We ought to do good to others as simply as a horse runs, or a bee makes honey, or a vine bears grapes season after season without thinking of the grapes it has borne.
Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor (121-180)
This was a no-cookie day. After a very thoughtful church service about doing whatever we can to help our fellow man (i.e., Love thy Neighbour), the Time Traveller and I took a leisurely drive into the Niagara Peninsula, sharing memories of the concord grapes from our youths.
The Time Traveller wanted to buy some so we ducked into two vineyards, but no one was working. Then we visited a winery, where the grapes offered at the tasting bar lacked flavour; but perhaps that's the secret of good wine, because the wine of our youth (made with concord grapes) was pretty bad. Finally, in Vineland, a roadside vendor had baskets of the vine's last harvest. TT simply had to fight off the bees to carry a basket away.
Driving a little further, we came to Port Dalhousie where we took a quiet walk along the long pier, admiring Lake Ontario's vista, the lighthouses, and the ships anchored in the distance, waiting to enter the Welland Canal to continue their journeys to Chicago and other western ports. In the foreground we contemplated a mallard couple, paddling through life, together.
After a great dinner of mussels at Murphy's restaurant, we walked back out along the pier and sat on one of the memorial benches, each dedicated to someone loved, and each welcoming visitors to stop, rest, and enjoy the world around them. We watched the sun set into the lake's molten surface and were thankful we were raised in such a great land.
The grapes on my vine, while not so prolific, certainly were tasty. We left them till the first frost...so I suppose we had ice grapes.
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