How to Make Refreshing Elderflower Champagne - without explosions

Our first attempt was elderflower champagne which, strictly speaking, isn’t champagne at all. It hardly has any alcohol, yet it sparkles and is a refreshing spritzy drink even for kids.

Elderberry Champagne:

You’ll need

·       approximately 10 liters of water

·       15 big elderflower clusters

·       ¼ liter wine vinegar

·       2–3 untreated lemons

·       1 kilogram sugar.

Besides these ingredients, you need a big stone or earthenware pot and thick-walled glass bottles, preferably old champagne bottles that can be secured with a cork and wire. Screw tops do blow off under pressure. Wait till you hear that story!

First, go for a walk to cut these elderberry blossoms, fully blown, but not over yet. Boil the water, dissolve the sugar in it and cool down. Wash the untreated lemons in hot water and cut into slices.

Check the elderflower blossoms for little critters and dirt. Use as much as possible from the thick green stems and then put the blooms together with the lemon slices into the stone pot. Add the wine vinegar to the cooled sugar water and pour over the flowers and lemons in the stone pot. Cover with a cloth and leave in a sunny place for 4 days. Stir every day with a wooden spoon.

Pour the liquid into the bottles; filter it through a muslin cloth or very fine sieve. Leave 4 to 5 cm from the surface to the rim.

Seal the bottles and secure the corks! The best place to store them is in a box. Bring to a cool place (like the basement) and leave at least 14 days to mature (bottle fermentation). The champagne sparkles a little already, but at maturity, there's real power, or then again sometimes not.

The development of carbon dioxide differs from year to year. It must depend on the weather or the condition of the blossoms. You can’t predict the amount of CO2 in the bottle.

So be careful when opening the first bottle, unless you want to paint the ceiling anyway. Or even better, open the first bottle in the garden. Elderberry champagne tastes best chilled — a great refreshing drink on hot days.

OK, now to that explosive story. We had started to make out own cider. We poured it into screw-top bottles, laying them on the shelves in out pantry. We waited patiently through the fermentation process until we could have our first degustation (tasting). 

One night, we were woken by a loud banging from downstairs. Terrified, I clung to my husband who was a sound sleeper and had barely heard a sound. There it was again. Another loud bang and Mac was wide awake. “Burglars,” I whispered. He sealed his lips with his finger and grabbed the rifle he stashed behind our wardrobe. “Stay here, I’ll go and have a look”. He made it down the creaky staircase as quietly as he could. My heart almost stopped beating when I heard another gun-shot like noise … and then loud laughter emanating from the kitchen below. “You must come down and see this for yourself!”

“Is it safe?” By now the children were peeking from behind their doors.

Some of the three dozen bottles had decided to explode one after another, creating the racket. The sticky cider was leaking down from the shelves onto the sacks of wheat that were stored underneath. Shards scattered everywhere and the sweet juice also stuck to the floor and windows. “Mind where you step! I’ll get it in the morning.” I said. For weeks to come our home-ground flour had the distinct flavor of apple and cider.

We never used bottle fermentation after that, and wine-making in the following years was never as exciting.

Siggy Buckley (Excerpt from I once had a Farm in Ireland)   

A Day in the Life of an Eco Advocate

Across the Nation and around the world, 'a day in the life' is recorded. Published in photo-journalism style, a series of books capture cultural diverse lifestyles of people, places and events. Intrigued by this concept, I decide to record 'a day in my life'.

Choosing a Monday, I began the day with leisurely consuming a second cup of coffee. Having deliberately delay activities, I  assume commuter traffic presently to be minimal; so,I pack my gardening golf cart with supplies and head out to begin landscape maintenance chores. As a present-day caretaker for generational family property located in central Virginia, chores start in an area that connects to a public road. After removing weeds from a landscaped area, I pick up trash and using a mower, next cut grassy areas. Then, I step outside of our private property area and focus on clean up of the County right-of-way area. Why do I make this choice? If I don't make an additional effort, it could be weeks if not months before public funded clean up occurs.

After taking a brief break, supplies are packed and slowly I travel back into the family complex. Passing individually maintained properties, I inspect for 'needed clean up' but there is no need to stop. In fact, it is not until I reach an intersection that I chose to stop. After pulling a few weeds, I cut grass; still, there is little or no clean up necessary. A final stop is an area  which  provides access to the property's original house site. After trimming over grown shrubs, I cut grass and opt to spray for invasive weeds.

While most properties are associated with publically funded 'common areas', we because the area is a family complex maintain an one-half mile private road and its surrounding landscape. Because this space is shared with others, I exchange ideas with a neighbor related to improvement of the area's eco maintenance. And, when grandchildren arrive home from school, they are included in this process. Changing my 'gardening cart' to the Nana mobile, we ride around and inspect installed cool and warm season veggie gardens. We also inspect the progress of what is refer to as the 'Noah  Ark' - one or two plants as necessary - orchard.

As a result, this 'day in my life' experience is a blend of private and public space chores with input from multiple generations of community residents; so, what life lessons are identified? In this case, it definitely 'takes a village perspective' to make maintenance of a generational property work. Why? The area hosts open green spaces which are farm, wetland habitats occupied by critters, home site areas occupied by people; and, receives runoff from over 500 acres of surrounding suburban urban development which makes eco conservation a 21st century priority. In other words, it takes a perspective of CARE - conservation, accountability, recovery and eco efficient - to sustainably land manage this area.

If you were to record a 'day in your life', what would you identify? Would you discover that you 'walk your talk'? Would you be seen as an eco advocate? During the year of 2013, I've issued a challenge to all to 'get real' in their communication. So, if someone observed your 'day in a life', what message would you communicate? Would you be seen as a person who has a perspective of CARE?

Whether interested in effective communication and/or eco efficiency tips and strategies, visit web site www.TheWrightScoop.com. Together, let's get real - walk our talk, be seen as people who have positive eco impact during a 'day in our life'.   

Sylvia Wright  www.TheWrightScoop.com
Move from eco-weak to eco-chic – ‘green’ life’s garden, one scoop at a time! Link to column,
http://www.examiner.com/gardening-in-richmond/sylvia-wright or Sylvia's book store, http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/syhwright
Member of www.NLAWP.org

And allow me to share this excerpt of my upcoming book: "I once had a Farm in Ireland"

A Day in the Life of a Farmer & his Wife (Excerpt)

Here is what our typical day looked like: Get up at 6 a.m. Make breakfast. Let out the geese and broilers as soon as the sun is out. Wake children. Grind wheat grains into flower in the pantry. 1kg takes about 45 minutes. Have breakfast. Start baking bread or cake while children get dressed and pack their bags. Prepare lunch boxes. Let bread rise and put in the hot Aga for an hour. (Mac would take it out when finished; usually on his coffee break). Mac would go out and check on animals if there were any in the stables. Together with our children, he would feed horses and muck out. Children feed dogs and cats. Shower and get dressed. Pack my books and get ready, equipped with shopping list. Get kids in the car. In the first years, drive kids to local school, later to the one in Limerick (45 min). Go to work: teach a few hours at the University while Mac ran the farm, collected eggs and let the hens out. In the afternoon, I’d pick up children, grab some groceries with our tired offspring in the car. Time for coffee and cake break while kids do their homework. Mac would go to do his errands, as soon as the car was back or all go horse riding. I had to prepare classes for next day or do some gardening-- or harvesting, depending on the time of year. Once a week in the second and third year I would give German classes to local kids around the kitchen table an hour or two. Then the stables have to be mucked out again, animals fed and put to bed: Geese & chickens rounded up and locked in. Cook dinner. Tidy up kitchen. Time for a book or paper. Then crash exhausted, usually by 9 p.m.

Siggy Buckley

The Ex Farmer's Wife's page on FB who is also an Eco advocate since 1980.

 

Make Everyday a Celebrated Earth Day!

What does it mean to celebrate Earth Day? For many, as Frank Robinson executive director for the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden (LGBG) says, it means “to encourage children to develop a natural curiosity about nature, allow them to play in natural environments at their own pace and learn to follow their instincts.” Still, to mark the anniversary of a modern-day environmental movement, a special day is set aside.
In 1970, Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson, then a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, proposed the first nationwide environmental protest "to shake up the political establishment” and force this issue onto the national agenda. At the time, Americans were slurping leaded gas through massive V8 sedans. Industry belched out smoke and sludge with little fear of legal consequences or bad press. And, air pollution was commonly accepted as the smell of prosperity. More often, environment was a word that appeared in spelling bees rather than on the evening news. But on April 22, 1970 an event occurred that ignited our present-day 21^st. Century Green Revolution.
More than 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment. Denis Hayes, the national coordinator, and his youthful staff organized massive coast-to-coast rallies. Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment. Groups that had been fighting against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, the loss of wilderness, and the extinction of wildlife suddenly became well-known.
A rare political alignment occur that enlisted the support of Republicans and Democrats, rich and poor, city slickers and farmers, tycoons and labor leaders resulting in the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species acts. In 1990, Denis Hayes organized another big campaign; and this time, Earth Day went global, mobilizing 200 million people in 141 countries and lifting the status of environmental issues to world-wide attention. As the millennium approached, he again spearheaded yet another campaign, combining the big-picture feistiness of the first Earth Day with the international grassroots activism of Earth Day 1990 and 5,000 environmental groups from around the world were on board, reaching out to hundreds of millions of people in a record 184 countries. So, on April 22^nd., we again celebrate an event that has forever changed the way we see our environment.
What can you do as a parent? As Robinson says, “encourage your children to develop their natural curiosity about nature, allow them to play in natural environments at their own pace and learn to follow their instincts.” Robinson and his staff have kicked off the season with hosting events which provide the opportunity for families to enjoy music and entertainment as they engage in activities that promote environmental stewardship. Another central Virginia site which equally hosts activities is Maymont’s Nature Center to attend these events, children must be accompanied by an adult, pre-register and admission fees apply. See www.maymont.org for details.

Still, as Robinson implies, everyday should be a celebrated ‘earth day’. Consequently, year around, the Great Richmond Virginia areas hosts events in which to participate. The Children's Garden provides an excellent "outdoor classroom" for young visitors to cultivate their interest in nature and learn about environmental stewardship. Through hands-on demonstrations, crafts, and activities children discover that they can make a positive difference at home, in their communities, and in the world. See www.lewisginter.org to identify events of interest to your family. And, if your children are too young to participate in active recreation activities, expose them to the fascination of nature through “scratch and sniff” board books. These books appeal to the senses of touch, sight and smell and are available through DK Publishing, www.dk.com.

Avid naturalists, such as master gardeners, have recognized for years that exposure to the environment is not only fun for children but teach them skills such as patience, caring for something other than themselves and the value of work, itself. Applied in a more formal event, such as a celebration, children can learn about cultural diversity, science and environmental concepts as well as gain self-confidence and self-esteem.

Consequently, whether your child’s experience occurs through a book, backyard, organized community event or public garden activity, children can, as Robinson says, “be encouraged to develop natural curiosity about nature while playing in natural environments at their own pace and learn to follow their instincts.”

About the author - Spotlighted by Landscape Architect magazine as an Industry ‘Mover & Shaker’, Sylvia Hoehns Wright, recipient of the Turning America from Eco-weak to Eco-chic Award and founder of the Plants of CARE program, challenges all to ‘change America’s landscape’, move their life-styles from eco-weak to eco-chic – ‘green’ life’s garden, one scoop at a time! To acquire details of Wright’s activities, visit her web site www.TheWrightScoop.com or contact Sylvia@TheWrightScoop.com or follow tweets at ID Wright Scoop or postings at facebook The Wright Scoop.