WE have just had 11 marvellous millimetres of rain from the recent event – and it was most welcome.
While all our grapevines are just about dormant, they will still require wet roots to keep them happy until we get a bigger, more sustaining, rainfall.
And during the past month, in a reflection of the state of our industry, our final patch of unsold fruit was harvested to the ground.
Which means the harvester is now packed away in the shed for another season – next to the other one that wasn’t even required to come out of the shed this year.
So if someone out there happens to be looking for a second-hand, tow-behind UR Harvester at a good price, make sure you let me know.
I’ve also been spreading compost under the vine rows, which has been going well, and I’m patiently waiting for the remaining two loads to rock up so I can complete the job.
I have hooked up one of the pruning machines and have kicked off with a bit of contracting in the neighbourhood.
Despite China lifting its tariffs, the bigger picture in the wine job is seeing most growers seriously contemplating their future in the industry. The current outlook for Red varieties is bleak and growers are doing the numbers as to whether they grow a crop this coming year or not.
The creatures in the vineyard are a bit quieter at this time of year.
At night the snails have been climbing up onto the trellis posts to get a good look at the Aurora Australis in the southern sky.
I also did see where a mob of our orb spiders had caught a roo and all that was remaining was a big pile of fur.
Further investigation identified the group as an elite SAS (Special Arse Spiders) group, which is in training for deployment to the city to reduce the incidence of young crime.
And please talk to your mates.
