Farming
I've kept quite busy lately but there are seemingly endless tasks to do on a farm. All of the wine is now in bottle, so there is nothing to do at the winery until we harvest, which should be in 2-3 weeks if the weather cooperates.
The grapes are beautiful and dark, and are tasting sweet now. The birds agree as they are eating everything they can get at. Obviously we would rather make wine than food for birds, so we do a number of things to keep the birds under control. First, we netted the entire vineyard about a month ago. This works pretty well but the birds will still try to get in through any openings or tears in the nets, and they will eat any fruit that is close enough to the nets to be pecked. To try and scare these birds away I have tied shiny mylar tape to the tops of the trellises. It blows and twinkles in the wind and seems to help. So far I have done the entire perimeter of the vineyard, plus along the road and a few passes through the blocks. I'll add more this coming week. We also broke out the shotgun this week to control the really determined birds.
In addition to birds, we have rodent pests: rabbits, ground squirrels, and gophers. Dogs help control these pests somewhat (Rosa caught me a rabbit yesterday), and shooting them with a .22 is fun and effective. There are natural predators helping us, including many birds of prey and bobcats. And Wes showed me how to bomb them in their holes by throwing what looks like a gigantic smoke bomb down the hole and then burying the entrance. I believe George W. Bush advocated using this technique a few years back in Afghanistan.
Yesterday I "suckered" one of the Chardonnay blocks, which means removing the "suckers". "Suckers" are where the vines' new growth shoots out from the trunk of the vine near the ground. We remove this to keep the growth at the top. I've also been hoeing weeds, and my body is aching from it, especially my forearms.
That's about it. I've been working out, riding my mountain bike, and hitting golf balls at the practice range down the road when time and fatigue permit, and watching preseason NFL games when I can. The Packers look like they are really going to suck this year...
Cheers!
"Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut." - Ernest Hemingway
The grapes are beautiful and dark, and are tasting sweet now. The birds agree as they are eating everything they can get at. Obviously we would rather make wine than food for birds, so we do a number of things to keep the birds under control. First, we netted the entire vineyard about a month ago. This works pretty well but the birds will still try to get in through any openings or tears in the nets, and they will eat any fruit that is close enough to the nets to be pecked. To try and scare these birds away I have tied shiny mylar tape to the tops of the trellises. It blows and twinkles in the wind and seems to help. So far I have done the entire perimeter of the vineyard, plus along the road and a few passes through the blocks. I'll add more this coming week. We also broke out the shotgun this week to control the really determined birds.
In addition to birds, we have rodent pests: rabbits, ground squirrels, and gophers. Dogs help control these pests somewhat (Rosa caught me a rabbit yesterday), and shooting them with a .22 is fun and effective. There are natural predators helping us, including many birds of prey and bobcats. And Wes showed me how to bomb them in their holes by throwing what looks like a gigantic smoke bomb down the hole and then burying the entrance. I believe George W. Bush advocated using this technique a few years back in Afghanistan.
Yesterday I "suckered" one of the Chardonnay blocks, which means removing the "suckers". "Suckers" are where the vines' new growth shoots out from the trunk of the vine near the ground. We remove this to keep the growth at the top. I've also been hoeing weeds, and my body is aching from it, especially my forearms.
That's about it. I've been working out, riding my mountain bike, and hitting golf balls at the practice range down the road when time and fatigue permit, and watching preseason NFL games when I can. The Packers look like they are really going to suck this year...
Cheers!
"Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut." - Ernest Hemingway
posted by Andrew Weber at 7:43 AM
3 Comments:
Post some pics of your Dirty Harry kills. Nothing like splattered rabbit brains to lighten up the office atmosphere.
[Singing...]
Here's comes Peter Cottontail, hoppin' down the bunny tr...
[Gunfire]
Peter Rabbit taking evasive maneuver's...
http://www.inc.com/magazine/20050101/eoty-ceja.html
If the Mexican's can do it, you can too
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