6/5/26  Leisure is a beautiful garment, but it will not do for constant wear.

Thin clouds. 63 degrees.  Partly cloudy this morning, occasional showers this afternoon. A NE breeze, high 82. Showers early, cloudy overnight, low 54.  Showers tomorrow, a brisk SE breeze, high 66, low 54.  Rain Sunday, a NW wind, high 64, low 48. Sunshine Monday, a  strong north breeze, high 77, low 50.  Sunshine Tuesday, a NW breeze, high 86, low 56 .Partly cloudy Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, WSW breezes, highs near or at 90. lows about 60. Partly cloudy next weekend, brisk  SW breezes, highs 86 Saturday, 80 Sunday.  Lows about 60. Cloudy Monday the 15th a stiff SW breeze, high 82, low 61.  Occasional showers the next three days, highs in the upper seventies, lows about 57.
   Yesterday I went for feed.  The feed store had ducklings for sale,  Bekah has been wanting ducks.  I called her, she said please so I came home with three Khaki Campbell ducklings. The kids were thrilled.  Now I am sitting by ducklings under a heat lamp.
    Then I went to Dover to have breakfast with my sister.  We went to the grocery store.  They had ice cream on sale, I didn't call Bekah, I just bought some.
A friend has been looking everywhere for pumpkin seeds. Most places, including us, are sold out. Many people had to replant because frost killed their first planting. I checked Bob's Hardware.They had pumpkin seeds.  Lots of other seeds too. I bought some pumpkin seeds for Tony, some pole bean seeds for us.  Bekah had so many pole bean seeds left the last few years she didn't get any this year.  This year several people have asked for them, next year she'll have some.
     Our eggs are five dollars a dozen for hen house run, unwashed eggs.   Hen house run from us means that there are different size eggs in a dozen.  The smallest in a dozen weigh in as a large, many are extra larger, some are jumbo. When Adyan was in kindergarden he got home earlier than the other kids so he helped me box eggs. He loved putting them on the scale. He'd tell people Great Grandma has a lot of obese eggs. Eggs are laid with what is called a bloom on them.  The bloom is a protective covering that keeps them fresh.  If an egg has to be washed we keep it for ourselves.  We know we'll be eating it quickly.  I did some pencil pushing last night.  We'll have about 16 dollars in each of this year's chicks when they start laying.  It takes a couple of months of laying for them to size up to the large eggs.

   May your day be blessed, Sally

 6/4/26 The kiss of the sun for pardon, the song of the birds for mirth, One is nearer God's heart in the garden, than anywhere else on earth.

Sunshine, 51 degrees.  Some afternoon clouds, a stiff WSW breeze, high 89.  Some clouds tonight, low 58. Partly cloudy early Friday, afternoon clouds, late day showers .A NE breeze with a high of 81.   Overcast Friday night, low 56.  Occasional rain Saturday afternoon, showers Saturday night. A SE breeze with a high of 69, a low of 56. Showers Sunday with a strong north breeze, high 64, low 49.  Mostly sunny Monday and Tuesday .  a brisk NE breeze Monday, high 76, low 50.  A NW breeze Tuesday, high 86, low 56.  Partly cloudy Wednesday through Wednesday the 17th.  A west breeze Wednesday, high 89, low 59.  A NW breeze Thursday and Friday, highs about 86, lows 61 and 57.  A north breeze Saturday the 13th, high 79, low 52.  A NW breeze Sunday, the 14th, high 76, low 56.  Highs in the mid to upper seventies the 15th, 16th and 17th, lows about 58, Showers Thursday the 18th.

    We only have a few tomato plants left.Not a lot of pepper but a nice selection.  For flowers we have annuals , many perennials and shrubs.  We're sold out of pear trees but there is a good selection of other fruit trees.

     The soaker hoses are running steady.  Yesterday it was the potatoes turn. Tuesday was the onions.  They are filling each planting hole with water before they plant the plant.  Today the garden pond needs water, The steady breezes are evaporating the water.  I water around the house early, before the sun has a chance to warm up the hoses.  Running a hot  hose until the water is cool enough is necessary but wastes too much water.  I had an employee kill several cucumber plants because she didn't wait for the water to cool. 

     May your day be blessed, Sally

 6/3/26  Christians who only read the Bible once a week wonder why their faith feels dry.   No one only drinks water once a week.

 Sunshine today, high 82, low 52. A WSW breeze. Clear tonight, low 52.  Sunshine tomorrow, a brisk west breeze, high 89, low 57. Mostly cloudy Friday, a NW breeze, high 84, low 57.  Cloudy with light rain Saturday afternoon.  Rain Saturday night.  A SW breeze, high 76, low 55.  Light rain Sunday morning, a strong NE breeze, high 63, low 47. Partly cloudy Monday, a NE breeze, high 74, low 49.  Partly cloudy Tuesday the 9th through Wednesday the 17th, westerly breezes. Highs in the eighties, lows in the mid to upper fifties Tuesday through next Saturday.  Highs in the upper seventies, lows about 56  the week of the 14th.. 

    Amy Higgins, No Amy Bishop,(she and Mike are grandparents and I'm still calling her Amy Higgins!) took me to a Republican event last night. An interesting evening.  The best part of the evening was visiting with Amy's mom.  Mary lives three miles from me and I seldom see her. I usually have breakfast with my sister once a week.  Other friends often join us.  No visiting otherwise.  Mary and I agree we need to change that.  

   But not this week.  It is warm enough to plant.  Bekah and Jay had two young brothers helping in the greenhouse gardens yesterday and got so much done.  They are coming back Friday.  They can help me too.  Annabelle is coming Thursday night to help me.

  Today is make butter day but I still plan to plant a few things why I wait for the cream to warm up. I already fed the orioles and hummingbirds.  I cut grass and dig dandelions for the hens every day so I need to do that before I plant.

   May your day be blessed, Sally

 6/2/26  Resting is not a waste of time.

We had a low of 43, no more thirties in the forecast. Some clouds today, high of 73 with a stiff NW breeze.  Tonight's low 44. Partly cloudy tomorrow, high 83, low 52.  A NW breeze.  Partly cloudy Thursday, a stiff west breeze, high 89, low 58.  Cloudy Friday, a NW breeze, high 85, low 57.  Showers Saturday, Saturday night, perhaps into Sunday morning, A west breeze Saturday, high 74, low 52.  A brisk NE breeze Sunday, high 65, low 46.   Partly cloudy Monday through the 16th,  Highs in the eighties next Tuesday through Thursday, then highs in the seventies.  Lows in the fifties.  

   Mabel is unhappy when she can't see the beef herd so yesterday she went looking for them.  She took a mile long hike through the woods to find them.  They were just on the other side of the tree line.  Bekah was in town, Maegin and Jay had a long walk.  A neighbor sent a text, she was in his yard. Only one customer came why they were looking for her..  A regular who wanted more roma tomato plants.  No luck, there are only a few tomato plants left, no paste tomatoes.  Some time Mabel will have a friend. Not just any cow but  another Guernsey that has the same A2 protein composition that makes Mabel's milk so easy to digest.   Not only a hard to find cow but very expensive.  Bekah's milk refrigerator is in the garage.  She has been doing the milk dishes in the kitchen.   She is working on getting the milk house set back up.

   When they weren't chasing Mabel they were working on the gardens.  They took time to rearrange the display area.  There have been so many customers it was all mixed up.  Now everything is easy to find.  And is to water in the dry days ahead.  Not much is left in the greenhouses.

   May your day be blessed, Sally

  

6/1/26   We can think about God's promises to us or we can dwell on our problems--our choice  

A few clouds, 38 degrees.  Sun and clouds today, a north breeze, high 67. Some clouds tonight, low 44.  Cloudy tomorrow, a brisk NW breeze, high 73, low 46.  Partly cloudy Wednesday and Thursday, SW breezes.  Wednesday's high 80, low 51. Thursday's high 88, low 57.  Cloudy Friday,a WNW breeze, high 83, low 56. Some showers possible Friday night.  Showers Saturday, Saturday night, perhaps Sunday morning. A NW breeze, Saturday, high 72, low 50. Some sun Sunday afternoon. a NE breeze, high 69, low 50. Partly cloudy next Monday, an east breeze, high 76, low 51. Partly cloudy next Tuesday and Wednesday, brisk SW breezes, highs in the low eighties, lows 57.  Mostly cloudy next Thursday, a brisk WNW breeze, high 81, low 56.  Partly cloudy Friday the 12th, and the weekend, brisk NW breezes, highs ablot 76, lows 56.  Partly cloudy Monday the 15th, a west breeze, high 77, low 54. Perhaps an evening shower.

    One more chilly day, summer starts Wednesday.  Meanwhile we're putting pellets in the pellet stove, and wood in the cook range.  On June 1st!  I'll start planting tomorrow.  tomatoes Wednesday.  I'll be filling each planting hole with water and setting out soaker hoses. Jay will water each row as soon as he plants it.  He puts a soaker hose on each rw.  And we mulch anything that isn't planted in black plastic.  There was a steady stream of customers all weekend.  Everyone wants to be ready to plant Wednesday. 

    I had a pemphigoid relapse this weekend so I didn't get much done.  So I'm still on Saturday's to do list! I know some other people who have this same immune disease, they have not had periods of remission I've been blessed with so I try not to be frustrated when I lose a few days. I was able to go to church yesterday and water plants. I took care of the birds and hens. We are feeding the orioles grape jelly.  Sometimes a half orange.  We've decided it  is worth putting treats out just to watch them. Sometimes the catbirds sneak in for some jelly.

   May your day be blessed, Sally

 5/30/26  Make yourself a priority once in a while. It's not selfish, it's necessary.

It's cloudy, an ENE breeze, 39 degrees.  Cloudy today, a high of 57, a strong NE breeze.  Partly cloudy after midnight, a low of 39.  Clouds, some PM showers tomorrow. a north breeze, high 65, low 51.  Partly cloudy Monday, a NE breeze, high 65, low 43.  Showers Tuesday, a NW breeze, high 65, low 44.  Partly cloudy Wednesday, a NW breeze, high 73, low 48,  Sunny Thursday, a NW breeze, high 84, low 56. Partly cloudy Friday and next Saturday, Brisk WNW breezes. Friday's high 92, low 57.  Saturday's high 77, low 32. Cloudy next Sunday, a brisk NW breeze, high 76. low 52. Partly cloudy the week of June 8th, brisk NW breezes, highs in the upper seventies, lows about 56.  The updated forecast for June is warmer and drier than average.

   The forecasters are having trouble with their summer forecasts this year,  We'll get what we get.  

    A lot of yard work got done yesterday.  Margin and Heather finished renovating the flower bed by the basket ball hoop.  They planted and mulched the red, white and blue garden around the flagpole. We hadn't found anyway to get more mulch.  The local lumber mill isn't making it any more.  None of the big garden centers deliver.  So I went to the place they get their mulch.  I could only get a yard in my truck but it will make a differance in how the flower beds around the house look.  Jay has already done most of the spiffing up around the greenhouse.

    So much bamboo was finding its way to the light that I had the young man who helps in the greenhouse now and then put down cardboard over everything but the kitchen garden.  There was enough hay from where we banked the house to put over the cardboard. He bought his brother to help. They picked up the tires we plant pumpkins and put them back down after they finished.  Bekah started pumpkin seeds, we'll put the plants in the tires  Wednesday when it warms up. Usually we just plant seeds in the tires but we suspected the bamboo would need a major burial job.  Heather has been bringing cardboard home from work to add to what we've been collecting.  The extension service says to cover the bamboo patch with a heavy tarp for five years.

   No one will get too hot working outside today.  I hope we can check as much off the list again.  May your day be blessed, Sally

5/29/26 May was supposed to be Nature’s Way of Saying, “Let’s party”   Not let''s shiver!

Some sun, 40 degrees.  Mostly cloudy today, slight chance of a shower.  A strong ENE breeze, high 60.  Rain early tonight, an ENE breeze, low of 40.

Cloudy tomorrow, a light NE wind, high 57, low 39. PM showers Sunday, a NE breeze, high 65, low 43.  Mostly cloudy Monday, a north breeze, high 65, low 45. Rain Tuesday, a north breeze, high 61, low 44.  Partly cloudy Wednesday through the weekend of the 6th and 7th. A north breeze Wednesday, high 70, low 48. A brisk NW breeze Thursday, high 81, low 56. A stiff SW breeze Friday, high 82, low 60. Brisk NW breezes on the weekend, highs 75, lows 52.  Fog Monday the 8th, a NW breeze, high 76, low 54.  Partly cloudy the next three days, brisk WNW breezes, highs 78, lows 56.

     We are debating whether to take measures against frost. Jay and Bekah have been stressing about being behind planting the garden.  As we watch other vegetable growers putting out hundreds of feet of remay.  The strawberry growers have their spray irrigation set up. Having so many customers has been wonderful and not being able to plant is perhaps a double blessing.   We may see some patches of frost in the orchard but not around the buildings.  And I really don't expect any frost up here on this hill.

     I have an early doctor's appointment in Sangerville.  May your day be blessed, Sally