In the vineyard

Harvest has ended, and pruning hasn’t started. What are we doing?

This week, it’s mostly mowing vegetation to keep the vineyard floor from being a great habitat for voles. This cute little rodent can be very destructive to vines and trees if the population explodes. They can reproduce very quickly, even in the winter, especially under snow cover. They can quadruple their population in 35 days! In January! (If January had 35 days.)

If we have cover for them to hide in, the owls, kestrels, cats, coyotes, and other predators can’t catch enough to control the population.

The six sheep and Miss Piggy have cleaned up all the grapes that were on the ground. And Miss Piggy is being fed apples almost every day. She loves them!

The cold has killed most of the leaves, soon the vines will be bare, and Paul will start pruning; 15.2 kilometers to prune by April 15.

We are also working hard in the garden, bringing in the last of the tomatoes, peppers, and onions. We are still eating salad greens from the garden. Last night, we had oyster mushrooms (from our yard) in a creamy cheese sauce over polenta. When the oyster mushrooms come on, we eat them right away. They are great with our Rosé Paradisos. It also helps that Paul is a great cook!