Last of the summer vines.

It rained this morning as was forecast.  In anticipation of Mother Nature's waterworks, I spent most of yesterday afternoon turning over my compost bin and spreading the resulting nutrient-rich humus around the bases of my Cabernet Sauvignon vines.  I hope the vines appreciated my effort because by the end of the day I really appreciated being done with this particular vineyard operation.
The amount of kitchen scraps that Vinomaker and I manage to produce never ceases to amaze me.  I think that if we were to put it all the food waste that we put into the compost bin into the rubbish bin we'd quickly run out of space for actual rubbish.
Besides being good for the vineyard, I must admit that I like to observe all the goings-on in the compost bin: not in the least the antics of the red wiggler worms (Eisenia fetida).  And I also find fascinating the number of things that spring to life in the dark of the bin; sprouting potato eyes, onion-ends, tomato seeds and even the single leaf of a ZZ plant (that I had tossed into the compost simply to dispose of it).  It's like magic.
Composting is not without its dangers, however. This morning, after breakfast, I took a small bag of  food items down to where the compost bin resides (behind the barn); bits and pieces of vegetables from last night's dinner, sundry coffee grounds and tea bags, and a few eggshells. When I lifted up the lid the first thing I spotted was a black widow spider luxuriating, full-stretch in her web across one corner of the bin - just where I had had my fingers.  Never fear, madam has been composted into cobweb-heaven.

Itsy bitsy.

Or not so itsy bitsy.  This yellow garden spider (Argiope aurantia) is freakin' huge, and I don't like her.  But Vinomaker loves her, in fact he has given her a name - Sylvia.  Lovely!
Sylvia got in my way this morning as I was finishing securing the bird netting on the Pinot grigio vines.  Luckily, later in the day, she moved from right below the fruiting wire to just above the drip line enabling me to complete this particular vineyard op.  Still, I wasn't happy about being in such close proximity to this leggy femme fatale (there was something grotesquely parceled up to her right), but I tolerated her presence as she is an important part of the predator/prey food web that ensures that Vinoland is, for the most part, a naturally pest free zone.  But still, don't like it.

Disgusting!

This is simply disgusting.  Whilst catching up my reading of a few wine related articles at breakfast, I saw this photograph on wineindustryadvisor.com and let me tell you, it nearly put me off my bran flakes.  Disgusting, I tell ya!
Identified as an Araneus, this two inch long aracnid was found bottoms up, so to speak, by a man in Bristol, England, in a bottle of Tesco Finest white wine he had taken to his mother-in-law's birthday party.  Surprise!
Photo credit:  Adam Gray

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.

Done and dusted, 2010.

Yesterday, I finished pruning. Today with the help of Vinomaker, I finished tying down the last of the canes. What a relief!
I really enjoy the time I spend pruning in the vineyard, however I am not the fastest pruner in the world and so it takes me a fair amount of time to complete this particular vineyard operation.
I could possibly prune a little quicker, but I do tend to get distracted by any number of things; the Vinodogs, pretty little weeds, birds collecting twigs and mown grass for their nests, and today a skittish little red-backed jumping spider (Phiddippus johnsoni). I often glimpse these dinky arachnids, (I refer to them as 'red-bummed' spiders), furtively darting back and forth on the vineyard floor. I generally do not like spiders, but I endure these little fellows as they are an important component of the predator/prey food web that continues to keep Vinoland's grapevines naturally pest free.

The Widow.

When you live in England you don't have to worry about such appalling creatures as the one pictured above. This Black Widow (Latrodectus mactans), has been hanging out under our deck for God knows how long. I only became aware of her presence when I left my shovel beside my potting bench the other day and came back the next day to find the shovel ensnared in the strongest silk I have ever touched. I gave it a good twang then curiously followed it's path upward...oh hello! There she was, in all her ghastly glory, maternally watching over her egg sac...with her husbands dessicated body close by. Lovely!
I just don't like spiders. I tolerate the ones living in the vineyard as they are predatory carnivores that take care of pests that are harmful to grapevines. However, they generally run away, at great haste, when approached. Not Madame. No, she lay in her web above me, her token retreat towards a joist just barely perceptible. At this juncture, I would normally have introduced her to Mr. Wet/dry-Vac, but for one thing: Vinomaker likes spiders, nay, he loves spiders, any and all. You can see where this is going can't you? Yup, she's still there.
Vinogirl and the Vinodogs have female competition in Vinoland!