Race Against Time

August is the time of year when the realities of farming challenge the Spring optimism. Now when I walk the rows of vines I can see the stresses on the vines; bird damage, wind damage, hail damage, and this damage. Something is stripping the lower grapes off my beautiful Syrah clusters! When I started out yesterday morning I wondered if it was raven or coyote damage. I've watched the ravens hopping up and down tearing at the clusters. They are quite comical to watch. However, I saw much more damage than a whole flock of ravens could have caused the further I walked along. Then I ran into, or rather, almost stepped on the evidence of what was eating the grapes. You'll have to read my next blog to see. I have to warn you, though, it is not for the faint of heart.