A Grape Anthology

If you recall, it was late autumn when we first moved to the Riddle Ranch.  Absolutely everything was overgrown.  Nothing had been pruned or cared for in ten years.  As we started hacking into vines, shrubs, and trees, we uncovered rock-bordered garden beds, a pomegranate tree, and even grapes.  It really was like discovering a secret garden.

The grape vines are old so we weren't sure if they would produce anything.  We didn't even know what kind of grape vines they were.  With the pregnancy of our fifth (and all the sickness and exhaustion that comes with it), I never got around to trellising them.  Trudging down the steeper part of the hill where the grapes grew was incomprehensible, so it remained a secret as to what kind of grapes we had; or if we had any at all.

Early this March while my parents came to visit and wait for the birth of our baby, my amazing dad took it upon himself to prune the vines once again.  Now with a newborn, I still never got to trellising those grapes.  Last week, I thought I'd take a little peek under the mounds of vines and to my surprise, there were pounds and pounds of gorgeous clusters of every grapey color!  Red, purple, yellow, and green.  What were they all?  The unmistakable roundly dark purple ones were clearly concord.  A dream come true!  I'm still discovering what the rest of them are, but in the meantime I'm enjoying these late summer sunsets with my vines, clipping basketfuls of homegrown goodness.  For now, they are all being de-stemmed and frozen; a favorite treat around here.

How benevolent of these ancient berries to bare fruit after being so neglected.  Next year you will grow on a trellis, my beauties.  I am determined.

I'm sharing this at Simple Lives Thursday.