ROBIN MYERS CAKES, CURIOSITIES AND COURAGE…

BY CAROLYN DRINKARD

The best chefs in the world have a way of taking simple ingredients that everybody else knows, and then turning them into something completely unexpected. Robin Myers does that! You see, Robin is a cake artist, who can tune into a person’s innermost wishes and then bring those wishes to life in an unforgettable delicious way. Robin grew up in a family that enjoyed cooking. They lived in the small community of Vineland, northwest of Thomasville. Her love of baking and also her talent for painting came from her mother, Sue Rutherford. Her attention to detail and eye for symmetry came from her father, James, a carpenter who built houses for over 30 years.

After marrying Phil Myers and being blessed with three children, Robin prepared home meals from scratch to feed her young family and make ends meet.

“Some of the best meals I made came from using what I already had at home,” she laughed.

On Valentine’s Day 2002, Robin’s life changed forever. She and her children were in a serious automobile accident near their home. Her two daughters were not seriously hurt, but her son, Austin, was transported to a Mobile hospital. Robin was injured so badly that she was sent to Birmingham. Both recovered, after months of rehabilitation, but Robin was deemed an “incomplete paraplegic.” This meant that she would be confined to a wheelchair half the time.

After her accident, Robin was deemed an “incomplete paraplegic.” This meant that she would be confined to a wheelchair half the time. Never one to accept defeat, Robin set out to find something else that she could do well with her hands. Baking became her passion.

Robin decided that her disability would not define her life. The challenges she faced were real, but defeat was never an option. Instead, she set out to find something else that she could do well with her hands.

Always one with a sweet tooth, Robin loved to bake. She discovered that she could make cakes for her children’s birthdays and even for many family and church events right from her chair. To get better, Robin took some Wilton Decorating classes at Hobby Lobby in Mobile, over 100 miles from her home. Her mother, Sue Rutherford, signed up for the classes, too, and traveled with Robin.

“I probably wouldn’t have done it without Mom,” Robin stated, “but she supported and encouraged me all the way!”

In cake decorating, Robin found both her passion and her purpose. She sold her first cake in 2010 and later, even taught cake-decorating classes for three years at Alabama Southern Community College in Thomasville.

“I am so thankful that God gave me the cake decorating,” she stated, “because I needed something to do and this worked out. I loved it, and I think it is something that everybody can do.”

Robin had always enjoyed breathing new life into things, so each cake became her personal canvas.

But right from the start, Robin’s cakes were different. She was inspired to fashion her cakes to look like real things. She worked with the precision of a painter and the eye of an animator to create decadent, delicious, one-of-a-kind masterpieces. Her cakes not only delighted the eye, but they also brought a slice of happiness to other people’s lives, and that gave Robin untold satisfaction.

“My cakes are originals,” she explained. “My customers bring pictures to me, but I tell them that I do not copy other people’s work. I can create my own version and get as close as possible to what they want, or I can sketch something different for them to choose from.”

As Robin gained confidence, her creativity blossomed even more. She branched out into cake painting, sculpting and hand printing, taking her artistry to an even higher level. The result was that Robin’s cakes became amazing works of art that tasted as good as they looked.

Robin’s creations looked so real that some were curious, wondering whether to eat them or just admire them.

One example was a cake for a beloved church member’s 70th birthday. Robin wanted this cake to reflect how special Sherry Smith was to everyone who knew her. Knowing that Sherry loved to sew and crochet, Robin created a cake that looked like a sewing basket, filled with skeins of colorful yarn and needles. Beside the basket lay a pincushion, scissors, thread and buttons. Although everything was edible, each item looked so real and beautiful that Sherry’s daughter was hesitant to cut it. Those who enjoyed the cake agreed that it tasted as good as it looked.

Robin’s baking is a family affair. Her husband, Phil, builds bases and stands that support her incredible creations. Since many of her cakes are gravity defying, Phil figures out how to support Robin’s visions. Some cakes also need lighting and once again, Phil is right at Robin’s side, engineering a way to bring her ideas to reality.

“We brainstorm and work together,” she said proudly. “My whole family helps me.”

Each one of Robin’s cakes has a story, and one particular cake held very special meaning for all of her family. For years, Robin and Phil hosted a family Iron Bowl party, and Robin always made both an Auburn and an Alabama cake. After her brother, James (Sonny) Rutherford, Jr., passed away from COVID, the family gathered to honor Sonny. On this occasion, Robin and Phil worked together to create one Iron Bowl memorial cake for Sonny, a high school football coach. Robin’s cake featured an elephant on the field, with the Auburn logo behind. A few days before Sonny passed, he had posted about Alabama’s football dom- inance. Sonny’s last post was printed on edible paper in the grass beside the Alabama elephant.

Robin made another unbelievable cake recently for her father’s 70th birthday. The cake commemorated James Rutherford’s love of gardening and the fact that he always brought her vegetables in a chlorine bucket. Every element of the cake was edible. The "vegetables" were made with rice cereal treats, covered in fondant and airbrushed.

Although Robin does her baking in her home, she had always wanted to work in a real bakery. Her desire was to test herself to see if she could physically hold a public job. Since the only commercial bakery in Thomasville was at Walmart, Robin applied in 2020. She first started as a greeter in her wheelchair, but then she moved into the bakery in 2021.

“The ladies in the bakery worked so hard,” Robin explained. “I thought that if I could do this, then I could also do my own business one day.”

This hands-on experience boosted Robin’s self-confidence, while teaching her so much. In 2022, she listened to her daughters, Kora and Eve, and came home to start an online business, which they named “Robin’s Nest: Cakes and Curiosities.” Robin does not do social media, so Eve Myers Barnes manages her mother’s Instagram and Facebook accounts. Kora, who just graduated in marketing from South Alabama, handles other aspects of the family business. If her digital enterprise works, Robin hopes she will be able to open her own brick-and-mortar business in the Thomasville Mart, later this year.

Someone once said that hard things are put in our path, not to stop us, but to call out the courage and strength we never knew we had. Facing life in a wheelchair, Robin Myers chose not to give up. From her own kitchen, she sunk her hands, deep in dough. When she did, she stretched herself far beyond any limitations life had put in her way.

Contact “Robin’s Nest Cakes and Curiosities” at 1166 County Road 55, Thomasville, Alabama. Check Facebook under Robin’s Nest and Instagram under robins_nest7667.

BY LOIS TRIGG CHAPLIN

Recipe For The Hummers

As hummingbirds migrate there are plenty of insects for them to eat, but nectar is often sparse this time of year. Unless you have a garden full of porter weed and other nectar-rich flowers in bloom now, this is a good time to keep the hummingbird feeders full. Just a reminder, a good syrup recipe is 1-part white table sugar to 4-parts water. Bring it to a boil to minimize bacteria or mold, let it cool a bit, and pour into a clean feeder. This time of year there can be so many birds that you will fill it every day. If so, extra syrup will keep in the fridge a day or two. Feeders that haven’t been cleaned in the last month should soak for about an hour in a bucket of 1/4 cup bleach per gallon of water. Rinse well before refilling. Keep fresh water in the birdbath, too!

Renew Old Iris

It seems that irises live forever. But they do not bloom forever. An iris patch needs rejuvenating every four or five years to keep the flowers abundant. Now is a good time. Lift the thick rhizomes with a fork, discarding old, corky ones and any that look damaged or rotted. Keep the young ones for replanting. Bone meal is a good fertilizer to work into the soil; avoid lots of nitrogen because it can encourage rot. Space rhizomes a foot or so apart, laying them so they are slightly exposed on the soil surface in clay soil, and barely covered in sandy soil. Trim the leaves to about 4 inches so the wind can’t blow them over and uproot them. Water about twice a week until they are rooted in.

What Not To Prune

Many questions I am frequently asked have to do with pruning. So here are a few tips if you are wondering! Now is not the time to prune oak leaf, French and lacecap, or any other hydrangeas that bloom in spring. Their blooms have already set. Pruning will remove the nascent, invisible flower buds and the plants will be flowerless next year. The same is true for azalea, camellia, forsythia, quince, spirea and any shrub that blooms in late winter or early to mid-spring. Pruning of other shrubs needs to be done immediately so that any new growth has time to harden off before frost.

FALL VEGETABLES DON’T WAIT

Timing is crucial for the fall vegetable garden as shorter days and increasingly cooler weather shrink opportunity to grow. It’s hard to stomach getting plants in the ground in this hot weather, but they need to be established in time so that they can grow well before it gets cold and dark. That’s where Bonnie Plants transplants can really help. Look for them at your local Coop. All the cole crops can go in the ground in August and September. Broccoli, cabbage, collard, kohlrabi and Swiss chard are a few good items to start from transplants. Also sow seeds of root crops such as radish, beet, carrot, and turnip; cover them with a board if needed to help cool the soil until they germinate, but check for sprouting daily. Fall tomatoes should have already been set out, but if you live in South Alabama, you can still squeeze in a crop of an early-maturing variety such as Early Girl. Because watering is so crucial right now, place the sprinkler on a timer to make sure that the garden gets a good watering on time.

NO RAIN? DON’T MOW!

One of my pet peeves is seeing lawns mowed when it’s hot and dry. Almost immediately, the lawn turns brown. When there is little rain or watering, it’s best to leave the lawn alone. The taller the grass, the deeper the roots. When the weather breaks and the lawn turns green again, you can resume mowing, but not all at once! The rule of thumb to prevent shocking a grass is to never cut more than 1/3 of the leaf blade at one time. So trim it down a bit at a time over a period of two or three weeks. For folks with a watering system, whether automatic or a favorite sprinkler on the end of the hose, water very well to encourage deep penetration of the water. The roots will follow the water. If the sprinkler comes on often but not for very long, the roots stay near the surface and are more susceptible to drought.

BY JOHN HOWLE