Dirt Therapy

It was here one day and gone the next! That is okay - it was beautiful while it lasted. A reader was telling me that she had not seen her ground for two weeks because of snow. I know that it can get old. It was strange though seeing everything covered in white yesterday morning and all gone by the afternoon. I said in the previous post that I did not want to get out in it. I changed my mind and did venture out briefly to take more photos. It was a very sunny morning and so beautiful but very cold. The snow was melting fast and falling from the trees in heavy thuds. From inside the house, it sounded like gunshots.  Believe it or not, next week we are supposed to have temperatures in the 70s! Typical weather for the south. Now that snow is out of our system (that doesn't mean we can get more), I am ready for spring and thoughts are returning to gardening. I hope to get some vegetable seeds planted this weekend.  Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy ...

After weeks of near hits and misses, we finally got our snow day. And it was a significant one. We got about 3 inches but areas to the south of us got up to 10 inches. It arrived late in the day and continued through the early evening. It is beautiful. However, I guess I am just getting old but I had no desire to get out in it. In fact, all of these photos were taken from the windows inside the house!  The sun is out this morning and it is falling off the trees. I suspect it will be gone by this afternoon. I still do not want to get out in it. These photos will have to suffice! Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

I always find myself hesitant to make pound cakes - not only can they be expensive but they are not very kind to the waistline. When I contemplate using 10 eggs, 4 sticks of butter, 3 cups of sugar and 4 cups of flour in a cake, I wonder - is it going to be worth it? Well, the answer to that is usually yes! I have tried several Maida Heatter pound cake recipes and all of them have been exceptional. This one sounded different and unique and it turned out to be as delicious as any of her others. The unique part is the 3/4 cup of chocolate syrup that goes into the second batter. I have never used chocolate syrup in a cake before. She says in the introduction to the recipe that it always turned out different each time she makes it and part of the fun is seeing how the pattern turns out.I assumed that the batter would meld together and create a marbeling effect but I was wrong. The second better actually sits on top of the bottom batter and does not blend into it. The result is a mo...