Had to Start Windows - April 13 & 14, 2026@goldenoakfarm

Monday morning before sunrise

On Monday morning I got up at 5:30AM and got my post up and a shower before leaving at 8AM for my appointment. I was back just before 11AM and I spent the time waiting for the lawnmower guy by watering all the seedlings.

He called at 11:45AM and so I walked up to the barn as my brother still had my car. I picked up all the sticks from the neighbor’s trees on the way up. When I got back I made some lunch and was so exhausted I went to bed and slept until 4:30PM.

My son had gotten out there and weedwacked the wildflower area, except for the huge poke shrub. I’ll have to get my interns to pull that up.

I watched ‘Leave It to Beaver’ until I went to bed at 8PM. I’d left the shades up and had gotten the screen into the window in my intern’s room. Then I realized I could get screens into all the awning windows, so I did that. It was to hit 80F on Tuesday and still no window washers…

On Tuesday morning I planned to get up early, get a load of dishes in the dishwasher, and then outside to start on the Back Porch garden until my brother wanted to go pick up his car. But he came down early and said the mechanic had ordered the wrong muffler for the 2nd time! So we decided to wash the dining room window and get the screens in the 2 entry doors at noon.

I was all discombobulated by this change in plans. I decided to get laundry started. I had to wash a screen for the dining room window and get the screen door for the bedroom upstairs and vacuumed.

I also decided to wash the little windows in my intern’s room and in the bathroom on the 2nd floor. So after 5 or 6 trips up and down the stairs for forgotten things (you’d never know I’d been doing these windows for over 40 years…) I finally got started on them.

When I got to the bathroom windows, I had to move the asparagus fern. But it had a lot of dead on it, so I cleaned that up and made a mess doing it. I finally got started on the windows and got the screens in.

I cleaned up some of the window mess, but left the plant mess for my son to vacuum up.

I got back downstairs finally and changed over the laundry, put another load in the dishwasher and cleaned up the kitchen. My helper friend arrived at 10:30AM and he got a few chores done then left to run errands.

He had brought up the screen and the screen door and I realized when we hung the door that the crazy cat in the morning would probably shred the screen. So I had ordered a screen door protector from Lowes and my helper friend would pick it up.

I got the screen washed and drying and sat down for a little while. My brother was back home at noon and went to get the repaired screens as we needed them to do the windows and doors.

Once he was home he got the ladder and got the outside of the dining room window and the trim washed while I did the inside and the little windows. I got as far as getting the screens into the little windows and we moved on to the storm doors.

The doors are 5 years old now and we’d noticed last fall we had a heck of a time getting the windows into 2 of them. Well, we had a heck of a time getting the windows out this time, but the screens, being more flexible, went in easily. I think because there’s no cross bracing, they are getting out of true, which is probably the problem with the sticking back door.

I got the little windows in the dining room done and put the washed grille back in and then the big screen. There was a nice breeze and the curtains fluttered in it.

My helper friend had gotten back with the grille and I asked him to make me another quiche.

The contractor called at noon and said he was coming so I had him put the grille on the screen door. It wasn’t big enough to cover all of it so we guessed which side that cat was apt to attack and put it there. Fingers crossed we guessed right…

Then he went down and made the cover for the root cellar’s sandbox. I have to clean it out real soon.

And the last job was getting the “froggies” on the drawers in the office. It was pretty warm in the house as there’s very little cross ventilation due to no screens in most windows. I was very hot and tired and went in to watch ‘Leave It To Beaver’ until bedtime.

My #2 intern and her brother #3 intern arrived while I was watching it. I finished about 8:15PM and got a shower. I made sure all the windows were set for the night and headed to bed.

On Wednesday I hope to get out to that garden early as it’s to be 80F again. That’s the only plan, to try to get gardens done while I can.