Grapevines  are the big show in our back yard each year, with broad leaves shielding  slowly ripening grapes as they turn purple under the summer sun.

During June the grapevine is gently saturated with rain.  Unlike their backyard companions of rosebushes and tomato plants, these vines are hardy. No dragging yellow limbs nor soggy overblown roses blight these vines. They are upright and certain, wrapping their way around the trellis.

The  summer matures along with the fledgling fruit. In July and August there are backyard barbecues, games of hide-and-seek, children returning from the beach in sandy bathing suits and grownups taking a siesta on the deck.  The night air is lit with fireworks displays from the Seadogs stadium nearby.The growing season for the grape follows the gentle pattern of summer. Crisp, cool nights turn to warm, lazy days. There’s no hurrying nature. All through the warm summer months the grapes grow fatter, sweeter, juicier and more enticing.  Even the neighborhood birds take notice.  

Sometime after Labor Day, armed with large baskets and scissors, we clip the grapes from the vines, and the kitchen becomes grand central grape station. Picking over the grapes, we marvel at their color and size. A huge pot of extracted grape juice is melded with sugar and pectin, and a miracle occurs. Suddenly these globes of sweetness are jelly. Glass jars stand sterilized on the counter at the ready, then gleam in a row filled with purple sweetness.

Leaves will turn red and gold, snow will fall and the predictability of winter in Maine proceeds. In winter months, every time we pry a lid off a new jar, we are taken immediately back to the heady warmth and sweetness of summer.