2012 SEASON — Eleventh Harvest (thirteenth leaf)

Here's a fun find! We've been watching all five owl boxes for two years and we finally saw at least one owl! He's not a barn owl, which is the kind the boxes are designed for. According to the Hungry Owl Project where we purchased the boxes, a family of Barn Owls can consume about 3000 rodents in a breeding season alone! Our guy looks to be a Western Screech Owl. He's also welcome and will hunt rodents though not as many as he's about 1/10th the size of a barn owl.

December 2011 was one of the driest on record, and it was sunny but cold, dipping into the twenties right before dawn. We began pruning with three people (bundled up well) using Pellenc electric pruners and tiers. As of the first part of February, only one significant spate of rain let the crew prune straight though so they finished the third week of February. By March 13th it was raining and we're seeing the first of the buds unfurl. Frost fans were in place as of April 10, and ran one full night and twice for a few hours before the sun appeared.

Now, in early May, frost fans are stowed for the season, we have a large crew thinning shoots, suckering crowns and trunks and we're on the tractor non-stop. The wild oats are growing so fast we can watch them.

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Harvest Photos

New Vineyard Friend  — A Western Screech Owl in a Barn Owl Box!

Spring Bud  — New leaves unfurling in Three Oak Block with a frost fan in the background