Fruit or flowers?

Both.
Vinomaker and I are celebrating our fourth wedding anniversary today. Tradition dictates that gifts of fruit or flowers be exchanged. Consequently there is a lot of fruit, an orchid, a bottle of Sauternes (grapes), and a couple bottles of Calvados (apples) lying around the kitchen right now.
Calvados has always been a favourite tipple of Vinomaker's. Whether this eau de vie de cidre is produced by single or double distillation the resulting apple brandy, hailing from Normandy, is a very pleasant alternative to its high brow cousin, Cognac.
Happy anniversary Vinomaker.

Vinalia rustica.

"The 19th day of August is an especially auspicious day for a wedding, for it is the feast day of 'Vinalia rustica', a day that has a rich place in mythology and ancient traditions. On this day, the people of ancient Rome during the dedication of a temple to Venus, vowed a libation of all the wine of the succeeding vintage. Venus the goddess of love and beauty, was also the goddess of gardens and vineyards. So this is a day when love and nature are in perfect balance..."
I wrote these words three years ago for my and Vinomaker's wedding.
Happy anniversary Vinomaker.

One of these things is not like the others.

Instead of rice or birdseed being hurled at Vinomaker and me on our wedding day, we had our guests chuck a handful, or two, of wild flower seeds at us. As a result, we got to enjoy a pretty array of poppies, lupins, and cornflowers the very next spring. They have flowered each spring since then conjuring up happy memories, with their reappearance, of a warm August day spent with family and good friends, all gathered together in our vineyard to celebrate one of life's more pleasant rituals. This year however, I had a bit of a surprise...a pink cornflower.
Much like that different clones of grape varietals are actually genetic mutations (albeit with desirable attributes which are then propagated), this pink cornflower apparently decided to spurn convention (along with the protocyanin pigment that makes it blue), and go with a decidedly more feminine look this time around. Cute.
I don't know if she will be back next year but she is very welcome to visit, just as long as she brings with her a bunch of very welcome reminiscences...and smiles.