It's Great Straight! (Or -- With Vodka)

Fresh Squeezed Pomegranate Lemonade

Ah yes -- time for another glass of Juice from the Gods...

Our newest -- and most favorite mixer I might add -- comes straight out of our own backyard -- with an assist from from Roseville Gardener/Blogger Greg Damitz. After all -- it was his generous donations of lemons -- combined with our own modest production -- that make the magic happen.

That magic is located to your immediate right. It's a half gallon of lip-smacking Pomegranate Lemonade -- and let me tell you -- this is one FINE combined taste.

Bird Pomegranate Tree

But it does require a bit of work -- careful work at that. Let us not forget that pomegranates can be messy -- and we don't want any fresh stains in the kitchen of the wife that is Venus.

I've been reading up a bit on squeezing fresh juice out of pomegranates -- and much to my chagrin -- it appears that a normal juicer does too much of a good job. The idea is to get the juice out of the pomegranate seeds only - not the pith that surrounds them -- as that can be quite bitter.

Unfortunately -- the normal juicer not only gets the juice out of the seeds -- it also squeezes some of that bitter tasting juice out the pith.

Not a good thing.

Simple Juicer

The reccommended product then? A simple juicer like the one you see to your right. There are fancier varieties of course -- which carry a price tag far higher than the simple juicer than the one I used. But -- the bottom line is this: It doesn't matter which juicer is used. It still results in a bit of a mess if you're not careful.

You'd like for those streams of pomegranate juice to head straight down. But -- sometimes -- that doesn't always happen. And there's nothing quite like taking a squirt of pomegranate juice in the eyeball!

I learned -- through experience I might add -- by breaking the pomegranate into seven or eight chunks -- and placing the seed side down with the rind facing up -- you experience far less in the way of "mistakes."

This is the third year of production from the Sweet or Wonderful Pomegranate variety we have planted in the side yard (we're not really quite sure which variety we have). Last year our small tree churned out about 25 pieces of fruit. This year it was closer to 100. I wonder what next year will bring?

Pomegranate overload anyone?

The process of making Pomegranate Lemonade is fairly simple. Once you've finished squeezing the juice out of three pomegranates (and hopefully getting most of that juice into a bowl) -- your strain the finished product into a half -gallon container. I then fill said container with enough freshly squeezed Meyer Lemon juice to just below the one-quart mark.

Combine one cup of sugar (or less depending upon your likes) with the juice mixture -- stir vigorously for about two minutes -- and allow the mixture to sit until the sugar is fully disolved. At that point? Add enough water to make a half gallon (two quarts) of juice.

Improved Meyer Lemons

The next step is the absolute most difficult. Ignore the temptation to drink a half gallon of Pomegranate Lemonade on the spot -- and stick that wonderful concotion into your refrigerator.

It really best to serve it chilled -- if you can ignore the temptation...

Christmas Punch anyone???

For Reals???!!!

And Now!!! For the latest edition of "You Can Do That???"

Bill Bird Productions Presents: "I Didn't Know You Could Do That!!!"

For Real? Honestly and truly?

The things you learn while gardening and blogging! I didn't know you could do that. But I know now -- because I have the proof growing in a kitchen windowsill.

See that basil? That's not just any basil in a glass. This is "special basil." It's basil that will soon find it's way inside a raised bed in the Bird Back 40 (as soon as I get around to building the next one).

One of the most enjoyable things that I've gained from spilling my guts about gardening into cyberspace is the people that I run into here and there. When I started writing about my successes and misfortunes (mostly misfortunes) a couple of years ago -- well -- it was intended to be a family affair.

After all -- I don't have a whole lot of time on the weekends to be on the phone. That's valuable gardening time you understand. There's nothing quite like the downer of getting ready to plant something in a raised bed -- only to have the phone start jangling inside the house. Call it bad gardening karma.

So -- that's one reason why I started to write -- so family could see what I was up too. Lo and behold -- other people started to look in at what I was doing from time to time -- and after that -- I got to meet some of these very interesting folks.

Fred Hoffman doesn't count -- because I already knew him. But there's Carri Stokes in Sacramento -- Greg Damitz in Roseville -- and I can't forget Nels Christenson in South Natomas. Connecting with all of them -- and others -- has brought a new understanding and -- more importantly -- NEW IDEAS about gardening.

One of those new ideas comes from the mind of Carri Stokes. And it's growing on the kitchen windowsill.

I didn't know you could take cuttings of basil -- or any other herb for that matter -- and literally "root it" in a glass of water. It didn't even begin to dawn on me that this was an easier way to grow basil -- rather than grow it from seed. Do you see the root systems in this glass? That's what develops after ten days of sitting in a glass of water.

These "rooted" cuttings will be placed into starter cups filled with soil this weekend and will probably sit in the windowsill for another four or five days until they take root -- and at that point -- Venus and I will begin to harden them off outside.

I should have known this practice was possible after Venus received a small cutting of lemon thyme right after we moved into the new household. That "cutting" actually sat in a glass of water for quite some time before I finally built the new herb bed for the backyard -- and this is how it looks two years later.

As you can see -- the "small cutting" has essentially taken over the herb bed in question.

A cutting of lemon thyme anyone? I appear to have more than both the wife and I need at the moment.

I've come to discover -- during my my short years of gardening experience -- that there is more than just "one" basil variety. In fact -- I don't know if there is such a thing as a "normal" basil. If there is one -- I suppose it would have to be the Sweet Italian variety that you find in most nurseries.

But there is so very much more...

In fact -- some people love basil so very much -- that there's even a website dedicated to this very herb. The following information is Reprinted/Excerpted with Permission from, www.basil.info:

Basil is a member of the mint family and is very similar in appearance. The most popular kind of basil used in cooking is sweet basil, but some of the other more widely-known types are clove basil, lemon basil, and cinnamon basil.

With so many varieties, it can be difficult to choose. Here are just a few types, with a brief description, to help in your quest for the perfect basil for your savory dish:

• Sweet basil-the best known, it has a scent of clove when fresh.


• Genovese basil-has a similar flavor as sweet basil and is almost as popular.


• Napolitano basil-favored by many for pizzas.


• Lemon basil-also called "hoary basil," has a lemony smell, like the name implies, but has a sweet taste.

• Thai basil-has a scent of licorice with a hint of mint. Purple stems and flowers add beauty and taste to many Thai dishes.


• Cinnamon basil-also called Mexican spice basil, has the same compound found in cinnamon which gives it its strong fragrance.


• Holy basil-also known as 'sacred basil' since it's used in worship in India.


• Purple basil-rich and spicy, it has more of an anise flavor than Genovese or sweet basil.

My thanks to Dr. Christianne Schelling at http://www.basil.info/ for providing the information above. The information provided here is only the tip of the iceberg. I urge you to visit her website to learn more.

Basil -- as you may have learned -- is a very important part of the Bird backyard garden. It's an essential ingredient in our Heirloom Tomato Martinis -- and probably has a lot of other uses that I'm not aware of yet because -- well -- did I tell you that Heirloom Tomato Martinis are really good???

It's Enough to Make You DROOL....

Here it is folks! The finished product! If the ole gums aren't drooling yet -- they soon will be!

Pictured to your right? Fresh squeezed Meyer Lemons -- mixed with pure cane sugar -- which makes a mighty fine lemonade. The lemonade in that half gallon jug to the right in this photo is the SECOND half gallon of LIP SMACKING lemonade that Venus and I have squeezed from lemons that we procured straight from the Old Roseville backyard of Greg Damitz -- aka -- the brains behind Roseville Vegetable Gardening.

The jug to your left? That's what we had leftover! That's pure lemon juice folks -- made from some of the juciest Meyer Lemons that I've been lucky to come across. We can use this for a variety of uses.

Venus -- for example? She just loves fresh lemon juice mixed with melted butter and garlic salt. That's her somewhat special liquid concoction that she uses when devouring artichoke leaves from the backyard garden. The lady can also make a mean guacamole. And with fresh lemons? It gets that much....MEANER.

I'm drooling already...

Gifts From Greg

I'd like to introduce you today to an interesting member of the gardening-hunting blogging community. His name is Greg Damitz. He's the brains behind the blog that is Roseville Vegetable Gardening -- and as you might be able to guess from the photo -- he's rather fond of duckies.

I first discovered Greg's blog about a year and a half ago -- right about the time he discovered my blog and we started to trade notes back and forth about heirloom tomatoes -- onions -- garlic and other produce straight from the backyard garden.

Greg's blog intrigued me for a number of reasons. First -- he lives in Old Roseville -- in a neighborhood that some people would love to move into. The neighborhoods near the Roseville Fairgrounds and railyard are so unlike the newer cookie cutter subdivisions that are located just blocks away.

Greg lives in a neighborhood that was built sixty to seventy years ago. No house looks alike. The streets are wide. The houses are small. The yards are expansive. They were built for a generation that grew up without computers and other indoor gadgets. They were built for families who spent the bulk of their time outdoors -- in the sunshine.

These are homes that feature alleys behind every home. Mature fruit and citrus trees abound in nearly every front and backyard. It's a picture of stark beauty that is hard to describe -- but it's similar to the neighborhoods that I called home as a child in Modesto. Although -- I'll admit -- those Modesto homes offered slightly larger lots.

Why? Who wanted to live in Modesto in the 1950's? Who wants to live in Modesto now? Developers had to do something to lure people to town. Homes with extra large lots were the selling point. Sacramento and Roseville meanwhile -- although small towns at the time -- offered direct access to San Francisco to the west or Reno to the east. In Modesto -- at that time -- it took quite a bit of driving down old, dusty, county roads before you hit any main highway that would take you anywhere worth going.

But I digress. My chance visit with Greg took place during a quest where I was trying to "take care of two birds with one stone." A co-worker from Grass Valley had picked up a package of "All Red" seed potatoes from Peaceful Valley Farm Supply and had traveled to nearby Lincoln for a high school baseball game featuring her record-setting son who is making college scouts drool (this kid is going to make life miserable for the Dodgers while starting for your San Francisco Giants people -- trust me on this).

Greg's home was just a short drive away from the game in question -- AND it just happened to lead me in the same direction of home. You see -- Greg had some things I wanted.

One of those items is located in this photo to your right -- and it's a project that I'd been attempting to tackle for quite some time -- but had yet to "get around to it." To most folks? This is nothing more than a couple of pieces of wood with some large holes drilled into it. But for experienced beekeepers? This is a home for Mason and Carpenter bees -- which are some of the best pollinators on the planet. Those tubes taped to the side of that home? Those are Mason Bee tubes -- purchased just yesterday at Sacramento Beekeeping Supply.

Soon -- those Mason Bees will emerge from those tubes -- and hopefully crawl right into one of those pre-drilled holes. And -- since I know that we already have Carpenter Bees in the neighborhood -- I'm hopefull they'll find the new home just as appealing.

Mason and Carpenter bees -- yes they are those large black bees -- aren't the honey producers that your standard Italian honeybees are. Nope. But they are superior pollinators. And they are attracted to food crops like heirloom tomatoes that the standard honeybee ignores. If you've never witnessed a Mason or Carpenter bee drilling into a small tomato flower -- it's a show everyone should catch in their lifetimes. Better yet? When a Mason or Carpenter bee is finished with that tomato flower? A tomato invariably develops.

And these bees can hit THOUSANDS of tomato flowers in the space of a week or two. I should know. Venus and I hosted a Carpenter Bee last year that we could hear coming from 50-yards off. There was no mistaking his entry into the backyard. Our "Battleship Missouri" would normally locate us in the yard -- buzz by our heads to announce his presence -- and head straight for the raised beds that held our heirloom tomato, melon and squash crops.

Is it any wonder why we had a monster year last summer for tomato production?

I also used to visit Greg's blog often to take in photos of the mature fruit and citrus trees that abound in this neighborhood. These are MONSTER trees people. They're big enough to feed an entire block -- let alone just one home. A nearby pomegranate -- for example -- would keep you pickled in pomegranate cider for an entire year.

To put it into perspective? I'll be in my mid-to-late fifties before I even begin to approach that kind of production in my own backyard. And -- although I do have that "distinguished gray" look -- I'm not even close to sniffing fifty yet people!

Greg surprised me when I arrived. Not only did he present me with my very own Mason and Carpenter Bee hive -- he also handed me a large box of some of the juciest -- most delectable -- Meyer Lemons I'd seen in quite some time. How do I know they were juicy? Because I juiced some of them just last night. It only took ten of them to create a half-gallon of lip-smacking lemonade.

Meyer Lemons are the BOMB! In Greg's neighborhood? The trees are so large and so productive that you can pick year round -- and still not quite get every last one.

Now -- I don't know about you -- but to me? That's a slice of Heaven.

We put those lemons to *good* use last night with not just lemonade -- but we mixed that home-grown creation with fresh strawberries and freshly harvested honey from the Hello Kitty Hive. Throw in some ice and a little more than a splash of tequila -- and you have one FINE margarita on the rocks.

This is the first time Venus and I have broken into the hive to harvest the honey that our bees left behind. And they left a METRIC TON of it. Just one frame resulted in the production of 10 lbs. of pure -- golden honey. And there are still nine wax-capped frames to go.

As for Greg? His gifts will result in a return gardening gift of heirloom tomato starter plants later this spring -- and I imagine he just might enjoy a jar of honey to boot. Lord knows -- I have enough of it. And with the way that fellow blogger Garry Erck is capturing wild hive swarms in El Dorado County? Looks like I'll have some new *BUZZ* activity in that hive sooner than Venus and I expected.