Just because 10...

...I love dogs - love, love, love, love, love - they're great.  And baby dogs are simply unbeatable.  Happiness, indeed, is a warm puppy.
Meet Shasta, one of a litter of five Entlebucher Sennenhund puppies, who is one calendar month old today.  All boys, Shasta and his littermates are named after mountains in North America; Rainier, Denali, Teton and Lassen complete the quintet.  Cuteness overload.
I love dogs.

Just because 9...

...Today would have been Joey Ramone's 66th birthday.  And also because it is 40 years to the day that Thud actually met The Ramones, in Liverpool, on May 19th 1977.  That particular day was Joey Ramone's 26th birthday.  Thud still owns The Ramones t-shirt he bought that same day from Joey's brother, Mickey Leigh.
It's not a secret that The Ramones are perhaps my favourite band ever, thanks to Thud, and it is no surprise to me that I enjoy their music now just as much as I did when I was a teenager. What has been a surprise to me is that, 40 years later, we now have a new generation of Ramones fans in the family.  Thud's nine, almost ten, year old daughter possibly knows more about The Ramones than me and her dad combined.  It's amazing to witness and it's a constant source of amusement to me.
Thud can be seen in the photograph on the right, or at least his leather jacketed-back can be seen, talking to Joey.  Great memories.  Happy birthday Joey.  And RIP.
Photographs courtesy of Ian Dickson.

Just because 8...

Heavy rain overnight, that started just after 4 a.m. and continued until 9.30 a.m., kept me out of the vineyard today.  That's OK, it gave me a chance to catch up on some reading.
The Sunday issue of The Napa Valley Register, each week, contains a Faces & Places section which lists local births, marriages and deaths.  While I'm not quite yet at the stage of my life when I'll start scanning the obituaries (like my grandmother did), on the off chance that there may be someone listed there that I know, or rather knew, a certain birth announcement did catch my eye.  On September 3rd the world welcomed a baby boy whose surname is Bourdeaux.  Now, one mustn't confuse this Bourdeaux with the famous Bordeaux winemaking region.  This particular Bourdeaux (with it's extra 'u') is a village in southeastern France.  But one wouldn't know that if one simply heard this surname spoken.
What a great surname; "Hi.  I'm Bob Bourdeaux," (or Zane in this case), it has a certain ring to it.  I generally like surnames that are nouns (mine isn't), however, I wouldn't like to have the surname Napa for fear that people might think I'm lazy. 
Anyhow, congratulations to Mr and Mrs Bourdeaux and their 7lb 11 oz bouncing bundle of joie.

Just because 7...

...Today would have been my grandmother's 109th birthday.  My brother, Thud, posted this picture on his blog.  It is a photograph of the tenements in Liverpool city centre where my grandparents began their married life.  I fondly recall my gran's fabulous stories about all the Irish-Catholic immigrant families - with a smattering of Italians thrown in (for a little spice).  My gran was a great storyteller.
I still think of my grandmother nearly every day.

Just because 6...

...I love dogs, and I love England.  And just because today happens to be Queen Elizabeth's official birthday (her real birthday is the 21st of April). But it is with a certain royal Mendelian experiment that this post is primarily concerned.
The Queen of England has long been associated with the Welsh Corgi and is pictured above with her own first corgi Susan, an eighteenth birthday present for the then Princess Elizabeth. Decades later a descendant of Susan's, a corgi named Tiny, accidentally I hope, bred with Pipkin a dachshund owned by Princess Margaret.  The result of this little genetic mishap?  Enter the dorgi.
At the time, not wanting to openly appear offended by this travesty of mongreldom delivered upon them by their monarch and patron, The Kennel Club released this statement:  "The dachshund was evolved to chase badgers down holes, and the corgi to round up cattle.  If anyone loses a herd of cattle down a badger hole, then these are just the dogs to get them out."  Love it!
Happy Birthday QE II.

Just because 5...

In an effort to do absolutely anything but my photography homework, I have decided to take a break and post a photograph of my favourite (for very obvious reasons) wine bottle-stopper. Thanks Thud!

Just because 4...

I determined that I would begin pruning today, but it was raining. So, whilst I should have been out tromping around the vineyard with my wellies on, I decided to put on my new boots and go shopping instead. Wine shopping that is. Life is good.

Just Because 3...

I will be wearing these wine coloured shoes for my work place's Christmas party tonight...so when I spill wine on them, no one will notice. If I ever stooped to drink Chardonnay I would have sought out a pair of gold shoes for the party, perhaps, but as you know with me and that particular varietal...actually, no you don't know yet...that's for a future post.

Just Because 2...

...this picture is pretty and I just wanted to use it.
The vines seem to be quite resilient this year and appear to be shutting down rather slowly. All the better to store nutrients for next season I'm sure. The rain we just had knocked a lot of dying leaves to the ground and the vines are starting to look a little bedraggled.
The more seasonal temps, and the smell of damp leaves, reminds me that it is Bonfire Night in dear old Blighty. This, with the exception of Christmas of course, is an extremely difficult time for Vinogirl to be away from home, sigh! You just can't beat the olfactory delight of gun powder, hanging in the damp autumn air, insinuating itself into your nostrils. So fellow countrymen, light up the sky with Standard Fireworks and think of Vinogirl.

Just Because...

...I'm a girl, a Vinogirl, and I like grapes and shoes.
These are my favourite shoes of the moment and the last bunch of Crimson Seedless from the garden. They are very, very tasty...and the grapes aren't bad either.