Grape pick!

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Last night's pick was the my third grape pick for Fruit Share in the five summers I've been volunteering.

The first was in my first year of volunteering. The grapes were on the roofline of a shed and we had four adults and three kids to pick a modest amount of grapes. It was great fun and a good introduction to Fruit Share.

The second time, the owner only called us in after the first frost had passed. So the grapes were a deep blue-black and the frost-scorched vines were like just-cooked spaghetti. You barely had to pull on the grape clusters at all...

This time, the vines were still green and I had to burrow under the leaves to get at the grapes. What's more, the grapes were inhabited by wasps, who you'd find with their head buried in grapes. I would tap clusters with my secateurs, hoping to shake free any wasps. I didn't get stung, which I think was luck more than prudence...

The homeowner's yard was wonderful, with a saskatoon tree, three cherry trees, a pear tree, and various other things, in addition to a veg patch and the grapes on the back fence.

The owner also had a poplar and oak seedlings growing, which was sort of neat.

My thanks to the homeowner and to Fruit Share. I think I'm going to make grape pie. M says he wants to make jam...