Success Comes In Small Bites

Day 357: Success does not necessarily come to us in large measure. Sometimes it comes in small bites: tasty, but by no means a full plate. It has been several years since I planted two hardy kiwi "Issai" vines, purportedly one of the few self-fertile varieties on the market. I had great hopes for a crop last year, but what fruit had set fell to the ground when daytime temperatures went over 100 for several days in a row. The garden shed most of its berries then. The gooseberries and currants, only a day or two from full ripeness, fell to the ground in a juicy "rainstorm." I was able to salvage most of them for jam, but the kiwis were months away from maturity. But such is horticulture, and this year, I again had high hopes when the blooming season and the pollinators coincided. There were fewer flowers, quite possibly due to a cold snap and late-spring snowfall, but a few within the vine-protected interior of the arch trellis formed fruit. At one point, I think I counted 11 berries, several of which disappeared without a trace. Three weeks ago, one of those remaining felt slightly squishy when I pinched it gently. I picked it, popped it in my mouth, and was rewarded with a burst of kiwi flavour as potent as any encountered in a full-sized fruit. Yesterday, two more signalled their readiness to be eaten, and this time, I remembered to take a picture to document the story of this small but nevertheless enormous horticultural achievement.