3/28/26  Make each morning the opening door to a better day than the one before.

Clear, calm, 10 degrees.  Some clouds today and tonight, a NNW breeze, high 31, low 19.  Mostly cloudy tomorrow, a strong SW breeze, high 41, low 28.  Mostly cloudy Monday, a strong SW breeze, high 55, low 34.  Rain Tuesday, a NE breeze, high 40, low 36.  Rain Wednesday, a strong SW breeze, high 51, low 26.  Partly cloudy Maundy Thursday, a north breeze, high 42, low 25.  Snow showers Good Friday, a NNE breeze, high 39, low 27.  Partly cloudy next Saturday, high 43, low 34.  Rain on Easter, a SE breeze, high 49, low 38.  Rain Monday the 6th, a brisk WNW breeze, high 50, low 33.  Mostly cloudy Tuesday the 7th, a brisk NW breeze, high 47, low 26.  Partly cloudy Wednesday the 8th, a NW breeze, high 47, low 32.  Rain the 10th and 11th, brisk NW breezes, high about 52, lows about 36.

     One more cold day!  Except for Good Friday the snow has left the forecast, and that is now snow showers instead of 1-3 inches.  I'm hoping the forecast of rain holds true.  Our sump has started running once in a while.  Usually it runs frequently this time of the year.  The dry ground is sucking up the snow melt.  Monday's warm temperatures should melt ant snow  that hasn't been blown into a pile by the wind.  I'm going to put ice melt on the back deck this morning so I can safely go out the back door..  Jay fed the birds yesterday and the girls have been chasing the new cat out of the kitchen garden.  The old cats know that is the place where they get hit with a stream of water so they stay away.  The new cat needs to learn.

    Yesterday they finished transplanting sweet and hot peppers into 3 and 6 packs., 108 trays.  That comes out to about 4000 pepper plants! Every year Bekah has started more pepper plants and still sold out.  She increased again this year, will she sell out?  Next come the marigolds.  She has always sold out of them too.  Even though she starts a second crop after the tomatoes.  They have planted trays of celery and herbs too.  With all the flowers it is no wonder both  greenhouses are almost full.  Warmer temperatures are arriving right on schedule, flowers that grow strong root systems in cooler temperatures can be moved to the hoop houses and cold frames.

    May your day be blessed, Sally

 3/27/27  When you let depression or anger take over for one minute you lose 60 seconds of happiness.

 Partly cloudy, a variable breeze, 28 degrees,  A strong NNW breeze today, a high of 33.   A brisk NNW breeze tonight, low 9.  Partly cloudy tomorrow, a NW breeze, high 28, low 17.  "Spring" begins Sunday with clouds, A SW breeze. high of 40, low of 28.  Sunday is Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy week.
Partly cloudy Monday, a SW breeze, high 53, low 31.  Rain Tuesday, some snow may mix in early, an east breeze, high 44, low 37. Rain Wednesday, a brisk NW breeze, high 53, low 26. Partly cloudy Thursday, An ESE breeze, high 39, low 25.  Morning snow showers Good Friday, 1-3 inches of snow Friday night.  A NE breeze, high 40, low 26.  Clouds Saturday, an ESE breeze, high 42, low 34.  Cloudy Easter morning, off and on afternoon showers, showers Sunday night, some snow may mix in.  A south breeze, high 51, low 38.  Morning sun Monday, the 6th, a brisk NW breeze, high 50, low 31. Partly cloudy Tuesday the 7th, A NWN breeze, high 47, low 27. Rain Wednesday the 8th, a north breeze, high 45, low 29.  Cloudy Thursday the 9th, a Brisk NW breeze, high 49, low 34.  Rain Friday the 10th, a south breeze, high 53, low 36.

    Yesterday's warmth melted enough snow for me to be able to use my walker outside.  My grandchildren have been taking care of the hens, I didn't do well in that slush.  I'll be happy to head out to care for the hens this morning.  As chilly as it is I'll be happy to get back inside!  I remind myself that this cold spell will make the sap run next week for the maple syrup people.

    When I pick up the chicks next week I'm going to get some alfalfa meal for my roses.  Pure meal, no salt.  I'll remove the mulch, work in some meal around the bush and water it well.  Then I'll put the mulch back and prune any dead  stems off.  This has been a hard winter, I'm hoping I don't have to prune a lot.

     A very large flock of blackbirds came in yesterday.  The field across the road was a shimmering black wave that spilled over on our lawn.  There is no sign of them this morning, just the local red winged blackbirds.

     May your day be blessed, Sally

3/26/26  The time to be happy is now: the place to be happy is here; the way to be happy is to make others happy.

Clouds, a variable breeze, 32 degrees.  Occasional light showers today, rain late this evening, showers overnight.  today's high 53, a SSW breeze.  Tonight's low 30, a NW breeze.  Partly cloudy tomorrow, a strong NW breeze, high 34, low 10.  Partly cloudy Saturday, a NW breeze, high 28, low 16.  Partly cloudy Sunday, a WSW breeze, high 41, low 27.  Clouds Monday, a stiff SW breeze, high 51, low 27. Partly cloudy Tuesday, a NW breeze, high 44, low 30.  Rain/snow Wednesday, a WNW breeze, high 43, low 33.  Rain next Thursday, a NE breeze, high 45, low 29.  Snow/rain next Friday, an ENE breeze, high 41, low 28.  Partly cloudy Saturday the 4th, a west breeze, high 43, low 33.  Rain/snow Easter Sunday, a SW breeze, high 47, low 32.  Rain/snow Monday the 6th, a west breeze, high 47, low 28.  Clouds Tuesday the 7th, a WNW breeze, high 45, low 28.  Partly cloudy Wednesday, the 8th. a brisk SW breeze, high 48, low 30. Rain/snow Thursday the 9th, a brisk SW breeze, high 45, low 30.

    Today's rain is passing us by, headed to the maritimes.  That does nothing for our drought.  Perhaps we'll get the quarter inch of rain forecast for tonight and wake up to bare ground tomorrow.  Lots of snow flakes are in the forecast but the spring temperatures and showers will melt them.
 Heather bought us a beautiful new butter mold yesterday. Husband Mike had taken the measurements of our one pound butter mold and used them to make the new one.  The old one molded hundreds of pounds of butter back when I was milking cows and selling butter.  The new one will be so nice to use,  I won't be trying to hold it together because the screws are stripped.
    A week from today this year's chicks arrive.  I'm thankful there aren't any lows forecast to be in the teens.  I'll get the feeders and waterers sanitized.  Bekah has the big job of getting the brooder room ready.  The tractor has been inside all winter, protected from the elements.  But it is parked in front of the brooder room door.  So out it goes.
     As soon as it warms up we are going to be anxious to start cleaning our laws and gardens.    Leave the perennials until we have several days in the fifties., cleaning them out too early may destroy good bugs that have used the dead foliage for a winter home.   Also soil is fragile, and you can irreversibly compact yours if you stomp around in your beds before they have time to thaw and drain.

    May your day be blessed, Sally

 3/24/26  Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “I will try again tomorrow.”

 Mostly clear, 23 degrees.  Sun and clouds today, a light WNW wind, high of 40.  Cloudy tonight, snow showers after midnight, a brisk SE breeze, low of 29.

Morning rain, some wet snow may mix in, afternoon and overnight rain showers.  A strong SW breeze, high 51, low 31.  Sunshine Friday, a strong NWN breeze, high 34, low 11. Partly cloudy Saturday, a strong NW breeze, high 29, low 12.  Partly cloudy Sunday, stiff SW breeze, a high of 39, a low of 27.  Mostly cloudy Monday, a strong SW breeze, high 48, low 27. Snow showers next Wednesday morning become rain showers, back to snow and rain Wednesday night.  An ENE breeze, high 35, low 28.  Rain/ freezing rain next Thursday, a NE breeze, high 40, low 27.   Snow to rain Good Friday, a NE breeze, high 40, low 27.  Partly cloudy Saturday the 4th, a north breeze, high 42, low 25.  Snow to rain on Easter, afternoon rain becomes an evening mix, overnight snow showers.  A stiff west breeze, a high of 44, low 33.  Morning rain/snow showers on the 6th, cloudy the 7th, morning rain/snow showers the 8th.  NW breezes, highs about 47, lows about 27.

    More plants were moved to the second greenhouse,  More seedlings were transplanted, more seeds were planted.  The fall mum order was updated.  One color no longer available, Bekah had to go through the book and find another variety that had orange. It was agreed to delay the order to the last week in May because some varieties wouldn't be ready the third week.  In March Bekah was scheduling bloons for September. 

    Bailey nursery called to ask if Bekah wanted to change the delivery date.  Bekah  confirmed the third week in April.  I suspect the record breaking warmth much of the country is  seeing is making some nurseries want to change delivery dates.  We've had below average but April is looking average.  Our other large nursery order comes the first week in May.

     Some good news– The amount of overwintering habitat occupied by monarch butterflies in central Mexico increased 64% from last year, according to the annual census released today by World Wildlife Fund-Mexicoand partners. The butterflies were found covering an area of 7.24 acres, which means the eastern monarch population that migrates between Canada and Mexico each year showed an improvement from last winter’s area of 4.42 acres. While an increase is great news, the numbers in Mexico are still well below historic norms.  For several years Country Junction has encouraged our customers  to provide habitat for the monarchs.  We carry milkweed and other butterfly favorites for your pollinator garden.  We grow swamp milkweed and the orange butterfly weed.  The butterflies like them as well as the common milkweed and they are less likely to invade farm fields and pastures.  Milkweed plants need to be marked well,  They don't show life until the end of May.  Some years they have shown life so late I thought they were dead.Milkweed is the only plant Monarch butterflies lay their eggs on.  When the eggs hatch they eat milkweed leaves,  the only ones they are designed to eat.

   May your day be blessed, Sally

 3/24/26  Perseverance yields rewards.

 Clear, calm, 16 degrees.  Some clouds this afternoon, a WNW breeze, high 41.  Partly cloudy tonight, low of 26.  Mostly cloudy tomorrow, a strong west breeze, high 43, low 28. Rain/snow Thursday, a SW breeze, high 46, low 30. Sunshine Friday, a NW wind, high 34, low 10.  Mostly sunny Saturday, a NW breeze, high 30, low 15.  Partly cloudy Sunday, a brisk west breeze, high 37 low 24.  Cloudy Monday, a strong SW breeze, high 45, low 27. Partly cloudy next Tuesday, a stiff NW breeze, high 40, low 23. Partly cloudy next Wednesday, a NE breeze, high 39, low 27.  Rain/snow Thursday the 2ed, a NE breeze, high 40, low 26. Partly cloudy on Good Friday, a NE breeze, high 39, low 26.  Snow to rain Saturday the 4th, an east breeze, a high of 42, a low of 28.  Partly cloudy Easter Sunday, a brisk SW breeze, high 45, low 32.  Rain/snow Monday the 6th, a brisk NW breeze, high 47, low 35.  Mostly cloudy, Tuesday the 7th, a stiff NW breeze, a high of 49, a low of 32.

      Sunshine and warmer temperatures will melt some of the snow. It is a heavy icy snow.  It snowed all day yesterday but we only got an inch or so more.   Jay and Bekah were given some wood.  This is the first week boxes of plants haven't come.  The snow was all melted.  Time to  think about getting that wood.  When Sunday's 1-3 inches of snow changed to eight or nine their plans changed.  Jay is cleaning my truck off.   We didn't put it in the garage because this time of the year the 1-3 inches of snow melts quickly.snow melts quickly. 

     I threw some sunflower seeds on the snow.  The evening grosbeaks prefer to eat off the ground.  With seeds on the ground  the finches won't have to compete with the grosbeaks at the feeders.  Last week we only had ten or so grosbeaks at the feeders.  When it snowed Sunday the whole flock came back.

     There are still  trays of seedlings in the house.  Jay and Bekah are going to move some more plants from the first greenhouse to the second today.  Friday and Saturday's temperatures look too cold for even the pansies to go in a coldframe.  It will be the 1st before nights stay in the high twenties.  After they are moved they'll start on the trays in the house.

    May your day be blessed, Saly

 3/23/26  Time is the only currency you spend without knowing the balance.  Use it wisely.

Eight inches of snow.  Snow  flurries today.  25 degrees now, 32 for today's high with strong NE breezes.  Some clearing overnight, a north breeze, a low of 16.  Mostly sunny tomorrow, a NW breeze, high 41, low 26.  Mostly cloudy Wednesday, strong west breeze, high 43, low 31. Morning rain/snow showers Thursday, a brisk SW breeze, high 47, low 28. Partly cloudy Friday, a strong NW breeze, high 33, low 10.  Sunshine Saturday, a NW breeze, high 31, low 17. Partly cloudy  Sunday, a WSW breeze, high 39, low 24.  Partly cloudy next Monday, a strong west breeze, high 41, low 22.  Partly cloudy next Tuesday, a brisk NW breeze, high 37, low 22.  Cloudy next Wednesday, Apei 1st, a NW breeze, high 42, low 28.  Morning snow showers the 2ed and 3rd, NW breezes, high 44, lows 27.  Partly cloudy Saturday the 4th, a NW breeze, high 45, low 30.  Mostly cloudy on Easter, a NW breeze, high 46, low 33.  Rain./snow showers , a brisk NW breeze, hgh 48, low 32 Monday the 6th..  

    Winter has returned.    There won't even be any thawing today.  On the plus side we need every bit of moisture we can get.  The snow is sticky, it is sticking to the greenhouse making a layer of insulation.  Tomorrow when the sun shines it will slide off, banking the bottom.  A good thing with all the NW breezes in the forecast.  Planting will continue inside the greenhouse, spring cleaning will continue in the house.  On the calendar spring is already here.  In the real world it will arrive April 1st.  Even the first week in April there will be some back sliding with morning snow flurries.

    May your day be blessed, Sally

 3/22/26   5th Sunday in Lent  I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.  Psalm 34:1

  1-3 inches of snow today with a brisk east breeze, high 31, low 25.  cloudy tomorrow, a strong NE breeze, high 34, low 18.  A chilly week with temperatures running 5 or more degrees below average.  The temperatures the week of the 29th are what we expect this week to be.

    Yesterday was a good day in the greenhouse, they finished moving plants and got caught up transplanting.  I cleaned Bekahh's milk refrigerator, it was a mess.  She had broken a jar of milk on a cold day, the milk froze before she could get it cleaned up.  Between getting caught up in the greenhouse and a clean refrigerator Bekah ws a happy lady!

   As I have reflected on the grace the Lord has always given me  I pray that He will help me respond to others and to life's challenges with a loving spirit, with kindness and a cheerful heart.  May your day be blessed, Sally