2/22/25  What you think about forms your personality.

Clear, calm. 12 degrees.  Sunshine today with a strong WNW breeze, a high of 30.  Snow flurries tonight with a low of 12.  Snow flurries tomorrow morning, clearing by nightfall.  A west breeze with a high of 35, a low of 5  Mostly cloudy Monday with a SSE breeze, a high of 36, a low of 32.  Cloudy Tuesday with a SW breeze, a high of 45, a low of 31.  Mostly cloudy Wednesday with a NW breeze, a high of 44, a low of 29.  Snow flurries Wednesday night.  Rain/snow Thursday morning, a WSW breeze, a high of 42, a low of 27.  Partly cloudy Friday with stiff north breeze, a high of 36, a low of 18.  Mostly cloudy next Saturday with a stiff WSW breeze, a high of 34, a low of 21.  Morning snow showers next Sunday with a stiff WNW breeze all day and night.  A high of 30, a low of 8.  Partly cloudy next Monday with a light WNW wind, a high of 24, a low of 10.  Partly cloudy next Tuesday with a brisk WNW breeze, a high of 29, a low of 17.  An inch of snow Wednesday the 5th. 1-3 inches Wednesday night.  Brisk NW breeze, a high of 35, a low of 23. 1-3 inches of snow Thursday the 6th, partly cloudy Thursday night.  A strong NW breeze with a high of 33, a low of 13.  Partly cloudy Friday the 7th with a light WNW wind, a high of 24, a low of 11.  Mostly cloudy Saturday the 8th with a strong WNW breeze, a high of 28, a low of 12.

    The three families that went to Bar Harbor got home last night, tired but happy after a fun day.  I spent a lot of the day napping.  At noon much of the swelling in my foot was gone.  By night there was less discomfort.  The antibiotic is doing its job.  No update on Josephine must mean that she is doing well.

     A family sledding party is happening today to celebrate all the family birthdays that come in February.  Doug opens up a road to the top of one of his hay fields that is a long hill.  They have snow machines to give people rides back up the hill.  Thankful for a sunny day that is warmer than last week.

     Snow must be making natural food harder to find because lots of birds are coming to the feeders.  I'm throwing sunflower seeds on the snow under the bushes and Christmas trees.  The two platform feeders  and 5 tube feeders aren't enough for all of them .I want to make sure the local birds are able to get seeds.  They are the ones who will be helping us by  feeding bugs and weed seeds to their nestlings next spring and summer.

     May your day be blessed, Sally

 2/21/25  Give thanks!  The sun — Every day there is more of the bright sun, that brings back, not light alone, but new life, and hope, and freshness to us and the earth.

Calm, clouds, 19 degrees.  sun and clouds toda, clear tonight.  A light NW wind today will become a stiff NW breeze tonight.  Today's high 30, tonight's low 11.  Sunshine tomorrow with a brisk WNW breeze, a high of 31, a low of 11.  Cloudy Sunday with a west breeze, a high of 35, a low of 8.  PM show showers Monday with a brisk SSE breeze, a high of 35, a low of 31.  PM snow showers Tuesday with a SW breeze, a high of 44, a low of 34.  AM rain/snow showers Wednesday with a NW breeze, a high of 41, a low of 24.  PM snow showers Thursday with a brisk NW breeze, a high of 41, a low of 23.  Mostly cloudy next Friday with a stiff NW breeze, a high of 32, a low of 11.  Partly cloudy next Saturday with a strong NW breeze, a high of 24, a low of 12.  Mostly cloudy next Sunday with a NW breeze, a high of 29, a low of 12.  Partly cloudy Monday, March 3rd with a strong NW breeze, a high of 24, a low of 9.  Partly cloudy Tuesday the 4th with a stiff WNW breeze, a high of 27, a low of 13.  PM snow showers Wednesday March 5th with a WNW breeze, a high of 31, a low of 14.  Clouds Thursday the 6th and  Friday the 7th with stiff NW breezes, highs about 27, lows of 11 and 8.

    The greenhouse rep was here yesterday.  He went over plans for ventilation in the new greenhouse with Bekah and jay.  They were pleased to learn that the set up that came with the greenhouse was a good set up and could be installed in the greenhouse. It may be necessary to buy a new fan motor but that is a lot less money than a new set up.  They went over 2025 season plans.  We are fortunate to have the services of such a knowledgeable man.  They wound up the visit exchanging ice fishing stories and tips!  Jay is headed up north this week on an ice fishing trip with friends.

     Heather spent part of the day transplanting.  The seedlings couldn't wait until next week when the greenhouse is warm to be transplanted.  They look good this morning.  Now the concern is "Will the cats walk on them?"  They are in front of the windowsill the cats claim as theirs.

   We only got two dozen eggs from the hens yesterday.  The lowest count we've gotten.  We are hoping that they bottomed out and production will increase with the moderating temperatures.  We keep a light on them to mimic longer days but they always respond to the longer days and sunlight streaming in the windows.  The cows were  laying down in the field soaking up the sun yesterday.  They have been eating and then going to lay down in the cedars.

    I stepped on a plastic piece of a toy about a week ago.  It hurt but did not break the skin.   My toes started to swell and turn red so I went to the doctor.  She said I'd damaged the vascular system that carries blood to them.  She put me on an antibiotic and wants to see me Monday to make sure the antibiotic is working.  I have a slight rattle in one lung from the flu, the same antibiotic will take care of that.  I had some blood work done also.  Bekah is nearly back to her usual self.  Hopefully she can gain back some of the weight she lost.  The kids have all recovered and are loving the pile of snow Grandpa made with his big tractor.

     May our Lord bless you on this day, Sally

    

 2/20/25  Everyone thinks forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive.

 Clear, calm, 9 degrees.  Clouding up this afternoon with a light NNW breeze, a high of 32.  Clouds tonight with a brisk NNW west breeze, a low of 19.  Partly cloudy tomorrow with a NW wind, a high of 31, a low of 11.  Sunshine Saturday with a brisk WNW breeze, a high of 32, a low of 14.  Cloudy Sunday with a west breeze, a high og 35, a low of 10.  Mostly cloudy Monday with south breeze, a high of 36, a low of 26. An inch of snow Monday night.  Rain/snow Tuesday into Tuesday night with a south breeze, a high of 39, a low of 12.  Partly cloudy Wednesday with a WNW breeze, a high of 38, a low of 27.  Partly cloudy Thursday with a west breeze, a high of 38.  1-3 inches of snow next Thursday night with a low of 27.  Rain/ snow showers next Friday morning with a brisk NW breeze, a high of 35, a low of 10.  Partly cloudy next Saturday with a strong NW breeze, a high of 23, a low of 12.  Mostly cloudy next Sunday with a stiff NW breeze, a high of 26, a low of 8.  Partly cloudy Monday the 3rd with a stiff NW breeze, a high of 21, a low of 7.  Partly cloudy Tuesday the 4th with a stiff WNW breeze, a high of 29, a low of 19. An inch of snow Wednesday afternoon, 5-8 inches Wednesday night,  A stiff WNW breeze, a high of 32, a low of 17.  Some snow showers Thursday the 6th with a strong WNW breeze, a high of 27, a low of 14.

   As of 9:30 last night Josephine's surgery went as well as they could hope. She is in the PICU. She was eating off a few things and working on waking up and breathing on her own. She was doing great, they expected her to start breathing on her own soon.

Yesterday was a quiet day, much nicer weatherwise than it has been. I had to pick up a prescription and go to the bank so I offered to get Maegin's propane bottles refilled. There was a steady stream of propane customers. Maegin's propane heater is for when the power goes off and real cold days. Real cold days have been a steady thing! . She has a pellet stove for heat.

Bekah and Jay have decided to start the greenhouse fires a week from today.

May our Lord be with you, Sally

 2/19/25    The power of finding beauty in the humblest things makes home happy and life lovely. Louisa May Alcott

 Some clouds, a west breeze, 7 degrees.  Sun and clouds today with a brisk NW breeze, a high of 25.  Mostly clear tonight with a NW breeze, a low of 7.  Mostly cloudy tomorrow with a light NW breeze, a high of 31, a low of 14.  Partly cloudy Friday with a light NW breeze, a high of 31, a low of 10.  Sunshine Saturday with a WNW breeze, a high of 32, a low of 11.  Clouds on Sunday with a light WNW breeze, a high of 35, a low of 10.  Mostly cloudy Monday with a few snow showers Monday night.  Monday's high 36, the low 25 with a SSW breeze.  PM rain/snow showers Tuesday with a WSW breeze, a high of 40, a low of 27.  Mostly cloudy next Wednesday with a WNW breeze, a high of 37, a low of 22.  Partly cloudy next Thursday with a brisk west breeze, a high of 37, a low of 21.  Snow showers next Friday with a WNW breeze, a high of 28, a low of 12.  Partly Cloudy Saturday March 1st with a stiff WNW breeze, a high of 26, a low of 10.  Partly cloudy Sunday the 2ed with a strong WNW breeze, a high of 22, a low of 5.  Mostly cloudy Monday the 3rd with a strong WNW breeze, a high of 23, a low of 8.  Mostly cloudy March 4th with a brisk WNW breeze, a high of 26, a low of 14.  some accumulating snow Wednesday the 5th with a stiff NW breeze, a high of 29, a low of 13.  When March comes in like a lion it goes out like a lamb.

     Josephine's tests came out great yesterday. She will be having the corrective surgery today at 11 Portland, Oregon time.

The sun is shining bright, there is less wind. We are burning lots of wood and pellets. The house has just barely been warm, it is warmer this morning. Maegin has to go get propane again. Yesterday's cold seemed to penetrate more. The kids did not play outside as much. Oil delivery men are putting in long hours. We're all looking forward to the break in the cold tomorrow.

There isn't much room for more seeds under the lights. A week from today they will be starting the greenhouse fires. A day early but a week from tomorrow looks like the only day warm enough to move seedlings out to the greenhouse. The seedlings that want warmth will go on the heat mats. That way they can have bottom heat. The mats are set up in the warmest spot in the greenhouse. Lots of wood and propane will be burned that first week. The past month has been very expensive for the greenhouses that started in January.

May your day be blessed, Sally

2 /18/25  Don't allow your rituals to become ruts.

 Some clouds, a NW breeze, 7 degrees.  Sun and clouds toda a high of 16 with a WNW wind.  A strong WNW breeze tonight, clouds with a low of 8.  Partly cloudy tomorrow with a brisk NW breeze, a high of 26, a low of 7.  Mostly cloudy Thursday with a NNW breeze, a high of 55, a low of 20.  Partly cloudy Friday and Saturday, highs about 32, lows of 10 and 13.  A light NW wind Friday will become a NW breeze Saturday.  Mostly cloudy Sunday and Monday with WNW breezes, highs about 36.  Lows of 16 and 21.  Cloudy next Tuesday with an ESE breeze, a high of 37, a low of 26.  An inch of snow Tuesday night, snow showers Wednesday morning.  Cloudy next Wednesday with a NW breeze, a high of 34, a low of 18.  Partly cloudy next Thursday with a west breeze, a high of 34, a low of 19. 1-3 inches of snow Thursday night.  3-5 inches of snow Friday the 28th, another inch or so Friday night.  Friday's high 30 with a strong NW breeze, a  low of 8.  Partly cloudy the weekend of the 1st and 2ed with stiff WNW breezes, highs about 26, lows about 9.

Mostly cloudy the 3rd and 4th with brisk NW breezes, highs about 26, lows about 12.

   Yesterday was a cold, windy day. Lots of whiteouts.  But once Tiffany and Evan got on the interstate it was windy but there had been enough rain so there was no blowing snow.  A friend who has a greenhouse about 30 miles to the south spent the day carefully breaking ice off her two greenhouses with her hands.  It wasn't easy but they got it all off without making any holes in the plastic.  Gilbert has been having some trouble with his plow.  Yesterday a couple things broke, then the plow came in half.  Thankfully in his own yard.  He loaded the plow in the back of his truck with his tractor, took it to Guilford and bought a new plow.  An expensive day!

   Doug bucketed us out.  To the kids' delight he piled all the snow in a huge oile, higher than the top of the swing set.  As cold and windy as it was, the kids spent a lot of the day climbing to the top of the pile and sliding down.  The owner of the kennel got home from her trip Sunday night .  Bekah was glad not to have to go care for the dogs.  She spent most of the day planting seeds.  Flower Heather winter sowed several gallons of seeds.  Winter sowing is planting seeds in gallon jugs cut in half and filled with soil.  The top half is stuck on and they are put in a sheltered place.  Many seeds need to go through some winter weather to germinate.  Google "winter sowing in gallon jugs" if you would like to try it..

    At eight AM Portland, Oregon time my 5 month old  great granddaughter born with down syndrome is having surgery to repair a heart defect.  Please pray for a successful operation

    May God be with you on this day, Sally

 2/17/25 The difference between success and failure often is the ability to take action.

 Blowing snow, clouds, 13 degrees.  8 inches of snow/ sleet/freezing rain yesterday.   Strong, gusty winds will continue into tonight,  Today's high 18, tonight's low 5.  A west wind tomorrow with some clouds, a high of 15, a low of 8.  Partly cloudy Wednesday with a stiff NW breeze, a high of 27, a low of 7.  Partly cloudy Thursday with a NNW breeze, a high of 32, a low of 17.  Sunshine Friday with a light NW wind, a high of 32, a low of 10.  Sunshine Saturday with a WNW breeze, a high of 31, a low of 11.  Partly cloudy Sunday with a west breeze, a high of 35, a low of 12.  Mostly cloudy next Monday with a SW breeze, a high of 37, a low of 25.  Rain/snow showers next Tuesday with a brisk NNW breeze, a high of 37, a low of 24.  Partly cloudy next Wednesday with a WNW breeze, a high of 37, a low of 18.  PM snow showers Thursday the 27th with a NW breeze, a high of 34, a low of 13.  Partly cloudy Friday the 28th with a stiff NW breeze, a high of 28, a low of 10.  Partly cloudy Saturday the 1st with a brisk WNW breeze, a high of 29, a low of 18.  Morning snow showers Sunday, March 2ed with a WNW breeze, a high of 34, a low of 19.  Rain/snow showers Monday, March 3rd with a stiff WNW breeze, a high of 35, a low of 20.

    Either my computer has a problem or Facebook does.  I can't post anything on FB. I put the weather on the Country Junction page first thing in the morning.  This morning when I gave up on that I went out and threw sunflower seed under the Christmas trees where the birds were huddling.  Whenever they would try to go to the feeders a gust would come along and blow them away.  Especially the little birds.  Doug has been here with his big tractor and bucked us out.  Bekah has to get to the kennel to care for the dogs.  Jay is going to take her down.  If the kennnel's plow guy hasn't plowed out the kennel Jay will drop Bekah off and go back for her.  She'll have to climb over the snow.  The town plow is going by every couple of hours.  It isn't snowing but the wind is piling drifts in the roads.  I was supposed to get bloodwork done but I've put it off until tomorrow because the wind is causing whiteouts.  We are thankful the freezing rain didn't cause ice build up on the greenhouses.  And we are thankful the snow/ice totals were less than forecast.  I'm sure the schools are glad this is vacation week.

    Bekah is starting wave petunias and some other seeds today.  Next Thursday is the date for starting the fires in the old greenhouse.  The forecast says They can move plants from the house to the greenhouse on Sunday the 1st.

   May your day be blessed, Sally

 2/16/25 May the Lord peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. 2 Thessalonians 3:16

Cloudy, calm, 15 degrees.  Snow this morning may change to a winter mix this afternoon.  5-8 inches total.  Today's high 17 with a NE wind.  An inch of wintery mix tonight with a NNW wind, a low of 15.  Partly cloudy, very windy tomorrow with a high of 18.  Still very windy tomorrow night with a low of 5   Winds will be from the west.  Strong WNW winds Tuesday, partly cloudy with a high of 18, a low of 5.  Sunshine Wednesday with a brisk NW breeze, a high of 26, a low of 4.  Mostly cloudy Thursday with a north breeze, a high of 33, a low of 18.  Partly cloudy Friday with a light NW wind a high of 31, a low of 11.  Sunshine Saturday with a NW breeze, a high of 32, a low of 2. Partly cloudy next Sunday with a WNW breeze, a high of 33, a low of 10. Partly cloudy next Monday with a NW breeze, a high of 36, a low of 20.   Partly cloudy next Tuesday with a NW breeze, a high of 38, a low of 21. Morning snow showers. Morning fog/afternoon sun next Wednesday with a WNW breeze, a high of 34, a low of 14. Partly cloudy Thursday the 30th with a brisk NW breeze, a high of 30, a low of 11.  PM fog Friday the 28th with a strong WNW breeze, a high of 30, a low of 13.  Foggy Saturday the 1st of March with strong WNW breeze, a high of 32, a low of 16.  Snow showers the 2ed with a brisk WNW breeze, a high of 32, a low of 18.

   The good news.  After starting on an antibiotic yesterday morning Bekah is feeling much better.  She got over the flu but was left with a sinus infection.  Other good news,  My Alaska sons are planning to visit in mid August.  They had thought of May but that is a very busy time for everyone.

   Church is canceled today because of the forecast of poor travel conditions, especially for the ride home.  It hasn't started snowing here yet. 

   When Heather came out to do books yesterday she and  Maegin made cream puffs, gluten free ones.  I don't think the gluten free ones were as tender as the ones I used to make but they were very good.  My recipe was in my 1917 Gold Medal cookbook.  That cookbook and a note book of recipes I had collected were ruined by a leak.  I decided I've missed that cookbook long enough.  I bought one on ebay yesterday.  Heather and Maegin love to cook, lots of Saturdays are baking days.  Fun days with good food!  Granddaughters Heather, Bekah and Tiffany are all on gluten free diets so they try lots of gluten free recipes.  Most of my granddaughters are into cooking with real ingredients that come from a plant or animal, not a lab.

    Wherever you live I pray the weather does not interfere with your having a blessed day.  Sally