The embattlement is complete. And like all constructions, when preparing for battle, it’s taken seriously. However, not all fortresses are built with stone, like the amazing castles we saw three months ago on our holiday. This one is soft to the touch.

It’s that time of year again, but the difference between now and 12 months ago is a lot of rain. We’ve had a few feral storms pass through, some bringing hail varying in size from a pea to a tennis ball. I’ve already covered our weather events in the last rant, so moving on, we’ve had a colossal amount of rain. Rain gives anything struggling to grow in parched dirt a new zest for life. I thought the weeds were showing the best results but my Pink Iona Grapes are far plumper than they would normally be at this time of year. This was a wake-up call, as I thought I had another month before I had to haul the netting out.

The vine has travelled further along the fence; those little grabbers — I call them that — have latched on and curled around other parts of the vine, so it looks a bit like spaghetti bolognaise, or those mind-bending motorways overseas. I have seen another vine of a similar size, and how simply they have covered it without much effort. When I saw theirs, I had a major ah-ha! moment. So that’s a lot easier than my process. I have been trying to recreate something similar ever since, and like all projects, there’s always room for improvement. Indy always supervises from a safe distance; the netting looks a bit dodgy to her, so she sits in the shade and observes.

I needed more bird netting to cover the extra growth. I found the rolls of netting at Bunnings and chose the length and width. To cover the lower vine, I also needed to buy a wider roll and cut it in half. Fastening it all was done with clothes pegs. Wow, what a job! The things we do for a bucket of grapes.

Soon enough, the rainbow lorikeets will hear on the grapevine (pun unintended) that the grapes are turning a soft shade of pink and there’s a free lunch at my place. Last year, two lorikeets sat side by side on top of my fence, squawking grumpily as they looked most distastefully at the netting over their breakfast and lunch. It wasn’t a pleasant sound, and there are some very cool bird songs about, but not from these two. I think if I were fluent in lorikeet speak, they’d be swearing a lot.

“Sorry, guys, but these grapes are mine. You’ve demolished them in the past, so I’m taking action. The free feeds are over.”

I look at my handiwork on that hot afternoon yesterday and feel proud. Job done. I wonder what my harvest will be this season – I got 8 kg last year, so the fortress worked. And there’s more fence for the vine to climb, so maybe more netting next year. Pink Iona is a sweet-eating table grape, it’s not flash when juiced but great to eat and share!

Remember this shot? A young grape leaf in Winter!