February 18, 2014 Lemon Cake and An Apple Blossom

I had a wonderful sleep last night.  I dreamt of looking at houses.  They were all circular, I guess like a yurt, and there were no hallways.  I always wonder why I dreamed something so specific.

This morning I woke up to all manner of dog mess.  There was poop and pee and puke.  The three p's.  I also know why this happened.  I heavily suspect Onslo is being territorial in the laundry room and doesn't let Lizzie eat.  When I came home last night I let her run around the living room and gave her a bowl of food and water.  A little later I put her back outside for half an hour and then brought her in for the night.  She most likely had to go again later in the night and made herself sick with not wanting to go on the floor.  And then she went on the floor.

Luckily the weather this week will be very nice and it's a good time to transition the dogs to staying outside on the back porch at night.  It's very secure so I don't worry any stray coyote or house cat will get them.

Today I have to do some weekly chores.  For some reason I always enjoy putting my clean clothes away on Tuesday.  I also enjoy dusting and vacuuming.  I think in a way it's tidying up the house and having it ready for my days off from work.  Sort of starting with a clean slate.

Other things I need to work on are finishing the potato bed.  I strongly suspect this will win out over everything.  I desperately need to finish sanding the china hutch.  I can see it from almost anywhere I am in the house and its' unfinished state.  It is so very hard to work on it when the weather is so very nice.  Ah, there really are so very many projects I'd like to work on and so very little time.  I'd best get to work.  I'll be back soon to update my day.

I had meant to post this at the end of the afternoon but I was in a cake coma from a delicious made from scratch lemon cake with lemon frosting.  I'm trying to cook more from scratch and I think cake is a great place to start. 

Lemon Snack Cake from Hickery Holler Farm

 

In the hoop house there are lots of big and little things happening.  I've noticed some plants are getting their true leaves.  This is a Fordhook zucchini.  

 

 

This is a cucumber.

 

 

Hello strawberries.

 

 

Apple blossom on a Fuji apple tree.

Some seeds are just coming up.  I'm happy to see my Japanese white eggplant make an appearance.  I've noticed some seeds dying off.  These are only in the biodegradable/plantable pots.  I think they may drain water and dry out too quickly.  I'll have to keep a better eye on these.