Evolution and the missing (internet) link.

This is what happens when one gets 4 days of mid 70° F temperatures, but doesn't have any internet access to document it sooner.  Not just budbreak, but fully fledged leaves.  The Orange Muscat grapevines are enthused, nature is taking its course.
Of course, the grapevines don't care if I have internet access or not. Then again, perhaps they do: I had 50 extra hours with nothing better to do than prune and preen the little miscreants.

Child Abuse.

I love children.  I believe myself a very lucky Vino-auntie to have 14 of the very best nieces and nephews on the planet.  Eight girls and six boys in total.  However, just of late, I have been seriously considering committing a crime that is considered a felony in the United States.  Relax, nothing as heinous as homicide, no, just a little common or garden child abuse.  I have decided that it may be worth doing some porridge in return for venting my displeasure - at the amount of rain that I have had to suffer through the past two weeks - with El Niño.  And it's not just about me, look at what that titchy, wet-whippersnapper is doing to my Pinot grigio buddies.  My bud-babies are all soggy.
This morning, after getting up at the break of day, having breakfast, starting a load of laundry and walking Vinodog 2, I managed to finish pruning the Syrah vines.  Yay!  And I got about 25% of the canes tied down.  Double yay!  It was wet, muddy, slippery work.  The weather forecast was correct as in it started to rain promptly at 11 am and then, once again, I was banished from the vineyard at the behest of some snotty, little meteorological-brat.  Now, where is that baseball bat?  I feel a Ramones moment coming on.

In memoriam.

I'll only do this once: that is post a picture of my dearly missed old girl who would have turned 17 years old today.
Vinodog 1 would do anything to please me, which included letting me dress her up in silly costumes, she was so patient.  And here she is posing as Bacchus, (sporting real grape leaves along with plastic grapes), in a photograph that went along with a wine lot at an auction (the proceeds benefited the SPCA).  She was a great dog.
I have enough photographs of V1 that I could probably post a different one each day for a good few years.  This is the last one.
Vinogirl misses you, Miss Pinion.