Quail Tales

Mr. Quail. The Mrs. is in front of him, her head obscured by the blurry grape leaf. The goats heard the alarm cry this morning before I did: Te-te-te-te! Te-te-te-te! They stopped, and a quail couple trotted through the fence and into the vineyard. We won’t hurt you, I said softly, but nevertheless, they ran into… Read more »

Yarrow

Yarrow bed. Behind bed is sticky monkeyflower, poison oak, and coyote bush. Yarrow is one of the flowers that make up the six compost preparations. It grows abundantly in several grassy places on our ranch. Last year’s growth remains as straight stems. Yarrow likes to grow with soap root and coyote bush. Steiner held that… Read more »

Fall Biodynamic Spraying: ‘501″

Buckeye butterfly beneath coyote bush         After harvest we spray the crystal spray “501” on the vines and orchard to help prepare for the fruit the next year. This balances cosmic/solar forces with earth forces. We spray three times, once in each of the fruit (fire) astrological signs: Ares, Leo, and Sagittarius…. Read more »