The blushing bud.

I may have missed budbreak in the Syrah vines this year, but my buddies in the Cabernet Sauvignon block waited for me to get back to Vinoland before doing their thing.  Thanks pals, much appreciated.
I just love spring.  The vernal equinox, which occurred this year as I was winging my way over the Atlantic, conventionally heralds the beginning of spring.  As a child, it also meant that my birthday was the next day (GMT-ish).  What is there not to like about spring and the rebirth, rejuvenation and regrowth of...every weed in Vinoland?  Yup, did quite a bit of weeding this afternoon (and planted my first tomato plant), but I barely made a dent in the lushness that is Vinoland right now.  Oh well, keeps me busy and out of trouble.

Don't rain on my Syrah.

A fine first day of spring this turned out to be: the rain is back.  It seems that I really did finish pruning in the nick of time.
At breakfast this morning, as I sleepily gazed out of the window, I thought I noticed a little fuzz of green in the Syrah vines.  Sure enough, this evening, upon closer inspection, in the rain, with V2 in tow (who had the expectation of going for a walk when I got home from TWWIAGE, not looking at some upright twigs in a downpour), I can confirm that budbreak is happening in the Syrah.  I am happy that the vines are having a great start to growing-season 2017, but they do look a little forlorn and soggy.

A spring in one's step.

It's the first full day of spring and the Syrah vines certainly do have a spring in their step.  No sooner than Vinomaker and I had finished tying down the Syrah canes last Saturday the buds started to push out.  Slow down little buddies!
The Cabernet sauvignon vines seem to be still snoozing,which is just fine with me, but that could change any day now.  Vintage 2015 is well underway.

It's the first day of spring!

I know that today is the first day of spring because I checked that little factoid in my handy-dandy 2015 copy of Old Moore's Almanack.  I also happen to know that today is a good day to plant such things as asparagus, celery, brassicas, root vegetables and legumes, but only between the hours of 8.30 am to 12.55 pm, 1.20 to 2.40 pm and 3.05 to 4.10 pm Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).  Today is also a great day for me to go fishing (in the afternoon), and an even better day for me to bet on the dogs (if I just happen to be passing through Birmingham, England).  Good stuff.
Hang on a minute, didn't I just recently say that I had always wanted a copy of Old Moore's Almanack, but had never actually owned one? Well, as of yesterday, via the Royal and the US mails, I now have my very first copy of the annual publication that I always wanted when I was little thanks to my brother Thud.  Apparently, perhaps moved by my tale of woe, Thud decided he would rectify the decades old almanac-absence in his little sister's life.  Or perhaps he feels I need a bit of help in my current life, although it does say, in my personal daily guide (for Aries), that today my personal intuition and confidence should be strong enough for me to make successful decisions.  Cool, I should start by deciding whether to have salmon or prawns for dinner.
Of course, all these predictions and forecasts etc., are in GMT, so a little bit of mathematics will be required prior to me deciding whether or not I am going to plant, fish or gamble today. Thanks, big brother!

Springy!

The first full day of spring has come and gone.  But for several distractions, I spent most of the day pruning in the Cabernet vines.  I think I'm on schedule to be finished the actual pruning, but not the tying down of canes, on Sunday.
One distraction was a huge cluster of California poppies (Eschscholzia californica) that just looked so splendid I had to get a closer peep.  The poppies got going a little later this year, because of the lack of winter rain, but they are now blooming spectacularly en masse.  And they are everywhere: this year's crop is perhaps the most prolific display of full-on-poppy-goldiness I have ever seen.  There should be plenty still blooming by California Poppy Day, which is April 6th.
Then I got distracted by a crab spider (Misumenoides formosipes) who in turn was distracted by a small, pollen covered beetle.  The beetle flew off and I went back to pruning.

Home, sweet home.

There's nothing quite like waking up on a beautiful spring morning in England! Chilly, only slightly sunny, but always spectacular!

"The year's at the spring..."

With all their canes securely tied to the fruiting wires, Vinoland's vines are on their own reconnaissance for a while. Today I redirected my attention to - weeds! In just one winter it seems that Mother Nature has reclaimed Vinoland as her own; gravel driveways, flower beds, everything is overgrown with weeds. Even the creek has all but disappeared beneath a tangle of brambles (although at least they produce great berries in the summer). Of course, my weeding activity just happened to coincide with warm weather, 82 degrees F today. This time last week I was complaining about the cold and rain, what a turn around.

Needless to say, at the end of the day I was ready for a cold beer. Blue Moon's Spring Blonde Wheat Ale hit the spot.

Spring is most definitely sprung! All's right with the world.

...Ego deputo.

...and here is a vine I prepared earlier. Actually, it is the same vine but I have given it a new 'do'. This vine is not an ideal model, the positions are a little low, but it will improve with subsequent years. Every vine is different from the next and each vine offers a new challenge.
V2 is happily chewing away on a cane I cut from the trellising wires. My little mulching mongrel.

Spring is almost sprung.

The past couple of days have been spectacular weather-wise. It is amazing how winter has just suddenly disappeared. Sure we could get nasty frosts through April here in Napa, but for all intents and purposes, winter is over.
My daffodils are all but finished and my tulips, short-lived at the best of times, are about 75% done. My irises have just started blooming. A large Valley Oak, (Quercus lobata), to the north of the house has large, swollen buds and even a few immature leaves. Spring doesn't even officially begin until tomorrow.
Nicest of all the early spring surprises around here, for me, is the recurrence of my cover crop from three years ago. My field peas, (Pisum sativum), are dotting the vineyard with their happy, purple and lilac flowers. The sub-clovers I planted last autumn don't seem to be making an appearance just yet. Thank goodness for the self-seeding prowess, and nitrogen fixing capacity, of these little legumes. The peas were easy on the eye as I pruned today. My babies look so pretty.
Of course V2's early mowing protocol, (with her never resting jaws), will mean there will be less self-seeding next year!