Holy Deluge Batman

Fantastic Storm, which Joan documents with lovely pictures. In total 3.5 inches of precipitation fell, the last bit of which was the frozen white stuff. Happy vines. Happy doggies. Happy vineyard farmer.

Cruelty

Mother Nature is a harsh mistress. With grand plans, eager and generous volunteers converging on the vineyard, equipment cleaned and ready to go, Joan and I fretted over the rain. She smelled the rain throughout the night. I just slept. At 5:30am I tried to persuade her that the break in the storm meant we could go ahead with harvest. She was more realistic. No Cabernet Sauvignon yet. Hopefully the weather will turn dry as will the soil and the fruit and we can get in our maiden C.S. harvest later this week. There's much to wine grape farming and life over which one has no control. Thanks to Therese, Sage, Heidi, Dave, Karla and Nichole.

Deluge

Sometimes the monsoon brings a gentle rain. Sometimes it's a dramatic electrical storm that is visible in the distance and is a treat to watch from the front porch. Sometimes it's crash bang right overhead. Crash bang overhead is bad when it's full of falling ice. Hail beats the crap out of plants and bruises grapes. Sometimes it's just a deluge. We haven't had the irrigation turned on in a month due to the monsoon rainfall. This storm last week that dumped 2.3 inches was a bit much.