I love Spring – and, at last, its here. The weather is warmer – I can wear short sleeves and sandals with ease, I get up at 6:00am and the sun is already out. At 5:30am or pm, I can walk the dogs. It’s glorious.
Even better, the summer fruits are blossoming. The fig and peach trees have buds, and our cherry tree is yielding golden cherries.
In May/June Japanese plums are available in the market. What this means is homemade plum wine can be prepared for tasting 6 months from now. Today I learned how to make this luscious wine. In the local Japanese markets green baby plums, rock sugar, and special sake are available — only available in May and June. These are the ingredients for simple plum wine, also known as Umeshu.
The Japanese are very careful about the container the wine is made in, about cleaning the plums properly, having rock sugar, and blending plums and sugar with special alcohol. The rock sugar slowly sweetens the spirits and plums for 3 to 6 months. Our friend Terumi brought six samples of wine she made, for my husband and I to taste. At first we were skeptical, but after the tasting – wow, we were sold on the product, and we are determined to make some for ourselves. It seems to be a rite of Spring.
Spring is when this plum wine is made, and it sets the tone for the yang transition to the yin winter. It’s part of the cycle.
So enjoy the yang of Spring, and take advantage of all it has to offer, for this is the rebirth time of year. Feel the new energy and enjoy the light. And make sure you have plenty of Wood on hand, the element of Spring.
And enjoy my revamped website. It’s full of feng shui information – simple tips, classes, available cures, and a really fun Store to browse in. It goes up this week, so be sure and watch for it.
In gratitude for all life has to offer, Janet Mitsui Brown, www.thejoyoffengshui.com
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