My new year starts with breakfast since there is no way I am awake at midnight to celebrate so last night I prepped everything for the best, flakiest, ginger scones ever (or so the recipe claims). It was also a chance to use my new Breville toaster oven in Bake mode.
With everything prepped the night before nothing could go wrong. Right? Wrong. I didn't remember the sugar until after the scones were in the oven! There is no disaster bad enough to discourage Bob from eating a scone, so he bravely dove in and they were much tastier than I'd imagined, and better than the picture looks. With the ginger chips and lime glaze they were plenty sweet for our tastes and didn't go to waste. I was very happy with the toaster oven, too. It's a perfect size for making small amounts of food for two people. I have enough left of all ingredients to make a proper batch and with two minutes more cooking time I think they will be delicious.
We're starting the year with dreary weather but the walks must go on. The mini horses are penned with the big boys now that the grass has been eaten down and pasture turned to mud. They are said to have no sense about when to stop eating and aren't allowed access when the grass is growing.
Here's Tux. She sees poorly and hears worse, but still insists on walking every day. The one advantage to deafness is there is no more panic when the fireworks fly. She slept right through the New Year madness.
The ducks tuck into their midday resting spots protected by raspberry canes. We'll be thinning and trimming all that soon for next season.
The boys have been congregating under the old blue spruce eating low hanging branches. They're on the alert in case Mistress Hattie enters the pen.
But this time she will have to be happy tending her ball.
A stroll around the yard is pretty boring. Hellebores are reluctantly beginning to flower.
But I'm making plans to landscape along the fence back there. That big deciduous tree is a walnut. I hate it for so many reasons... like the tons of walnut shells dropped by the crows in our driveway every fall, the juglone it produces that can kill vulnerable plants, and the leaves distributing the juglone that blow into my garden with fall wind storms. I want to build up a berm on our side of the fence and plant it with shrubs, grasses and perennials that are juglone tolerant to block the leaves from blowing into our yard. Otherwise I'm going to go into Ninja mode and cut it down the next time our neighbor goes on vacation!
I've developed a new appreciation for heaths and heathers and these are a few that are new additions to the gardens. Anything that brings color in winter is a must.
I've been glazing, though today was just too cold for working with all the wet ingredients. My shop looks a mess but there is method to the madness. If you think this looks bad you should see the other side of the room....
