9/23/26  There are three things that last forever, faith, love and home.  The greatest of them is love.Sunshine, calm, a low of 43.  High 65, low tonight 38.  A NNE breeze as a pattern begins to set up for a nor'easter this weekend and Monday.  sunshine tomorrow, high 72.  Starting tomorrow the night time lows will rise to about 50.  Partly cloudy Friday, a strong NNE breeze, high 72, low 53.  Showers after midnight.  The weekend storm will be stronger on the coast.  A slight wobble in the track can change how much rain we will get.  Once the storm moves on Monday night the forecast is about the same as yesterday's.

    It will be a beautiful fall day, a good day to have a good day.  I'm glad because the 'to do' list is long.  It is "make butter" day.  There is a load for the Community Cupboard.  When I take it I have to go to Corinth and pick up prescriptions.  And a bag of cranberries, not for eating, for the simmer pot.   A fall fragrance.

   First thing, I'm going out to see if the blossoms on the peegee hydrangea are still good enough to save.  I like to have a bowl of dried blossoms on the front room desk until Christmas.  A pretty way to hang onto summer.   There are house plants sitting everywhere. and a few outside under remay.  The ones inside need a pruning and some of that good Coast of Maine potting soil.  Some need totally fresh soil.

    May your day be blessed, Sally

 9/22/26  A falling leaf is summer waving goodby.

41, calm and clear.  Mostly sunny today, a NNE breeze, high 65, low 41.  Sunshine tomorrow, a NNE breeze, high 67, low 39.  Sunshine Thursday, a NNE breeze, high 72, low 48.  Partly cloudy Friday, a strong NNE breeze, high 72, low 53.  Showers Saturday, Sunday and Monday, NNE winds, highs about 63, lows about 50. Partly cloudy next Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, brisk west breezes, highs 67 and 70, lows 50.  Possible showers Friday the 2ed, a stiff WNW breeze, high 67, low 48.  Partly cloudy the weekend of the 3rd and 4th, brisk ENE breezes, highs 66, lows 47.  Possible showers Monday the 5th, brisk WNW breezes, high 65, low 45.

    Breakfast at my sister's this morning followed by a doctor's appointment.  I'm putting 15 white painting pumpkins in my sister's car.  They are also pie pumpkins but her Sunday school class will be painting them.  October is a month of gratitude, celebrating the harvest.  Sunday they'll talk about the magic of planting a seed and reaping the harvest God has provided for us.

    Eggs anyone? the summer people have left, suddenly not only are we not running out of eggs but I'm giving eggs to the grandchildren! Hamburger sales are down too.  We've gained a few new milk customers and production drops a little when the cows switch from grass to hay  but still the hens are getting some milk.  Did you know Guernsey and Jersey milk has about 12% more protein than standard commercial milk?

    May your day be blessed.  Sally

    

 9/21/26  In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." (Matt 5:16)

A group of hummingbirds is not  called a flock, it is called a swarm.  Swarms of hummingbirds are now being reported in middle and southern states as they head to southern Mexico, central America and Northern South America  for the winter.

   Sunshine, calm, 46 degrees.  Mostly sunny today, a brisk NNW breeze, high 65, low 41.  Partly cloudy tomorrow, a brisk NNE breeze, high 65, low 40. Sunshine Wednesday and Thursday, NNE breezes.  Wednesday's high 66, low 38.  Thursday's high 70, low 46.  Cloudy Friday, a stiff NNE breeze, high 70, low 51.  Showers this weekend and next Monday with strong NNE breezes, highs about 63, lows about 49.  Partly cloudy next Tuesday, a NNE breeze, high 65, low 49.  More clouds next Wednesday, a NNW breeze, high 68, low 49.  Some showers Thursday the 1st, a WNW breeze, high 66, low 47.  Partly cloudy Friday the 2ed through the weekend and Monday the 5th with brisk WNW breezes, highs about 65 lows about 44.

   Not cutting back your black eyed susans and coneflowers or pulling your zinnas this fall isn't procrastination, it's a bird feeder you don't have to buy. Hollow stems are winter homes for pollinators. The chickadees have lived in the woods all summer.  On Friday they started coming to the sunflower seed feeders in the kitchen garden.

    Lights come on in the chicken house at four am now.  For optimal egg production, chickens should get 14-16 hours of light each day and 8-10 hours of darkness.   This helps to boost the hormones required for egg laying, while allowing them a quiet, dark space to sleep at night.  Electricity is so expensive the lights are coming on about 3 weeks later than other years.

    This weekend the cows were put in their winter pasture.  After they ate every mouthful of grass they decided that hay in the feeders was ok to eat.  The pastures need time to grow  five or more inches of grass to  winter over in good condition.  Cooler temperatures mean the grass grows slower now than it did a month ago.  A diet of hay instead of grass means the butter will be a paler yellow.

    The woodshed part of the garage is almost full of wood.  Maybe one more load will fit?  The garage is being rearranged to make room for a load of pellets.  Peak leaf color is forecast for October 4th but this first week of fall we are changing our ways in preparation for winter

    May your day be blessed, Sally.

     

9/19/26  Gratitude doesn't erase the hard days. It  helps the heart notice that  in the middle of life's challenges, beauty still remains.

Clear, calm, 44 degrees.  Sunshine today, a NNW breeze, high 65, low 40.  Afternoon showers tomorrow, a stiff south breeze, high 60, low 46.  Partly cloudy Monday and Tuesday, highs about 65, lows about 39.  The north breezes will be stiff Monday, less on Tuesday.  Sunshine Wednesday, a NNE breeze, high 67, low 38.  Partly cloudy Thursday, a NNE breeze, high 70, low 46.  More clouds Friday, a stiff NNE breeze, high 72, low 49.  Showers next Saturday, a strong NNE breeze, high 67, low 50.  Cloudy next Sunday, a stiff NNE breeze, high 66, low 50.  Possible showers next Monday, a north breeze, high  88, low 40.  Cloudy Tuesday the 29th and Wednesday the 30th, NNW breezes, highs 67, lows 49.  Possible showers on October 1st, a brisk NNW breeze, high 66, low 47.  Partly cloudy Friday the 2ed and Saturday, the 3rd, brisk NW breezes, highs 65, lows 45.

    In theory the dishwasher and washing machine get washed every three or four weeks.  The dishwasher filter gets washed more often.  Just put a tablet in and run them, making sure the washing machine is on hot.  Life has been busy and suddenly it was several weeks.  Instead of just a tablet and quick wipe washing was a job.  I did the washing machine twice.  Lesson learned, I wrote the date for washing them next time in my planner.

    Do you have hollyhocks?  They are plants that you clean up in the fall.  Cleaning up the foliage  and raking up the leaves on the ground controls hollyhock rust. We don't do well with hollyhocks because our horse chestnut tree carries the rust.   Cleaning up shasta daisy foliage helps control leaf spot.  If you notice the center of the daisy is woody and bare, fall is a good time to transplant the daisies, making a couple of new plants from the old one.

    May your day be blessed, Sally

 9/18/26  If people opened their Bibles as often as they open they mouths this world would be a much better place.

Some clouds, calm, 59 degrees.  Partly cloudy today, a NW wind, high 72, tonight a low 43.   Sunshine tomorrow, a NNW breeze, high 65, low 39.  Cloudy Sunday, a stiff south breeze, high 62, low 46.  Partly cloudy Monday and Tuesday.  High about 64, lows about 39.  A brisk NNW breeze Monday, a NNE breeze Tuesday.  Sunshine Wednesday, a NE breeze, high 66, low 38.  Partly cloudy Thursday, a NNE breeze, high 7, low 47. Cloudy next Friday, a brisk NNE breeze, high 63, low 47.  Partly cloudy next Saturday through Friday October 2ed.  Brisk north and NW breezes through to the 2ed.  Highs in the mid sixties, low in the mid forties.

    I'm never happy to see the end of summer.  There are always things I have wanted to do.  Now I'm running out of time!  Hopefully the frost holds off for a while.  I'm weeding around plants that produce seed heads for the birds like coneflowers, astors, blackeyed susans.  Also around the bee balm, any plants that have hollow stems.  Their hollow stems offer nesting and overwintering shelter for native bees and beneficial insects. If the black eyed susans or coneflowers have any leaves that don't look normal I bag the foliage. I also clean any leaf trash on the ground. to get rid of disease.  I put the bags in the dumpster, composting them may not provide enough heat to kill any spores. I won't cut the flower stalks back until spring when we are having days with temperatures over fifty.  Bees and pollinators leave their winter home in the stems when daytime temperatures climb over fifty.

  Now I'm going to clean the cook range and put stove black on it.  Today is the day we switch back to wood.  All summer we've kept the windows shut to hold in the cool air the heat pump water heater pumps out.  Today the big window in the kitchen gets washed and the screens go on it so we can open the windows on warm fall days.  We are thinking positively!

   May your day be blessed, Sally

 9/17/26  Bumper sticker   Dirty hands=clean money

The morning low was 53, it is 56 and sunny now, the morning fog has burned off.  Clouding up today, possible showers late afternoon. a SSW breeze, high 73, tonight's low 58.  Partly cloudy tomorrow, a NW wind, high 73, low 43. Sunshine Saturday, a NNW breeze, high 65, low 42.  Cloudy Sunday, a SSW breeze, high 62, low 45.  Monday startts a ten day stretch of pleasant days, highs in the mid to upper sixties, lots of brisk breezes, mostly NW.  Monday's low will be 40, 38 Tuesday and Wednesday., 42 on Thursday,  The rest of the lows will be in the mid to upper forties.  

  This week's drought is moderate drought for this area.  Even though we've had some nice rains.  Today I'm going to make sure the plants we planted this summer get a good soaking.  Next week I'll soak them again because the dry ground around the soaked area wicks the moisture away.  We are having chilly nights because there isn't moisture to hold the heat,

  Cows are going to come off pasture early because without moisture the grass will grow back slowly.  There needs to be 4 or 5 inches of grass for winter insulation and good spring growth.

    May your day be blessed, Sally

 9/16/26  Let’s choose joy today. Let’s spread acts of kindness.  🤍

Low of 50, some clouds, sunshine this afternoon.  a SSW breeze, high of 76, low of 56.   Cloudy tomorrow, a light ESE breeze, high 72, low 58.  Partly cloudy Saturday, a NW wind, high 73, low 43.  Showers Sunday, a SSW breeze, high 62, low 44. Partly cloudy Tuesday through the 30th.  A NNW breeze  Monday high 63, low 37.  A north breeze Tuesday, high 62, low 37.  A NNE breeze next Wednesday, high 66, low 42.  A SSW breeze next Thursday, high 67, low 47.  Brisk NW breezes Friday the 25 through the 30th.  Highs about 68, lows about 48.

   My climbing rose is reblooming, it is covered with gorgeous red blossoms.  I did some deadheading the first round, this time I'll let all the blooms go to rosehips.  Come mid winter after freezing softens them birds will eat them.  Goldfinches peck them open for the seeds.  The formation of rose hips signal the rose bush that it is time to prepare for winter.  I'll take away the old straw mulch and put down new.  Through cleaning around the rose bush helps eliminate any fungus or mold spores that might be on the mulch.

    Bible study this morning, not sure what this afternoon will bring.  We need to find homes for all the things we've been sitting on th cookstove this summer.  It is time to make room in the garage for a ton of pellets.

    May your day be blessed, Sally