10/2/25We sing  the old hymn: "Let there be Peace on earth", lets let it begin with us, in our homes and places of work.

Clear, calm, 37 degrees.  Sunshine today, a gentle NNW breeze, high 62.  Clear tonight, low 38.  Sunshine  tomorrow, a SW breeze, high 71, low 49. Partly cloudy Saturday, a NW breeze, high 75, low 47.  Sunshine Sunday, a SSW breeze, high 77, low 53. Partly cloudy Monday and Tuesday, SW breezes, highs 83.  Lows 51 and 58.  Rain Wednesday, a strong WSW breeze, high 65, low 41.  Partly cloudy Thursday, a stiff NNW breeze, high 58, low 33.  Sunshine next Friday, a WNW breeze, high 60, low 37. Partly cloudy next weekend and Monday the 11th, NW breezes, highs 64, lows 40. Partly cloudy the week of the 13th, possible showers Tuesday and Wednesday.  Brisk NW breezes, highs in the low to mid sixties, lows about 40.

    The snowpack in Siberia and Northern Canada is larger than it has been in several years and it is getting larger every day. There will be lots of cold, moist air for north breezes to bring us this winter.  Frost has been spotty here, low spots in the gardens and field.  No frost by the house. Next Thursday may be a different story.

  Ezekial got so much done yesterday.  He got the raised beds weeded and covered with a layer of chicken manure.  I'm going to mow the lawn around them,  blowing the grass clippings onto the beds.  Jay has put aside enough soil to cover the clippings with a thin layer.  Enough soil to plant a cover crop of winter rye.  

The worms will have a warm place to spend the winter and plenty to eat.  I will have good soil to plant in come spring.  Just planting the rye cover crops improves the soil.  The year we got rye seed that didn't germinate made us strong believers in cover crops.  Jay spent the spring moaning about how poor the soil was compared to other years when a good crop of rye grew in the fall.  We've had enough rain this fall to germinate the rye he has planted.  He's pleased with the covering of green. He and Maegin spent yesterday getting another large part of the garden ready to plant rye seed.  It was cooler yesterday, so it wasn't so hot in the greenhouse.  Bekah spent   the day getting it cleaned, ready to wash  and then spray with hydrogen peroxide.  Two greenhouses to do now!

    One of the Traditional  Skills classes I am taking is on building "hugelkultur" beds.  Using machinery people have turned arid land into verdant gardens using the hugelkultur method. Others have made unused parts of their land into productive raised beds. Yesterday Ezekial pruned the winterberry bushes, cleaning out the last of the damage from last winter's storm.  The brush became the base. Along with some prunings from the rose bush.  If we didn't burn every bit of wood that had any size to it that could have gone in the base too.  He emptied several hanging baskets, the boxes that were lined up along the barn filled with flowers and some other containers on top of the brush.  On top of that went a tractor bucket of chicken manure.  Over the next week I will add more to the pile, it is already 3 feet high.  I will top the pile with some used soil and plant a cover crop.  Next spring I plan to plant blue hubbard squash in the top.  I'm looking forward to seeing how it works out.

    It is time to collect the eggs, may your day be blessed. Sally