The equinox is still six weeks away, but there is already a palpable change in the air. The days are lengthening. A recent warm weather system gave us a taste of spring and, even though it's predicted to get cold again over the next few days, the cool air doesn't feel so cool when the sun shines. I noticed yesterday that some of the plants in the greenhouse are sending up new growth. The cyclamens are blooming in the yard, and primroses are popping up.
The beige sleeves protect new vines that were planted last year to fill in gaps where old vines died.
Out in the vineyards the pruning process continues. More and more parcels look like this one (above), pruned down to a single cane that will, over the next couple of months, be tied horizontally to the guide wires. Then the buds will start to leaf out. Can't wait!
I'm loving the longer days -- even just the 30 minutes or so, makes a difference. I know the sun rises later there, where you live, but ours is normally up by the time I pull into the parking lot at 7:15 a.m.... but, yesterday, we had huge, dark cloud cover in the morning, and storms. It was like the middle of the night,driving to work at 7:00!
ReplyDeleteI love the uniformity of the vineyards combined with the irregularity of the vines. We've been enjoying spring-like weather here these past few days.
ReplyDeletejudy, it sure does make a difference. It's hard to imagine living in the more northern latitudes where it stays dark for so long. Of course, the fact that it stays light for a long time in the summer might make up for it... but I think I'm better off here than up there!
ReplyDeletemitch, spring will be nice when it comes. I enjoy the changing of the seasons, which is something I missed a bit when I lived in California.