Bank Holiday Monday.

It's Easter Monday.  Well, it is Easter Monday, a bank holiday, in England (and Canada).  When I was little everywhere (shops, post office etc., and the banks, of course) basically shut down for the entire four days of Easter.  Easter was a time for family get-togethers.  I find 'holidays' in America are over way too fast.  It is certainly not a holiday for me today, as I am off to work in just a while.
A sort of Easter miracle happened in Vinoland yesterday: I finished pruning, yay!  (And tying everything down with help from Vinomaker.) And not a moment too soon, the Cabernet sauvignon vines are enthused. I was getting a little worried that I wouldn't be finished, but the weather was perfect for pruning.  It feels good to be finished.  I even managed to get a little bit of suckering done in the Pinot grigio because, as usual with this grape variety, the vigorous little devils have pushed a myriad of adventitious buds out all over their trunks.
Of course, with warm weather and clear skies comes the threat of spring frosts.  Indeed, as I type the fans (for frost protection) in the nearby Far Niente Chardonnay vineyard are doing their thing.  A precautionary step, perhaps, as the temperature is currently 39°F and too warm for frost.  I have done my bit, having no frost protection in Vinoland my little buddies are now on their own.

Trapper's Hat.

This afternoon, I enjoyed a glass of Trapper's Hat bitter in The Wheatsheaf Inn, a tiny little pub that is celebrating it's 400th anniversary this year.

It was a lovely, sunny Bank Holiday Monday and going out for a quick half just seemed like the thing to do. The beer, by local brewer Neil Young, was light with refreshing citrus notes and a rather hoppy nose and finish. Nice beer, old pub, good company, an English spring - great combination.