A Grand Experiment by Susan L.

  The lilac bushes surrounding my house are in full and fragrant bloom. They are loaded with more flowers than I've seen for a few years. The scent is lovely and wafts in through the open windows. The bushes hum with bumble bees and other nectar drinking insects. I smile at God's planning because just as the apple blossoms are beginning to fall like snow, the lilacs come into their own. Such spring feasts after winter's famine must be so delightful!
  One spring, I attempted to bottle this favorite fragrance. It didn't work out too well. Throwing whole blooms, stems and the odd leaf into a pot, it was supposed to be simmered for a couple of hours so the fragrance was concentrated. It ended up smelling like old socks. Maybe because cooking the stems and leaves interfered. I don't really know but the whole lot ended up in the garbage.
  Therefore today's exploration into capturing the aroma of spring is a grand experiment. This time I've removed as much of the stem as possible. There are no leaves in the bowl. Instead of cooking the mixture, the internet suggested pouring boiling water over crushed flowers then letting it cool. It will be reduced, once the blooms are removed, by simmering the infused water until it reaches an ideal concentration.
  That might be a bit tricky. The house is full of the aroma. So is my nose.
  I'm thinking of rigging up a distillery. It might be easier than trying to monitor the intensity of the fragrance via overloaded olfactory senses. The distilled water would be high in fragrance and would keep longer.
  Hopefully if I Google how to make a small distillery, I won't be flagged as a potential bootlegger!
  "Rise up my fair one, and come away. For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone, the flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land." song 2:10-12