Drying off a family milk cow is always a bittersweet deal – you are glad for the break from milking but really miss the fresh milk! No more ice cream. No more fresh cheese. No more drinking milk to your heart’s content – or should I say stomach’s content?
It is finished. Pruning that is. All 32 acres. I love how clean the vineyard looks this time of year and all the potential that this year’s crop has. It is only April and freezes are still very possible – which could destroy this year’s grape crop. But, late pruning delays bud break and protect the grapes.
Our new vineyard toy promises to cut our hand pruning time in half if not more! We are now able to prune at least an acre a day which is way faster than before the precision pruner! Our hands are already thanking us!
It is time of year again and we have already begun pre-pruning the vineyard and even finish pruning it! When we purchased our Pellenc 4560 grape…
With only a couple of pieces of metal left to put on the roof, the progress is astounding. The landscape around the vineyard has certainly changed! Being indecisive really bugs me but with the family’s help, the decision was made and the roof is red!
Yes, we had a few hiccups. I prefer to call them character builders. But, after three days work, our ICF walls for the upstairs, the main living area, are finished – stacked and filled with concrete.
ICF is definitely for DIY’ers and we have begun making progress on ours once again! With pruning the vineyard soon to start, we decided to have a steel structure put up for the metal roof before beginning the ICF walls.
Pembroke Welsh Corgis have such personality and while she is still new to our family, Bangles is no exception! As with all Corgis, there is a perpetual smile on her face and it is already obvious that she is a fun-loving girl!
With the footers and support walls finished, it is time to pour the concrete for the front porch. This is truly a family affair with John and the boys working well into the night to finish the concrete. That is what you get for being do-it-yourselfers.
Harvest is over and we are gearing up for a new year of vineyard work. But before vineyard work starts, we get to make some progress on the house – YAH! The boys have been working hard and I can’t wait to share the progress with you!