Harvest Time

Ken has described the grape situation pretty well here and here and I don't want to repeat much. But the growers that own the grapes outside our back gate have begun the harvesting and it's hard not to be excited about it. They're only picking white grapes right now, I assume sauvignon and/or chenin.

A grape harvesting machine makes its way to a specific vineyard to pick.

Still, the sight and sounds of the harvest are everywhere. When we wake up in the morning we can hear the low hum of the harvesters moving along the roads to the vineyards all around. This morning at sunrise Callie and I managed to avoid one harvester heading out back by scooting down a row of red grapes to the other side of the vineyard as it passed.

This trailer is about half-full with white grapes.

We also have to watch out for the tractor-trailers that collect the picked grapes from the harvesting machines to take them back to the winery. The weather is pretty good right now and I'm sure the growers and wine makers are happy about that. Warm sunny days followed by cool clear nights with no sign of rain. Fall is certainly in the air !

I'm guessing that these are chenin blanc grapes because they have a golden tint. Sauvignon are greener, according to one book I have. I think this is what they're picking right now.

Today we're planning to pick the few aubergines (eggplant) that grew in this year's garden and make a parmesan for lunch. Oh, and the wood is all cut, except for a few logs that I have to trim up. Then the wood shed needs to be cleaned up and the small branches and sticks I use for kindling have to be moved back into place so they're handy when the time comes. And we're picking apples up off the ground so that the grass can get cut this week. Busy, busy, busy.