prepping the drink

we love our garden

and spend countless hours

tilling soil

dead heading roses

training vines

adjusting drip lines

repairing bird houses

and

tending to our bees

however

we are in the mountains

which makes our

season

really short

and

slightly tenuous

snow seems to fall at its whim

scorching blossoms

with a cool blast

as a result

what we harvest

is

revered

i prepare and preserve

everything

very little is wasted

speaking of wasted

this year

we are trying something new

liqueurs and elixirs

are 

one of my true loves

 lucky girl that i am

my other true love

humors my every whim

which is how we found ourselves

on a beautiful spring day

perched on ladders

wiring

bottles

to our pear tree

we picked through the tree

like it was a rummage sale

for the perfect 

barely formed pear-on a just the right size branch

once discovered

we removed the leaves 

gently plied the bottle up the branch

and

tied it off

and crossed our fingers

if all goes as planned

a beautiful pear

will grow

in 

each bottle

it will then be preserved

with pear soaked brandy