Wow, your apples are blooming now? Mine bloomed in February and I'm up in the Panhandle. (Normally they bloom in March, but the warm weather started them early.) Anyway, if your tree has been in the ground for two years already, give it a good deep watering 1-2x per week when there's no significant rain. Apply a good fruit tree fertilizer in early spring and again in June. There's a lot more detail in the link. Here is a link that might be useful: IFAS - Apple Care

Bulldinkie, do you then eat the cakes out of the jar? Do you use a box mix or homemade? Are they the single serving size like these pies? I've seen all the mixes in a jar, but actually cooking in the jar is new to me. Also want to say welcome to the forum--and what an unusual forum name you have! ;o) Luvs

You could make your own family favorite recipe and use 1/2 c. oil and 1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce. PUMPKIN BREAD Combine 1 cup brown sugar, 1/2 c. granulated sugar, 1 c. pumpkin, 1/2 c. vegetable oil, and 2 eggs and beat well. Stir in 2 c. flour, 1 t. soda and 1 t. each salt, nutmeg and cinnamon, 1/4 t. ginger and mix well. Stir in 1 c. raisins, 1/2 c. chopped nuts and 1/4 c. water. Spoon into well oiled 9x5-inch loaf pan. Bake at 350-degrees for 65-75 minutes. CIDER PUMPKIN BREAD (Source: Pillsbury Best Muffins & Quick Breads) 1 c. firmly packed brown sugar 1 cup canned pumpkin 1/2 c. oil 1/2 c. apple cider or apple juice 1 egg 1\-3/4 c. all\-purpose flour 1/2 c. whole wheat flour 3 t. baking powder 1\-1/2 t. cinnamon 1/2 c. chopped nuts 1/2 c. raisins Heat oven to 350\-degrees F. Grease and flour bottom only of 9x5\-inch loaf pan. In large bowl, combine brown sugar, pumpkin, oil, apple cider and egg; mix well. Add all\-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder and cinnamon; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in nuts and raisins. Pour into greased and floured pan. Bake at 350\-degrees F for 55\-65 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10\-minutes; remove from pan. Cool 1 hour or until completely cooled. Wrap tightly and store in refrigerator. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We're having these for breakfast this morning... Source: Mostly Muffins \- by Barbara Albright and Leslie Weiner. PUMPKIN PIE MUFFINS 2 c. all\-purpose flour (I use Irish Whole Meal Flour) 3/4 c. firmly packed dark\-brown sugar (I use1/2 c. palm sugar) 1\-1/2 t. baking powder 1/4 t. baking soda 1/2 t. salt 1 t. ground cinnamon 1/2 t. ground ginger 1/4 t. ground cloves 1/8 t. ground nutmeg (Grainlady note: I substitute 2 t. pumpkin pie spice for the cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg) 3/4 c. canned pumpkin 1/2 c. lightly salted butter, melted and cooled 1/4 c. buttermilk 2 eggs, lightly beaten 3 T. molasses 1 t. vanilla 3/4 c. coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts 3/4 c. chopped pitted dates Preheat oven to 400\-degrees F. Grease twelve 3x1\-1/4 inch muffin cups. In a large bowl, stir together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. In another bowl, stir together pumpkin, butter, buttermilk, eggs, molasses, and vanilla until blended. Make a well in center of dry ingredients; add pumpkin mixture and stir just to combine. Stir in pecans and dates. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups; bake 20\-25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in center of one muffin comes out clean. Remove muffin tin or tins to wire rack. Cool 5 minutes before removing muffins from cups; finish cooling on rack. Serve them or cool completely and store in an airtight container at room temperature. These muffins freeze very well. \-Grainlady

Three caplets of glucosamine sulphate daily, so the day starts with the first one. Told son the other day of setting steel cut oats to perk in water, with salt and a few raisins, the night before, to need less heating time in the morning, and had some of them and a banana. Then a mug of coffee, with cream and sugar, following by recently-added calcium pill, which needs to go with food. Felt like some more, so had about 2/3 of mug of milk ... ... before I remembered that I'm to take a large glass of water, to develop a full bladder, about an hour before my radiation, today scheduled just before ten. Made the sixteen or so miles, much of it on the freeway, safely, i.e. with no urinary-style accidents. And now ... time for another glucosamine sulphate. Stacey MB ... I'm surprised: I thought that all of your toads in Manitoba would have gone into hibernation deep underground by this time of year. o j