February Blues Cake

It is an open secret that my husband likes to bake. 

Especial when the days are dreary like today. 

And on top of that being 'grounded' because of

a twisted ankle. 

Yep, and not only once but for

good measure - twice!

Today: windy, grey, rainy - miserable.

Earlier this afternoon he limped around and announced it was 

high time to baked a sponge cake. 

I took Dixie and went out to the beach.

She needed her time to spend some energy!

Upon our return the cake was already on the cooling rack. 

After supper, when hubby disappeared into the kitchen,

 I took my camera and peeked around the corner. 

Someone else was attentive, too!

Yep, he is putting the finishing layers 

on an old fashioned German style 

stawberry cream cake.

Doesn't it look inviting?

"Come Hell or High Water"

The outlook for tomorrow afternoon is bright!

Coffee is ready at 3PM. 

Translation

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Bei dem mist Wetter weiss man kaum etwas mit sich anzufangen!

Glücklicherweise mag mein Mann gerne backen!

Gesagt, getan. Als wir (Dixie und ich) durchnässt wieder vom Strand zurück kamen stand der Kuchen schon zum abkühlen in der Küche.

Gleich nach dem Abendessen ging es dann los 

mit der weiteren Verarbeitung. 

 Sieht es nicht gut aus?

Nun kann es soviel regnen wie es will - die Aussichten 

für morgen Nachmittag sind ausgezeichnet!

Um 15.00 Uhr ist Kaffeezeit!

Snow? Not yet.

The weather forecast has predicted 

the first snowfall for our area. 

Arctic temperatures have already reached the Northeastern part 

of New Brunswick 

where winterstorm conditions are reported.

Not so here.

It rained all night but has stopped now. 

I went outside to get a photo 

of strawberry flowers I saw yesterday.

Yes - my pink ornamental strawberry actually produced three flowers! 

Strawberry flower on Nov 23, 2015

That shows how mild our day temperatures have been until now. 

Even a young willow tree is confused 

as to what part of the year we are in. 

There are a few fresh, green leaves on it's twigs.

Willow spouts young, green leaves. Nov 23, 2015

As much as I "hate" winter I think for the benefit of Nature 

we should enter the cold period now. 

Some don't want to go asleep

In the western entrance of our house it looks like this:

Flowers on the African Daisies, Geranium and Impatiens.

With temperatures between 40- 45°F (4-7°C) they just don't want to go asleep.

Impatiens and Shamrock (Oxalis)

Outside we harvested some of the latest apples of this season. I wrote a few years ago about that we found about 5 or so different apple trees on our property. I am still trying to figure out what kind of apples they are. One thing is for sure: they are all old fashioned, heirloom apples.  Some are more sweet and soft, others crisp and tart. They smell and taste way better than any apple you can buy nowadays.

The best thing: these late ones are not worm eaten and taste delicious. The one to the left is the one that will be

best for storage.

Nearly noon now and still no snow, but the Temperatures are falling constantly. The clouds are hanging low and grey, wind gusty out of the North.

Maybe I'll cook some baked apples....

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 Auntie's translation

Das Wetter war bisher recht frühlingshaft für die Jahreszeit. Das hat einige meiner Pflanzen verwirrt. 

Meine Ziererdbeere zeigt drei neue, rosa Blüten 

und eine junge Weide produziert neue, grüne Blätter. 

Auch in meinem Eingange wollen die Pflanzen 

nicht zur Ruhe kommen. 

Wir haben die letzten Äpfel vom Baum geerntet. 

Ich weiß nicht welche Sorten es sind, aber sie schmecken hervorragend. Der Apfel auf der linken Seite des Photos scheint mir zum Lagern geeignet. 

Das will ich mal versuchen.

Draussen wird es kälter, aber bis jetzt haben wir den Schnee den sie uns angekündigt haben, noch nicht gesehen.

Vielleicht mache ich nachher gebratene Äpfel.