This year I can claim a victory. And I do, whether I deserve it or not. I managed to get to the grapes on the single vine in my driveway entrance, and pick them for drying for raisins before the birds and the deer ate them all.
I’m not sure what kind of grapes they are but they are seedless and, no matter how much I water the vine, they remain small. They taste good but, because of their size, long ago I decided they would best serve their destiny by becoming raisins.
Like all victories, it is the work that has to be done after you win a battle, to be sure you get the benefits of winning. That meant I had to bring the four drying screens from my garage and haul them to my front porch. My porch, happily, faces south and gets all of the sun for most of the day.
My front porch is 20 feet above the garage because it was built on the top of a small hill. When I was younger and could move faster I climbed that hill, from the garage to my front porch, easy as pie. Then, as I got older, I was forced to recognize the fact that unless I made steps, there would come a day when I would be marooned in my garage, unable to climb that hill.
I’m exaggerating a little. I built a set of wooden steps but they had fallen apart. A few years ago, I built concrete steps from the garage landing to the porch.
There are now nine fine concrete steps to a 10-foot landing and then 10 more steps to the top. The steps are 9 inches high, which I navigate pretty well with my cane.
The passing years required more to help me get from the bottom to the top without calling for help. I added a railing. Thanks to the steps and the railing, everything is fine and getting up from the garage is easy — unless I have to carry something.
This time, to dry my grapes into raisins, I had to bring up the four, 4-foot-by-4-foot screens. They are heavy, or, they seem to have become heavier since I’ve passed the 90-year mark. As I age, things change. I can no longer toss hundred-pound bales of hay into my truck like they were cream puffs. I have trouble carrying my table scraps to my composting bin. Besides slowing down a little, I’ve shrunk. I started out at 6 feet plus. I’m about 5’8” now. By the time I’m 100, I expect I shall be 3 feet tall. That’s OK — as long as I can keep writing.
I got the screens up and placed on the two saw horses and 2-by-2 supports, ready for the drying process. The next step was to get down my driveway (the entrance is 30 feet below my house), and attack the grapevine. With a 5-gallon bucket in hand and my trusty vine cutter, I began that phase of the operation.
I liked the idea of a nice neat grape vine growing wild at the entrance to my driveway, and, when I spotted it 10 years ago, I decided to let it run wild. It did.
This vine has grown like Topsy. It has a habit of growing larger every year. In 15 years, it has spread 40 feet along the fence and it is still going strong.
Also, as I said, the top leaves and some of the bunches of grapes are 8 feet in the air.
This year I won the battle to beat the birds and the deer to the punch on my grapes. I’ll have enough raisins for my oatmeal every morning until next year — and yours too, if you come for breakfast.
Gene Paleno is an author and illustrator living in Witter Springs. Visit his website at genepaleno.com or email Paleno at genepaleno@gmail.com to subscribe to his monthly newsletter.
