Thursday, February 19, 2009

That damned, illusive pimpernel.

Today is Vinomaker's birthday. Whoo hoo!
He's 29, or so he says. (The only thing that is 29 around here is the highway that runs north/south on the west side of the valley.)
The Vinodogs bought their dad a hat each which was very sweet of them. He got some other great gifts too, including a weather station from Family OTW.
The best pressie though, was a University of California book called 'Weeds of California'...1800+ pages, in two volumes, of every weed you could ever wish for. Or maybe not.
There are some pretty weeds, like Scarlet Pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis), blooming in the vine rows right now. However, there is one that I know only by its foul odour which is not dissimilar to dead, rotting fish. Lovely.
I can identify most other weeds in the vineyard but seeing as new ones seem to appear all the time, this publication will come in very handy. Train-spotting at its finest.
Happy birthday Vinomaker!

5 comments:

Vinomaker said...

Elusive? Don't you mean invasive? That stuff is everywhere this time of year and it is nearly impossible to plant one's feet to avoid it! And to be clear, if 29 was my real age, I would have had to have made my first vintage in grammer school. That did not happen. At the time, I was busy learning those apparently lost ancient skills of reading, writing and arithmetic. They have served me well in my career and being able to calculate and analyze the important factors in wine and express them clearly is a bonus. Age has it's benefits and wine helps to keep the system functioning even in today's difficult environment. Cheers!

Vinogirl said...

Don't you mean 'analyse'?

Lord Roby said...

Vinogirl.Didn't mum ever tell you,a weed is just a flower in the wrong place!

monkey said...

Happy birthday Vinomaker from Monkey and Tenbellies.

Thud said...

That stinky one smells of burning bakelite!