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For the better part of a year now I have been cutting, piling
and burning brush along our fence rows and creek in an attempt to
turn our long field into something that resembles a small park. It's
quite a slow process - one that I could have paid someone else to do
for me, but I actually enjoy doing it myself.
The most difficult part of the entire process has been dealing with
the wild roses and grapevines, both of which climb high into the
trees and entangle themselves with the branches. The wild roses are
relatively easy to pull down from the treetops, but their nasty
thorns leave you looking like you just lost a fight with a dozen
cats. The wild grapevines don't leave any marks on you, but it's
extremely difficult - and sometimes impossible - to extricate them
from the trees!
From day one, my intention was to completely remove both of these
pests from our property and prevent them from returning. I have cut,
tugged on, and struggled with hundreds of wild roses and grapevines,
and now they are all gone...except for one.
One of the large trees that sit on the border between the field and
the roadway has a large, two-pronged grapevine climbing up into its
highest branches. When I first saw it I started to take my brushaxe
to it, but then I looked at it and sort of liked it. And the more I
looked at it the more I liked it still. You see, that one brings
back a lot of memories...
When we were growing up in "the holler" in Widener Valley, Virginia,
we kids loved to hunt a large grapevine to use as a swing. We would
cut it off just above the ground, then take turns grabbing on to it
and holding on for dear life as we swung out over the creek - which
was littered with boulders that lay anywhere from 10 to 15 feet
below. If the grapevine broke - and occasionally it did - the odds
that the kid who was swinging at the time would get seriously hurt
were very high.
God was surely watching over us as we played our dangerous games
back then because we always managed to "fall" in a spot where there
were no rocks. With the exception of a sprained ankle or wrist on
occasion, none of us ever got hurt from swinging on a wild
grapevine. Thanks to the good Lord and Bayer aspirin, we made it
through those foolish times in pretty good shape.
Important note: Using a wild
grapevine as a swing is a very dangerous activity that could result
in a very serious injury - or worse. Don't do it! Yes, I know I just
told you that I did it myself in my younger days, but I was very
lucky - and you might not be.
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