Mulching and Mowing

We are back to hotter weather, upper 80's.  We did get a little pop-up shower of 1/4 inch a couple of days ago which was very nice.

BACKYARD GARDEN

I got out early yesterday and mulched the strawberries and was surprised to find the ground almost too soft to walk on.
You can barely see the plants but they should take hold soon and begin to grow.



I also lost complete control of myself with having the mower back with sharp blades and ran it down a couple of passes in front of the berry patch and the asparagus row!  So much easier than pulling or hand cutting those tall weeds.  I was pretty pleased with the results.

This picture is to make Sue feel good about her weeds.


There is about 3 feet of ground next to the row of strawberries that I can now till.

I may hit the asparagus next. I already clipped part of it.  Behind this area is the berry patch.

I found a volunteer melon of some sort with two melons the size of oranges on the vine.  I hope it wasn't a hybrid.  I placed some hay under the melons to keep them off the soil.

 

 

This morning I finally planted two hills of crook neck squash and zucchini.  I also began hilling up the sweet corn.  I want to plant some very old sunflower seeds but the ground still seems a little damp to till.

I cleaned out my row of peppers, mostly red and yellow cheese from Ilene last year.  I dug up some volunteer garlic and got very small heads but I didn't want them to set seeds again.

 
That's the compost pile to the right, then volunteer tomatoes and then a patch of weeds waiting for my hoe.

Volunteer dill:



This little area may become my herb bed.  That is a thyme (white flowers) just to the left of the dill.

The garden is divided into a west side and an east side with a mowed path between that I enter from the backyard.

This is the west side,  out of range (almost) is the herb bed also on the west side.



The Peppers and hoop are on the east side. 

KITCHEN

While waiting for a new dishwasher (more later), I baked our favorite Gina's Pound Cake.



 Gina’s Pound Cake (allrecipes)

This is the best and last pound cake recipe you will ever use.  etc.

Ingredients:

3 cups white sugar
1 cup butter
1 (8 )ounce package cream cheese, softened
6 eggs
3 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
1/2 teaspoon orange extract

Directions:

Do not preheat oven.  Spray a 10 inch Bundt pan with vegetable oil

Sift together flour, soda and salt and set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugar and cream cheese until light and   fluffy.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition.  Pour the flour mixture into batter and gently fold in with a spatula.  Stir in the flavorings.  Batter will be very thick.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Place cake in oven and set thermostat to 350°F.  Bake for 60 to 70 minutes or until the top is golden brown and turn the oven off.
Let the cake sit in the oven for an additional 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool in pan for 15 minutes.  Turn cake over onto a cake plate and allow to cool while still covered with pan.

This recipe was taken originally from Allrecipes. I have found some really good ones there.  It is my go to site for anything I don't have in my files.

Lordy, this was long winded.  I am making up for lost time.

At long last I am ready to end my blogging break.....

Just to catch up.  We did go to St. Louis as planned and had a very good visit with the grandkids for three days.
We came home Sunday December 18.  Now at this point I had no decorations up for Christmas since we had expected a New Year's visit from our daughter and her family.  Two days after getting home DH got very sick with an intestinal virus thing that just knocked him out for two days....just as he was getting a little better, it hit me.....hard!  I was sick for 4 days.  For 9 days we didn't get off the farm.......about two days ago I began feeling more normal but just a little weak.  Today I feel back to my norm.  This was the first time we have been sick in probably 30 or more years!  I think this is a new virus

I even milked this morning.  I am happy to report we had Willow's milk stored for about 10 days and it stayed beautifully sweet and good the entire time.  I was pleased about that; it tells me I am being very sanitary processing the milk.

The weather here today is beautiful with a breeze and beautiful sunshine.  I think we are supposed to be up to 60° by the weekend.

We still aren't sure about holiday plans.  I do know I don't plan to put up decorations for just one day....even though there will be some disappointment I know.  I will decorate the dining room and put the gifts on the table and try to make it look somewhat Christmasy.  I am hoping I can handle a turkey dinner.....I take rest breaks every hour or so.

 I made our favorite pound cake today.  I got the recipe from Allrecipes and it is called Gina's Poundcake.
It is unique in the way it is baked starting in a cold oven.

From Blog photos

I will freeze this if no company appears....
I have also made a batch of sugar cookies I will bake at the last minute and decorate ....  or freeze.

I also made a batch of Honey Oat Bran Bread.  We were out and I like having extra on hand for company.


An unexpected  Gift:

I was at my MIL's the other day and I spotted this quilt on top of some discard boxes in her garage.  I asked her where she got it.....it is from her MIL and used to be red and white but faded like this when she laundered it. She had it on the trash pick up stuff....she asked if I wanted it and I told her yes!  It is 100% hand made.  I laid it on the dining room table before putting it away and like the way it looked so....here it now rests.


She told me she has others......I haven't seen them yet.

This is enough catching up.   I have been trying to read and respond to everyone's blogs and hope I haven't missed anyone.

Pound Cake for company

Yesterday was another very hot day.

The new calf routine is going smoother than I had hoped. By the time I got outside yesterday morning, Max had Willow in the barn and she and the babies were nearly finished. All went well. We turned her into the east lot where there is a lot more grass for her. I had to use a sturdy plastic trash can for temporary water. We need to buy a small, portable stock tank next time we are in town.

I decided to do a little trimming around the back yard and by 9 AM gave it up! I was drenched and drained. I also watered a little. Today is supposed to be near 100°.

Before company arrived, I made our favorite pound cake. I reserve this recipe for company because it makes a huge cake and everyone really enjoys it. I also like to send what's left home with them.

I found the original recipe on Allrecipes. It was submitted by Gina and what she says was true for me, once I made it, I didn't use any other recipe for pound cake.
It is a very moist cake and you must follow all the instructions about baking to the letter to get that.

Gina’s Pound Cake (allrecipes)

This is the best and last pound cake recipe you will ever use. etc.

Ingredients:

3 cups white sugar
1 cup butter
1 (8 )ounce package cream cheese, softened
6 eggs
3 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
1/2 teaspoon orange extract

Directions:

Do not preheat oven. Spray a 10 inch Bundt pan with vegetable oil



Sift together flour, soda and salt and set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugar and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Pour the flour mixture into batter and gently fold in with a spatula. Stir in the flavorings. Batter will be very thick.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Place cake in oven and set thermostat to 350°F. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes or until the top is golden brown and turn the oven off.
Let the cake sit in the oven for an additional 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool in pan for 15 minutes. Turn cake over onto a cake plate and allow to cool while still covered with pan.