2/5/26  Learn to let each day go and do not let yesterday’s problems destroy today. Take advantage of the new day and make it the best you can. 

Cloudy, calm, 16 degrees.   Partly cloudy with a stiff NNW breeze, high 25.  Clear tonight, low -6.  Partly cloudy tomorrow, a light NNE breeze, high 20, low 6.  Cloudy Saturday, a stiff NNW breeze all day and night.   High 25, low 2.  Morning clouds/afternoon sun on Sunday,  A brisk north breeze, high 10, low -2.  Mostly sunny Monday, a strong NW breeze, high 20, low 4.  Mostly sunny Tuesday, a NW breeze, high 28, low 13.  Partly cloudy Wednesday, a north breeze, high 31, low 23.  Snow showers Wednesday night.  Snow showers next Thursday through next weekend.  1-3 inches Saturday night, i-3 inches Sunday.  NNW breezes, highs 32-36, lows about 20.  Mostly cloudy Monday the 16th and Tuesday the 17th, brisk NW breezes, highs 19.  Snow showers Tuesday night, Wednesday and Thursday the 19th.

    No snow flurries in the forecast but they are out there.  No sign of sun mixing with the clouds. The weather matches our mood.  The new normal is hard.  No Gilbert coming in for tea and a cookie or muffin.  The gardens "planted" around the table on winter mornings were marvelous.  So productive and no weeds!  In October Gilbert was always going to cut back.  By February the cutting back idea started just being an idea.

    The fruit trees and shrubs confirmation from Bailey nursery came yesterday.  Incredible hydrangeas are the only things questionable.  One of the plum varieties got changed to a smaller size, 3 or 4 things were changed to a larger one. Everything on the Prides nursery order was confirmed. Confirmation on strawberries and blueberries came a few weeks ago.  They come the first week in May. We start our own rhubarb.  The seeds have all germinated and are ready for their first transplanting.

    The sun is trying to shine.  Jay is going to clean the chimney. We didn't need that skiff of snow on the ice.  Jay had the area around the front door well sanded so it isn't slippery.

    People had bought things for the silent auction to Maple Lane Farm.  They just dropped the items off.  The get together room is filling up!  Mike and Marcia Lanchester won a 500 dollar gift certificate from JDH designs at the Festival of Trees.They gave it to Barbie and the girls for the silent auction or to use however they wanted.  JDS Designs makes shirts and hats for fire departments.  They decided to give it to Bradford Fire Department.  Help for the spaghetti dinner benefit Saturday night has come from surrounding towns as well as Bradford.  But Bradford people have done all the organizing and most of the work.  Giving the certificate to the fire department as a way of saying thank-you.

    May your day be blessed, Sally

 2/4/26 It seems like everything sleeps in winter, but it’s really a time of renewal and reflection.

Clouds, calm, 12 degrees.  Overcast today, high 31, a NNW breeze. Clear this evening, cloudy overnight, low 12.  Morning clouds/afternoon sun tomorrow, a brisk NW breeze, high 27.Night time low -3.  Partly cloudy Friday, a light NNE breeze, high 22, low 6.  Cloudy Saturday, a brisk north breeze, high 25, low -2.  Sunshine Sunday,, a strong NW breeze, high 10, low -5.  Sunshine Monday, a NW breeze, high 20, low -1.  Sunshine Tuesday, a NW breeze, high 28, low 9.  Partly cloudy next Wednesday, high 31, low 15. PM snow showers next Thursday, a NW breeze, high 32, low 18. Partly cloudy next Friday, a NW breeze, high 33, low 20.  2-6 inches of snow Saturday the 14th, a north breeze, high 34, low 22.  Rain/snow Sunday the 15th, a brisk NNW breeze, high 37, low 22.  Snow showers the next three days, brisk NW breezes, highs in the low to mid thirties, lows in the upper teens.

     Yesterday emails started coming in, "order changes"  So far there are no cancellations, just postponements.  Some flower plugs but mostly herb plugs coming in a week or two later than Bekah ordered.  Even the big top of the line greenhouses struggle to keep the temperatures steady when it is so cold.  Cloudy weather slows down our plants.   The big greenhouses often have lights to supplement the sun but I don't think lights are the same as sunshine.  Seeds we start in the greenhouse seem to come faster than the ones we start under the lights.

     Jay has been cleaning the greenhouses.  They were cleaned and sanitized last fall.  But then they were used for making Christmas wreaths and tree sales.  He is checking for leaks.  Sometimes ice will slice the plastic.  And making sure no mice thought the greenhouse was a good winter home.

     We have so many birds this year.  I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say we have a hundred finches early in the morning.  The little birds and the cardinals get up before the doves, grosbeaks or bluejays.  There were five male cardinals in the kitchen garden this morning and I could see flashes of red by Jay's greenhouse feeders.  All we feed is black oil sunflower seeds.  We can't afford to feed any other kind.  As it is, we are spending more on seed than we planned.

     May your day be blessed, Sally

 2/3/26  Time does not erace what love created.

Sunshine today, a gentle WNW breeze, high of 32. Clouding up tonight, low of 6.  Cloudy tomorrow, a NW breeze, high 31, low 12.  Partly cloudy Thursday, a NW breeze, high 27, low-2.  Partly cloudy Friday, a light north breze, high 23, night time low 8 with snow showers.  1-3 inches of snow Saturday, a strong north breeze, high 19, low -2. Partly cloudy Sunday and Monday, strong NW breezes, highs 10 and 14, lows -5 and +4.  Partly cloudy next Tuesday, a brisk NW breeze, high 26, low 11.  Partly cloudy next Wednesday, a NNW breeze, high 31, low 15.  Snow showers Thursday the 12th through Monday morning the 16th, NW breezes, highs in the low thirties, lows around 20. 

    A late morning but good.  My good morning text from Andrew said he had gotten the best night's sleep in a month.  A big step on his healing path!

Must be something about February air, I slept over eight hours!  The kitchen garden is full of birds.  I'm looking out the window at Jay's feeders by the greenhouse, lots of birds there too.  We'll feed them this winter. Come summer when they need extra protein for their babies they'll eat our bugs.  And they love weed seeds!

  The break in the weather meant Heather and Bekah straightened up the garage yesterday.  We save most of our plain brown cardboard to put under the mulch in the gardens.  If it is waxed we don't use it. We don't want any light to reach the grass, perennial weeds or weed seeds.  Even good weeds like dandelions steal water from plants we planted.  If the long range forecast of a warm dry spring is correct we'll need to conserve moisture.  A side effect of buying groceries online is lots of good cardboard.

   May your day be blessed, Sally

 2/2/26   Big or small, the farmer helps us all.

Some clouds, calm, 8 degrees.  Partly cloudy today, a brisk NNW breeze, high 29 degrees.  Clear tonight, low 6.  Sunshine tomorrow, a gentle WNW breeze, high 31, low 5.  Cloudy Wednesday, a NNW breeze, high 31, low 11.  Partly cloudy Thursday, a NW breeze, high 20, low -1. Mostly cloudy Friday, a light west breeze, high 27, low 13.  Partly cloudy Saturday and Sunday, NNW winds, high 16 and 12, low -4.  Partly cloudy next Monday,a stiff NW breeze, high 18, low 3.  Partly cloudy next Tuesday and Wednesday, brisk  NW breeze, highs 24 and 30, lows about 12. Some clouds next Thursday and Friday, NW breezes, highs 32, lows 16 and 20.    Snow showers the weekend of the 14th and 15th, NW breezes, highs 33, low 19.

     Big or small, farmers across this country are tired of battling the cold.  Neither the weather forecasters nor the groundhog are very encouraging.  I've got a box of fire starting stuff to go out to the greenhouse.  I don't think they'll need much.  At these temperatures they'll be putting too much wood on the stove for the fire to go out!  In three weeks when we start the fires we'll have another forty-five minutes of daylight.  The forecast is for lots of clouds the last two weeks of February but when the sun shines it will be high enough in the sky to make a difference.  Part of me doesn't like the idea of a snowy end to winter.  But if the warm and dry spring forecast is right we'll need that moisture.

     The girls will be lining things up for a silent auction at the benefit Saturday night. We are blessed to live in a very caring town.  A week or so Bekah got a phone call telling her several townspeople had gotten together and they were putting on a spaghetti dinner to help Barbie with the financial burden of Gilbert's battle with cancer and passing. Everything was all taken care of, lots of people wanted to help, others wanted to donate. Bekah wanted to do something.  They said she could do the silent auction.

    The family has been overwhelmed, in a good way, by the love and support we have been showered with.  We've been told there were over two hundred people at his Celebration of Life Saturday.  Just thinking about all the kindness we've been shown makes me tear up!

    The "loop" is late because my stove wasn't working right.  I sent Jason a text this morning asking him to check it when he had time.  No rush.  At eight he pulled in.  It's working fine now.

    May your day be blessed, Sally

2/1/26  Do you want to feel Joy? J.O.Y.   Jesus First, Others second, You Last.  That's the way to have true joy in life. Tought to Amish children.

I always put question marks after a long range forecast.  The forecast for this spring;  warm and dry???  Some sun this morning, clouds this afternoon, a light NW wind, high 21. Partly cloudy after midnight, a strong NNNW breeze, low 8.  Partly cloudy tomorrow, a stiff NW breeze, high 29, low 6.  A quit week, highs about thirty. Lows 2-10.  Cold moves back in on light NW winds next weekend.

   Yesterday was a beautiful day.  Family, friends and neighbors joined us in giving thanks  for the years we had Gilbert in our lives and grieving that he is gone. I don't know how we could handle the empty place in our lives if we didn't know he is with the Lord, someday we'll all be together again.

   Thank-you doesn't seem to be a large enough word for the love and support of the people who joined us yesterday and the many who have been with us the past four weeks.  You have blessed us,

   May your day be blessed. Sally

 1/31/26“Eternal rest grant onto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.”

February's forecast: cold, cold and stormy the second half.  Sunshine today, high 29 with a NNW breeze.  Clear, -2 tonight.  Partly cloudy tomorrow, A light north wind, high 23, low 12.  Partly cloudy Monday, a stiff NW breeze, high 32, low 5.  Sunshine Tuesday, a light NNW breeze, high 31, low 8.  partly cloudy Wednesday, a light NW breeze, high 32, low 10.  No storms in the 2 week forecast, not much warmer.

     Yesterday our family and church family set up the church for today.  Today we join together to celebrate Gilbert's life.  At one o'clock at our church.  The Methodist church in Corinth.  There will be a potluck following the service.

       Our family is thankful for the love and prayers that have surrounded us this month.  We have comfort knowing Gilbert is with Jesus. 

      May your day be blessed, Sally

 1/31/26  Be grateful, even though our lives perfect, even though there is heartache, there is much to be thankful for.

Clouds, a north breeze, 1 degrees.  Some sun this afternoon, a strong WNW breeze, high 12.  Clear tonight, a brisk WNW breeze, low -2.  Sunshine tomorrow, a WNW breeze, high 19, low 2.  Mostly cloudy Sunday, a light NNE wind, high 24, low 13.  Partly cloudy Monday and Tuesday, highs about 32, lows about 8.  A stiff NNW breeze Monday, a light NW breeze Tuesday.  Partly cloudy the rest of the week,NW breezes, highs about 30, lows about 9.  A few snow showers next Saturday, a brisk NW breeze, high 23, low 3.  Partly cloudy Sunday the 8th and Monday the 9th, strong NW breezes, highs 12, lows -3.  Partly cloudy Tuesday the 10th and Wednesday the 11th, brisk NW breezes, highs about 17, lows 4 and 9.  Partly cloudy the 12th and 13th, highs about 25, lows11.  NW breezes.

     Andrew got home from the hospital a second time yesterday. this time with no tubes or wires.  He looks much better and is feeling more positive.

     I'll be making potato salad today for Gilbert's Celebration of Life.  Others will be going to the church this afternoon to set up.  Jordn and crew tried to leave for work early  but got stuck in Mike's driveway.   They are doing a small job, they'll still get back in time to help set up tables and chairs. Doug took the big tractor down to get them unstuck.

     Doug and Nicole are leaving for Arizona in a little while to visit Nicole's mother.  They tried to change their tickets to Sunday but couldn't.  They can't cancel the trip, Nicole's mother isn't doing very well.  Sally Jo and Kaden are house sitting.  Doug and Nicole heat with wood.  This is not the kind of weather the fires can be allowed to die down! Between the fires and watering the cows  someone has to be keeping an eye on things all the time. Water freezes quickly in this weather. Bekah will feed the cows and make sure they are all ok.   Doug and Nicole will be with us in spirit and prayer Saturday.  As will Andrew and Gayle.  Even though Andrew is doing much better, joining us Saturday is out of the question.  Kevin wishes he could be but he is thankful he got to spend a week with Gilbert.  He was able to help Barbie change their living room into a hospital room for Gilbert to come home.  He made sure power back ups were in place for Gilbert's oxygen  had the power gone off.  Keith was on the phone 2 or 3 times a day.  He couldn't come and he was feeling the miles between Alaska and Maine.  We are thankful that we were all together in August.

    May your day be blessed, Sally