Thursday, November 10, 2011

Seasonal Grapes

Seasonal Grapes by linfrye
Seasonal Grapes, a photo by linfrye on Flickr.

9" x 12"
Arches 140#CP

Tis the season for these luscious orbs -- and after last night's class on fruit trees and berries -- I'm ready to plant even more! Here in North Carolina, muscadine grapes grow naturally - and many varieties are not only coming to market for the table, but even more are being grown for our expanding wine industry.

This morning our volunteers will harvest the cole crops we planted eight weeks ago -- brussel sprouts, lettuce, cabbage, turnips, carrots, mustards, collards ...we've been using 'floating row' covers - soft, woven netting that covers the plants - keeping out insects and also keeping the plants a bit warmer than the surrounding air. This method has worked well for us to help avoid insecticide use and also extended the season.

The last bit of warm days this week tease us like a lingering caress ...morning's chill reminds me that the sharp pangs of winter are on their way. Winds are rising and the beautiful kaleidescopic colors are quickly undressing the trees and returning to them in the form of next year's nutrition.

Let's savor this last bit of fall ...it won't be around for long.

3 comments:

Joan Tavolott said...

Mmmmmmmmmmm! Looks good enough to eat!!! Wonderful photos of the volunteers and the planting of the trees. Congrats again!! Enjoy these wonderful autumn days...the will end soon. Have a great day!

Teri said...

These grapes are just beautiful Lin. Looks so luscious.

Lorraine said...

Lovely painting -- they look so realistic yet very arty looking too. I can now see why you haven't had much time to paint or post!

Brr, it went down into the low 30's last night and I was out a bit today and the wind is bitter and speaking of winter -- way too early for my tastes.

Big hugs,
Lorraine