I’ll always hang my hat Under those Blue Ridge Mountain skies — Marshall Tucker Band

This is my absolute favorite month of the year. May is many things to many people, but to me it marks the beginning of a my life here on Black Draft Farm. Seven years ago this month I met Glen and we spent out first date enjoying the sunset from this very back yard view.

Every spring I marvel at the vivid, beautiful scenery of the Blue Ridge Mountains that envelopes my view in all directions here in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. I love the fragrance of spring blossoms on country drives along back roads and the warm breezes that last well into the night. As I drive along through Maryland, Virginia, and then back to West Virginia, I feel like I am cruising through a watercolor painting. The trees are so vivid and blend into shades of greens and blues, layer upon layer, till they melt into the blue spring sky. There is just nothing I have found close to my love for the Blue Ridge Mountains.

According to “A Naturalist’s Blue Ridge Parkway” by David Catlin, “It can be legitimately claimed that trees put the ‘blue’ in Blue Ridge, for hydrocarbons released into the atmosphere by the forest contribute to the characteristic haze on these mountains and to their distinctive color.”

I stopped over to visit one of our favorite local pubs, Dub-V, for lunch one day and Liz shared with me with her latest creation with our First Harvest Moonshine.

A great spring cocktail with some of the most beautiful shades of aqua and blue.

I dedicate this recipe to her and call it the Blue Ridge Breeze.

To view this recipe, click here.