Grapes? Nuts!

My grapes are finely ripe.  I have a grape arbor over part of my patio and friends have been trying to pick the grapes ever since June when they first looked big and juicy.  I have had to say over and over again, "Don't pick them yet, they are red grapes, not green."  Well they are finally ripe and I have a bumper crop, even with all the sharing I do with the local animal kingdom.  My yard is an unofficial animal sanctuary.



Bagged grapes



One mockingbird builds her nest in the grapevine every year so she can have breakfast in bed.  The ground squirrels have tunnels as near the vine as they dare, so they can make a quick escape when I  come out the door.  In fact, I learned several years ago to put ziploc bags over the bunches of grapes to protect them from predators.  I cut the bottoms out of quart size bags, giving the grapes fresh air and room to expand.  In theory this keeps the birds from grabbing hold of the bunches of grapes.  The ground squirrels have learned to open the bags and take them off.  I find bags all over the back yard.



Wendy waiting her turn


With all the wildlife enjoying the grapes, some end up on the ground.  What is that fable about the fox and the grapes?  Wendy, my foxy pomeranian stands guard over her share.  She has taught Hercules to ignore the grapes, except when she isn't around and he can grab what he can.

Hercules has his own spot.  The walnuts have begun to fall, so Hercules sits under the walnut tree guarding them from rabbits and squirrels, until I go out and pick them up.

The pistachios are ripening too; but that is a problem I haven't solved.  I pick them one at a time when the skin becomes pink and loose.  When I have enough, I soak them in salt water then roast them.  The ripest ones, the shells open automatically.  If they have been picked a day or two early, then they do not ripen, but are still edible.  It takes a hammer and nutcracker to get the open.

The other evening I was sitting in my living room, reading when I hear a pinging noise in the kitchen.  Wendy and Hercules were both at my feet sleeping, so they hadn't made the noise.  When I went into the kitchen to investigate, there was a mouse sitting on the counter, holding a pistachio, looking at me.  On the floor were a few unopened pistachios.  That mouse actually  though it could break the shells by dropping them1  A live trap and a little peanut butter took care of the mouse.  The unopened pistachios are still a problem.