Some years we get them, and some years we don't—wild grapes, that is. But you know when it's going to be a Vitis labrusca bonanza: the aroma of the fruit is a delicious giveaway. 2013 promises to be a very good year, with the scent starting to perfume the roadsides and leading you towards the potential of a harvest... assuming you have access to a bucket truck. These grapes were a mere 10 feet off the ground, but the Mother Lode above them was double that altitude, and very tempting, with the vines heavy with fruit. The wild fruit is not, unfortunately, all that good to eat out of hand, but the grapes make a splendid jelly. If you happen to find some clusters that are within reach, you should, of course, first photograph them. Then you should harvest them and make a genuine treat which, I should note, makes a perfect gift that will warm the heart of the recipient and bring a little bit of summer into the coldest day.

The first of the fox grapes