6/6/23 As dawn breaks greet each day with a smile. Every morning brings opportunities to cherish, to grow, to make a difference.

Some small breaks of sun, mostly cloudy with a gentle south breeze.  51 degrees.  2.05 inches of rain.  After a dry night we start over with more rain starting about ten.  A light rain that will last most of the day with a NNW wind and a high of 58.  Showers at times tonight with a strong NW breeze, a low of 48.  Some showers tomorrow with a NNW breeze, a high of 56, a low of 47.  Showers Thursday and Friday with NNE breeses, highs of 60, lows of 48.   Showers Saturday with a NNW breeze, a high of 62. a low of 47.  Partly cloudy Sunday with a brisk NW breeze, a high of 72. a low of 53. Partly cloudy Monday with a stiff west breeze, a high of 77, a low of 53.  Partly cloudy next Tuesday with a stiff NW breeze, a high of 72, a low of 54.  Showers next Wednesday, Scattered thunderstorms Thursday, showers Friday with brisk NW breezes, highs about 74. ;lows about 54. Partly cloudy the weekend of the 17th and 18th and into the next week.  Brisk NW breezes, highs in the mid to upper seventies, lows in the low to mid fifties.

    A quiet day yesterday.  No one was very interested in working outside.  Jay did some work in the garden, I planted a few geraniums.  I also cleaned up the mess I'd made by moving plants outside.Despite what we thought of the weather, the plants I put outside looked good.  I had a long physical therapy session with some new exercises that hopefully will strengthen my back and legs.   I came home and napped.  I will need to make more time for exercises and rest, just when I'm wanting to make more time for gardening.

    Jay and Bekah will finish planting fall mums today.  They have some perennials large enough to pot up.  How much gets done in the garden depends on how heavy the light rain is.  I talked to a couple of customers on the phone who will be coming by today to check out the way we put so much of our garden under remay.  Gilbert has most of his garden under remay.  The plants are very happy.  He is eating lettuce and will have greens this week.  Jay and Bekah were too busy helping customers and watering in May to get as much planted as Gilbert did.

    May God bless you on this day, Sally

 6/5/23  Whoever is happy will make others happy.

Total rain the last few days,1.91.  Rain this morning, cloudy midday, showers later afternoon, cloudy this evening, off and on showers overnight. A light NNE wind today with a high of 56.  A stiff north breeze tonight with a low of 50. light rain tomorrow with a light NNW wind, a high of 57, a low of 48.  Showers Wednesday with a NNW breeze, a high of 55, a low of 47.   Showers Thursday and Friday with north breezes, highs about 60, lows about 47.  Partly cloudy Saturday with a NNW breeze, a high of 67, a low of 46.  Cloudy Sunday with a brisk west breeze, a high of 74, a low of 53.    Showers next Monday with a strong WNW breeze, a high of 71, a low of 51.  Possible showers next Tuesday afternoon into next Wednesday morning.  a strong NNW breeze Tuesday with a high of 69, a low of 49.  A strong west breeze Wednesday with a high of 74, a low of 53. Afternoon showers Thursday the 15th with a brisk NNW breeze, a high of 76, a low of 54.  Thunderstorms the afternoon of Friday the 16th with brisk NW breezes, a high of 79, a low of 55.  Possible showers the weekend of the 17th and 18th with brisk NW breezes, highs about 76, lows about 56.

     Yesterday's high was 49 with wind and rain.  Church was warm and friendly.  Home was gray and chilly.  I came home from church, put wood on the stove and took a nap as the house warmed up.  Looking at the forecast and seeing nor more low forties I decided it was time for plants to go outside.  Outside in sheltered spots or wrapped in remay.  It took me most of the afternoon to prune, fertilize and set the pots of plants.out.  Mostly pots of geraniums, both scented and zonal.  In a few weeks when summer comes back I'll take the pansies out of the church box and plant geraniums.

   The greenhouse was closed but I got a call from a customer, crows had eaten her pepper plants.  Bekah had one six pack of ace peppers left.  The customer will come get them tomorrow.  The nursery is closed on Mondays now..  She'll put remay over them to protect them from the crows.  Our peppers will go under remay just to keep warm!

   Pt this morning.  Moving plants made a mess to clean up but I also plan to transplant plants when it isn't raining.  The ground is soft, weeds will pull easily. Jay will be working in the garden.  After the busy month of May Bekah is looking forward to cleaning her house!

   May God bless you on this day, Sally

 6/4/23  Morning sunlight, birdsong, moments that start the day with evidence of God's nearness.

 .16 rain overnight. Our high for yesterday, June 3rd was 48 with strong NNE winds.  A half inch of rain is forecast for today with NNE winds, a high of 56.  A quarter inch of rain is forecast for tonight with a strong NNE breeze, a low of 46.  Showers tomorrow with s strong NNE breeze, a high of 56, a low of 49.  Light rain Tuesday with a strong NNW breeze, a high of 56, a low of 49.  Showers Wednesday with a north breeze, a high of 55, a low of 48. Showers Thursday with a north breeze, a high of 60, a low of 49. Showers Friday with a north breeze, a high of 64, a low of 49.  PM showers Saturday with a north breeze, a high of 64, a low of 53.  Partly cloudy next Sunday with a brisk west breeze, a high of 71, a low of 53.  Scattered thunderstorms next Monday with  a brisk WNW breeze, a high of 71, a low of 52. Showers next Tuesday and Wednesday with highs about 70, brisk north breezes, lows about 50.  Partly cloudy the 15th and 16th with brisk NW breezes, highs about 75, lows about 52.  Thunderstorms and showers the weekend of the 17th and 18th with highs about 77, lows of 56.

      Yesterday was a dreary day as we dropped back to April weather.  I made a donut run.  Our Amish friends make and sell donuts on Saturday mornings.  They had already sold out of their first round of 300 and were starting on their second.  I visited a bit, then came home with the warm donuts.   I had passed some yard sales so I went back to check them out.  Lots of good stuff, I bought an iced tea glass.  I have enough "stuff"  This weekend is yard sale weekend for our school district.  Terrible weather for yard sales!  After three hours wrapped in blankets getting misted on, Kaden and Sally Jo packed up their stuff and said they would do it some other weekend.

      Bekah and Jay spent the day in the greenhouse potting up fall mums.  They had everything set up to do it outside but those plans didn't take long to change.  Considering the weather there were a lot of customers.  Another Amish neighbor came and bought a lot of strawberry plants.  We were glad to see them go.  We had bought a thousand to sell.  When Heather and Mike found out Mike had to stop farming we had an extra 400 they had planned to plant.

    Starting this week the greenhouse will be closed Sunday and Monday.  Bekah and Jay had planned to do something special after church.  Bekah said last night that something special would be doing nothing, they were tired!  We don't have to water!

    May God bless you on this day, Sally

 6/3/23  Simple things in life can be most extraordinary.

 .48 inch of rain.  Cloudy now with a brisk NNE breeze, 42 degrees.  Showers and rain this morning, intermittent showers this afternoon, rain tonight.  Strong NNE winds today, a light NNE wind tonight.  Today's high 50, tonight's low 42.  Rain tomorrow with a strong NNE breeze, a high of 54, a low of 48.  Showers Monday with a strong NNE breeze, a high of 54, a low of 46.  Showers the rest of the work week with NNW to north breezes.  Highs raising  each day from 55 tomorrow to 66 Friday.  Lows about 49.  Partly cloudy next Saturday with WNW breeze, a high of 74, a low of 53.  PM showers next Sunday with a brisk WNW breeze, a high of 74, a low of 51. Showers the week of the 12th with brisk NW breezes, highs mostly in the mid seventies, lows from 49 Monday to 55 Friday.

    Another good day yesterday, especially good since it ended with a much needed rain.  From the forecast I don't think we'll be so pleased to see rain at the end of the day two weeks from now.  Wounds will continue to blow.  This has been the windiest spring since 2011.  Jay was feeling good about being all caught up on the weeding.  with lots of moisture lots of weed seeds will sprout! Our plants that like it warm will be happy that they are tucked in with remay.  I won't have to wash the hummingbird feeders and put in fresh food as often.

     I was tired so I didn't tackle any big jobs but I got lots of little things checked off my to do list.  This cool weather and showers will be good for the rhubarb.  I just started cutting rhubarb up for freezing yesterday.  I package it in different size packages.  I mark each package for the recipe it is sized for.  I went to the Historical Society dinner last night.  I didn't stay for the program, I just came home and went to bed at seven.   Slept until five.  Maybe my physical therapist was right when she wondered if fatigue was contributing to my back going out.  It doesn't take much to tire me out. My want to list is longer than my can do list!

     The cat birds have a nest in the kitchen garden.  They make the people think there is a cat in the garden even though that garden is off limits to cats.  The house cats aren't fooled.  No orioles this year.  I'm going to take the feeder down and put it away.  The big elm tree they nested in is gone now.  The winter winds took it down.  The elm tree disease had made it hollow. All the other elm trees have been gone a long time.

     May God bless you on this day, Sally

    

 6/2/23  Many things will work again if you unplug them for a few minutes, including you.

 Clear, calm. 66 degrees.  Some clouds moving in mid morning, thunderstorms this afternoon, showers this evening, cloudy overnight.  A NE wind today and tonight with a high of 80, a low of 46.  Strong NNE winds tomorrow with partly cloudy skies, a high of 62, a low of 41.  Partly cloudy Sunday with a NNE wind, a high of 65, a low of 43.  PM showers Monday with  a stiff NNE breeze, a high of 66, a low of 47.  Showers Tuesday with a stiff north breeze, a high of 59, a low of 48.  Scattered thunderstorms Wednesday with a NNE breeze,a high of 61, a low of 46.  Showers Thursday with a NNW breeze, a high of 65, a low of 48.  Partly cloudy Friday with a brisk NW breeze, a high of 69, a low of 50.  PM showers next Saturday with a brisk WNW breeze, a high of 75, a low of 52.  Clouds and showers the week of the 11th with brisk NW breeses, highs about 72, lows about 50..

      We all got quite a few things checked off our to do lists yesterday.  It was too hot to set out plants but a good day for weeding. Bekah has been working on hoop house tomato planting for a few day, they are finally done.  Now she will start on fall mums.  Besides weeding Jay got some lawn mowing done.  I emptied my little greenhouse.  Sally Jo untied it from all the cement blocks that were keeping it in place.  She put them back in the corner of the house and garage to keep critters out.

     I had PT at five. She changed some of my exercises.  I'm going to see her more often again.  We want to strengthen my back again so it doesn't go out so quickly.  After PT I went to the kids Farm team ball game.

     More weeding and some planting for me today.  tomatoes and peppers are mostly sold out but there are lots of cucumber and squash plants.  Also packs of cole crop plants.  The cloudy days with showers in the forecast are great for plant shrubs and perennials.

     May God bless you on this day, Sally

 6/1/23  You'd never invite a thief into your house. So why allow thoughts that steal your joy make themselves at home in your mind.

 Calm, clear, 57 degrees.  Mostly sunshine today with a west breeze, a high of 93.  A stray thunderstorm is possible.  A few clouds tonight with a light NW breeze, a low of 64.  A stray thunderstorm is possible.  Scattered thunderstorms tomorrow with a strong NE breeze, a high of 76, a low of 47.  Forty percent chance of showers Saturday with a NNE wind, a high of 57, a low of 42.  Showers Sunday and Monday  with  strong NNE breezes, a high in the mid to upper fifties,  lows of 49.  Showers Tuesday and Wednesday  with  stiff north breezes,  highs of 60,  lows of 48.  Forty percent chance of showers next Thursday and Friday with brisk NW breezes, highs about 65, lows about 49.  Partly cloudy next Saturday with a brisk NW breeze, a high of 70, a low of 62.    Showers Sunday, the 11th and Monday the 12th with brisk NW breezes, highs of 70, lows of 51.  Cloudy Tuesday the 13th and Wednesday the 14th with brisk NW breezes, highs in the low seventies, lows about 50.

     Yesterday was a pleasant day, too warm to set out many transplants.  Jay got all the cucumbers tucked in with remay.  They will enjoy the extra heat next week and protection from cucumber beetles should they hatch.  Today will be too hot to set out plants. He'll get the black plastic down for the squash and peppers.  The soil will warm up and he can set out plants when it is cooler and cloudy.

    Transportation took up some of Bekah and Jay's time yesterday.  Their car got new tires and was repaired to pass inspection.  And they bought a second hand truck.  A small truck but it will do them just fine.

     I did some weeding at home and weeded and watered the pansies in the church box.  In a few weeks I'll take up the pansies and put red geraniums in the box.  I'm moving the geraniums out of the house today to harden off.  They have to be tough to do well in that box in the middle of the parking lot.

     May God bless you on this day, Sally

 5/31/23  You don't stop gardening when you get old.  You get old when you stop gardening.

 Clear, light SW breeze, 47 degrees.  Sunshine today with a SW breeze, a high of 87.  Clear tonight with a SW breeze, a low of 50.  Sunny tomorrow with a WNW breeze, a high of 93, a low of 54.  Scattered thunderstorms Friday with a strong NNE breeze, a high of 82, a low of 48.  Possible morning showers Saturday and Sunday , a NNE wind Saturday, a stiff NNE breeze Sunday.  Saturday's high 57, the low 43.  Sunday's high 61, the low 45.  Cloudy Monday with stiff North breeze, a high of 70, a low of 49.     Showers Tuesday and next Wednesday with stiff north breezes, highs about 65, lows of 50.  Cloudy next Thursday and Friday with brisk NNW breeses, highs about 70, lows of 50.  Possible showers Saturday the 10th and the next four days with brisk WNW breezes, highs in the low seventies, lows in the low fifties.

      My computer is cleaned up and running faster.  I learned quite a bit as he had me go through the computer with him as he went through everything.  Now to remember all I learned.  There were no viruses in my computer but he did see some things that he felt hackers were trying to use.  He took everything that had anything to do with zoom off.  If I want to do a zoom meeting I will start a new application.  I had tried to attend DAR meetings via zoom and was never successful.  It took a lot of my day as there were things I had to do even after he was no longer remotely connected to my computer.  I did get some weeding and planting done.  The chickens are happy that I have grass to pull and dandelions to dig out as they have lots of fresh greens.

    Jay finished planting the cucumbers.  He still has lots of other planting to do plus weeds are starting to show up in the early plantings.There is no let up of gardening work for him or Bekah.  There is always watering and other garden maintenance to do  while still making helping customers their first priority.  Dorr Equipment  called yesterday saying the tractor was finally repaired.  A $1600 bill!  Doug went right in and got it.  Having the tractor bucket will make things much easier.  Gilbert has made sure everything was tilled as Jay needed it.

    I'm looking forward to lots of planting today.  I do have to make time to go to the church with water for the pansies.  I have the tractor to start filling my raised beds.

    May God bless you on this day.