Mandala ripples in the fountain.
The Word for the Day, this rainy morning, from www.gratefulness.org: Mountains and oceans have whole worlds of innumerable wondrous features. We should understand that it is not only our distant surroundings that are like this, but even what is right here, even a single drop of water. DOGEN ZENJI Yes, it surprised us and… Read more »
Farmer as Quintessential
Tools of the Trade It isn’t how we think it should go: by cutting back, we strengthen the core. Pruning is painful! It means relinquishing possibilities in order to direct attention and vitality in a considered way. The focus, hopefully, is for the good of the whole, whether that be the whole of… Read more »
Light and Portals
Tomatilla in late afternoon. Biodynamics is one of the few disciplines that addresses the forces behind what we “see.” It requires more quiet to feel these forces, another consciousness even, balanced with reason. What is it about light that opens these portals? The late afternoon sun shining through the tomatilla skin… Read more »
Preparing for the New Cuttings
Pile of old plants being uprooted in Field Sophia. Preparing for the New Cuttings August allows the leisure to do projects that we do not have time for other times of the year. Some call this time of the year of summer dormancy in California (Mediterranean climate) the fifth… Read more »
Grapes Ripening Already!
Grapes are softening. Still tart, though! Grapes Ripening Already! I woke this week to the familiar hum of the sulfur dusters in our neighbors’ vineyards, a sound that soon will be stopping for the season. We dusted for the last time this last week. Once the grapes go into… Read more »
Blooming Grape Bunches
Chardonnay grapes in full bloom. Blooming Grape Bunches When the bunches are in full bloom, they look like bottle brushes. Such a vulnerable two weeks! There is a forecast of possible showers, but this is definitely the time we do not want it. Our crop this year depends on the… Read more »
Grape Buds Appear
Grape Buds Appear What is always amazing to me is that in the cup of the first tiny leaves opening from the bud on the grapevine rests the tiny bunches which will bloom in a few weeks and, fertilized, become grapes.
A Job Well Done!
Leaves are beginning to yellow and close down for the year. A Job Well Done! After the harvest we give the vines a deep watering, a kind of thank you for a job well done. Soon we will do series of sprays. The leaves are yellowing, closing down for the year, and before they drop,… Read more »
Preparing to steep the equisetum tea which we will then ferment for ten days before use. It will keep for some time. Although we no longer spray sulfur to protect against mildew as the grapes are in veraison, we do protect the vines by continuing to spray fermented equisetum tea, or Biodynamic prep 508, at… Read more »
Line Up Someone’s eating the grapes! Who could it be? Line up of possible grape-eating culprits: Could it be the goats??? Oh, surely not Dasher! Or Mr. Coyote. Grape skins have been found in his scat. She looks innocent, but any rose (or grape!) grower knows the truth! Then there is Leo who… Read more »
© 2024 Patricia Damery.
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