My day job today was supposed to be bookkeeping and getting caught up in the office. Instead, I’ve set myself up outdoors on the deck under the canopy and have been working on blogs instead.
I lost about a weeks worth of office time with the poison oak rash that consumed and infected my entire right arm. Some people complain of having double chins, I had a double elbow from the swelling…good times.
I grabbed a quick shot of Paul and Jaye as they headed back down the rows at Chaine d’Or to spray for powdery mildew. We added some African Bird Pepper into the mix to thwart any more deer should they get back in the vineyard.
Jaye had to leave early for a school event so I took over and joined Paul. Up and down each row we went, in close proximity to one another, Paul sprayed the right hand side, I sprayed the left. The only sounds were the intermittent squeaks of the pump handles and the spray hitting the leaves.
There was a certain zen to the rhythm of walking, pumping, spraying.
Some people enjoy an afternoon of golf, walking the course, hitting the balls, drinking beer. I’m not very good at golf, but I can relate. I really enjoy spraying the vines, walking the rows, pumping and spraying, and especially drinking the beer. I figure the backpack sprayer weighs about as much as a bag of clubs, but easier to carry in my opinion.
One of the things I like so much about walking the vineyard and spraying is the pace. It’s slow enough that I get to see each vine and get a feel for the vineyard. It’s also fast enough that I don’t stop and linger over tasks I know can wait, like tucking a shoot here, or suckering there, it’s more of a “hi, how are you, gotta run, but I’ll be back soon” kind of tempo.
Paul is offering to buy deer tags for any of our hunting friends.
It’s a karma thing.