It's A Grape Day For A Birthday~ Thursday in the Garden

 Today is my birthday and what a grape day it was ! Yes, GRAPE . We have so many grapes ripening the birds are hovering overhead and in the bushes waiting to eat the grapes my husband grows and tends, so grapes needed to be picked posthaste. Ripening fruit is no respecter of days and my birthday needed to be spent preserving the harvest. No sacrifice at all, I love to stay home on a rainy day like today and do something useful anyway.

 Some of our gardens are thriving abundantly because of the record breaking high temperatures we had this summer. Our grapes grew especially well. This grape arbor grows the red grapes that make the very best juice. The grapes growing here do have seeds and when I open a jar of canned red grapes I pour the juice through a strainer. I eat the grapes and seeds left in the strainer though. I always did like fruit seeds. I eat the seeds of apples, watermelons , oranges, tangerines... and no, contrary to what all my elders told me, I have no watermelons sprouting in my tummy.

 These grapes make the most beautiful claret colored grape juice. If you've never tasted home canned grape juice you've missed a treat. I have never cared for commercial grape juice and pass it up for water when it is offered. My home canned grape juice is surprisingly delicious and now my preferred juice.Unfortunately I only can a limited supply and share it with friends and family on special occasions leaving no extra for sipping whenever I want some good juice. Maybe this makes it even more deliciously special knowing it is a scarce commodity for us.

 This grape arbor over benches grows green seedless grapes. They are very sweet and abundant. My husband once made wine from these grapes and the wine tasted and bubbled like champagne, oh so delicious , but very labor intensive. I made canned grape juice from them this year. Everyone in the family can drink this and they love it.

 The birds were beginning to gather round and launch an all-out feast on these delectable little grapes this week so we picked almost all of them. I have canned 21 quarts of the green grapes. The grapes, after the juice is strained out, will be wonderful in fruit salads or home made fruit cocktail.

I spent today , my birthday, canning grapes. 21 quarts canned and most likely 21 more quarts to can and put away in the pantry. I think we'll do fine for grape juice in the next year. The grape juice is usually ready to drink around Christmas and is so pretty in our Christmas goblets.



While the canner was bubbling away for the required 20 minutes processing I took time to sip a cup of coffee loaded with real cream and read the newest edition of Cottage Journal my favorite magazine. Today was a grape day , a happy day , a rainy day ( YAY ! ). Knowing the fruit of our labor is literally growing in our gardens and after many hours of intensive work produces a beverage that beats the taste of store-bought grape juice makes it even more a GRAPE day . Have a grape day today my friends. Take time to enjoy your gardens and the fruit of your labor. If you're abundantly blessed you're even able to sip a bit of that hard work done in love.