We Beat the Raccoons - Mostly!

5 baskets of Candice grapes - the best harvest ever!

This afternoon was scheduled for picking the Candice grapes.  There's been an excellent crop and so far no sign of raccoons.  So out I went with my kitchen stepladder and a basket or two in hand - to discover that the raccoons had, indeed, discovered the grapes.  There were a few destroyed bunches on the ground along with a number of leaves.  Perhaps only one raccoon.  Who would no doubt tell his family to come back tonight!

This meant that we had to pick everything we wanted NOW whether as ripe as we'd like or not.  So ten minutes later using the kitchen stepladder and a taller wooden one we snipped off the bunches and filled five baskets!  There are still quite a few bunches left, but they're the least ripe ones.  I'm betting by tomorrow there won't be any grapes left!

And now the dehydrator gets into high gear.  Dehydrating grapes is a sticky business.  So far I've done five trays and each time had to pick the grapes off the trays.  Then the trays went into the dishwasher to get all the stickiness off them.  I'm wondering if a quick blast with cooking spray will make it easier and have determined to give it a try.  The fact that the grapes aren't as fully ripe as I'd like doesn't really matter.  They still make excellent raisins.

So far I have one quart jar full of raisins.  I'm sure that in a couple of days' time, it will be joined by several more.  Winter baking is going to be so satisfying with our own raisins.