Ramblings and a recipe

Its about 5:15 in the morning here in South Central Louisiana. We have been getting rain now for about 3 weeks. The ground is soft and squishy. The plants are really love it. My roses are showing signs of the heat. The blooms are much smaller than they were earlier this year. My hibiscus are loving it. I have sooooo many blooms. The other flowers in the yard are taking over also.

My daily routine is to hit the back yard with a cup of coffee around 6:00 am. At that time of the day its cool and the hummingbirds are out. I keep trying to get a picture of one in the sages but they are too fast for me. Last year I caught a few at the feeders while sitting in the greenhouse. I bought a few metal signs this year for the yard. I have hung them around the greenhouse. One reads "seed", another "herbs" and the one I bought yesterday at Hobby Lobby for $3 reads "Gardening, just another day at the plant". I think I will hang that one on the back door of the greenhouse. I also bought a little cast iron fairy for $2. I just love 60% off sales. The figs are ripening daily now. I have been picking and canning figs for a week now. I have been getting about 3 quarts a day. I enjoy the process of canning and usually can peaches and peppers. For the past several years a friend of my husband's has brought several cases of peaches from Ruston but he didn't this year, so no peaches for us. We also do a garden each year, but this year with the remodel job in full swing, Russell didn't plant one so again, no tomatoes, cucs or peppers for us, which translates into no chow chow, salsa or pickles to can.... What's a girl to do. I guess bake. So, I will be making sweet dough pies with fig and peach filling for my husband and fig cake for the boys. I really need to start referring to them as something other than boys, after all Jake is almost 21 and Matt will be 17 in a few short weeks, but then I still refer to my brothers collectively as the boys and we are all either in our late 40's. Anyway, I thought I would share my mother's fig cake recipe with others .

Connie Deshotels Hebert's Fig Cake

1 cup plus 3 tablespoons all purpose flour 2 tablespoons sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon soda 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon baking powder Place in a bowl and mix well. Then add: 1 large egg 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 cup oil 1 pint fig preserves Mix well and bake in a greased and floured 9x13 pan at 350 for 35-40 minutes. My favorite flower in the garden this summer....... Hmmm I see that my Camera has a wrong date.....