I played Hero tonight

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

It was a good day. Weather said chance of thunder storms, but it only got cloudy in the morning. The "work" today was putting labels on the wine we had bottled. (Last years fermentation). There were almost 6 cases of red, three cases of Muscat and Just over two cases of white. After getting that done we bottled the "Joy Juice". A mix I make of 1/2 white grape, 1/4 apple and 1/4 pear. Put half of that in champaign bottles (one case) and the other half in clear beer bottles (24). We had just gotten that done and the sun was about to set when the call came in. A neighbor, that I had only met a few times, called. He was moving out and had dropped his trailer off the edge of the road. The edge of the road was on the center of the axel and the two tires were out in the air. (The couple were going to buy a parcel, but the partners they had gone in with had backed out and they couldn't afford the whole thing.) The road was so narrow no traffic could get by. I went over with ropes, chains and two come-alongs. Broke the cable on the small come-along and a carbine on one chain but did get their trailer back on the road and helped tow them up the steep dirt road, (the truck they rented wasn't 4 wheel drive.) We worked in the dark, but they were so happy to have their problem solved.

God, I wish getting * and his administration out of office was so easy.

Tomorrow I'm off with some friends to hike into some hot springs. It is a long hike so they plan to spend two nights. I think I may only stay one. My partner is taking care of the animal feeding chores I usually do and I don't want to burden him too much. He has to feed the sheep away from the barn so he can get to the pig pen without the Rams being trouble, and I worry about him feeding the pigs. I go in their pen all the time, but he is a little order and has a bad knee.

Sunday we go to Riverfest on the Russian River. www.russianriverkeeper.com Our Congressman Mike Thompson is the guest speaker. I'll go with my Impeach Cheney? hat and a collection of Deception Dollars. deceptiondollar.com

You all have a wonderful Equinox, and Many Blessings on all our relations,

Another Dream Weaver

[DarkTirade]

1. How well does the grape and apple mix for your "Joy Juice"?

I've been experimenting with brewing mead, and I'm still toying with finding out what flavors mix well together after fermentation. :) Right now I've got two batches brewing, one with very thick honey, some christmas/yuleish spices added and a few ounces of very dark molasses for an extra oomph, and another that's about 3 parts apple to 5 parts mead, with some cinnamon, clove and allspice added. I've been thinking about using pear with apple, but it never occured to me to mix apple and grape. I'm doing seasonal brews, and those are my attempts at winter and fall recipes.

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

2. I really like the mix.

The first time I did it was 2004. (I was hoping to have a Kerry celebration drink, and we should have been too.) Anyhow, we have pears and apples and some grape vines that my partner picked up after he had watched them get knocked of a truck by an oak tree. The driver just went on with the rest of his load. They grew well for us. I even added some mulberry to that first batch. This year it is just pear and apples because those grapes got eaten by the sheep when they broke into that garden. The Brie (I think that is how it's spelled) is about 15 for apples which gives about 7 % alch. The neighbor has his Pinot at 23% now, and has been waiting for the weather to get hot so it will rise enough to give at least 12% alch. (He sells his). We also have about an acre in a big mix of grape varieties and we just blend what we get.

The grape apple pear mix I think is about 8 or 10 % alch. We used to have a cider book, but haven't been able to locate it lately.

What is your honey content in your Mead?

[DarkTirade]

3. So far I've only brewed one gallon batches

With the thicker honey, it's about 3 pound of honey per gallon, plus the 5 ounces or so of molasses. About 4 pounds/gallon for the other one. (actually 2.5 pounds, but that's for the 5/8ths of a gallon of mead, so do the math on that and it comes out to 4/gallon. :) I think. I'm sick and tired right now, so my brain isn't at its peak.)

My first two batches I was going fairly light, 3 lbs. per gallon, but it ended up a little too thin. I need to have some way to test the alcohal content, I'm not sure what it'll be. The yeast I'm using only goes up to 12%, and it tends to finish fairly sweet from my experience so far.