Fruit of the Vine

It's harvest time!

Today, Charles decided to harvest some of the grapes that were hanging from our backyard canopy.  Some of the fruits were still very small but they were starting to fall off, so he decided it was time, at least for some of them.

This is only about a third of the entire produce that need to be harvested.  When I got home from work and took a peek at the outside, it's as if nothing was taken off of the vine.

I think our grapevine is not as healthy as it should be.  The fruits are inconsistent in size.  The big ones seem very ripe and they're sweet, and the small ones are sour.  I don't know if we should have waited.  But if we did, maybe they would have fallen off on their own and we'd have very little left to enjoy.  I wish we were more experienced with taking care of plants and fruit trees.  Gardening is just not our thing. This is one area that the husband and I would likely flunk.

Lucas was so thrilled about the grapes.  He used to go outside and ask to pick some fruit, but we would tell him it's not ready yet.  Now, he can enjoy as much as he wants, until mom and dad says "that's enough".  He ate too much of it today that we had to stop him from even going to the kitchen.

I wish my dad was here.  We owe him this.  He had the vision of grapes growing in the backyard and fruits hanging from the canopy, providing a natural shade while he sits in the backyard and lounges the day away.  He planted this, along with other fruit trees when he and my mom came to visit a couple of years ago.  Now, we are reaping the fruits of his labor and there is nothing I want now than for him to enjoy it too.