A pop of colour.

It's a bit early to celebrate California Poppy Day (April 6th), but this happens to be the first poppy to bloom in Vinoland this year and I think it is at least worth a mention.  This afternoon, I was busily pruning away in the Syrah vines when I looked up and spotted this poppy flowering away all by its lonesome.  Well, there was a tiny, pollen-covered Amartus tinctus beetle crawling along the edge of one of the poppy's petals, but no other buds had deigned to open and keep this single, fiery-hued flower company.  California poppies grow like weeds almost everywhere in and around Vinoland as they are prolific self-seeders.
The poppy is not the only splash of colour in Vinoland; there are field marigolds, vinca, vetch, buttercups, oxalis, speedwell (all the usual weed-suspects) flourishing already, but none are quite as eye-catching as the California state flower. Pruning is progressing better than expected due to the fact that the weather has been behaving itself.  Still, pruning can be pretty monotonous, so it's nice to now and again look up from a vine and spot such a cheery bloom.

Happy California Poppy Day, 2015.

The California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica) was named in 1816 by naturalist Adelbert Von Chamisso, who upon sailing into San Francisco Bay found the surrounding California hills covered in golden flowers. Proclaimed the state flower in 1903 'California Poppy Day' is celebrated every April 6th, but I bet a lot of people don't know that.  
I'm going to be thinking nice flowery-thoughts all day as I wish as many people as possible, Happy California Poppy Day!

The enemy.

Today is Remembrance Sunday.  This year is a particularly special year as it is the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I.  Since I arrived home on the 29th of October I have been wearing my poppy, (the emblem of the poppies that bloomed across the battlefields of Flanders), with pride. 
I used to love Poppy Day when I was a kid and I couldn't wait to place a small, kid-sized remittance in the familiar red collection box, a donation to benefit ex-servicemen and women.  In return I'd receive my red paper poppy with it's black plastic centre that I wore with enthusiasm.  The Royal British Legion raises a lot of money in their annual poppy appeal which funds their work with the Armed Forces community.  The ladybird in the photograph looks like it is sporting a brilliant red poppy on it's elytra in honour of the war dead.  It looks cute.  But looks can be deceiving.
The harlequin ladybird (Harmonia axyridis), a non-native species, is invading the British Isles.  The harlequin was first spotted here in 2004 and has quickly become one of the most common ladybirds in the country. The invasive harlequin is a rather large species of ladybird and it is a voracious predator, it is able to out-compete the native species for aphids and will also eat other ladybirds' eggs and larvae.  Not good.  The harlequins are clustered in large numbers around window and door frames and in any available nooks and crannies where they hope to overwinter.  Their numbers are quite impressive outdoors and inside: my bedroom and bathroom (at Thud's house) have been invaded also.  They're cute, but like The hun they are persona non grata here.  The world is an increasingly smaller place and invasive species hitchhiking around the globe is increasingly problematic.  I will definitely check my bags when I leave here later this week.
Lest we forget.

Poppy Day: 2012.

This is a packet of Papaver rhoeas seeds I bought when I was home in England last spring.  I am going to plant them today in hopes that they bloom next summer: a reminder to me of the many, many sacrifices that countless heroic men and women have made so that I may live in peace.
Remember, freedom isn't free.

Frost season.

Having a cover crop in a vineyard is generally a good thing for the vineyard's health.  However, a tall cover crop (like the 5' tall mustard in the above photograph) can artificially raise the vineyard floor, thus encouraging frost to settle on the new plane which is what the top of the cover crop has now effectively become. Unfortunately, that can be right in the bud/fruit zone. Napa had a fairly hard frost event yesterday. Currently, it's 31 degrees F as I type and the roof of Vinoland's barn is white with frost - it faces west.

The folks at Far Niente mowed down their cover crop yesterday. Just when the bell beans, field peas and vetch had started to bloom and look very pretty, the rain ended, took the clouds with it and opened the door to usher in frost season.  A disked, vegetation free, dark-soil vineyard floor is the best condition in which to capture the sun's daytime warmth.  In my opinion, a cover crop is essential to soil health, but for frost protection the timing of mowing down a vineyard's cover crop is crucial to saving the grape crop.  And, that's the conundrum of cover cropping.
By the way, Happy California Poppy Day!

Poppy Day.

Please, raise a glass of wine and join me in a toast to all the courageous men and woman of the armed forces who perished in wars gone by. Furthermore, let us not forget those who, still to this day, are prepared to perhaps make the ultimate sacrifice of their own lives so that the rest of us may live in freedom.

Remember, freedom isn't free.

Remember.

Raise a glass of your favourite vino, and remember the sacrifices that members of the armed forces, men and women, made in times of war so that we could enjoy freedom today.

Remember, freedom isn't free.