A full moon morning

& a juneberry flower mocktail

Yesterday’s full moon morning offered a special gift that wasn’t there the day before. The juneberry trees flowered for the first time, as if the moon in all her celestial pearlescent glory stepped down from the sky and sprinkled the blooms on the branches like a Fairy Queen.

Juneberry trees are one of the few trees that flower even in the shade of the forest. The cherry blossoms are beautiful, but there is something a bit more magical about walking into a wood painted with blooms weaving in and out of the canopy.

This gift reminded me of Chang’e, a Chinese maiden who unwittingly ascended to the moon to become the moon goddess. She was given a potion of immortality for safekeeping, but to protect the potion when a thief tried to steal it, she drank it herself. She became lighter and lighter until she floated out through the window, into the night sky and onto the moon.

There she lives alone with a hare who continues to brew the potion, unreachable to human hands. The local folks put out incense tables in their gardens laden with fresh fruits and moon cakes in honor of her sacrifice.

I imagine as I walk through these fairy woods that Chang’e sprinkles a bit of that potion back to the earth now and again to remind us that forever lives in a blossom, a sunset, a quiet moment in time. This one in particular was a sparkle more special as juneberry trees are members of the rose family, a gift symbolically sent in love.

Yoshitoshi (1839 - 1892)

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Learn how to read
the love letters
sent by the wind and rain,
the snow and moon.

~ Ikkyu

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I sometimes miss the juneberry blossoming. June’s berries arrive and I realize I never noticed April’s flowers. A small heartbreak.

This year I decided to join in on this moment of immortality. The berries are edible and often made into jam, but the flowers are also edible. I gathered a cup of fresh lightly packed blooms to make a syrup for mocktails.

Combining the sugar, water and flowers, I let them infuse for a fairly short amount of time. Letting them sit for too long begins to bring out the more bitter flavors which can easily overpower the light floral notes. This should be remembered too if a tincture is made with the blooms. While most tinctures should be left to infuse for a few weeks at least, a flower tincture should only be infused for a few hours. Otherwise the floral flavor is easily lost.

This is also true with other ephemeral blossoms like rose and lilac. Just as their lifespan is fleeting, like the face of the moon goddess, so is their flavor if a heavy hand is used. One way to enhance these flavors though is to double infuse. First craft one batch, straining after a few hours, then add another batch of fresh blossoms to the infused tincture for a few more hours before straining one more time.

A simple mocktail is made by simply combining a tablespoon or so of infused syrup with sparkling water. The flavor is refreshing with a slight bitter almond hint to it. A beam of goddess-blessed moonlight in a glass.

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Juneberry Simple Syrup

Ingredients

• 2 cups water

• 1 cup lightly packed fresh juneberry blossoms

• 1 cup organic cane sugar

Directions

1. Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves.

2. Heat to a simmer and add fresh blossoms. Let simmer for a minute or two then remove from heat.

3. Let infuse for another five to ten minutes without heat, then strain into a mason jar.

4. Store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

* Add a tablespoon or two to mocktails and cocktails for a bit of seasonal spring flavor.

Sparkling water + juneberry simple syrup

Much love,

Val

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I craft small batch plant potions and resources from my little hut in the Michigan woods with the intention of reweaving our land-based roots.

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