Favorite Moments From The Fourth

You've already heard about my third of July but what did we do on the actual holiday? Enjoy a small family BBQ with Andrew's parents, aunt and uncle, and cousin.  It was another HOT and sweltering day, so we spent most of the day lounging around the pool, eating and enjoying the antics of Andrew's cousin's little girls.

The other main attraction of the day was Andrew's parents' grapevine - this thing is a monster compared to our two little plants. I was pleased to see grapes forming on their vine...

...and was even more charmed by what was hidden within. Andrew's dad told us that a robin had built her nest in the vines. While this was a bad decision on the robin's part, because each time someone would go on the deck, it would alarm the robin and she spent most of the day flying in and out of the vines all day, it was good for us because we go to see this:

As I told Tom, this was the first time I had seen robin eggs in person "other than the candy ones that you eat for Easter."

I'm also happy to report that the neighbor's cat Smokey made it down from the tree, and spent most of the afternoon resting in the shade of the grapevines. I swear she wasn't even aware of the robin and was just looking for a cool place to relax.

Fruits of His Labor

Last weekend was exciting for Andrew due to a delivery by FedEx - grapevines!

Two seedless Concord grape vines to be exact. That's right, anything can be delivered through the mail these days:

Andrew was very pleased with his selection. His inspiration? The grapevines his parents planted in the house he grew up in:

Like most boys, Andrew happily went to play outside in the dirt - I mean, dig manly holes in the yard for the vines while I heckled him from the deck above:

What you can't see in the pictures is the lattice that faces this part of the side yard. With the two vines securely planted, we're hoping they will grow and mature into a nice cover on the side of the deck, plus a great source of grapes that are well suited for juices and jellies!