Needed rain welcome, needed better prices also welcome

ON that very important day of Anzac Day we also had a very welcome 63mm of rain.

It was great to give the vines a good drink, and also to wash in the compost which we had spread just before the rain came.

Sometimes it really all does come together.

Wineries still have an abundance of red wine, with many restricting their intake of red varieties and some converting red wine into white wine this season, with that production then having a better chance of being utilised.

At our place we have removed a patch of Shiraz, and it will be replaced by a more favourable variety.

The grapevines have had a good amount of time after harvest holding a good amount of foliage to aid in the storage of goodies for next season.

When a frost occurs, or other stresses to the vines just after harvest, they lose their leaves prematurely and as a result will often struggle when the spring comes.

With temporary water prices also hitting high prices at the end of this season, if it is still the same as we get into spring, and the big storage dams are not very full, we may see restrictions of allocations of permanent entitlements.

That and the then-inevitable high temporary water prices will lead to wine growers struggling to see the value in growing a crop unless the grape prices they receive are significantly increased.

Growers will be much better placed, and more confident, if wineries communicate their requirements as early as possible.

Election Day has come and gone but in the creature’s world it was somewhat misinterpreted.

The lady snails, who are always looking for an opportunity to increase the size of their families, misunderstood the forthcoming special day as Erection Day.

The lippy and mascara were adhered with precision, and they went searching for the bloke snails.

Luckily those poor blokes got wind of the planned event, left plenty of voting fliers of Albo around for the lady snails to swoon over and headed for the hills as quickly as they could.

I also believe I have got to the bottom of one of nature’s great mysteries.

It’s about the strange sharp barking noise which foxes tend to make at night.

The foxes have a habit of doing their business on ant nests while roaming around at night, and the ants, understandably, get really annoyed.

As a result, a small battalion of their finest ant warriors are always at the ready just near the entrance to the ant hole.

From there they suddenly emerge, rushing forward brandishing a medieval type of lance made from a long boxthorn bush spike.

Equally understandably, the highest pitch yelp usually comes from the most accurate of shots.

Talk to your mates.

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