Monthly Archives: April 2022

Spring at Sanctuary Acres

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals, Gardens, , , , , ,
Elizabeth Magnolia

Hi Friends! It is spring here, sort of, so time to share a few pictures of what is currently in bloom around our yard. Warmer weather is slow in coming to northeast Ohio this year. It has been much cooler than normal with a few days of warm weather thrown in. Enough to confuse the plants and set them back in their growth. My Facebook memories shows plants in full bloom at this time last year that haven’t even begun to make an appearance this year. But they will!

The most recent addition to our flowerbeds is the Elizabeth magnolia. My husband has been wanting a magnolia for some time and found this variety he had been looking for when we were out searching for a plum tree! We never did find the Toka plum tree that we were looking for, but we did find this magnolia which went into a bed in the walled garden last week and is currently flowering as seen in the photos.

The new Elizabeth magnolia is putting on a show!

We found another type of plum tree that will do the job. We already had a Superior plum tree that we put in last year. We discovered that you need two types of plum trees for successful pollination and fruiting, preferably two different types of Japanese plums. They should be of different varieties, not the same variety. Who knew? Probably lots of people but I was not one of them. The plum trees must flower at the same time so they can cross pollinate. We already had American plums, which are more of a bush, but we were not sure if they would do the job. So, I expect bushels of plums this fall! Ha! Not really, but it would be nice if we got a couple small plums this year to see what they taste like.

We also found a small cherry tree that is self-pollinating. It bears sour cherries that are good for pies and jellies. We… ok, my husband…it would take me an hour to dig a hole big enough, planted it behind the house in the area where our plums and blueberry bushes also reside. We have one other fruit bearing cherry tree behind the garage. It was here long before I bought this house. It has sustained a lot of damage over the past few years from other trees falling on it. We hope to find one of its young offspring to cultivate. It has the type of cherries that are yellow with a red blush and very tasty.

Service berries starting to bloom.

We also have service berries that are starting to bloom. They are planted along the road. We bought them as six inch sticks from the County Extension agent a number of years ago. The goal is prune them after fruiting season this year. The yield was lower last summer and most of the berries are so high up in the trees that only the birds can reach them. You have to pay close attention to get to the fruit before the birds. The berries are a coveted item. I have had birds sit in the top of the tree squawking and carrying on as I stand below picking berries and tossing them into my colander. A colander is my preferred container when I pick berries of any sort. Mine has a flat bottom that sits on the ground while I use both arms to reach the higher branches. And I can transport it directly to the sink for rinsing and sorting the fruit.

Hellebore flowers

We have other things besides fruit trees in flower now too. This hellebore was given to us by my mother-in-law last summer. It was a sprout from a large plant she had. They don’t like to be moved, so we are pleased that it is blooming in its first spring here. Another name for this plant is the Lenten Rose because it blooms so early in the season. They will even bloom with snow hanging on the leaves. Don’t be confused by the leaves in the bottom of this photo. Some stray pachysandra got transplanted with it.

Daffodils blooming in a raised bed.

And of course, we have the obligatory daffodils. I moved these to one of the raised beds surrounding the patio two years ago. They did not bloom the first year but are in fine form now. I wanted some early bloomers for us to enjoy on the few days we have that are warm enough to sit on the patio. I do enjoy looking at them while I am doing the early spring cleanup jobs in the patio gardens. Normally, I bring lots of daffodils indoors to enjoy in the spring. I have foregone that this year because we have an 11 month old kitten who knows no bounds. I will have to figure out a kitten proof set up before peony season arrives because I refuse to have a year without the scent of peonies in my house! It will be a tall order. The house plant and its ceramic pot that I had on the mantel bit the dust. Jasper kitten can reach the mantel via the desk that sits underneath. I am the human, I can outsmart him, right? The jury’s still out on that one. Time will tell.

Shelby by the hyacinth.
Baxter taking his turn by the hyacinth.

I didn’t feel this post would be complete without a picture of dogs, so here are Shelby and Baxter posing in front of the hyacinth at my brother’s house. They went along to celebrate my niece’s fifth birthday. We can rely on these two to be well behaved. When it was time to leave, we had to go find Shelby. She was having a nap in a corner of the sunroom where we had been sitting earlier.

Spring is just starting here and there will be more pictures of flowers, trees, and vegetables to come. And it is a certainty there will be pictures of dogs. Join us and follow along. You can sign up to receive updates at the top of the page!

Fun With Crafts

Country Life, , , , ,
Goldfinch

I am not particularly artsy but sometimes I like to craft. Thus, I decided to make keepsakes for everyone for a family dinner we hosted earlier this year. I like working with felt because it doesn’t require hemming. I came up with my own designs as I went. It was fun!

The American goldfinch went to my mother-in-law because she feeds the birds and is happy when these finches show up in her backyard.

This unicorn was for my oldest niece who is nine. What young girl doesn’t like unicorns? This ornament was a big hit with her.

A Kitty ornament went to my youngest niece. Little girls and kitties seem like a natural match to me.

I crafted a heart with a corgi on it for my daughter. She and her boyfriend have two corgis. The heart I made for my brother and his wife had roses made from ribbons. These both were very nice but I forgot to take pictures of them before I gave them out. Oh, well.

Bluebird

And lastly, I sewed a heart ornament for my husband and me to keep. It has a bluebird since we enjoy watching the bluebird families that live in the houses my husband built.

Our kitten Jasper was assisting me in taking this last photo today. This was my fifth try and he “helped” me every time. I decided to just go with it and use this picture. It sums up life with kittens.

Good News-A Somewhat Calmer Zekie Bear

Dogs & Other Animals, ,
Zekie Bear

It’s been a while since I posted an update about Zekie. That’s a good thing because it means he hasn’t been in too much trouble. He continues to be a sweet dog, whose life would be perfect if he could be with me every second of every day. The problems begin when my husband and I both go away from home.

If I go away, such as to the grocery store or to visit someone, Zekie lays on the back of the couch looking out the window at the empty spot where I park my car. The report I receive back from my husband is that Zekie spends hours there waiting for my return. Or if he takes Zekie to the workshop with him, Zekie will lay on the porch watching the road to see if my car will come pulling in the driveway. My husband says Zekie often looks like he wants to stop people in passing cars to say, “Have you seen my mommy? She left me and I fear I’m an orphan!”

Zekie gets upset when my husband goes away too, but not to the same degree. When hubby puts his shoes and coat on, Zekie grabs a bone or other toy and shakes it at my husband, trying to get him to stay home and play instead. He will lay in the back hall and look out the window for a while after my husband leaves, then he returns to my side and lays down. He will check out the windows frequently waiting for hubby’s return.

Zekie really has been doing better relative to how he was before. Mostly this is for two reasons. One, we rarely go away at the same time or even at all. Covid and retirement have kept us at home. The other reason is Prozac. At first, I wasn’t sure if it helped at all. I think it just took a long time to see any change because Zekie’s behavior was long standing. He has been on the meds for 9 months now.

I have tried many things to calm him on the occasions when both of us go away and he must stay in his crate because of separation anxiety. None had previously met with success. Not the Xanax, not the stuffed Kongs, or the frozen treats, not even the CBD oil. Well, last week I tried giving him a large basted bone made specifically for dogs. It worked! Zekie did still do some nervous drooling but he didn’t chew his crate! I gave him the same bone the next two times we went away and he didn’t chew the crate those times either. This is a minor miracle.

I find it hard to believe it is just the bone as we have given him many other types of chews. I think it must be the combination of the Prozac and the bone. He was finally calm enough to realize that chewing the bone is a better option than chewing an aluminum crate and wearing your teeth down.

Whatever the cause, I am immensely grateful and relieved to have found something to help Zekie feel calmer.

Zekie with ears down asking, “Mom, why are you taking my picture?”

Banana-Pineapple Blueberry Cake

Cooking, , , , ,

I baked this cake yesterday. I was feeling lazy, so I used a box mix and added things to it to use up a bunch of leftovers, which made the result even better!

Ingredients for Cake:

  • 1 boxed cake mix, vanilla flavored
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 cup oil
  • 1 cup water, part juice from pineapple
  • 3 ripe bananas
  • 1 cup or half a can crushed pineapple
  • Blueberries, about a handful
  1. Add the cake mix, eggs, oil, and water/juice and mix. The eggs, oil, and water were to make the mix per package directions on the box I used. Use juice from the pineapple and top with water to make 1 cup of liquid.
  2. After mixing the above ingredients for about a minute, add the bananas, mashed if using fresh.
  3. Also add the pineapple now. Mix for another minute.
  4. Fold in the blueberries by hand. If you add them to the mixer, you will end up with blue batter that turns grey as it bakes.
  5. Split the batter among two greased 9″ cake pans. Bake per package directions. (Usually, 350 degrees in a pre-heated oven for about 25 minutes.) You will have to add another 5-10 minutes to the baking time because of all the additions to the batter. Start checking with a toothpick at the listed time and check in 5-minute increments thereafter.
  6. When done, remove from oven and cool in pans for 15 minutes. Loosen and remove from pans, or you can put them back in the pans to finish cooling. Let the cake layers cool completely before icing.

Ingredients for Icing:

  • 1 stick butter, softened
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 2 1/2-3 cups Confectioner’s sugar, sifted
  • 1-2 Tablespoons milk, or almond milk
  1. Beat butter, cream cheese, and vanilla with a mixer.
  2. Add Confectioner’s sugar by half cups, until incorporated.
  3. Add 1 Tablespoon milk. Add as much milk as needed to reach desired consistency.

Assemble the cake with frosting in between the two layers. I spread some melted orange marmalade onto the surface of the bottom cake before adding the frosting, for some extra pizzazz. Ice the rest of the cake and voila!

Notes:

  • I used a vanilla cake mix, but you could also use white, yellow, or even spice cake mix. Any flavor that tastes good with your extra add-ins will work.
  • My add-ins were bananas, pineapple, and blueberries. Use whatever you have available. Applesauce, apple slices, and pecans. Oranges, bananas, coconut. Zucchini, walnuts, and cranberries. You get the idea. I work with whatever is in my freezer and pantry.
  • I always freeze my bananas just before they get too ripe, so I have some for baking when I need them. I keep them in a large Ziploc bag and take however many I need out. I microwave them and they are pretty soupy by the time I use them. If yours aren’t frozen, you will want to mash them before adding to the batter. This allows me to bake whenever I want to, and have the time to, rather than having my schedule dictated by the state of my bananas!
  • I always put the cake layers back in the pans to cool, so I can move them around the kitchen. This is helpful because our kitchen is small, and we cook a lot. It also makes it easier to move the cakes to hide them from counter surfing dogs and cats!
  • Bonus tip-I find it much easier to frost a layer cake if you can put it on a lazy-Susan, or rotating cake platter for frosting. The icing comes out nice and smooth with this method. I also get smoother results with a metal butter knife vs. a silicon spatula.

I would love to hear what kind of goodies you add into your cakes! Feel free to share them in the comments. Also, you can sign up to get notifications of new blog posts at the top of the page.

Books I Read in March 2022

Books & Reading, Dogs & Other Animals, , ,
I am perfectly capable of petting animals while I read!
  1. An Irish Country Yuletide-Patrick Taylor

Dr. Barry Laverty comes back to Ballybucklebo for the holidays. You’ll enjoy this tale of 1960’s era doctors in a small Irish village. Rather like James Herriot books but with people instead of animals as the patients.

2. The Blue Zones Challenge (Non-fiction)-Dan Buettner

The blue zones are areas around the world where populations live longer than average and maintain good health. This book shares the things these groups have in common, and how you can implement them into your own life. Fascinating.

3.The Good Girl’s Guide to Getting Lost (Non-fiction)-Rachel Friedman

Rachel travels during a college summer. After graduating college, she continues traveling on two more continents. I learned a bit about travel, hostels, and adapting to other cultures.

4. Fodor’s Travel Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire (Non-fiction)

Fun to peruse remembering places I have been as well as places I still want to see or revisit.

5. A Virgin River Christmas-Robyn Carr

Marcie Sullivan wants to find the fellow marine who saved her late husband’s life when he was stationed overseas. Ian disappeared once the unit returned stateside. She finally tracks him down and finds an emotionally wounded man who is not happy to see her. Can it be a peaceful Christmas for them? I enjoyed this book as I have all the Robyn Carr books, I’ve read.

6. Killer Research-Jenn McKinley

Lindsey must find a way to clear Miss Cole of murder suspicion as Miss Cole makes a bid for the position of town mayor. Another delightful installment with our friends from Briar Creek.

7. This Must Be the Place-Rachael Ray

Although this book has plenty of recipes, it is so much more than a cookbook. Rachael talks about her life and lessons learned during Covid. She had quite a few serious challenges that I was not aware of. She weathered them well.

Magazines:  Food Network Magazine, the Cottage Journal, Cottages and Bungalows, Martha Stewart Living, Better Homes and Gardens Cozy Cabins and Retreats

From this month’s list of books read, I must recommend The Blue Zones Challenge as the one with the most potential to improve your life. If you make even one or two of the changes presented in the book, you are likely to be a healthier person.

If you are looking for a book to take you away and immerse your mind elsewhere, read A Virgin River Christmas. Don’t feel it has to be Christmas time to enjoy this book. It is more about people and relationships than it is about the holiday.

I did manage to get a few more books read in March than I have been averaging. My husband went on a road trip with his mother while I stayed home with the animals. I got a big stack of books from the library the first day and the cats and dogs are perfectly content if I read while I pet them, so we were all set!