the gardener

a bawbsvithe (and a true story)

Today an old Lebanese man gave 'Brozy and me three grapevine cuttings. To care for a new vine, he counseled us, "Lay all but an inch along the ground and cover it with soil, so there's plenty of room for roots. Plant it in a sunny place, and water it as often as it takes to keep the soil moist."

Then he took us out back and showed us how to tend a mature vine. Examining each branch, he tied high on the trellis every part that had fallen. Then he pruned the hell out of it.