December 2011: The vineyard is asleep...

 We finally have a few photos with snow to add to the blog from the first weekend of December.  All is well.  We've staked out rows for next spring and figure we will put in something in the neighborhood of 400 more vines then.  Michael is in the process of determining which varieties those will be.

Michael and our tractor

Con is sowing wild flowers on the west side of the barn.  It's best to do it on frozen ground just before it snows.  It began snowing heavily just as Connie finished spreading the seed.

Michael plowed for the first time -- using the bucket.  Once was enough.  We are picking up a plow blade for the three-point hitch at the end of the week.








October 7th Entry

It has been several weeks since I've done an update.  The vineyard is no longer "growing."  The western edge appears to have been touched by a little frost.  However, the rest still looks green, yet like it is getting ready to bed-down for the winter.  The vines somehow look a little less vigorous, and there are no new shoots. 

Two weekends ago we took some lovely pictures to the south, the west, the north, and the east at sunset.  Also, Kate and Dave surprised us with a wonderful Bluffstone Vineyard sign that they had made at the State Fair a month ago. 

Looking to the west at sunset

North at sunset

East at sunset

Looking South through the vineyard at sunset



Greg and Michael with our new sign from Kate and Dave



Last weekend, on Sunday October 2nd, we co-hosted a neighborhood potluck and pumpkin party.  We even had a great big farm scale to weigh the entries in the two "largest" categories -- one for mega pumpkins and one for regular Halloween-type pumpkins.  We also had a "weirdest-looking" category and a "best carved/decorated" category.  I forgot to get folks' permission to include their photos, so I'll just include the one that doesn't have humans...

"Double winners" of the best carved/decorated pumpkins contest.

Loading up the feed scale after the pumpkins were weighed

Fall, 2011

I wrote this entry a few months ago, but just added the photos today.  The "living quarters" is very livable.  We still want to put in a kitchen backsplash and some blinds on the windows.

The bathroom is very comfortable.  We especially love the tiled shower stall (though we couldn't get a good photo of it.  You'll just have to come see it in person!) and the heated floor.

Michael has finished up the baseboard and trim.  It's our home away from home.



Our kitchenette



The dining area

...and the master suite!

The vineyard is sleeping...  The vines have dropped most of their leaves.  One can see next year's buds all over the plants.  The part that's difficult to believe is that we will be cutting off all but the lowest part of each vine come February -- leaving only two or three buds per plant!

We watered all the vines twice over the past two weekends, as the ground was so dry it was rock-hard.  There's a funny video below from our watering experience last Saturday.  Check it out!

Handling many hundreds of feet of hose (that had water in it) was a challenge for the two of us.  Thankfully, Michael did most of the really heavy hauling.  Eventually we got smarter and used the 4-wheeler and trailer to assist with the transporting of hoses from row to row.

Connie's sister Joan (right) and friend Cathy had both helped on our planting day last May.  They came for a Saturday visit this fall, and guess what?  It rained again!  (Don't know if we'll invite them next May...)



Mary Jo and Angie, two more of our May planters, returned this fall for a Friday morning meeting with Michael.

 Lily and Alicia spent a weekend with Grandma and Papa.  They decided to walk out to the gate to "visit" the cows.  The two of them began "mooing" and all these cows came to see what was going on!

Cuties!

After a hard day of playing at the farm...

Planting Day 2011 Photos from Ed

Thanks, Ed, for forwarding more photos to help us remember the day--

This may be the only good photo we have of our beloved portapotty.
(We are so glad to be rid of it!)

For some reason, Ed kept focusing on the mud!

Pallets for crossing the mud--



Peter, Michael andDan (behind)



Pete (Con's brother) and son Dan -- watering vines?



Joan, Cathy, Connie Ann, and Julie take a break and warm up



Omar found in the vineyard!

This rock was excavated when the floor in the living quarters was being dug.  It is very round and seems to be made of granite, which is not commonly found in our area of mostly limestone.  According to our plumber, this rock is an omar, rolled in front of the glaciers until it became a sphere.  We've cleaned our omar up and it sits on the south side of the barn for all to see.  Check out this website with more details about omars.

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/volunteer/mayjun05/boulders.html

New Photos added to old posts

Kate and Dave provided us with vineyard photos from 2010 as well as this summer, so I've added one whole new post with Planting Party photos from them plus new photos have been added to older posts.  Check them out.

More Fun Photos from the May 14th Planting Party

Finally somebody else shared photos from the planting event.  Thank you, Kate and Dave!

Dave and Tom try out the earth auger the day before planting

Michael giving a planting demo

Arranging the roots (covered in damp, shredded newspaper) of the first vine

Connie and Michael plant the first vine!

Closeup of a newly-planted, bare root grape vine

Brea was trying not to look cold...



Everybody is still smiling



The supply wagon

Brea, Michelle, Reed, Ian, and Brad -- a special school family pitched in!

Ed and our son Dan crossing over the mud after planting is finished

Hard-working friends and family!

Kathy, Dan and Lady came in for lunch

Lookin' kind of nasty out there...

Some folks know what to do on a rainy day

Can the washing machine handle these?

Michael and Joanie

Con discussing vineyard management with Michael

Mid-August, 2011

The vineyard has been growing by leaps and bounds -- as have other projects around the place.  We now have a completed septic system and a functional bathroom, including hot water.  The shower only needs the shower door to be installed.  Son Dan did the tile floor in the bathroom, and it is beautiful!  Dan and Greg helped install our Ikea kitchenette.  The microwave we purchased almost a year ago that's still in the box is too big for the microwave shelf.  Anyone need a stainless steel, brand-new microwave?  As soon as the kitchen sink is functional, it will almost be like being at home when we are staying down there.  The electrician should be finished hooking up all the outlets and lights by the end of this week.

My friend HT helped me weed the north side of the barn for many hours one day last week.  We had planted ferns, some hostas, and some wild violets, all of which were buried in weeds.  We decided to order 10 yards of mulch from a local pallet company and have the north side pretty much mulched now.  It looks good!  We'll take photos and include them next time, along with some photos of the inside of the living quarters.

I'm excited about what we are going to plant on the west side of the barn (pole shed) where the septic system is.  Part of it will be native grasses -- a mixture of buffalo grass and blue grama grass, neither of which needs to be mowed.  The other part will be a naturalized prairie with wild flowers and grasses.  Like a vineyard, the wildflowers take 3-5 years or more to get established.  These will be our "test" areas for both the native grasses and the naturalized prairie flowers.  If all goes well, we will put in more of both as time goes on.

Here are some photos from the past several weeks--  (By the way, I'm still waiting for you to forward photos you took on May 14th when we were planting, so I can include some of them here on the blog.)

Dan tiling the bathroom floor

Greg supervising...

Alicia and Lily rest on Lady, Dan's lab

Part of Con's vegetable garden in foreground.  Our road out to 670th Street in background.  Field of alfalfa between.

Michael tying a vine to the rebar

Alicia playing in the vineyard

Lily and Grandma tying vines

Greg enjoyed mowing the vineyard

Greg

Michael staining the living quarters floor



Oh, yeah, the vines are doing well, too!

Dave removing grow tubes





A gravity system down to the drainfield...

The septic system is in.  Posts will eventually be cut off and won't be visible




Lily is a great gardener!

Alicia with a recently-removed grow tube.  We needed to remove the grow tubes so the vines can harden-off before the winter cold sets in.  They will need to be put back on for Year Two.

Greg with watermelon earrings (tablecloth weights)

Happy fourth birthday, Alicia!  August 14th, 2011





Notice anything different?  (The grow tubes are gone!)