11/4/26  Good Morning.  Today is an especially good day to be thoughtful and kind.

    Dense fog, calm, 49 degrees.  Cloudy today, showers and rain tonight. A SW breeze, high 70, low 45.  Showers tomorrow afternoon, a brisk WNW breeze, high 66, low 48.  Cloudy Friday, a light NW breeze, high 66, low 51.  Rain Saturday, a brisk NE breeze, high 55, low 44.  Partly cloudy Sunday through next Sunday, the 15th.  Brisk NW breezes Sunday and Monday, highs 49, lows 38 and 34.  A stiff west breeze Tuesday, high 53, low 33.  A strong WNW breeze next Wednesday, a high of 46, a low of 29.  Brisk, sometimes strong NW breezes next Thursday through Tuesday the 17th.  Highs about 43 next Thursday and Friday, lows about 26.  Highs 46 next weekend, lows 29.  Mostly cloudy Monday the 16 th and Tuesday the 17th, highs about 50, lows about 30.

    I made a dill bed against the back of the garage.  The dill grew fine.  But I planted it too late for it to reseed.  Today we are going to cut and dry the dill.  And add dill seed to the seed order to plant in the spring. 

     Dill belongs in the vegetable garden.  Dill attracts Beneficial Insects: Its umbrella-shaped yellow flowers (umbels) provide nectar and pollen for predatory insects like ladybugs, lacewings, hoverflies, and parasitic wasps. Their larvae feed on soft-bodied pests like aphids and spider mites. The blooms draw in honeybees, native bees, and butterflies, helping improve pollination across neighboring vegetable crops. Dill is a primary host plant for Black Swallowtail butterfly caterpillars (parsley worms), providing the necessary foliage for them to feed and grow.  Its strong scent helps naturally repel or confuse garden pests like cabbage loopers, cabbageworms, and spider mites.  Dill can lure pests like aphids or tomato hornworms away from your main vegetable harvests.   It grows quickly, handles cool weather well, and readily drops seeds to return the following season.  We are establishing a bed of dill behind the garage because we use a lot of dill.  So do our customers!  Too many times we have wanted some dill and it has all been sold!   Avoid planting dill near other members of the same botanical family such as caraway, cilantro, parsley, or celery, as they risk cross-pollination.

    May your day be blessed, Sally

11 /3/26 May we think of freedom, not as the right to do as we please, but as the opportunity

to do what is right.  Peter Marshall

 Clouds, calm, 51 degrees.  Showers today, a light ENE breeze, high 56, low 48.  Partly cloudy tomorrow, a SW breeze, high 70, low 46.  Cloudy Thursday, a brisk SSW breeze, high 68, low 55.  Cloudy Friday, a light SSW breeze, high 66, low 48.  Rain Saturday, a brisk NE breeze, high 52, low 43.  Showers Sunday, a brisk NW breeze, high 49, low 36.  Partly cloudy Monday through Monday the 16th with brisk NW breezes. Highs Monday and next Tuesday 50, lows 33.  Highs in the mid forties the rest of the week, lows 28.  Highs next weekend and Monday the 16th 49, lows 28 to 30. 

    Please pray for our country and give thanks for our Blessings.  Then PLEASE VOTE!

    We are what we eat.  Those words apply to our minds as well as our bodies. I choose what I read, watch and listen to as carefully, or with even more care than what I eat.  

    We put by as much food as we can for winter.  We do this not only for our pockbooks but because our food is better quality.   Experts tell us the nutritional value of our food has decreased in this century.  We care for our soil, food can only be as good as the soil it is grown.  If we don't have a food , we buy local food as much as possible. Not only do we know the grower but the less distance between the farm and table the more nutrition the food retains.  And I prefer to buy frozen food than fresh food that has been trucked across the country.

    We don't grow any of our own grain.  The girls are considering buying a grain mill and buying whole grain from a local farmer that grows his grains organically.

    May your day be blessed, Sally

Use what you have.

Mend what you can.
Grow some of your own food.
Make meals from scratch.
Keep your home welcoming.
Save something for a rainy day. And don't confuse having more
with living better.

11/2/26     They asked her: "How did you persuade your child to read instead

of playing with smart devices?!" She said: "Children don't hear us, they imitate us"

 Cloudy, 41 degrees, a SSE breeze.  A chance of a morning shower.  Cloudy today, light rain tonight.  A WSW breeze, high 60, low 49.  Occasional showers  tomorrow and tomorrow night, light variable breezes, mostly from the east.  High 56, low 48.  Cloudy Wednesday morning, some afternoon sun.  A SW breeze, high 69, low 46.  Cloudy Thursday, brisk SSW breeze, high 67, low 56.  Showers Friday, SSW breeze, high 65, low 49.  Rain Saturday, a brisk NE breeze, high 53, low 44.  Showers Sunday, a brisk NNW breeze, high 53, low 37.  PM showers next Monday, brisk WNW breeze, high 50, low 34. Partly cloudy next Tuesday through Next Friday, stiff NW breezes, highs in the upper forties, lows around 30.  Partly cloudy the weekend of the 14th and 15th, brisk NW breezes, highs about 52, lows 30 and 35.

   Today's forecast has already changed twice.  I changed the first word from clear to cloudy.  Now, as the sun rises I see clear skies.  Shower at 6AM??  I guess today's forecast is "Look out the window."  The east breeze has already dropped the inside temperature 2 degrees.

   It's time to set up for wreath making.  The girls have a lot of orders.  If you want a Country Junction wreath you need to get your order in.  The wreaths are mixed greens, mostly pine, hemlock and fir.   Double sided and very full.  12 inch are thirty dollars or two for fifty.  Four foot wreaths are eighty dollars.  Our Christmas trees are all marked.  They will be cut Thanksgiving week.  Christmas sales start the day after Thanksgiving.

    Kayden did my brake job yesterday.  I should have had him set the clock in the truck.  I still have two clocks in the house to set back!

    May your day be blessed, Sally

    

11 /3/26 May we think of freedom, not as the right to do as we please, but as the opportunity

to do what is right.  Peter Marshall

 Clouds, calm, 51 degrees.  Showers today, a light ENE breeze, high 56, low 48.  Partly cloudy tomorrow, a SW breeze, high 70, low 46.  Cloudy Thursday, a brisk SSW breeze, high 68, low 55.  Cloudy Friday, a light SSW breeze, high 66, low 48.  Rain Saturday, a brisk NE breeze, high 52, low 43.  Showers Sunday, a brisk NW breeze, high 49, low 36.  Partly cloudy Monday through Monday the 16th with brisk NW breezes. Highs Monday and next Tuesday 50, lows 33.  Highs in the mid forties the rest of the week, lows 28.  Highs next weekend and Monday the 16th 49, lows 28 to 30. 

    Please pray for our country and give thanks for our Blessings.  Then PLEASE VOTE!

    We are what we eat.  Those words apply to our minds as well as our bodies. I choose what I read, watch and listen to as carefully, or with even more care than what I eat.  

    We put by as much food as we can for winter.  We do this not only for our pockbooks but because our food is better quality.   Experts tell us the nutritional value of our food has decreased in this century.  We care for our soil, food can only be as good as the soil it is grown.  If we don't have a food , we buy local food as much as possible. Not only do we know the grower but the less distance between the farm and table the more nutrition the food retains.  And I prefer to buy frozen food than fresh food that has been trucked across the country.

    We don't grow any of our own grain.  The girls are considering buying a grain mill and buying whole grain from a local farmer that grows his grains organically.

    May your day be blessed, Sally

Use what you have.

Mend what you can.
Grow some of your own food.
Make meals from scratch.
Keep your home welcoming.
Save something for a rainy day. And don't confuse having more
with living better.

 10/31/26  May we never be so busy raising our children that we forget to enjoy them.

It's clear, calm, 33 degrees.   Sunshine today, a strong NW breeze, high 47, low 29.  Clocks fall back an hour tonight.  Sunshine tomorrow, a brisk WSW breeze, high 57, low 39. Partly cloudy Monday, a west breeze, high 64, low 45. Possible showers Tuesday, Election Day.  Please Vote!  A light ENE breeze, high 55, low 45.  Cloudy Wednesday, a south breeze, high 56, low 47.  Cloudy Thursday, a WSW breeze, high 66, low 57.  Showers Friday, a NNW breeze, high 56, low 41.  Possible showers next Saturday and Sunday, Brisk NNE breezes, highs about 51, lows 36. Partly cloudy Monday the 9th, a NNW breeze, high 51, low 33.  Possible showers Tuesday the 10th and Wednesday the 11th, brisk NW breezes, highs 49, lows 32.   Partly cloudy the next three days, brisk NW breezes, highs about 49, lows 30, 31, and 28.

   There is a place in Bangor that serves a free breakfast to the homeless.  Bekah and Maegin have volunteered to help provide it on Saturdays.  Bekah milked and they left about twenty to seven.

    There are some flower seeds you can plant this week for next year.  Black eyed susans, anise hyssop (a favorite of mine), coreopsis, calendulas, love in a mist (nigeria), snap dragons, columbine. cone flowers, liatris and sweet alyssum.  There are others, Rural Sprout has a list of thirty.  Seeds can be sown in the garden.  Heather sows hers in cut open milk jugs.  Rural sprout has articles on both ways.  Just oogle "Rural Sprout.com".

     May your day be blessed, Sally

 10/30/26  Today is a good day to have a good day.

 I spent the morning shutting my computer off and turning it on in hopes it would fix its problem.  I think it has but I've an early doctor's appointment so a short forecast.  Partly cloudy today, a strong WNW breeze, high 62, low 36.  Mostly sunny tomorrow, a stiff NW breeze, high 48, low 29.  Sunshine Sunday, a brisk WSW breeze, high 57, low 38.  Warmer temperatures next week, then it turns colder.

     A caliper on my truck is sticking.  Kaden checked it, it needs a partial brake job.  He'll do it this weekend.  I'm  thankful it was caught before I needed the brakes and didn't have any.  Sally Jo is taking me to my appointment and we'll pick up calipers and pads.

   May your day be blessed, Sally

 10/29/26  Every day gives you two choices: find something to complain about, or find something to be thankful for.

 It's clear, calm, 34 degrees,  Sunshine today, a SSW breeze, high 66, low 49.  Partly cloudy tomorrow, a strong WNW breeze, high 61, low 34.  Sunshine Saturday and Sunday.  A strong NW breeze Saturday, high 46, low 27.  Saturday night we set our clocks back an hour.  A strong NW breeze Saturday, high 46, low 27.  A brisk WNW breeze Sunday, high 55, low 37. Partly cloudy Monday and Tuesday, highs about 62, lows about 42.  A brisk west breeze Monday, a NE breeze Tuesday.  Cloudy Wednesday, a SSW breeze, high 59, low 41.  Partly cloudy next Thursday, a south breeze, high 62, low 45.  Showers next Friday, a stiff ESE breeze, high 58, low 42.  Some showers next Saturday, a brisk NNE breeze, high 53, low 34.  Partly cloudy Sunday the 8th, a brisk NWN breeze, high 50, low 31.  Partly cloudy Monday the 8th and Tuesday the 9th with NNW breezes, high about  49, low about 28. Some rain and ice Wednesday the 11th, a NW breeze, high 47, low 30. 
     A very special day yesterday.  Neighbors who had moved to Vermont came to visit. Doug had visited them there but the rest of us hadn't seen them in several years.  Doug, Sally Jo and Matthew joined us for lunch.  Lynne had made a casserole.  Maegin sent them on their way with warm sweet rolls.
     We have about a week to get the gardens ready for winter.  I hope to get my raised beds ready for spring planting by Saturday evening.  Weeds and grass pulled, cardboard laid down and a later of manure and used potting soil.  I'm going to Lynne's for breakfast this morning and I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning .
     We bought a package of mite strips to put in the beehive.  The hive needs to be wrapped against winter cold this week.  We had to buy a package of twenty so we have some extra if  you're like us and only have one hive.
     May your day be blessed, Sally