But first things first: We all went out for Valentine's Breakfast, enjoying ourselves thoroughly at the Swinging Bridge. Afterward, we went home and worked in the field, pulling up old (falling over) supports and ferreting the actual grape vines out of the tangled mess that has grown up in the past five years. There is also a climbing rose that we left, out of sheer respect for its tenacity. We put the posts back up, digging good solid holes, and then put supports for the grapes between the posts. We have absolutely no idea if the grapes are worth saving, but this way we will be able to write a review in the summer. We piled the spent grape vines and other brush in the garden, but by the time we were done it was really too windy to light it.On Sunday we went Down The Mountain, getting chai at Starbucks before going to the hardware store and looking at seed-starting kits. We all got into the act, selecting seeds, varieties and planning where and what would be grown. We are definitely going to need more space. We looked at fencing options, because none of us is willing to fight with the deer any more, and we found a wonderful gate system. The boys were fantastically patient while David and I looked at new cell phone possibilities, a task that took longer than it should have but is finally decided, and then we all collapsed in front of a fantastic meal at our favorite Mexican place.
By the time we got home, we were more than ready to wind down for the evening, and had fun undecorating the Christmas tree (not a word about it; I'm just glad it is finally done) and lighting the whole works out in the garden. The tree went up quickly, as you can imagine after having been inside curing for three months, and the boys were amply impressed.
