7/27/26 Some of God's greatest blessings... look a lot like ordinary days. 

    Sunshine, calm, 60 degrees. Sunshine today, a gentle ESE breeze, high 83, low 53.  Partly cloudy tomorrow, a brisk SSE breeze, high 83, low 59.  Cloudy Wednesday, an ESE breeze, high 77, low 61.  showers Wednesday night with an ENE breeze.  Rain Thursday, a brisk NE breeze, high 70, low 60.  Showers Friday, a NNE breeze, high 75, low 60.  Partly cloudy Saturday, a north breeze, high 81, low 61.  Mostly cloudy Sunday, a SSW breeze, high 82, low 63.  Showers next Monday, a west breeze, high 79, low 60.  Partly cloudy next Tuesday, a WNW breeze, high 82, low 61.  Sunshine next Wednesday, a west breeze, high 85, low 63.  Partly cloudy Thursday the 6th, a WSW breeze, high 85, low 62.  34% chance of showers Friday the 7th, WNW breeze, high 60, low 60.  Partly cloudy Saturday the 8th,  a WNW breeze, high 80, low 60. Clouds and fog Sunday the 9th, a west breeze, high 80, low 60.  Partly cloudy Monday the 10th, a WNW breeze, high 91, low 58.

    Open Farm Day was blessed with beautiful weather, there was a good turnout across Maine.  We had a great turnout here of gracious guests.  Bekah and Jay had lots of displays and activities planned.  Family was all here helping them.  Heather set up a flower bar.   The animals were on their best behavior.  One of the first guests was a handicapped little boy.  His mother let him get out of his chair and go into the pasture with Bekah.  Mabel gently took apple slices from his hand.  She acted like a little boy loudly mooing at her was an everyday occurance.  Bekah said that the boy's reactions and his family's pleasure made her day even if not many other people came.  A half hour later the yard was full of cars.  She was thankful she had lots of help guiding people around.  Lots of guys tried the hay toss.  The winner was the one who made the first toss. He is a regular customer.  Jay out tossed everyone but he didn't win the t-shirt, he was just showing how it's done!

     Saturday morning a pair of robins and a pair of catbirds ate all the ripe berries on the pagoda dogwood.  By the time the kingbirds came in the afternoon there weren't any.  The king birds were here at the crack of dawn this morning.  The dogwood tree is right out the kitchen window.  I think the hummingbirds must feed their babies lots of aphids when they are in the nest,  The fledglings are leaving the nests, the hummingbirds are coming back to the feeders.  There are lots of hummingbirds flitting through the flowers.

    May you day be blessed, Sally

 7/25/26  Lord help me to be slow, slow to anger, slow to judge, slow to walk so that I do not walk past someone who needs kindness.

  Sunshine, 63 degrees.  Sunshine today with a south breeze, a high of 84, low 52.  Partly cloudy tomorrow, a light SSE breeze, high 81, low 52.  Sunshine Monday, a light east breeze, high 82, low 55.  Partly cloudy Tuesday, an east breeze, high 81, low 59.  30% chance of showers Tuesday night and Wednesday. A NNE breeze Wednesday, high 81, low 60.  PM thunderstorms Thursday, a NNE breeze, high 71, lo 60.  Some showers Friday, a north breeze, high 79, low 60.  Partly cloudy next Saturday, a west breeze, high 82, low 63.  35% chance of showers next Sunday and Monday, highs about 80, lows about 60.  SW breeze Sunday, NW breeze Monday.  Partly Cloudy Tuesday the 4th, a WNW breeze, high 82, low 63.  Chance of showers the 5th and 6th, WSW breezes, highs 83, lows 63.  Chance of showers the 7th, a WNW breeze, high 78, low 60.  Partly cloudy Saturday the 8th, a WNW breeze, high 78, low 60.

   Another beautiful day.  The yard is all freshly mowed for Open Farm Day tomorrow. The backyard and around the garden pond aren't mowed.  Bekah lets them get a little long and pastures Mabel and Mathilda on them.  She has several small pastures so they can be moved to a fresh posture every four or five days. The beef cows have the big pastures.

  Washing and refilling hummingbird feeders is first on my to do list this morning.  There are always some weeks midsummer that they seldom come to the feeders.  After the fledglings leave the nest they seem to come back.  Judging by how fast they emptied the window feeder this week they are back.

   Remember, tomorrow is Open Farm Day,  the day that many Maine Farms open their farms to guests.  We will be opening at nine and would love to see you.  May your Day be Blessed, Sallly

 7/24/26  Butterflies rest when it rains because rain damages their wings.  It's ok to rest during life's storms. Fly when they're over.

 It is sunny now and the sun will be with us through Monday, Tuesday will be partly cloudy. Highs in the low eighties until Tuesday with a high of 76.  lows in the mid fifties.  A WSW breeze today, then SE breezes.  Rain Starts Tuesday night, continues Wednesday and Thursday.  Tuesday night's low 61.Wednesday's high 71, low 61 with an east breeze.  Thursday's high 76, low 61 with a NNW breeze.  Partly cloudy next Friday and Saturday, highs 82, lows about 62.  A WNW breeze Friday, a SW breeze Saturday.  40% chance of showers Sunday the 2ed, WSW breeze, high 79, low 62.  Partly cloudy on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th, west breezes, highs  81, lows 61.  Fog Tuesday the 4th.  Partly cloudy Thursday  the 6th and Friday the 7th.  West and WNW breezes, highs 60, lows 62.  31% chance of a shower Thursday.

     Sister Lynne, my nephew and nieces are gathered together in New York today for my sister Donna's Celebration of Life.  Five generations of my family are buried in that village cemetery.  My heart and prayers are with my family as they say goodby..

    The lavender is done.  I'm not sure what is next.  Nothing for a few days as we get ready for Sunday, Open Farm Day.  I made butter again yesterday.  Even though Bekah has been making and selling vanilla and chocolate ice cream. ice cream.  .  Mathilda's milk has lots of cream

    A flock of Eastern kingbirds moved in when the cherries got ripe and cleaned the tree in two days.  They left.  Yesterday they came back and  moved into the blueberry patch. Netting the whole patch doesn't seem practical.  It may be the only way we get blueberries. In a few hours every ripe or nearly blueberry was gone. They have always shown up later in the season when the Pagoda dogwood berries ripened.  We net the few elderberry bushes we have.

    May your day be blessed, Sally

 7/23/26  Good Morning! May your day be filled with happiness, peace, and beautiful moments. 

Some places in Maine saw severe storms yesterday, we got a few rain drops.  Sunshine today, strong ENE breezes, high 74, low 52.  Sunshine this weekend, WSW and south breezes, in the eighties, lows 56. Partly cloudy Monday, a SSW breeze, high 82, low 58.   33% chance of afternoon showers Tuesday, a brisk SSE breeze, high 74, low 60.  Rain Wednesday, a NW breeze, high 74, low 60.  Partly cloudy next Thursday, Friday and Saturday, westerly breezes, highs around 80, lows about 61.  30% chance of shows next Sunday, a west breeze, high 80, low 60.  Partly cloudy the week of the 3rd, west breezes, highs in the low to mid eighties, lows 63.

     Didn't get much house cleaning done yesterday,no school means a houseful of kids.  It also means when I get home from getting a haircut some kids are cleaning the house.

     I took a kombucha making class yesterday.  The Lady that gets some of Bekah's milk to make cheese is bringing me a scoby Friday.  In the old days we called it "the mother". It's a clump of good bacteria to ferment the kombucha properly.  Nutritionists have learned that the old ways of preserving foods by fermenting gives us good bacteria when we eat the food.  No more buying bottles of probiotic tablets. Yesterday's class was part of a series of classes on preserving by fermenting that I'm taking.

     Last night I took the first load of lavender out of the dehydrator and put in the second. The girls like lavender/lemon iced tea. And they make a lavender lotion. The dehydrator will be used a lot until fall when we start the cookrange.  There is a drying rack over the range.  Some things can't wait until fall to be dried.

     I planted some lettuce and broccoli seeds yesterday.  A week or two later than I like  to start fall broccoli.  Not too late according to google.

     Bekah has been cleaning chichen housing this week.   This year's pullets will now be moved into their permanent home.  She has saved some old hay to pile on the pile of chicken manure to keep the smell down.  It would have been nice to get rain on the pile yesterday.  Some people clean their chicken house out weekly.  We put fresh straw on their floor every week.  By winter there will be a warm pack on the cold cement floor.  Gilbert used to clean the chicken house for me because he wanted to compost it and put it in his garden.

    May your day be blessed, Sally

 7/22/26  My to-do list for today:  Pray-Count my Blessing- Practice Kindness-Let go of what I can't control-Be productive yet calm-Just breath-Listen to my heart

 About a half inch rain. Light rain, fog, calm. Showers this morning.  clearing tonight.  Today's high 80 with a stiff south breeze, scattered thunderstorms this afternoon, some may contain gusty winds.  Tonight's low 55.  Partly cloudy tomorrow, a stiff west breeze, high 77, low 53.  Sunshine Friday and Saturday, SW breezes, highs 83, lows 55.  Partly cloudy Sunday and Monday, SSW breezes, highs 82, lows 56 and 59.  Showers Tuesday, a south breeze, high 79, low 61.  Afternoon showers next Wednesday, a SSE breeze, high 76, low 62.  Partly cloudy next Thursday, Friday and Saturday, WSW breezes, highs 80, lows 61. Afternoon showers Sunday the 2ed and Monday the 3rd, west breezes, high 80, lows 60.  Partly cloudy the 4th and 5th, west breezes, highs 82, lows 61.

     It is damp and feels chilly even though it's 67 degrees.  A good day to clean the house.  Also a good day to set up the dehumidifier.   I started the pellet stove,it will dry the house out some why it is running.   The house is damp because we've had enough rain to keep the cellar damp.  At times there is enough water to make the sump pump run. 

    I'm hearing with just one hearing aid.  The alarm going off in my right ear wasn't a low battery warning, it was telling me the hearing aid needed service.  It is at the factory getting refurbished for $300.  Much better than needing new hearing aids.  The audiologist told me that two radiologists retired suddenly because of medical issues.  Mine went out of state for care so leaving no way for patients to get their records.  They got 400 new patients in October and  November and were overwhelmed.

    The vegetables and flowers are doing well.  They are behind other years.  It was a chilly spring. Plus Jay and Bekah were so busy helping customers the gardens had to take a back seat in May.  Many customers lost plants to frost and chilly winds.  Even protected by remay, our cucumbers didn't do as well as usual.  We have enough but we won't be taking any to the food cupboard.

    May your day be blessed, Sally

    

 7/21/26  Home should be an anchor, a port in a storm, a refuge, a happy place in which to dwell, a place where we are loved, a place where we can love others and serve our Lord

Sunshine, calm. 59 degrees.  Partly cloudy today, a south wind, high 77 degrees.  Showers and thunderstorms this evening, rain overnight.  A strong SE breeze, low 64.  Scattered thunderstorms tomorrow, a stiff south breeze, high 81, low 56.  Sunshine Thursday, a west breeze, high 75, low 52.  Sunshine Friday and Saturday, a SW breeze, high about 83, low 56. Partly cloudy Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, SW breezes, highs 80, lows 60.  38% chance of showers next Wednesday, Wednesday night and Thursday morning.  West breezes Wednesday and Thursday, highs 79, lows 60.  Partly cloudy Friday the 31st and Saturday the 1st, NW breezes, highs 80, low 60.  Scattered thunderstorms Sunday the 2ed, a west breeze, high 78, low 61.  Partly cloudy Monday the 3rd, a WNW breeze, high 80, low 60. Perhaps some showers on the 4th, a NW breeze, high 61, low 80.

    Over the years Darel and I opened our home to others who needed a temporary home.  Mostly teenagers. Two were daughters to us.  Patti, Darel's niece, was just a few years older than our oldest, she grew up with our boys in  Alaska and stayed there when we moved here.  She had many health issues, she went to be with our Lord a few years ago.   Regina was our "Maine" daughter.  She and her children lived with us for several years.  Then she moved to Virginia.  She and her husband John raised her children and John's daughter, children I am proud to have call me Grandma. John had major heart surgery in May, so major it was over two days,  He was doing well, and they were deciding where they were going to retire.  He died peacefully in his sleep.  Please pray with us for Gina and the children as they give thanks that John is with our Lord and they plan their life without him.  I just received a shower invitation for Gina's daughter Traylynne's baby.  We are so happy for Traylenne and Justin.  We call this baby a long wished for miracle.  They live in Michigan so I won't be going to the shower,  Nor will I be able to go to Virgina to be with Gina. 

   We are also praying for safe travels for sister Lynne and her daughter Karen as they travel to New York for our sister Donna's Celebration of Life.  Donna died last winter.  I am able to live because I know we will all be together in eternity.

   This week everyone here is getting ready for Sunday.  Sunday is Maine's Open Farm Day.  Farmers across Maine welcome guests to their farms to experience a taste of farm life.  Bekah and Jay have lots of things planned.

   May your day be blessed, Sally

 7/20/26  Always remember some days are better, some days are worse.  Look for the blessing, not the curse.

 

Sunny, calm and 57 degrees.  We got about an inch of rain.   Sunshine today, a stiff WNW breeze, high 79, low tonight 55.  Cloudy tomorrow, a south wind, high 76, low 64.  Rain tomorrow night with a strong SE breeze.  Thunderstorms Wednesday, a stiff south breeze, high 80, low 59. Partly cloudy Thursday, a stiff west breeze, high 74, low 53.  Sunshine Friday, a WSW breeze, high 81, low 56. Partly cloudy Saturday and Sunday, SW breezes, highs about 83, lows about 57.   40% chance of showers next Monday and Tuesday, SW breezes, highs 79 and 75, lows 61.  Cloudy next Wednesday, a NW breeze, high 77, low 60.  Partly cloudy Thursday the 30th through the weekend of the 1st and 2ed, NW breezes, highs in the low eighties, lows in the low sixties,
     Saturday was wet but not a complete washout.  Most of the showers came late in the day.  No rain on the parade, The country Junction float took first.  They got the float home and the straw bales the kids sat on back in the barn still dry.  It was pretty damp for the pig scramble.  Four of the Smith Great grandkids caught a pig.  Late fall pig roasts.  The forecast thunderstorms never materialized so the day ended with a great fireworks display. 
      We tried a new cucumber variety this year.  It started producing cucumbers early, lots of them.  It is crisp, sweet and juicy with a very tender skin.  A skin so tender that the few bugs we have all want to eat it.
      We had 12 old hens left. They laid pretty good this spring but lately we were getting about 12 eggs a week.  They became stewing hens last night.  The rooster is a beautiful silver lace  Araucana, so mellow he was not a stewpot candidate.  Our other rooster is so mellow he is eight years old.  No longer fertile though he thinks he is.

     I have an appointment with an audiologist today.  The audiologist I got my hearing aids from retired. He was the last independent audiologist around.  Last November I called a clinic for an appointment.  Today was the soonest they could get me in.  They couldn't check my hearing aid batteries until I was examined.  I am very glad today is finally here but I'm not going in with a very positive attitude.  Sister Lynne has an MRI on her knee today.   She hasn't had to wait eight months for it but she has waited several weeks.

    May your day be blessed.  Sally