"It is very strange that the years teach us patience - that the shorter our time, the greater our capacity for waiting." ~ Elizabeth Taylor
Harvest is drawing very near. The preparatory "To Do" lists are growing shorter. True, the thought of all the amazing fruit that could have been (had it not been for the locust, the well going out, etc.) continues to reverberate in our heads, so the attempt is made to cancel that long-running tune with reminders to stay focused and get it right with the estimated thousand pounds of fruit we do have.
Aside from an odd-sized barrel or two still to pick up, some Cornelius kegs, barrel racks, etc., a casual observer may wonder what our goals are for this harvest season.
The first goal is to pick at the right numbers. Our new-found chemistry skills should assist in that regard. The second goal is to get all the math and chemistry right during primary fermentation and to let the fermentation take its own course and run until dry. With the gift of early harvest, it is hoped to possibly finish MLF on all wines by the time the cold sets in. These barrels will be topped each visit and then topped with argon. The free SO2 level will be better adjusted in these wines. They will be racked about six times (or more, to please the control freaks amongst us). The topping wine will be kept in oxygen-free containers. The barrels will only be opened for these purposes.
The tool shed annex is on its way toward completion. This reporter was advised by the Chief Rancher that the electrical has been tied in to the barn. Whoooaaaa, go back. Electrical? In a tool shed annex? It could be that memory has failed yours truly, but electrical in the tool shed annex is an agenda item into which the board might have delved -- and did, when the topic was raised. This add-on was necessary, explained the rancher, so that if the ladies need a shovel at night in the dark to kill a rattlesnake, they can easily get a shovel from the well-lit tool shed. Nice try. Speaking for said ladies, I believe it highly unlikely the group will again entertain ourselves with that notion. Lessons have been learned. If weapons are not readily available, we'll be leaving the wrangling to the men folk. Seriously, do you think we're Pioneer Woman?
Rather than anxiously watching the grapes grow (they get nervous if you do that), it was determined that the ranchers might sneak off and play hookie, one to golf, the other in search of a quarter ton of Merlot and possibly another quarter ton of Petite Verdot or wherever the road might possibly wind. It is in that spirit that we close with one of our favorite poems about loping by Patrick O'Leary, "Nobody Knows it But Me":
There's a place that I travel
When I want to
roam,
And nobody knows it but me
The roads don't go there
And the
signs stay home
And nobody knows it but me
It's far far away
And
way way afar
It's over the moon and the sea
And wherever you're
going
That's wherever you are
And nobody knows it but me
Aside from an odd-sized barrel or two still to pick up, some Cornelius kegs, barrel racks, etc., a casual observer may wonder what our goals are for this harvest season.
The first goal is to pick at the right numbers. Our new-found chemistry skills should assist in that regard. The second goal is to get all the math and chemistry right during primary fermentation and to let the fermentation take its own course and run until dry. With the gift of early harvest, it is hoped to possibly finish MLF on all wines by the time the cold sets in. These barrels will be topped each visit and then topped with argon. The free SO2 level will be better adjusted in these wines. They will be racked about six times (or more, to please the control freaks amongst us). The topping wine will be kept in oxygen-free containers. The barrels will only be opened for these purposes.
The tool shed annex is on its way toward completion. This reporter was advised by the Chief Rancher that the electrical has been tied in to the barn. Whoooaaaa, go back. Electrical? In a tool shed annex? It could be that memory has failed yours truly, but electrical in the tool shed annex is an agenda item into which the board might have delved -- and did, when the topic was raised. This add-on was necessary, explained the rancher, so that if the ladies need a shovel at night in the dark to kill a rattlesnake, they can easily get a shovel from the well-lit tool shed. Nice try. Speaking for said ladies, I believe it highly unlikely the group will again entertain ourselves with that notion. Lessons have been learned. If weapons are not readily available, we'll be leaving the wrangling to the men folk. Seriously, do you think we're Pioneer Woman?
Rather than anxiously watching the grapes grow (they get nervous if you do that), it was determined that the ranchers might sneak off and play hookie, one to golf, the other in search of a quarter ton of Merlot and possibly another quarter ton of Petite Verdot or wherever the road might possibly wind. It is in that spirit that we close with one of our favorite poems about loping by Patrick O'Leary, "Nobody Knows it But Me":
There's a place that I travel
When I want to
roam,
And nobody knows it but me
The roads don't go there
And the
signs stay home
And nobody knows it but me
It's far far away
And
way way afar
It's over the moon and the sea
And wherever you're
going
That's wherever you are
And nobody knows it but me
Happy trails, until we meet again!
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