The rebirth of Spring!

Lest we forget what is the miracle of the rebirth of Springtime, I attach a photo of my New York Muscat vine budding out, in Portland OR in 2013. From within the dead-looking stick, the juices of life flow to meet the sun. Through these tiny leaves will erupt many feet of shoot growth, and clusters of fruit! Little wonder there is a grape variety (not the one in this pic) called "Phoenix"! 

Let's all take a moment to dwell on how lucky we are to be a part of this rebirth, and let's think on how we can rebirth ourselves, and what we can do to help preserve a healthy Spring for all (humans,and flora and fauna).

P.S. - Notice how the bud erupts above that darker ridge running perpendicular to the cane? If you are rooting a grape vine cutting and you aren't sure which end is the "leaf" end and which is the "root" end (and it absolutely does matter, critically), you can figure it out easily just by knowing the leafbud is above that crossing ridge in the cane. Stated another way, from that crossing ridgeline, the leaf's bud is on the "leaf end" of that ridge, so the roots will emerge from the other end of your cutting.