.  3-5 inches of snow starting this afternoon, another 1-3 this evening.  a brisk SE breeze today, a brisk NW breeze tonight.  today's high 35, tonight's low 25.  Morning fog, afternoon clouds tomorrow with a WNW breeze, a high of 45, a low of 27.  PM showers Wednesday with a SW breeze, a high of 45, a low of 32.  Snow Wednesday night.  An inch?  Partly cloudy Thursday with a brisk NW breeze, a high of 42, a low of 25.  Partly cloudy Friday with a strong west breeze, a high of 41, a low of 20.  Partly cloudy Saturday with a NW breeze, a high of 38, a low of 24.  Rain/snow Sunday with an east breeze, a high of 36, a low of 30. 1-3 inches of snow/ice Sunday night.  Showers next Monday with a NE breeze, a high of 45, a low of 31.  Mostly cloudy next Tuesday with a brisk WNW breeze, a high of 42, a low of 27.  Partly cloudy next Wednesday with a NW breeze, a high of 45, a low of 27. Mostly cloudy next Thursday with a brisk SE breeze, a high of 46, a low of 33.  AM showers Friday the 4th with a stiff west breeze, a high of 50, a low of 37.  Mostly cloudy the weekend of the 5th and 6th with stiff NW breezes, a high of 57 and 52, with a low of 37.  PM showers Monday the 7th with a stiff WNW breeze, a high of 51, a low of 36.

    The calm before the storm.  Not a bad storm but the afternoon commute may be dicey  Maegin, Bekah and Doug have already left to deliver a load of hay.  We are wondering if the school will send the kids home early.  No work projects are planned for Sunday afternoons.  But we did defy the cold north wind and plan a path to the new greenhouse and the sunflower patch we usually have by the horse barn.  That patch has always been my project but with me out of commission last year there were only some sunflowers that reseeded themselves.  Bekah is ordering sunflower seeds today.  I'm hoping I'll be helping renew the patch this year.  It will be neat with the greenhouse path going through it.  It has been a favorite spot for customers to take pictures.

     Our bees didn't make it through the winter.  There were yellow jackets around the hive last fall.  We were told they would kill the bees overwinter.  Bees moved into the hive in late summer so it wasn't a strong hive.  Jay has made arrangements to get another hive.   We need a hive up and going when the fruit trees blossom.  And bees are needed for a good cucumber crop.

     Very early yesterday morning when the wind gusts were strongest they sucked the doors off the cold frame.  Bekah spotted it at daylight, she and Jay quickly moved the trays of flowers  into the back room.  They watered them with some tepid water from the barrel by the wood stove.  The Sunday blessing, no flowers were damaged!  Last night Bekah put an electric heater in the backroom for them.

    May your day be blessed, Sally

 3/23/25 Jesus “is come” today as well as Christmas, and I pray his holy Presence will fill your day with his perfect, joyful peace.

Our pastor serves two churches, our church has the early service.  Wanting a more leisurely Sunday morning I've decided that the Sunday morning forecast will be a shortened one unless there is a lot of change from Saturday's.  There are a few clouds this morning, it is 21 degrees.  A strong, gusty, cold north wind will dominate today's weather.  It will die down to a stiff NW breeze tonight.  The high will be 34, tonight's low 19.  Clouds will move in tomorrow.  Afternoon and evening snow will total 2-6 inches. A SE breeze tomorrow with a high of 33.  A low of  26 tomorrow night with fog moving in after midnight.  Cloudy Tuesday and Wednesday with SW breezes, highs about 45, lows of 29.

     The sun is shining but the north wind is howling.  The sun is strong, it will help the furnaces keep the greenhouses warm.  Jay and Bekah took advantage of the spring weather yesterday to move plants to the new greenhouse.  Tomorrow when it is snowing they will be transplanting peppers.  Bekah is going to plant moe peppers so customers who don't set their pepper plants out until mid June can choose smaller plants.  Many gardeners, us among them, feel that there is a fine line between a large strong pepper plant and one that is too big to easily transition to the garden.  Others want their pepper plants to have little peppers on them.

     The little birds are glad I stopped putting seeds and suet in feeders the blackbirds liked.  They can eat at the tube feeders and the upside down suet feeder in peace.  There is only one bluejay and no blackbirds out there.  About once a day the blackbirds fly in to see if there is anything to eat.

    Church this morning with no plans to do anything outside this afternoon.  May your day be blessed, Sally..

 3/22/25  Sun is showing, sap is flowing, flowers growing; whoops--it's snowing!

 .79 of rain ending as a coating of snow.  Clear, calm, 33 degrees.  Sunshine today with a few afternoon clouds, cloudy tonight.  A brisk WSW breeze today with a high of 56.  A low of 23 tonight with a west wind.  Sunshine tomorrow with a strong north wind, a high of 35, a low of 29.  A brisk SW breeze Monday with a high of 34, a low of 29'  2-4 inches of snow Monday afternoon and night.  Cloudy Tuesday and Wednesday with WSW breezes, highs of 47 and 44,lows about 27. Partly cloudy Thursday with a stiff WNW breeze, a high of 44, a low of 28.  Mostly cloudy Friday with a light west wind, a high of 42, a low of 23.  Mostly cloudy next Saturday with a NW breeze, a high of 37, a low of 28.   Some snow showers Saturday night.  Rain/snow next Sunday morning with a south breeze, a high of 44, a low of 31.Clouds Monday the 31st, Tuesday April 1st and Wednesday April 2ed with brisk NW breezes, highs about 43, lows of 32, 28 and 27.  Partly cloudy the rest of the week with highs in the low fifties and lows about 37.

     Bekah planted seeds yesterday, filling the germination shelves in the laundry.  She planted some Prairie Smoke seeds.  Prairie Smoke is a beautiful native shrub.  She planted some seeds a few years ago and only wound up with two plants.  Now that she has more room she is trying again.

     She also worked on the Paris Farmers Union order.  It was nice to be ordering shepard hooks to hang baskets of flowers on.  Thinking about hummingbirds flying into baskets of cascading purple waves was better than looking outside at the big snowflakes mixing in the cold rain!  Griffin supply has a flash sale. She is checking to see if the sale items can come with the order we have coming the first week in April.   Shipping can make the sale items too expensive.

    I stopped putting seeds on the platform feeders.  The blue jays and pine grosbeaks aren't  happy but the seeds were bringing in too many blackbirds.  They would clean the seeds up in an hour and they were keeping the little birds away from their feeders.  Yesterday afternoon there were some little birds back.  Today I'd like to get the Christmas trees gone.  They are brown and ugly now.

    May your day be blessed, Sally

 3/21/25  There is something healing in the refrains of nature.  Dawn comes after night, spring comes after winter.

Clouds, showers and fog, calm, 37 degrees.  Rain today with a north wind, a high of 40.  Rain this evening, clearing overnight with a NW wind.  a low of 31,  Sunshine tomorrow with a brisk WSW breeze, a high of 56, a low of 24.  Sunshine Sunday with a strong NW wind, a high of 34, a low of 19.  2-6 inches of snow Monday afternoon and night.  A SE breeze during the day, a NE breeze at night.  The high 33, the low 19.  Mostly cloudy Tuesday and Wednesday with highs of 45 and 42, lows of 26.  Partly cloudy Thursday and Friday with stiff WNW breezes, highs about 43, lows about 27.  Mostly cloudy next Saturday with a WSW breeze, a high of 44, a low of 32.  PM showers next Sunday with a stiff WSW breeze, a high of 50, a low of 29. Lots of clouds Monday the 31st and the first four days of April.   Highs in the low forties Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday,high forties Thursday and Friday.  Lows around 30 until Friday when the low is 36..

   Planting, transplanting and watering have filled the days.  Now as the plants are growing, rearranging them and moving some to the new greenhouse are added in the days.  To give them room to grow into a nicely rounded plant the geraniums are spread out so they take up twice as much room.  To make room for the geraniums the pansies were moved to the back room.  They are happier there, the main greenhouse is too warm for them.  A month ago even pansies could be put next to the outside wall, it was getting too cold at night.

   Today Bekah is going to take time from greenhouse work to place an order with the Paris Farmers Union.  More and more people are growing their own vegetables.  They are requesting 50 pound bags of organic fertilizer.  Jay tills in the rye cover crop and adds compost to our vegetable gardens.  Heavy feeders like cucumbers need an extra boost so he gives them some organic fertilizer.  Our blueberries aren't the only ones that need an organic soil acidifier and special fertilizer formulated for blueberries. I'l be putting some of the blueberry fertilizer on my azalea.   Rhododendrons like it too.  All in all they need enough fertilizer and other supplies to meet the 700 dollar minimum order with no problem.

     May your day be blessed, Sally