4/28/26  *Nobody talks about what gardening actually does to you. You start wanting to go outside. You start knowing what month it is by what's blooming. You start caring about the rain. There are worse things to become addicted to.

    Sunshine, 37 degrees.  Sunshine today. a brisk SE breeze, high 66.  Clouding up tonight, low 40.  Cloudy tomorrow morning, afternoon showers, overnight rain. A SE breeze, high 51, low 41.  Rain Thursday and Thursday night. A stiff east breeze, high 47, low 42.  Some showers Friday morning, a strong NW breeze, high 55. low 36. Mostly cloudy Saturday and Sunday, WNW breezes, highs 54, lows 35.  Partly cloudy Monday and next Tuesday, Brisk SW breezes, highs about 60, lows 40 and 46.  PM showers next Wednesday, a SW breeze, high 62, low 46.  Showers next Thursday and Friday, brisk NW breezes, highs 60 and 55, lows about 42. Partly cloudy Mother's Day weekend, WNW breezes, highs about 60, lows 40. Perhaps a morning shower on Mother's Day.  Cloudy  the 11th and 12th, WNW breezes, highs 61, lows 43.

    A busy day yesterday for everyone.  Today will be the same. Farmers, Country Junction crew and I are trying to get as much done as possible before the rain.  Hopefully we will get as much rain as forecast.  If we do, fields and gardens will be too wet to work for a few days.  The rains will provide moisture to germinate any seeds planted.  Fertilizer will soak into the rootzone of flower gardens and hayfields.

   Bekah started our cucumbers yesterday.  The cool forecast says it is too soon to start any for customers.  Our plants are planted in black plastic.  A remay tunnel is built over them so the plants are protected and warm..  They decided the battery charger they were charging the tractor battery with wasn't working.  They put a different charger on, Bekah thinks it charged the battery.  Jay is going after the seed potatoes this morning.  He's hoping to hook up the new tiller and till when he gets back.

   May your day be blessed, Sally.

 4/27/26  Resilience isn’t just built in soil and systems. It’s grown in how we listen, speak, and care for one another and the world around us.

Sunshine, 40 degrees.  A high of 70 today, mostly sunny, a light NE breeze.  Clear tonight, low 37.  Sunshine tomorrow, a high of 66, a brisk SE breeze,  low 40.  Cloudy Wednesday, a brisk SE breeze, high 53,  Rain Wednesday night, low 41.  Rain Thursday and Friday, highs about 50, lows about 40.  A strong east breeze Thursday, a strong north breeze Friday,  Morning showers Saturday, some afternoon sun.  A west breeze, high 52, low 38.  Showers Sunday, a NW breeze, high 50, low 37. Partly cloudy next Monday, a brisk west breeze, high 57, low 42. Although the  greenhouse is open now,  next Monday is the first day of Open Greenhouse Week. Partly cloudy early next Tuesday, PM showers. A west breeze, high 60, low 44.  Showers next Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, brisk NW breeze, highs about 57, lows 44, 42, and 40.  Partly cloudy Mother's Day weekend, the 9th and 10th. NW breezes, highs 55, lows 41.  Partly cloudy Monday the 11th, a brisk NW breeze, high 56, low 42.

   All of the fruit trees and shrubs are potted up.  We are always so pleased with  the quality of the Bailey order.  The ginkgo biloba trees are packed in damp straw..  An order of several boxes is coming today via UPS.  I keep checking our email hoping there will be one saying the seed potatoes are ready to be picked up.

   Butter and cottage cheese today.  Even though our pleasant weather is limited, butter and cottage cheese need to be made when we have the milk and cream.

   We still have so many birds.  Last fall we noticed that many of the seeds of sunflowers and other flowers didn't have meat in them. The acorns were small and empty.  We believe it was because of the drought.  I'm thankful I can buy enough sunflower seeds to keep filling the feeders because I think nature's food supply also suffered from the drought.

   May your day be blessed, Sally.  

 4/25/26  Today is a good day to have a good day!

Sunshine, 36 degrees.   Sun and clouds today, a light north breeze, high 58.  Partly cloudy tonight, low 36.  Mostly cloudy tomorrow a light NEN breeze, high 65, low 39.  Partly cloudy Monday, aneast breeze, high 68, low 37.  Sunshine Tuesday, a SE breeze, high 68, low 40.  Showers Wednesday through Monday the 4h.  Partly cloudy Tuesday the 5th, showers the next three days.  Even though we have surface water we are still in a moderate drought.  We are all tired of the rain but our wells need it.  The forecast for the first half of May is 5 to 10 degrees below average.   I don't see any need for that, I guess it comes with the lack of sun.  NE breezes Wednesday and Thursday, highs 53, lows 44.  Brisk north breezes next weekend and Monday the 4th, highs about 50, lows 40.  Brisk north ly breezes continue through the week, highs 55-58, lows 42.
   We have heard nothing about the 150 ginkgo biloba trees.  Jay has started selling them.  There is no way they can add caring for 150 trees to their to do list.  Caring for the fruit trees and shrubs our customers want  is more important.  It is a very interesting tree, very hardy and known for its beautiful fall foliage.
    I have an 8 by 8 slightly raised bed of strawberries.  Last fall I prepared two more beds for strawberries.  It is too soon to set out strawberries, our plants don't even come until the first week in May.  I'm going to set out onions in the strawberry beds,  Onions and strawberries do nicely together. The strawberry runners act as a mulch for the onions.  The onions give off an odor that repels many of the insects that harm strawberries. Onions can interfere with nitrogen-fixing bacteria in legumes, which may reduce growth for both plants so don't plant them near your beans or peas.  They are a good companion plant for most other vegetables.

    We have three days of nice weather, enjoy!  May your day be blessed, Sally

 4/24/26  From fog-covered valleys to lush, forested waterways, nature is a blessing and a sanctuary where we can escape the chaos of the world. 

 Clouds, 34 degrees. Cloudy today with a strong north breeze, high 45. Partly cloudy tonight, low 31. Partly cloudy tomorrow, a north breeze, high 57, low 36. Partly cloudy Sunday, a light NE breeze, high 64, low 40. Mostly cloudy Mosday, an ESE breeze, high 69, low 40. Partly cloudy Tuesday, a SE breeze, high 68, low 38. Partly cloudy Wednesday with PM showers, a brisk SE breeze, high 58, low 42. Rain Thursday, a SE breeze, high 52, low 42. Partly cloudy next Friday, a NE breeze, high 54, low 40. Showers Friday evening, overnight, and the weekend. Saturday's high 50, low 39, a NE breeze. Sunday's high 52, low 40, a brisk NW breeze. Mostly cloudy Monday the 4th, a stiff NW breeze, high 56, low 41. Showers Tuesday the 5th through Friday the 8th with brisk north breezes. Highs Tuesday and Wednesday 58, lows 42. Highs Thursday and Friday 54, lows 41,

   The Loop is late because instead of copying it I deleted it!  I'm re writing it.

    The Bailey order came yesterday.  Lots of fruit trees but no Wolf Rivers.  But we got 150 Ginkgo Biloba!  They grow in our zone but we didn't order them.  We've never even thought about ordering some! We'll be getting a call today, some nursery is looking for them.  All the trees and shrubs look great.  Some of the fruit trees have already been sold.  Customers bought them bareroot.  Everyone but me will be very busy the next few days potting them up.

   I got the new butter churn.   Tomorrow I'll make butter.  I went by the church pansies twice Wednesday and forgot to uncover them.   I uncovered them yesterday.  They look great.  Thanks to the protection of the remay they enjoyed a gentle rain.  No snowflakes touched them!  And it didn't drop to 22 degrees under the remay.

   May your day be blessed, Sally

 4/23/26  Lord please teach me to hold my words carefully, to listen more deeply, and to choose peace even when I feel provoked. 

Dense fog, 37 degrees.   Rain this morning, clouds this afternoon.  A high of 48, a strong NW breeze.  Late night partial clearing, low of 34.

Cloudy tomorrow, a north breeze, high 45, low 33.  Partly cloudy Saturday, a north breeze, high 58, low 35.  Partly cloudy Sunday, a NE breeze, high 64, low 39. Mostly cloudy Monday. an east breeze, high 65, low 38.  Partly cloudy Tuesday, an east breeze, high 64, low 41.  Showers Wednesday through the weekend and next Monday , ESE breezes through Saturday.  Brisk north breezes Sunday and Monday.  Highs in the mid fifties, lows 40-42.  Mostly cloudy Tuesday the 5th, a brisk NW breeze, high 57, low 47. Partly cloudy Wednesday the 6th, overnight showers, showers Thursday the 7th.Highs 56, lows 41.

   A good doctor's appointment is when I leave standing straight.  The nurse took lots of blood, in a few days I'll know how the rest of me is doing.  After my appointment I had some time to kill before it was time to pick up Annabelle.  I stopped at an antique store/ thrift shop.  it was much larger than it looked.  The merchandise was old and very old.  Lots of nice items.  Lots of things I'd like to have but didn't need.  Except, there was this gem dandy butter churn.  Not as old as the one we have.  Our jar is very heavy, very thick glass.  The mold the glass was poured in to make the jar made lots of dairy themed decorations part of the glass.Even though the lid of our jar has a large chip out of  the rim, the jar is worth more than the whole churn at the shop.  The motor still works on our very old jar.  We had to replace the cord.  The cord looks like new on the one at the shop.  I'm going back this morning to buy the one with the plain, easier to wash, lighter jar. Still an old motor but not as old as ours.  We'll use it and have the security of knowing we have the very beautiful, old churn for a back up.  

    I was asked what the  "Three Sisters" is.  It is a circular growing method the Indians taught the Pilgrims.    Corn in the center with pole beans planted around it.  Squash is planted around the corn and beans.  The beans climb on the corn.  Nodules on the bean roots make nitrogen for the corn.  The rough prickly leaves of the squash deter raccoons who would eat the corn.  I plant colored corn, the stalks are stronger for the beans to climb on.  Scarlet runner beans are pretty, the hummingbirds love them and they are good to eat.  Sometimes I use tastier high producing pole beans.  Tuxedo sweet corn has strong stalks.

   May your day be blessed, Sally

 4/22/26  What other people think of me is none of my business. If they are talking about me, they are leaving some other person alone. Bruce Young

Some rain showers today. a strong south breeze, high 47.  Occasional rain overnight, low 36.  Rain tomorrow, a stiff NWN breeze, high 48, low 34.  Mostly cloudy Friday, a light north wind, high 47, low 33. Partly cloudy Saturday, a north breeze, high 58, low 36.  Mostly cloudy Sunday, a NE breeze, high 64, low 39. Partly cloudy Monday, an east breeze, high 64, low 40.  Mostly cloudy Tuesday, a brisk ESE breeze, high 62, low 41.  Showers next Wednesday through Sunday the 3rd, NE breezes, highs in the mid fifties, low in the lower forties.  Some sun possible Sunday and Thursday.  Mostly cloudy  Monday the 4th, a brisk NW breeze, high 56, low 42.  Partly cloudy the 5th and 6th, brisk north breezes, highs 63, lows 44.
    Last year I bought some plain black pots and saucers at a yard sale. They are large, 30 galleon size.  From a grow house?  The Chinese have several in Maine, some have been shut down.  I often buy groceries online, heavy and bulky things I don't want to handle.  I have saved the heavy cardboard boxes the groceries come in. Yesterday I broke the boxes down and laid them in a place hard to mow in the backyard and sat the pots up on  the cardboard.  I am planting a crate of red norland potatoes in them.. Starting out with about ten inches of raised bed mix.  I'll cover the potatoes gently so I don't break off any sprouts.  As they grow I'll add more soil, like I was hilling them in the garden.  I've never tried this before.  The goal is early new potatoes for us, not the stand. The black pots will warm up nicely now but will they get too warm later in the season?
    It seems so cold out but the pond lilies in the garden pond are starting to break out of the water.  Just on time for the frogs to sit on them.  Some of the pollywogs have become tiny frogs already.  Last year the racoons got a lot of frogs.  Jay made the garden pond a little larger and deeper. Hopefully that will make getting dinner harder for the coons.  They got all the frogs out of the kitchen garden pond.  A couple of bull frogs lived in that pond, I missed hearing them last summer.  This year I'm planting squash and pumpkins around the perminator.  Coons don't like walking through the scratchy, rough vines.  I'm hoping that will protect the pond.  Squash vines protect the corn from coons when it is part of the Three Sisters.
   A doctor's appointment today. I'm supposed to rest my back after she works on it so I'm taking Annabelle for a haircut. Always a pleasant time.  May your day be blessed, Sally

 4/21/26 “Agriculture is our wisest pursuit because it will in the end contribute most to real wealth, good morals, and happiness.” - Thomas Jefferson.

 19 degrees earlier this morning, 30 degrees with bright sun now.  Sunshine this morning, clouds this afternoon.   Today's high 45, tonight's low 28.   A light 

WSW breeze today.  Partly cloudy tomorrow morning, some PM showers. High 47, low 36 with a stiff south breeze.  Showers Thursday, a stiff NW breeze, high 49, low 33. Mostly cloudy Friday, strong NEW breeze, high 53, low 34.  Partly cloudy this weekend.  A north breeze Saturday, high 56, low 36.  A light NEN breeze Sunday, high 60, low 39.  Mostly cloudy Monday, a NE breeze, high 61, low 39. Showers next Tuesday through next Saturday. NE breezes, highs about 55, lows about 42. Sun and showers Sunday the 3rd, a strong NW breeze, high 57, low 40.  Sun and clouds the 4th and 5th, brisk north breezes, highs 57, lows 40.

   I'm starting a fermentation class today.  Where I grew up there were a lot of Quakers.  They served seven sweets and seven sours at Sabbath meals.   Daily meals had a sweet  and a sour.  I was never too much about the sour.  But now I keep reading how good fermented food is for us.  There is even some evidence that the good bacteria in fermented foods will help flush microplastics out of our bodies.

   Bird books say April is one of the most important months to feed the birds.  They have eaten the seeds nature provided all winter and not many are left.  Looking out the window at the many different birds at our feeders I do believe nature's pantry must be near empty.

   I usually go to my sister's for breakfast on Tuesday mornings.  Not this morning.  We've both been so busy we haven't spent much time in our yards.  Today we want to skip the leisurely breakfast and go outside.  My goal is to have a yard as beautiful as Lynne's.  Mine will be different, I mix herbs in with my flowers.  I plant with birds and pollinators in mind and I have a pond with moving water to attract the birds.  Some of the sunflower feeders get replaced with hummingbird feeders.  I have water lilies and cattails in my ponds for dragonflies to lay their eggs on..  Blackeyed susans are a dragonfly favorite.

   May your day be blessed, Sally