1/17/25  Nelson Mandela, 'If they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love.' Love everyone, including yourself.     Clear, calm. 8 degrees.  Sunshine today with a light west breeze, a high of 29.  Clouding up tonight after midnight with a light WSW breeze, a low of 13.  Clouds tomorrow with a light south wind, a high of 40.  Rain tomorrow evening with a west breeze, a low of 29.  Mostly cloudy Sunday with a stiff NW breeze, a high of 33.  3-5 inches of snow Sunday night with a stiff North breeze, a low of 11.  Snow showers Monday morning with a strong NW breeze, a high of 14.  Monday night's low, -4 under clear skis with a west breeze.  Sunshine Tuesday and Wednesday with brisk WNW breezes, highs about 14, lows about -5.  Partly cloudy Thursday with a WSW breeze, a high of 19, a low of 6.  Partly cloudy Friday with a west breeze, a high of 25, a low of 6.  Partly cloudy next Saturday with a west breeze, a high of 29, a low of 13.  Partly cloudy the week of the 26th with brisk WNW breezes.  Highs in the mid twenties, Sunday through Wednesday, lower twenties Thursday and Friday.  lows  from 15 to 8, mostly around 10.

      We  were concerned that Mabel miscarried last week.  She did.  We think the bull bred her back today.  As we discussed it we realized that we've all been concerned about her calving in May , the busiest time in the greenhouse.  All have been praying about it.  Jolene isn't due until June.  Even so her due date was so close to Mabel's they considered selling her.  No one offered a decent price.  Now Jolene will calve in June and Mabel will calve in November.  Not the solution any of us  prayed for but perfect timing.  June is so much better than May for Bekah's first experience milking. Just before she miscarried  Mabel was spotted up in the hay trailer hay is fed from.  There was no reason for her to be up there, plenty of feed was available from the ground. How did she ever get up there and how did she get down?  Did that have anything to do with the miscarriage?  Or was it just one of those things?

     The kids are getting on the bus in the daylight now.  There is enough change in length of the day to change the time the hens lay their eggs.  Another order for flower seeds went in yesterday.

      There are large tracks out behind the greenhouse, much larger than the cat tracks.  Our cat Sylvia, had a close call with something.  She is healing, but still spends a lot of time sleeping by the fire,  She is missing a lot of fur.  Yesterday the large tracks led to the birds' heated water.  It was nearly empty.  I'll have to make sure I take out water every day.  A fox?  Probably not a lone coyote though the tracks seem large enough.

      May your day be blessed, Sally

 1/16/25  Today is a good day to have a good day.

Some clouds, calm, 16 degrees.  Some sun this morning, clouds this afternoon, a light west breeze with a high of 24.  Clouds tonight with a low of 8.  Sunshine Friday with a light north breeze, a high of 29, a low of 13.  PM light rain Saturday with a south breeze, a high of 40, a low of 28. Rain/snow at night.  Partly cloudy Sunday with a stiff NW breeze, a high of 31, a low of 12.  Morning clouds/afternoon sun Monday with a stiff NW breeze, a high of 16, a low of -2.  Sunshine Tuesday with a brisk WNW breeze, a high of 13, a low of -3.  Sunshine Wednesday with a brisk WNW breeze, a high of 13, a low of 0.  Partly cloudy Thursday with a brisk WSW breeze, a high of 20, a low of 6.   Cloudy next Friday with a WSW breeze, a high of 26, a low of 11.  Partly cloudy Saturday with a stiff west breeze, a high of 29, a low of 13.  Partly cloudy next Sunday with a stiff west breeze, a high of 29, a low of 11.  Partly cloudy the week of the 27th with highs in the mid twenties, brisk WNW breezes, lows 14 to 10.

     The furnace for the new greenhouse arrived late yesterday.  No date for installation yet.  The first tray of seeds was planted and put under the lights yesterday.  I think it is 64 days until spring?  That is when they plan to start putting plants in the new greenhouse.  There is always some cold weather right around the spring equinox, the furnace will be needed.

     I repotted some peppermint plants yesterday.  Bekah showed me a new color yarrow that she is getting., a vibrant rose color.  Yarrow and peppermint should make a pretty flower garden that is also supposed to repel skunks.

     Bekah ordered onion sets yesterday.  Not as many as previous years.  The sweet Spanish onions we grow to sell on the stand are so well liked that many want to grow their own.  So they have switched to buying onion plants from us.  We've had sets left over the last couple of years. The variety we grow keeps for a while.  We just ran out and they were still good.  Usually we have some in the freezer for when we run out.  But no one paid close enough attention last summer and we sold out before any went in the freezer.

    We got an email yesterday that we have to order printed pots for the branded plants that Bekah ordered  Proven winners, First Editions, Endless Summer among others. She had to order well over a hundred special pots.  The plants are coming bareroot, the pots will come with them.  If they are as good she chooses generic plants.  Often desired plants have no cheaper cousins.

   May your day be blessed, Sally

1/15/25  Failuure is not falling or making a mistake.  Failure is stopping, it is not trying again, it is not moving forward.

Cloudy, calm, 17 degrees.  Partly cloudy today with a strong NW breeze, a high of 23.  Clear tonight with a low of 10.  Partly cloudy tomorrow with a light west breeze, a high of 23, a low of 8.  Partly cloudy Friday with a light WNW breeze, a high of 29, a low of 12.  PM showers Saturday with light rain overnight. a SSW wind.  the high 41, the low 31.  Partly cloudy Sunday with a brisk NW breeze, a high of 34, a low of 11.  Morning clouds/afternoon sun Monday with a stiff NW breeze, a high of 15, a low of -2.  Sunshine Tuesday with a stiff WNW breeze, a high of 9, a low of -3.  Partly cloudy next Wednesday with a stiff WSW breeze, a high of 16, a low of 4. A west breeze next Thursday and Friday with highs of 22, lows of 5. Partly cloudy Saturday the 25th with a brisk WNW breeze, a high of 23, a low of 13.  Cloudy Sunday the 26th with a stiff west breeze, a high of 28, a low of 13.  Lots of clouds the week of the 27th with brisk NW breezes, highs about 26,  lows 12 to 15.

    Yesterday was a success because lots of boxes left the house.  Some went to new homes, a couple went to Gilbert's wood boiler, some to storage and some to Goodwill .Not only do we have our own stuff to go through but because we are a large family people tend to bring boxes of "stuff" here thinking we can find a home for it.  Sometimes we do, often it goes to Goodwill, sometimes to the dumpster.  January is already half gone, spring work will be starting.  Jay is going to bring in a bale of soil to thaw today.  Next week we start planting.   The propane furnace for the new greenhouse will be delivered this morning.

    Maegin washed the outside of the kitchen window.  Today I'm going to do the inside.  We have a couple of jars of plants we slipped that I'll pot up.  I need to make room on the window sill for some jars of peppermint and fuschia slips.

    May God bless you on this day, Sally

     

 1/14/25

When you interrupt, you’ve stopped listening. People need to be heard.

Cloudy, calm,23 degrees.  Cloudy today with a WNW breeze, a high of 31.  Cloudy tonight with a NW breeze, a low of 19.  Partly cloudy tomorrow with a strong NW breeze, a high of 24, a low of 10.  Sunshine Thursday with a light NNW breeze, a high of 22, a low of 4.  Sunshine Friday with a light west breeze, a high of 26, a low of 16.  PM rain/snow showers Saturday with a strong SSW breeze, a high of 39, a low of 24.  Snow showers Saturday night.  Partly cloudy Sunday with a NW breeze, a high of 39, a low of 24.  Partly cloudy Monday with a brisk NNW breeze, a high of 15, a low of -2.  Partly cloudy next Tuesday with a stiff NNW breeze, a high of 10, a low of -1.  Partly cloudy next Wednesday with a NNW breeze, a high of 15, a low of 1. Partly cloudy next Thursday and Friday with west breezes, highs of 24, lows of 8.  Partly cloudy the weekend of the 25th and 26rh and Monday the 27th with brisk west breezes, highs in the mid twenties, lows of 13.  AM snow showers Tuesday the 28th with a brisk NW breeze, a high of 25, a low of 25.

    Last year there was some seedling damp off on the shelves in the laundry.  Sunday the girls scrubbed them, yesterday they painted them with a special paint called Kilz.  They had planned to put a fan in there but probably won't with the air purifier running.  It was unplugged overnight, in the morning there was a slight skunk smell.  So we won't try to save on electricity by unplugging it some of the time.

    The new desk is directly under the lights, the rest of the furniture is arranged to accommodate it.  Seeds that need warm temperatures are germinated there.  The new pellet stove does a good job of maintaining a steady warm temperature.  None of the floors in this old house are level, we need to put shims under one side of the desk so the seedlings are watered evenly.  Herbs, violas and pansies are started first.  If you're growing artichokes in the north country they need to be started now.  If you are willing to wait four years for asparagus you can start the seeds now.  We prefer starting  asparagus with roots. Bekah always has some for sale in the spring.   One of the things on the to do list for this spring is a new asparagus bed.

    May your day be blessed, Sally

    

1 /13/25  Many rush after pleasure so fast they rush right past it.

  Cloudy this morning with light snow, some clearing possible this afternoon.  a light WNW breeze, a high of 31.  Late night snow showers tonight with a low of 20.  Clouds tomorrow with a WNW breeze, a high of 31, a low off 19.  Partly cloudy Wednesday with a light NW wind, a high of 223, a low of 8.  Mostly cloudy Thursday with a light NW breeze, a high of 21, a low of 6. Partly cloudy Friday with a west breeze, a high of 27, a low of 14.  PM rain/snow showers Saturday with a stiff SSW breeze, a high of 38, a low of 25.  Partly cloudy Sunday with a brisk NW breeze, a high of 30, a low of 10.  Partly cloudy next Monday through Saturday the 25th with stiff NW breezes, highs in the teens lows in the single numbers to 0. Mostly cloudy Sunday the 26th and Monday the 27th with brisk NW breezes, highs of 23, lows of 10.

    A busy but pleasant Sunday. The roads weren't too good going to church.  On the way home traffic had cleared my lane.  Until I got to Charlson church, then the other lane was cleaned off.  So many people worship at Charleston church they had cleaned off the lanes leading to church.

    Bekah and Jay order most of their inventory from two nurseries, Bailey's and Prides Corner.  Prides Corner published their new catalog this month.  Bekah and Heather spent most of yesterday afternoon working on the Prides Corner order.  Bailey's order is bareroot and comes the third week in April.  The fruit trees and many shrubs are in it.   Prides Corner comes the first week in May, it has beautiful shrubs and perennials in it that are potted, ready to plant and enjoy.

     Pastor Cindy was in Maine for the baptism of  Pastor Spencer and Sarah Shaw's son.  We met at Governor's on Broadway in Bangor for an early supper.  A nice meal and a very thoughtful waiter.  It was early enough so there were lots of empty tables, we felt ok with taking a long time with our meal.  It was beginning to fill up as we were leaving.

     When I got home I boxed eggs, only one dozen was left in the egg refrigerator.  It seems to get emptied out on Sundays as people stop on their way home from their church.  Even though Bekah takes warm water out to the hens and I give them scratch three or four times a day the cold negatively affects production and egg size.  They have a full feeder of grain and a deep layer of straw for bedding with no drafts.  But just like in the house, cold settles in.  The guys watched the playoff game, Heather cleaned the kitchen and Bekah set up her computer.

    May the Lord be with you today, Sally

 1/12/25“Where there is devotional music, God with his grace is always present.”

—Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)

  Calm, 16 degrees, a few clouds.  Partly cloudy today with a NW breeze, a high of 32.  Cloudy after midnight with a low of 17.  Morning clouds/afternoon sun tomorrow with a high of 30, a low of 20.  Cloudy Tuesday with a NNW breeze, a high of 32, a low of 18.  Partly cloudy Wednesday with a strong NW breeze, a high of 24, a low of 6.  Sunshine Thursday with a light WNW breeze, a high of 22, a low of 4.  Sunshine Friday with a light WNW breeze, a high of 26, a low of 11.  PM snow showers Saturday with a strong SSW breeze, a high of 36,a low of 27.  Partly cloudy next Sunday with a stiff WNW breeze, a high of 32, a low of 12. Partly cloudy with stiff NW breezes from Tuesday the 21st through Saturday the 25 with highs in the teens to 20, lows in the single numbers.  Partly cloudy Sunday the 26, still the stiff NW breeze but a few degrees warmer.

     Jay left yesterday morning to help a carpenter friend set rafters on a house he is building.  He was only gone a few minutes when he called to say there was some furniture on the side of the road with a free sign on it.  Bekah and I went to check it out.  There was a desk made of real wood exactly the size of the table we use for a germination table in the front room.  It is now in the front room with Bekah's computer on it.  For six weeks Bekah's computer will share the table with my sewing machine.  the rest of the year that will be her computer desk.  It looks nicer than the table did and has four drawers for storage.

    We got about a strong inch of snow yesterday.  Just enough to make the roads greasy.  Roller skating was canceled.  The town truck just went by sanding.   Roads should be good by church time.  Clouds have already moved in but no snow is in the forecast.

     May God be with you on this day, Sally

     

     

 1/11/25  Think of your mind as a garden, your thoughts as the seeds.  The harvest can be flowers or weeds.

 Cloudy, calm, 21 degrees.  1-3 inches of snow this afternoon and evening with a north breeze, a high of 26.  Clouds tonight with a north breeze, a low of 22.  Partly cloudy tomorrow with a NW breeze, a high of 32, a low of 16.  Morning clouds/afternoon sun on Monday with a gentle WNW breeze, a high of 29, a low of 18.  Cloudy Tuesday with a NW breeze, a high of 33, a low of 18.  Partly cloudy Wednesday with a stiff NW breeze, a high of 25, a low of 9.  Partly cloudy Thursday with a WNW breeze, a high of 22, a low of 6.  Partly cloudy Friday with a west breeze, a high of 29, a low of 18.  Cloudy next Saturday with a brisk WSW breeze, a high of 37, a low of 23. Cloudy next Sunday with a WNW breeze, a high of 30, a low of 10.  Partly cloudy next Monday with  a NW breeze, a high of 21, a low of 9.  An inch of snow Monday night.  An inch of snow Tuesday with a strong WNW breeze, a high of 16., a low of 6.   Partly cloudy Wednesday the 22ed and Thursday the 23rd with a stiff WNW breeze, highs of 16, lows of 4.  Partly cloudy Friday the 24th and Saturday the 25th with stiff NW breezes, highs about 21, lows about 6.

   Sunshine and warmer temperatures with little wind made yesterday seem like spring.  We/re hoping the forecast is wrong and we will get a little more snow to insulate us from the cold coming back next week.

    Bekah and granddaughter Heather French are both on gluten free diets.  Heather and Maeigin have learned to cook gluten free food that tastes great.  They both love to cook.  Heather is always the one asked to bring the cake when we celebrate birthdays.  Yesterday's conversation was about offering ready to eat meals and baked goods at the vegetable stand this summer.  Many foods would be gluten free.

     Speaking of food, Maegin bought  some dried parsley at the Natural Living Center yesterday.  I have always grown enough celery, parsley and some other herbs to dry on the drying rack over  the cook range for our winter use.  That was among the things that didn't get done last summer.  I plan to be well enough to do that again this summer.  If I'm not, the girls will.  We all have so many plans for this summer!  Are there enough hours?

     Today I'm thankful we live in Maine as I pray for those in the other parts of the country.  May your day be blessed, Sally