A Dandelion Tale, Part One

"It's no big deal. My mother always dumped the stuff in a big garbage can in the basement, waited a couple of months, then bottled it. Tasted real good, too."

"Oh, sure, I've made dandelion wine. Not hard, reallly. Just some dandelions, sugar and a little bit of yeast. Patience, that's the key. You've got to be willing to wait for it to mature before you drink it."

"What's not to like? Fast. Easy. Cheap. I had a grandmother who made the best dandelion wine around...now that I think of it, I don't think she even used a recipe. Just some flowers and sugar. Oh, yeah. And yeast. That's it, though."

It sounds like a walk in the park, doesn't it? No big deal, they said. Quick and easy...and something anyone could do.

So I picked flowers.

Then, I cooked them.

Followed a recipe. Added "this and that" to the pot.

Then, I bottled the stuff and prepared to wait it out.

And that, my friends, is when things got dicey.