Next to a window shutter, a little cast iron cluster of Round grapes grows out of the brick. Called a "shutter dog" or a "tie back", this architectural flourish and functional necessity rotates into place to hold the shutter open. The structure of a grape cluster is its own complex marvel -- conical or cylindrical or winged -- consisting of the cane (main shoot), peduncle (connecting stalk), rachis (small stem branches), pedicels (individual cap stems), and the grapes, of course.

04.12.18