Blackberry Winter and Rhubarb Pie

We are in the middle of Blackberry Winter.  This is what the old timers call a cold snap during black berry bloom and they are fully bloomed out and it is overcast and 50°.

My morning yard tour was in the sunshine which has since disappeared.

From 5/2/16

I still find a few close enough that I can thin to about 6 inches apart.

Nepeta with iris.  There is a touch of blue on the iris....

From 5/2/16

The next is a close up of bloom on nigella damascena/Love in a Mist.  This annual self-seeds heavily in the foundation beds.  I leave all of them.  They seem to be taller this year.

This is another remaining rose that hasn't grown as it should.  I think it is a Hybrid Musk  'Felicia' and is very fragrant.  I am going to try to really take care of the few remaining roses that I have and see if I can get them to their maximum.
 performance.
and another rose, in the old cistern surrounded by chive blossoms.  It is a polyantha rose from Chamblee's Roses in Texas and may be Marie Pavie or Daly.
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Food 

I saw this recipe other other day and wanted to try it.  I always make my rhubarb pie the way Mom did...that means no eggs and all white  sugar.  The pie turned out great and was delicious.  I have made several of her recipes and she takes beautiful pictures of the food.  Thibault's Table. 
At first I thought mine  was as tasty but then the second day, I appreciated it more and liked the way there was no runny filling causing the bottom crust to get soft.  I might just make it  again.....if I can ever get rhubarb to grow here!  This was from my Sis's patch.




Max is even enjoying it.....maybe he is just desperate since I am not baking nearly as much these days.

Rhubarb Pie and other Daily Doings

This is the view  from the dining room porch just before sunrise.

 It was cool again this morning and still is and it is very cloudy.  I see tornadoes did devastating damage again in the Midwest.

Glad I brought the plants back inside last night.

I picked rhubarb for the first time yesterday after cleaning the back porch bed.  Sadly it is more green than red.  I have tried so many times to grow red and have failed.  I plan to try again.  The green is good; tastes just like it should but it is so sour.  I made pie yesterday afternoon and used a full cup of sugar and it wasn't nearly enough.  I added more sugar when I ate a piece.  DH eats it only if he is starving for something sweet and yesterday he wasn't.  I will freeze the rest today.  I used the last of frozen crust so will be making up a batch soon.



I make the pie like Mom and Grandma did, just fruit ,flour  and sugar, no eggs.  We made gooseberry the same way.  I think I see two wild seedling gooseberry plants in the west fence row.  I didn't cut them down.

This morning while it was too wet and cool to work outside, I made banana bread to use up two large over-ripe bananas.  This will go in the freezer if DH doesn't eat it first.  The loaf wasn't very large.
I like have sweets in the freezer for when neighbors drop  by.

We are now into the afternoon.   It has warmed up to the 70's.  I was dreading trying to start the string trimmer.  But once I sprayed the breather  with   starter fluid, it took  right off. I trimmed the edge of the new bed and the light pole bed.  I hope to mow the middle very low.  I have one stump I need to mark first.