Early morning is my favorite time of day. It is quiet and free from distractions. When Bonnie and Bruce were very young I would waken one hour before they were up. That was what I called my golden hour. At that point in my life I was not rushing out to work, or as now, eager to get out and walk early. The time was taken up with usually writing letters or writing in my journal. I have a stack of them going back to the day I married on August 15, 1949. There are skips in the years however as it can be very busy when children are young, and sick, or just needing attention.
Today I am focusing on this fall day in October,the 12th, 2010. I awakened early and after a few daily tasks - I used a few minutes on the computer to say good morning to Bonnie, Bruce, Jim and Ruth. Drinking grapefruit juice as a quick pick me up is a daily must have. Then on with the shoes and jacket to walk up to the mail box, 1,000 feet on a gravel road. After placing a letter in the box to go out, I was pulled to the vineyard and began counting my steps as I went down between the first and second rows. After 53 steps I lost count as the grapes still hanging on the Higgins vines looked so inviting. I had to pick one to taste. It was a nice reward so I did it again on other vines.
Looking to the second vine on my right, the praying mantis eggcase that I had tied on a high horizontal branch looked different. I stopped to investigate and saw that it had indeed hatched. I had thought it was a "dud" but apparently it did send out some of it's progeny. I have yet to see them, but they must be about somewhere.
Going further I began to notice the patterns on the leaves. Some still as green as could be but most of them had turned yellow. They were not without blemish however, as some looked lacy from caterpillars eating into them. Most just had spots turning brown. A few in one general area had brown lines which looked to be drawn with an ink pen. They resembled the going up and down again in a pattern. Perhaps some errant snail found his way up there and did the decorating. Actually there must be a scientific reason for these markings.
Coming back toward the gravel road I counted the vines in the first row, 14. On the second row I counted 8. In the third row only two of Bob's vines. Then there are the vines running north to south alongside the gravel road. That will be a lot of pruning, if I get to all of them. Some of the less desirable vines will go down as being dispensible when the men come with their chain saws.
A walk-a-bout would not be complete here without a visit to the raised beds. Walking across the centipede grass I collectd quite a few of the seeds from the grass. They showed up as sand on my white shoes. I saw something new today, it was a black capped chicadee ( I think). I do not ever remember seeing birds in that garden. He was flying into the tomato cages but did not stay. Some of his friends were flying about also. I once again decided to leave the green tomatoes on the plants as I can see the last rain has made them larger. There is plenty of time to gather them later before any frost. They can ripen indoors quite nicely.
The stone mountain daisies have sent out an evangelist into the blackberry bed. It is blooming brightly announcing it's intention of permanent residence. I may have to help it find another home come next spring. That bed was made for blackberries, not daisies.
Another sign of fall is the seed pods on the redbud trees. They hang brown and ugly until winter winds tear them loose to find fertile ground in which to send their roots. I tell myself that the centipede grass Jim started here was a good choice for it never needs fertilizer and is sure to crowd out all weeds brave enough to enter it's domain. I have never had to fuss over that grass, it is well suited for the south and knows how to take care of itself !
This has been a nice morning pass through of the lake property, all is well, fall is doing what fall does best, close down the summer.
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