Lughnasa                                                                       New (Harvest) Moon

While snipping wild grapes off the vines that have overwhelmed a front rank of amur maples along 153rd, I was in pure paleolithic mode.  Hunter/gatherer.  No hunter, though the squirrels may drive me to it, but gatherer.  Yes.  These vines grow here.  They grew here before we came and produced well for several years along the six foot section of chain link; though now that has receded, for reasons I cannot discern.

The climbers on the amur maples had a bountiful yield this year.  It made me think our property would have been a stop on a seasonal swing looking out for grapes, blueberries, maybe raspberries, too.  We have wild raspberries,  but they’re less inviting to harvest and our cultivated ones are bigger and sweeter.  But these grapes are here because they like the location, have found it congenial.  Their plan for continuing the species includes many, many fruiting bodies in certain locations and this year our front was one of them

With a harvesting basket and small pair of grape shears I worked my way across about 15 feet of width and up to about 6 feet, snipping many clusters hanging within inches of the ground.  The September sun, no longer fierce at 9:30 am, beat down enough to warm me, a breeze whisked away the sweat.  Going paleo all the way, cave man.