4/6/26  The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Be it be planting a garden or cleaning a house.

Light rain, 50 degrees.  Cloudy this morning, rain this afternoon and evening into the night.  A SSE wind, high 60, low tonight 43.  Mostly cloudy tomorrow, a brisk WNW breeze, high 58, low 37.  Partly cloudy Friday, a stiff NW breeze, high 56, low 35.  Mostly cloudy Saturday, a stiff SSW breeze, high 58, low 43.  Mostly cloudy Sunday, a strong SSW breeze, high 63, low 46.  Rain Sunday night and Monday.An ENE breeze Monday, high 54, low 42.  Partly cloudy Tuesday and next Wednesday,  A stiff NW breeze Tuesday, high 59, low 37. A SW breeze next Wednesday, high 57, low 42.  Showers Wednesday night into Thursday morning.  Some sun Thursday afternoon.  A west breeze Thursday, high 62, low 41.  Mostly cloudy next Friday, a SW breeze, high 63, low 44.
Showers Friday night.  Perhaps a shower Saturday morning, some afternoon sun. a stiff west breeze, high 62, low 43. Mostly cloudy Sunday the 17th, a WNW breeze, high 63, low 45. Showers Sunday night and Monday the 18th, a stiff WNW breeze, high 63, low 45. Partly cloudy Tuesday the 19th, a WNW breeze, high 63, low 45.  Showers Wednesday the 20th.
   I think I saw a hummingbird this morning.  I had made food, 1 cup of sugar dissolved in 4 cups of boiling water, but I hadn't put the feeders out.  They are out now.  
   We have walla walla onions,  plenty to plant and plenty to sell.  Walla Walla onions are a sweet, mild, and juicy onion, known for their low sulfur content, making them ideal for eating raw in salads, sandwiches, and salsas, as well as for cooking methods like grilling, roasting, and sautéing. They are a "true" sweet onion, with a high sugar content and high water content.  I used to grow both Walla Walla and Alisha Craig.  The last few years we've just grown Alisha Craig because they bulb up a little quicker and we think they store better.  We are just using up the last of ours.  this year we'll store some Walla Walla in the refrigerator vegetable drawer.  We have redwing onion, an excellent storage onion.  We  have redwing plants to sell and we're planting some.  We'll store redwings for late winter and spring.  Both varieties will be for sale on the stand.

   Jay cleaned the chimney and stove pipe yesterday,  Bekah cleaned under the oven and I scrubbed the outside and put stoveblack on the top.  Now I have to order new firebricks for the firebox.

    May your day be blessed, Sally

 4/5/36  You cannot change yesterday or begin tomorrow until it is here. So the only thing is to make today as sweet as can be.

Sunshine, 45 degrees.  Partly cloudy today, a SSW wind this afternoon and evening.  Rain tonight,  High 75, tonight's low 45 with a light SSW wind.  Afternoon and overnight rain tomorrow. A strong SE breeze, high 59, low 44. Partly cloudy Thursday and Friday.  Brisk NW breezes.  Thursday's high 61, low 40.  Friday's high 58, low 37. Mostly cloudy Saturday, a stiff SSW breeze, high 57, low 44. Morning showers Sunday, Mother's Day, rain Sunday night,  A strong south breeze, high 63, low 46.  Showers Monday, a NW breeze, high 57, low 42.  Morning showers, some afternoon sun next Tuesday, a brisk NW breeze, high 60, low 40. Partly cloudy next Wednesday, a brisk SW breeze, high 60, low 44.  Showers next Thursday and Friday, brisk west breezes, highs about 60, lows 43. Partly cloudy the weekend of the 16th and 17th and Monday the 18th.  Brisk NW breezes, highs in the low sixties, lows about 45.  Mostly cloudy Tuesday the 19th, a NW breeze, high 64, low 44.
       Baltimore orioles and hummingbirds are in New York and Rhode Island.  Heather and Mike gave me sunflower seeds for my birthday.  Now I can afford to refill the feeders whenever they run out. even if it's a couple times a day..  I just  filled them.  I know the finches will leave as soon as the dandelions go to seed.  I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say there are a hundred of them.  As soon as there are bugs the titmice and nuthatches will leave.  Kaden got rid of my Christmas trees so the cat can't hide under them.  She runs away so fast when the door opens I can't get her with the water pistol.  She got dropped off here and hasn't learned that the kitchen is not a good place for cats.

      There was a steady stream of customers yesterday.  All the customers assured Bekah and Jay that they understood that the plants couldn't just be put out, that they had to be introduced to these cold windy days a little at a time.  Some of the flowers have been hardened off, the ones that are outside can stay outside.  I'm going  to start putting my flowers out, wrapped in remay.  I'm putting out my hummingbird feeders today but I want real flowers for them as soon as possible.  Friday night's 37 is cold but at least we don't have snow in the forecast like some places do.

    This morning, before the wind starts, I'm going to finish mulching the flower garden off the back deck with newspapers and straw.  Then I'm going to put an old piece of clear plastic over the straw to warm the soil up.  It is on the north side of the house, the last place the snow melts.

   May your day be blessed, Sally

 4/4/26  Just because the calendar says spring doesn’t mean the season has settled — patience now prevents losses later.

This is Open Greenhouse Week.  Total rain the last few days, three and a half inches.  Sunshine this morning, rain this afternoon, cloudy this evening, partly cloudy overnight.  Last night's low 37, today's high 59, tonight's low 42.  A strong WSW breeze today.  Partly cloudy tomorrow, a brisk SWS breeze, high 74, low 52.  Afternoon rain Wednesday, a stiff SE breeze. high 55, low 46.Morning showers Thursday, afternoon sun, a NW breeze, high 61, low 42.  Partly cloudy Friday and Saturday, highs 56, lows 38 and 42.  A Stiff NW breeze Friday, a brisk SW breeze Saturday. Cloudy Mother's Day and next Monday, possible showers, a brisk SW breeze. High 60, low 41.  Cloudy next Tuesday, a NW breeze, high 58, low 43.  Partly cloudy next Wednesday, a brisk NW breeze, high 57, low 41.  Possible showers Thursday the 14th, Friday the 15th and Saturday the 16th with brisk westerly breezes.  High about 60, lows about 44.  Partly cloudy Sunday the 17th, a brisk west breeze, highs 63, low 43.  Rain Monday the 18th, a brisk SW breeze, high 61, low 43.

    This is the first day of Open Greenhouse Week.  Daily door prizes and tours.  During the month of May the greenhouse is open Monday through Saturday and Sunday afternoons.  The rest of the season we are closed Sunday and Monday.  Strawberry Plants are enroute.  Our Prides Corner Farm order is coming this week.  Our large nursery order from Bailey's came several days ago.  The fruit trees and shrubs are all potted, just waiting for their forever home.

Small nursery orders have come and are potted.

  By mistake they sent Redwing onions instead of Alisha Craig.  The Redwing onions are a good storage onin, flavorful and the size up nicely.  Our favorite, the large sweet Spanish Alisha Craig are supposed to be enroute.  The Redwings are available now, we should have Alisha Craig some day this week.

   May your day be blessed, Sally

 5/2/26  We all agree forgiveness is a beautiful idea, until it is time for us to practice it.

Woke up to sunshine.  Clouds quickly moved in. Occasional showers this morning, light rain this afternoon, steady rain tonight and tomorrow. A SE breeze
today, high 49.  tonight's low 39.  A brisk north breeze tomorrow, high 48, low 36.  Partly cloudy Monday and Tuesday. A strong SW breeze Monday, high 61, low 42.  A SW wind Tuesday, high 74, low 52.  A strong SW breeze Wednesday with rain, high 60, low 46.  A NW breeze Thursday with rain, high 57, low 44.  Some sun after morning showers Friday, strong west breeze, high 55, low 38.  Partly cloudy next Saturday, a brisk SW breeze, high 57, low 40.  Showers Mother's Day with a SW breeze, high 60, low 42.  Partly cloudy Monday the 11th, a WNW breeze, high 60, low 43. Showers Tuesday the 12th, a NW breeze, high 62, low 46.  Cloudy Wednesday the 13th, a NE breeze, high 63, low 46. Showers Thursday the 14th, a SW breeze, high 63, low 46.  Partly cloudy Friday the 15th, a brisk SW breeze, high 65, low 47.  Showers Saturday the 16th, a brisk NW breeze, high 59, low 46.
    Forecast of showers starting at 7;45 was wrong, the sun is weakly shining.  Things we wanted to do before showers started are done.  Except for cleaning the chimney.  We decided the stove wouldn't be cool enough to clean the chimney for a couple of hours and put wood on it.  Walking on a wet metal roof didn't seem wise.  We've had enough things go wrong.
    I need to take a page out of my sons and grandson's book.  Andrew stopped by to visit yesterday.  He said he is working a couple of hours most mornings, Sometimes if he starts ealy he can work some more in the afternoon.  He was upbeat, thankful for what he can do.  The other day Darel was very pleased that he got the blueberries done.  He was happy about accomplishing it, not frustrated that a four hour job took nine hours because of needed breaks.  Instead of giving thanks for what I'm able to do I tend to look at what isn't done and get irked at myself discouraged.
    The flowers are doing great even though we haven't had a lot of sun.  Bekah rearranged the geraniums so they have more room.  Today she is working on

petunias.  Tonight is supposed to be our last cold night.  I'n going to put together my pots of petunias that go on the back deck and the septic tank.  I'll set them out with remay wrapped around them.  The remay will be enough to protect them why they harden off.

    May your day be blessed, Sally

 5/1/26  Every minute life begins again.

Clouds, 43 degrees.  2.4 inches of rain  Cloudy this morning, some sunshine this afternoon, mainly clear tonight.  A strong WSW breeze, high 57, low 33.  Overcast tomorrow, evening showers become overnight rain. A SE breeze, high 52, low 39.  Rain Sunday, a stiff north breeze, high 47, low 36. Cloudy Monday, a strong WSW breeze, high 61, low 43. Partly cloudy Tuesday, SW wind, high 71, low 51.  Rain Wednesday and Thursday. A light south wind Wednesday, high 61, low 47.  A north breeze Thursday, a high of 57, low 41.  Partly cloudy next Friday and Saturday, westerly breezes, highs in the upper fifties, lows about 40. A few morning showers Mother's Day, some afternoon sun, a south breeze, high 61, low 42.  Showers the next three days, into Thursday morning. Easterly breezes until Thursday, then NW.Highs about 57, lows 42 until Thursday.  Thursday's high 60, low 43.  Partly cloudy Friday the 15th, high 62, low 44.

   We're thankful for the rain and for the forecast of more rain.  People who have been having well problems are even happier than we are. Darel and Heather's well has come back with clear water, best they've had.  They are praying it stays that way.  Farmers and gardeners' appreciation of the rain is dampened by the ground being too wet to work. The weather is perfect for planting trees and shrubs.  And no blackflie yet.

   The cover crop of Rye planted in the gardens is lush and green. Mabel started  to graze on it for an hour Tuesday, yesterday she had two and a half hours.  She'l stay at two and a half for a few days.  She'd like more but Bekah doesn't want her to get an upset stomach. Just the little she has had has boosted her milk production.

   May your day be blessed, Sally

 4/30/26  Most gardeners grow plants.  The good ones learn to grow soil. Because when the soil is alive everything else takes care of itself.

Clouds and mist, 44 degrees.  The National Weather Service is forecasting a chilly May, the second coolest in 15 years.  A full moon on the first means another full moon at the end of the month.  We may see some late frosts.  Rain today, showers tonight.  A brisk ESE breeze with a high of 47.  Tonight's low 43 with fog.  Partly cloudy tomorrow, a stiff NW breeze, high 57, low 43.  Mostly cloudy Saturday, a SW breeze, high 53, low 37.  Showers Sunday, a brisk north breeze, high 52, low 36.  Partly cloudy Monday and Tuesday.  strong SW breeze Monday, high 62, low 45.  A SW wind Tuesday, high 69, low 51.  Partly cloudy Wednesday morning, afternoon and overnight showers, strong south breezes, high 64, low 49.  Showers next Thursday and Friday, highs about56, lows 42 and 39. A stiff ESE breeze Thursday, a brisk WNW breeze Friday. Partly cloudy Saturday the 9th, a stiff SW breeze, high 56, low 42.  Mostly cloudy Mother's Day, a brisk WSW breeze, high 61, low 44. Showers Monday the 11th, a NW breeze, high 62, low 45.  Partly cloudy on the 12th, a brisk NW breeze, high 63, low 43. Partly cloudy the 13th and 14th, brisk NW breezes, highs 61, lows 42.

   Doug got all the seeding and packing done yesterday.  He would have liked to spread more fertilizer but ran out of daylight.  He was happy to get the seeding done.The forecast has changed from 3 inches of rain to an inch and a half.  Less rain means we can get in the gardens sooner but we needed that much rain.  We complain about our weather but we are  fortunate compared to others.  New Jersey lost its peach crop to that last cold snap.  Wildfires have burned the Nebraska grass lands and there's no healing rain forecast.  The fires didn't stop at the grassland, homes and ranches were burned too.  Now the area hit by Hurricane Helene is burning out of control because of the tinder dry trees that the hurricane uprooted.

    I put a light cover of mulch over our septic tank and set containers of purple and pink waves on it.  Hummingbirds like the waves and should we have to pump our tank it will be easy to open the lids.  Yesterday Annabelle bought me buckets of mulch for the tank top and to start renovating the kitchen garden paths.  We only got the tank top and a short path done before she ran into frozen mulch.  Rock hard frozen.

    May your day be blessed, Sally

   

 4/29/26 This life is a journey, not a destination. 

 Cloudy, 44 degrees.  Showers move in late afternoon with a SE breeze and a high of 51.  Rain tonight, low 41.  Rain tomorrow and tomorrow night with a strong east breeze, high 47, low 42.  Cloudy Friday, a stiff NW breeze, high 56, low 34. Partly cloudy Saturday, a WSW breeze, high 54, low 37. Showers Sunday, a high 52, low 36.  Partly cloudy Monday, a stiff SW breeze, high 61, low 43.  Showers Tuesday, a strong south breeze, high 64, low 45.  Partly cloudy next Wednesday, a brisk SW breeze, high 66, low 48.  Showers next Thursday and Friday, highs about 60, lows 45 and 42,  a brisk south breeze Thursday, a brisk west breeze Friday. Partly cloudy Mother's Day weekend, brisk WSW breezes, highs about 60, lows 40. Showers the 11th and 12th, highs 59, lows 41.  Showers the 13th, a few degrees warmer.

    Kaden and Sally Jo asked for a scan to see if the chemo treatments were making a difference.  The doctors said it was too soon, the scan wouldn't show much difference yet.  But they did the scan.   THE DOCTORS SAID KADEN IS HEALED, THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW.  We all say, "PRAISE THE LORD!"

    Yesterday was warm and sunny.  No blackflies yet.  Darel weeded, fertilized and mulched the blueberries.  It took him all day because he took some breaks.  He said before he fell he would have had it done by noon.  We are just so happy he could do it.  So is he!  He feels great, just tires easily.  That is from not being able to do anything, not the brain injury itself.  We are thankful he is following doctors orders to not push and rest often.

    Annabelle cleaned out the maple syrup pan pond in the kitchen garden.   Bekah and I had turned the water on so after she got the dirty water, mud and leaves out she was able to hose it down and refill it.  I had bought a new pump filter but when I went to set it up I found I needed another fitting.  She started digging bamboo why the pond was refilling and kept at it until she couldn't find any more little red shoots.  All the time she was working a couple of chicadees were scolding her.  And Wilson stood in an upstairs window barking at her.  As far as he is concerned she is still a kid and no kids are allowed in the kitchen garden.

    They got the tiller on the tractor but can't till.  The driveshaft needs to be shortened.  Jay has a friend who can do it for him.  Lots of customers yesterday.

    May your day be blessed, Sally