Day One - Fruits of My Labor

 Picture was taken with my cellphone using the Instagram app

September 27th 2012-

This evening my children and I enjoyed a late night snack of grapes, fresh off the grapevine from our backyard. This picture is simply beautiful to me, not in a technical "That is a wonderful shot" type of way. It is really more what the picture represents, the little things in life turn out to be the most important.

My father planted the grapevine when I was a child, for years he took great pride in taking care of the vine.  As an adult my parents moved to a new house and rented out my childhood home, where the grapevine was not appreciated for all it had to offer.

After several years I became the tent of that home, and in the beginning I wasn't really very involved in the yard work aside from cutting the lawn. I was starting my family and had other priorities in my life (such as taking care of my new little baby) , so once more the grapevine went unattended. After years of neglect the vine stopped producing grapes. But through some changes in my life and a different state of mind, I now view the yard as more then some place for my children to play. It can be a place that teaches my children and myself about nature. It can be a place that with a little hard work, can add food to our table. And to my surprise our backyard has become a place to feel calm and contemplate what really matters in this world, such as beauty in something as simple a truss of grapes.

These grapes provided that beauty tonight in the form of pure joy. My son's beautiful smile as he beamed while holding the grapes he helped care for. The sound of  my children crunching on the crisp fruit, knowing that I had a hand in helping nourish not only their bodies but minds, all by spending a little time in the garden.