Herbal Rosemary -Blueberry Lemonade

I have been experimenting with Drinks that use herbs for some of the ingredients for a workshop that I am helping with next week. I think this turned out great. I adapted it from another recipe.

This is a beautiful, refreshing drink made from a fusion of herbs, berries, and good old-fashioned lemonade. Great served Iced.


Serves 4 to 6

1 quart water
1/4 cup fresh rosemary leaf or 1/8 cup dried rosemary
3 medium lemons
1/4 cup honey
1/3 cup white sugar
1 cup frozen blueberries
ice cubes

Make a rosemary infusion- steep rosemary in 1 quart of boiling water for 5 minutes - just like making brewed tea.

Strain the rosemary out of the water and then add honey and white sugar to the infused water and stir well.

Juice the lemons and add to the rosemary water.

Add the Frozen blueberries and ice cubes.

To serve pour lemonade into ice-filled glasses and garnish with sliced lemon and rosemary sprigs.

Enjoy

Bachelorette Cookies... Liquor and lingerie Theme

Warning, These are not my usual Iced sugar cookies- but I did have fun making them.

Someone requested these cookies for a Bachelorette Party-

Quinn's New Fish

We have many gold fish and Koi in our ponds. Most of them are several years old some 7 years of more. Quinn was not very old when we used to bring fish home from the pet store or when we started with baby koi from a someone's backyard pond. We lost a few of our oldest fish this winter but still have it overly stocked. we gave in and let Quinn pick out a couple colorful Goldfish. We were looking for Shubunkin but came home with Ryukin goldfish both have colorful markings. He was all smiles with his new pets. These guys are so tiny compared to the other fish in the pond- I thought they may be lunch. After a week in their new Home, They are still swimming around. Quinn checks on them daily.

The Ryukin is an omnivourus goldfish species.It is very docile and is often fed vegetable/growth/coulor/protein mixtures.Ryukins can grow to be up to 6 inches long, and 1 1/2 inches deep!The Ryukin loves to explore, so you should have a few plants(plastic or real) in your tank.Ryukins can live up to be 15 years old!It's colors are calico, red and white, white, and orange.Ryukins have a short, round body, and a high humped back



The Shubukin is an omnivourus goldfish species.It is very docile and is often fed vegetable/color mixtures.The Shubukin can grow up to be 25 inches long!The Shubukin is called "scaleless", beacause it looks like it has no scales.The Shubukin can live up to be 35 years old!It's only color is calico.The Shubukin looks exactly like the Common Goldfish, just it is calico, and "scaleless".

Irises

Iris Growing Tips:

Over 300 species

Grown from bulbs or rhizomes

Three categories: bearded, beardless, and crested

Irises need full to half day of sun

Plant July – September 12 – 24 inches apart

Bloom periods is spring or early summer

Deadhead bloom stems close to the ground.

Apply small amount of fertilizer one month after bloom

For prolific blooms, divide every 3-4 years before they become crowded

Remove only diseased or brown leaves

Garden the 1st of June

The Roses are Blooming

The roses in my garden are beautiful this year. The nearly wilds have begun to bloom and the ones in the photos are in full bloom- John Davis, John Cabot, and Cuthbert Grant.

John Cabot is a Climbing Shrub (Explorer Series, 1978). Double, rosy pink, fragrant flowers bloom freely in mid-season with fall repeat. Climbs 8 to 12 feet or can be grown as a shrub. Glossy, medium green, disease-resistant foliage. An excellent climber for cold regions. Hardy to zone 3

John Davis is a Kordesii Shrub (Svejda, Explorer Series, 1986). Medium pink double blooms with old-fashioned form (40 petals) and spicy perfume occur in large clusters. The plant flowers freely and foliage has high resistance to black spot and powdery mildew. Growth habit is trailing and forms a 5 foot by 7 foot shrub. Hardy. (Zone 3, rr, f)


Cuthbert Grant is a Canadian Shrub (Parkland Series, 1989). Large, velvety, dark red semi-double blooms in fragrant clusters grace this shrub in late spring, repeating through the fall. A bushy shrub with glossy green, disease resistant foliage. Height and width 3 feet. Hardy to zone 3