Vital Vidal Tasks

Critter fencing is installed around the perimeter of the Vidal acre

Connie's Post

At present date, we are not able to be a presence at the farm everyday and the wildlife knows it. in southern maryland, a vine's most feared predators are the deer and small critter, looking for tasty tendrils and succulent young vines to strip down to nubbins. later in the year, we will worry about birds picking at the grape clusters. don't even think of the september drunken hornets!

all vineyards seem to have a common critter problem. a few have dogs patroling the vineyard fields, and others employ noise canisters to scare birds. some try bad smells for the furry critters and deers (home gardeners will know what i'm talking about--irish spring soap, blood meal sprinkles, rotten eggs and peppers sprays). others will invest in electric fences--the very same that takes care of the common suburban canine.

at our vineyard, we work with eight foot high fencing around the perimeter of the vineyard. it worked very well for our proofing concept/viognier acre. the fencing is rolled around the perimeter and gerald nails the fencing to the posts. dad pulls the fencing tight and boy2 helps with handing gerald the nails. after the deer fence is secured upright, the boys then unroll the small critter fencing and nail to the same posts. gerald then drives spikes through the netting into the ground, securing the vineyard from snuffling furry noses looking for a significant loop hole. if i was a small critter, i would skirt around the vineyard, anyway. large hawks regularly patrol and sit lookout on the acre's posts, awaiting a miscreant varmit trapped inside. its a no win proposition.

Catching Rain

the big rusty tank, source for summer water

Connie's Post
Water is always a precious commodity at the farm and we viewed the april 16th nor'easter as an opportunity, as surely the big rusty tank would collect water for the vineyard use during the summer. the following weekend we discovered, to our chagrin, there was a leak in the tube leading into the tank and the water benefit were lost to us. a tough bit of luck, there.

i write this now with renewed interest, as the forecast calls for rain, 90 percent chance! the leak was fixed immediately and we will be hopefully blessed with rain from the passing by thunderstorms this evening--making a deposit into our free water account. gerald tells me the water tank is currently half-full.

As We Walked In Fields of Gold

Connie's Post:
The sun had started the descent over the western proofing acre as the husband and his father finished running the deer fencing along the eastern vidal acre. they gathered up the tools and the boys. the husband's father left the eastern field with the boys as the husband walked across the field and helped his wife finish clearing the far floor of the vidal acre. it was another day of small but necessary progress.

the husband and his wife walked out of the vineyard and across the winter crop-covered field, pulling a hand cart behind them. the field starts with a gentle slope up to the old house but interspersed among the crop are wide plowing ruts that run long and parallel to the house. the tired wife giggled after several stumbles and subsequent cart yanking over the ruts. she commented, "what an awful field! but i like this yellow dry grass. it makes the field look so nice far away."

the husband looked up the hill and then down to his wife and started to sing:
We'll forget the sun in his jealous sky
as we walk through fields of gold

and then they laughed at the ridiculous thought of trying to run across the rutted field towards each other, arms out stretched. "this winter crop is barley," noted the husband. "sting has obviously never visited a barley field in his life," laughed his wife. then boy two, running down the hill to his parents tripped on a rut, and tumbled, crying for his momma to scoop him up. and so she did and so the day was done.

Small But Necessary Tasks

A small, but necessary task: scraping the vineyard floor.

Connie's Post:
Just this past winter, the vidal acre had been occupied with a crop of corn and timber covering. large money had rented large machinery and a large effort to harvest and clear the trees. the land had been plowed and made smooth for the measured marking flags, the auger holes, and the hopeful vidal vines. where the corn had stood, cover grass starts to grow and mowing will need to happen soon. where the timber had laid is a barren scape of grey-brown dirt, leftover bits, and charred patches from the large scale harvesting tasks. tendrils of tiny greens are starting to appear amongst the rubble. my husband asks if i wouldn't clear the area of rocks and stuff over 1" in diameter. looking at the third of the acre, i decide i'd rather rake than try to gather by hand.

raking up a third acre of leftover detritus--twigs, corn stalks and husks, rocks, bits of turtle shell and the odd animal bone (?! oh boy1, no. no one will buy that on ebay.)--is not hard work, merely tedious. its the type of work a mother can do and keep an eye on boy2 visual check, who wisely insists upon digging little-boy holes only in the shady areas outside the fenced acre. smart child scrape, scrape eck. someone could use this rake at home to gather up the toys on our neglected carpet. eck. i think the sun may be getting to me. i quickly make up a list of more satisfying work that could be accomplished at home. scrape, scrape flooring! finishing a bathroom! painting! reorganizing the garage! our tiny backyard! money, i think grimly. the rake is free and the work is in front of me. scrape, scrape so i continue with my task, torn between work, home and vineyard and the juggling of all the associated tasks. priorities. and then, is this even necessary? i mean, its scraping. ground. bah. and as i'm nearing the top of the hill and the sun is dropping in the sky, my husband walks up to me. he's smiling appreciatively. i recount my domestic meditation. we stand in silence, recognizing the vineyard's impact on our everyday life. after the moment of silence, he points out that though a small task, it is necessary so that disease doesn't spread through the vines or a mower blade isn't damaged or debris isn't kicked up by the mowing and possibly hurt someone. and then he picks up a rake and helps his wife finish the field. he's a good man.

A Little Help From Our Friends

The Vital Vidal Volunteer Crew 07

Gerald's Post
Pictured above: Lettie, Ency, Ray, and Juan after successfully finishing an acre of planting before the rains came. Far left is Uncle Pete, sans gardening fork. Each holds the last of the vines to be planted.

Fear not, for the Lord provides. And provide he did this day, supplying our operation with willing hands to do the work of digging holes and planting vines. On Friday Uncle Pete, niece Allison, and myself picked up 600 Vidal Blanc vines from the Tri-County Council office in Mechanicsville. The good people at TCC offered a matching funds grant for those interested in growing grape vines. As our operation was on plan to meet the minimum order requirements, we were able to take advantage of the program. Friday afternoon Pete and Allison planted a good quarter of the vines. At some point Pete lost his garden fork, not to be recovered for the remainder of the exercise. Next morning saw the arrival of our spirited volunteers. As Bernie secured deer fencing around the perimeter, our volunteers wore out Randy's auger drilling holes, then filling them with a vine for each. All day the planting continued with a Popeye's break for lunch. By about 5pm it was done. All retired to Charlotte Hall: weary, happy, and ready for a hot meal, refreshing spirits, and good company.

A Time and a Purpose

Turn, Turn, Turn. Allison and Uncle Pete plant Vidal as heavy machinery clears 3 acres of timber.

What do people gain from all the work they do under the sun?
A generation goes and a generation comes, yet the earth remains forever.
–ecclesiastes

Connie's Post
Spring break and a retirement were put to good use this past april as niece allison and uncle pete gave gerald a running start on planting the vidal. all in all, they planted close to a third of the acre and in doing so, thought they had sacrificed uncle pete's beloved gardening claw (left). luckily, the claw was recovered from the field the following weekend. the juxtaposition of the rending of trees and the nurturing of vines put me in the mood for a bit of putting things into perspective, and so i turned to ecclesiastes. i confess, i've read more bible passages since slate.com has featured blogging the bible and i'm a little reticent to share my perception with you, as formed from ignorance as it is.

from what i understand, many think ecclesiastes more of a pessimistic, troublesome entry, but i find a sort of joy in considering the inability to transcend our limitations over time—when at the same moment, witnessing a momentary communion of generations over dirt and plant matter.

ecclesiastes 3:1-8

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to throw away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.

Snow in April

Surprise snow on the proofing vineyard gate.

Connie's Post
The vines were freshly pruned, bleeding had begun, buds were set and spring stretched her arms all warm and bright to her children for an embrace. then, well--snow happened. this time snow happened on april 6th, a bit late in the season for southern maryland. gerald warned his wife there could be snow. ridiculous! thought the wife and then packed herself some very lightweight clothes. gerald, a firm believer in layers, packed boy1 and boy2 more clothes, for which the wife was grateful--as the snow blew in overnight to her surprise and her husband's ruefulness. how beautiful, though. the air was a bit warm, so there was the sound of snow melting throughout the day--but the snowy bits had stuck nicely to the vines and it was easy to score a nice image. easy for me, but gerald was concerned about the buds, as i had mentioned, they had started to break. so with journal in hand, gerald walked the proofing rows and recorded his findings. its now early may and while the buds, in my eyes seemed to have fared well, gerald says each bud is really three buds. if the primary bud grows, then the other two will not grow. however, if the primary bud is damaged, then one of the other two buds will grow to compensate. he will not be able to make an assessment until after inflourescence (the part of the shoot where the grapes will actually form.

Clarification of Way Back March Post

The Oxford Companion To Wine, 3rd Edition, Jancis Robinson. So worth the expense. Photo from Amazon.com

Connie's Post

I've developed a habit of thumbing through a couple of topics in the ole Oxford late at night before bed. i had posted a way back march rambling muse regarding the "sap oozing freely" from freshly pruned vines. how cool to have happened upon an entry regarding vine bleeding right before bud break. Ms. Robinson goes through the topic quite thoroughly, ben. please see the newly added source section (right, below links) for a link to her site--although you must be a paid subscriber to access the bleeding (heh) article. her site has plenty of free information, though, and is a great resource.

bleeding vital stats:

• its an event that can take place over several days when warm weather first breaks.


• vines can lose up to 5.5 gallons of liquid.


• the liquid is composed mainly of water, minerals, sugar, organic acids and hormones.


• bleeding is one of the growing cycle's first signal of starting


• it happens along with the roots' emerging from dormancy and


• osmostic forces start the root pressure that leads to the bleeding (check out the big brain on wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osmosis)
  
  

Noble Experiment Awry

How sad! The ruined Viognier, vinegar down the drain.

Connie's Post:
The partially noble-rotted viognier was sampled and found to have turned to vinegar and thus ended the grande experiment. at the time, we were simply trying to recover from hurricane ernesto--and so we thought, why not work with the grapes? perhaps we could have let the concoction sit a while longer and see if the vinegar would turn out to be something of use. after the heartache of the fall, we lacked the patience and stomach for further experimentation and poured it down the drain.

the 06 sangiovese is faring better, tasty albeit lighter in viscosity. the 05 sangiovese? pretty tasty. all in all, growing a delicious wine-grape is one thing. producing a delicious wine is a total different process.

Marking New Territory

Gerald measures and marks the new vidal acre.

Connie's Post:

Gerald had an ingenious way of marking the new vidal acre. he used chain link rope, since the chain link wouldn't stretch. he then measured out the feet between the vines and attached a plastic twist holder. i held one end and he stretched the chain link length out. then he went through and marked the field with orange flags, each represents a vine to be planted. after each row was marked, gerald and i went through the field, straightening the rows vertically and horizontally. i knew we had straightened the rows correctly, as the flags aligned on the diagonal, just as i remembered from my old marching band days. go fort zumwalt panthers!

having the holes marked in advance made it much easier for gerald's dad to start drilling holes with the auger!
600 holes for 600 vines. gooooo, dad!

Way Back Machine, March

Freshly pruned viognier vine weeps sap.

Connie's Post:
Midmarch proved milder and the quarterly freelance subsided, so momma and the boys ventured out with gerald and his father to check in on the freshly pruned proofing vines. i remember it was still quite nippy, but most surprising was the sap oozing freely from recovering vines. i don't remember this much oozing last year, but perhaps this is what happens as the vines mature. or i just got lucky to be there that day. its interesting to see the thickness of the vines get progressively thinner as you walk through the proofing vineyard.

Far Afield

The field beyond the vidal acre.

Connie's Post:
Briefly, as it is late on Sunday. I'm slowly catching up on the weekends. This image gives a good sense of scope as to the immense task of clearing a portion of the hardwood forest for near future development.

Way Back Machine, February

Ahhh. Gerald tells me he can feel how happy the vines are when they are pruned from last year's growth.

Connie's Post

The morning light is wonderful at the vineyard. everything looks both sleepy and hopeful as we drive up and jump out of the truck for a stretch. what a blessing it has been to have use of the home peter and lyrel purchased down the street. we can now drive down friday night, light a fire, open a bottle of wine, listen to my baubles, bangles and beads radio station from pandora and relax. then the next morning, gerald gets up early and heads over to the vineyard. usually, i stoke the fire, work on freelance and await the sleepy boys. once they have eaten their breakfast, we then head over to help gerald and record the day. february brought a pruning workshop that was attended by ger, his dad, the uncles and niece samantha. armed with knowledge and sturdy pruning shears, they entered the vineyard and brought order to last year's growth. this is one of gerald's favorite times--to see the lines of shorn vines awaiting the sun and planet's signals to start anew. he is happy to have the additional expertise in the proofing rows so that he can continue to make progress in other areas.

Way Back Machine, January

bitter weather keeps the boys and i at home while gerald perseveres and the new camera is sent in for repairs.

Connie's Post:

This is a shot from march, but conveys the feeling as best as an absent camera can. what can we say, boy2 loves hard. during january, the weather was bitter and windy and the wife was burdened with freelance, and so the boys and the old girl stayed home while the intrepid husband stoically ventured out with his father to tend the farm. arrangements were made for the far field to be cleared of trees for the new acre of vidal this spring. Each weekend small, steady progress was made.

Way Back Machine, Late December

A pan blur image standing inside the old tobacco barn. Son of Sony camera performs!

Connie's post:
New camera, new year and new adventures at the farm. and so its april already, four months without so much a passing glance at the blog. be assured, gentle reader, the farm and the people who belong to it have kept stepping to the rhythms of the season with their faces set resolutely to their upcoming goals. so sit back, enjoy the music from the vineyard, and catch up on the progress my husband and his family has made.

let's go in chronological order. according to the way back machine, in december we set up the two year vines with row posts and wire for them to scramble upon this spring. ger's brother pete came from the west coast to get'er done and the two brothers had many adventures in the set up, some of which ger prefers i just don't get into. i will say that the farm runs on a shoestring and sometimes the improvisation necessary to accomplish a task often becomes the task itself. the rest is a rich tapestry of comedy and chaos. so, gentle reader, you may ask, "how does one go about setting up end row posts and then subsequently wire them?"

1. row posts start off with two pressure treated pine posts. The pine posts are brought into the farm. locust posts are cut from the farm's hardwood growth. Here, gerald and pete cut the locust post to size.

2. the improv spinning jenny dispenses the wire that provides tension to the end pine posts, which helps keeps the wiring taut and the middle posts upright under the vine's seasonal growth.


3. gerald tacks the wire to the posts.
4. pete and gerald install the locust post cross bar (more strength and stability for the line)

5. as pete steadies the locust post, gerald starts winching the wire tight with help from boy2.


6. peter and gerald finish winching the wire tight.
7. viola! a nice set of end posts!

Requiem for a Camera

Vineyard with the netting still on. Last of the few beautiful images from my trusty camera.

Connie's Post
ah man. its been hard to contemplate the blog when the camera bit the dust, due to, ironic enough, dust and grit from the vineyard. sweet little sony camera, faithful camera! dependable, steadfast chronicler of our daily life. like a faithful old dog, the camera was there--dependably showing up in pockets, handbags, my tuff lil orange go-to-the-farm-bag. you withstood the endless oops! drops on a variety of surfaces. you endured the hard love my three year old dished out upon you--oh and remember that warm september way back, when we made sweet money together with that christmas photoshoot? all that fake snow everywhere in my southern exposed kitchen. all though it was close to 78 degrees in the kitchen, those images we captured were totally white christmas, baby! so hopefully, there will soon be a new replacement for the trusty sony, while we wait to see if a camera shop can repair the poor thing. in the mean time, the netting came off the vines, of course, right at dusk. gerald has been busy clearing the next acre, for this time--VIDAL! mmm, an acre of the vidal! this weekend, ger, his dad and uncle pete put up some new locust posts for the 1 year viognier. its the post harvest rush for spring!

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Wife Designs Logo

Gerald's dad requests a logo design for the Southern Maryland Winegrowers Coop

Connie's Post
in my day job, i'm a graphic designer that studiously avoids logo work. heh. but i do like this particular logo, 'cause i made the elements somewhat modular. i can see future designs that extend out, vertically, like a long column--or horizontal, like a landscape. the design came together quickly, as the coop was to attend the Port of Leonardtown groundbreaking and wanted to promote the coop on a tshirt they could wear. it was a family operation, start to finish. gerald and i threw around some concepting ideas---winegrowers--bottles on vines! from vine to wine! pour another glass, dear! i then whipped out the logo on my new laptop (speed!) in illustrator (no big feat for an ole freehand girl). we sent the files to gerald's sister and dad. they printed the logos on transfer paper and viola! t-shirts! gooooooo team! Gerald's dad reports they went over well and they consider the logo theirs. Onto the website!

What We've Done These Past Few Weeks

No, it isn't Andrew Goldworthy's latest work. Its a Gerald original drilled post hole, awaiting a heavy locust pole.

Connie's Post:
although the harvest is done, its not the end of the work for the year. after a week of rest, we hit the farm again and have started preparing the vineyard for the spring. the first year viognior vines are ready for the cordon wiring to be set up. we dug holes for the posts and moved the heavy, heavy locust posts into place. there was some delicate manuvering with the truck into the vineyard--as far as we could possibly go to minimize the distance between the post and hole. even that was not enough to keep Gerald's wife from becoming terribly cranky over how heavy the posts felt.

the following week, we hoed and raked circles around the first year viognior vines, to prep for the weed spraying. one of the best parts of the vineyard is seeing new, small little things every time we go afield. this time we got blisters and killed FOUR black widow spiders that had burrowed down in the dirt. in moving posts around i found a sleepy bluetail lizard, too slow from being cold to move quickly out of my reach. during the summer, i can only admire them as they scamper around the tool shed walls. it was fun to see the lizard perk up as my hands warmed him up. the kids and i found the lizard another potential resting spot. we also took soil samples from the field at the back of the house to get them analyzed for nematodes. it's exciting to think of that big field covered with vines!

A Recipe and a Beaujolais

Connie's Post:
my husband deserves a treat. this is what i decide. and so i head over to Wegman's, épicier de choix of all domestic cooks, to see what i may find. our sunday nite treat: small head of baby frisee (bitter greens), rich pancetta, baby cremini mushrooms, pignoli, premade polenta and a chunk of Istara, a lively and delicious sheep's milk cheese. bruce recommends a louis jadot 2005 Beaujolais-Villages to complement the fare. recommendation taken. and so i set to work and invite you to do the same:

1. roll up two or three slices of the pancetta, slice them crossways with a sturdy knife; preheat the broiler and slice the polenta...

2. heat up your favorite le creuset fry pan (don't tell me you don't have one: http://search.ebay.com/le-creuset-skillet_W0QQssPageNameZWLRS), add a flick or two of nice EVO (extra virgin olive oil) to the pan. add polenta to the broiler. promptly forget polenta by pouring glass of beaujolais....

3.add the baby cremini, flicka flicka with the cresuet pan...slam a clove of garlic with the sturdy knife. then chop her up. sip beaujolais and think of husband....

4. add garlic and pignoli. Generous pignoli. watch it a little careful, don't want to burn either garlic or pignoli. stirra, stirra. smell the polenta, hmmm, pull out of broiler and flip slices and add back to broiler....

5. return attention to cresuet pan. scoop out the pancetta, cremini, garlic and pignoli. add the baby frisee. spray with olivio (pump olive oil, or PAM) in a desperate attempt to stave off adding ANY MORE FAT. wilt the baby frisee and daydream of husband. pull out some deep dish plates...sniff for the polenta...

6. stack the frisee on plates. spoon atop the frisee the pancetta, cremini, garlic and pignoli topping. shave slices of the ISTARA sheep milk cheese on top. pull polenta out of broiler, bump the broiler shut, turn off stove and add three slices of polenta on the side of the plate. remember to pour husband glass of beaujolais. serve salad immediately to husband.

7. graciously accept all husband's compliments. tell him HE'S THE MAN.
...the frisee is a bitter green, almost broccoli-like in bitterness. the pancetta is UNBELIEVABLY rich and salty and the cremini mushrooms are earthy and give the dish a roundness (husband's compliment). the pignolis' browning turns them sweet and rich and the garlic gives it that familiar zip you want. the sheep's milk cheese just ties the salad all together with its fatty, and sharp zippy character. pair that with the tannic, acerbic quality of this vintage beaujolais and it will make you want to cry! or kiss your husband. or your husband kiss you. heh...
bon appetit.