Having thoroughly celebrated My Freedom with a 10-mile run outside and a solid 4 hours of work in the gardens on Saturday, I rested yesterday (Monday) with a serious case of Second-Day Soreness.

As grateful as I am for my Life and Freedom, I am ready to move on to new tasks, goals and projects.

My neighbors, whoever, do not seem to have arrived at the same transitional stage.

With a seemingly endless supply of loud and disruptive store-bought fireworks, I am left wondering exactly when the show might cease to have me on pins and needles each evening.

High-strung individual that I am, the staccato background ambience (lasting from dusk to nearly midnight) has me practically jumping out of my already uncomfortable skin with every snap, crackle and pop.

Yes, I know that it is only July 7th and I do feel slightly “Grinchy” confessing this Gripe.  So in the interest of being a good-sport and to make a stab at flexibility, I will move on the Positive Portion of My Post.

Grapes!

I first posted the first emergence of Grapes on my Second-Season Grape Vines in the Grape Ape post.

Back then, they were teeny-tiny and resembled Olives more than Grapes.

With a lot of Sunshine and some Rain, they are growing larger and more numerous.

Some are beginning to turn purple!

  To encourage the vines to expend more energy towards growing the actual fruit, I have spent a lot of time pruning back extraneous branches and tendrils.  Primarily, plants utilize their energy and nutrients to grow larger and stronger.  Secondarily, they produce fruit.  Pruning away “suckers” guides the plant “back on track”, so to speak.

So far, the Grapes are still quite hard and resistant to pressure, so it will probably be a while longer before I am able to enjoy.

While pruning, I accidentally liberated some Grapes from their vines pre-maturely, so I extracted the seeds and potted them is composted manure.  I am not sure if the seeds are mature enough to germinate, but everything is an experiment in my gardening adventures.

Over the last year or so, I have mostly learned by trial and error.  This will undoubtedly be the case in Grape Propagation.

How did you celebrate Independence Day Weekend?

What do you think of the Grape Vines’ progress?

Are you grouchy about store-bought fireworks or is it just me (the child-free Grinch of the neighborhood)?