A few months ago, I surprised myself by making a rum Bundt cake that was actually pretty good. Thinking this might have been a fluke, I made it again for my parents, modifying the recipe slightly by incorporating a little more rum. It again received rave reviews.
(OK, I doubled the rum.)
Still, when my friend Heidi asked for the recipe, I was hesitant. Heidi actually owns a micro bakery called Crust and Crumb in Sacramento, so she knows her way around pastry. How could my lil’ ol’ Bundt cake ever make the cut?! But I humored her by forwarding the recipe. She then proceeded to make it for a Mother’s Day gathering. No pressure or anything! Luckily, her guests loved it, and next thing I know, she’s selling my cake – named The Petruska in my honor – at Crust and Crumb. Which is a huge honor for this non-baker.
NGL, it was pretty exciting to share Crust and Crumb’s Instagram story to my feed. I told my followers, My famous rum cake is now available at select Sacramento-area retailers. Which may be a bit over-the-top, but c’mon. When have I not let something go to my head?! That’s kinda my thing!
Sometimes Less is More
Have you heard of No Mow May? It’s a campaign that originated in the U.K. and debuted in the U.S. (right here in Wisconsin) in 2020. The movement encourages property owners to refrain from mowing their lawns during the month of May to provide habitat and food for pollinators like bees and butterflies. It’s a great idea in theory, even if there is little science to prove its effectiveness.
Fort Atkinson participated in No Mow May up until this year, but there was a lot of pushback from people who didn’t want their lawns to resemble a jungle. The compromise? Less Mow May.
I love how they simply modified the existing signs.
Good timing, because my beloved John Deere lawn tractor is in the shop. Last summer, I ran over a metal post from an old dog run Dick had in the backyard, which bent one of the blades slightly. The mower works, but it makes a very loud clanging sound whenever the blades scrape together. It’s inconsistent, mainly on turns and inclines, but I don’t want to be “that guy” annoying the neighbors, so we’re having the blades replaced. This being their busy season, we’ll be without the John Deere for a couple of weeks.
I was okay just letting the grass grow, but our neighbor Brian offered to cut it with his riding mower. He insisted he was no “lawn Nazi” but knew the extra long grass would prove a challenge once JD is back home and wouldn’t take no for an answer, so I let him have it at on Saturday. Helluva nice gesture. Brian’s a good dude! We gave him a jar of my homemade chili verde sauce that Tara canned last fall as a show of appreciation.
Hey, if Heidi ever branches out into savory dishes, maybe my chili verde will be available at select Sacramento-area retailers too!
Lean and Green
Yesterday, when walking around our property, I had to duck to avoid the low-hanging branches on one of our fir trees. This was odd, as they were never in the way before. That’s when we figured out something was askew. Literally.
I don’t have any older pics to compare with, as this is on the far corner of our backyard in a spot that isn’t especially scenic, but there is no way the tree was leaning like that.
It could fall tomorrow. It might still be standing in 20 years. All I know is, every time the wind blows, I’m going to be on edge. Thankfully, even if it does topple over someday, it’s nowhere near the garden or fruit orchard, so there wouldn’t be much collateral damage. About the only thing potentially in its path is this Purple Fountain Beech (a pretty damn cool tree if you ask me!), but it’s located to the right of the fir, so hopefully it’d be spared.
Ya know, on second thought, that corner of the yard ain’t too shabby after all.
Mark My Words 
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