Down to the Wire!

The weather at Brunnenburg has been absolutely incredible lately. The warmth, along with a touch of humidity, has made it a pleasure to work past sundown.

Nik has recently planted new vines in the vineyard that are fungi resistant and able to grow without receiving any form of spraying. On Thursday, Nik and I spent time putting up wires and rods within the vineyard. Two of the wires will be used for netting (to prevent birds from feeding on the grapes) and irrigation.

In the distance, Nik makes sure that the posts are the same height. This is done to ensure that the wires are level and straight.

This device spun around as the wire was pulled.

The wires were then brought together and tightened.

The end result is a uniform, taut, and straight wire. 

After putting up the wire, we had to put in rods, which act as trellises for the vines. The only rods that Nik had were too short because they were bent. As a result, I spent the entirety of yesterday straightening out the rods. 

Getting Ourselves Back to the Garden

Now that the great internet outage of 2012 has ended (at least temporarily!), I can continue writing about my adventures!

The weather has been changing every day. It has been getting warmer and lighter outside. Today was extremely windy and a bit grey, but springtime is evident everywhere! I even started hearing some insects today! With this changing weather comes the need to gear up for gardening season. Over the past couple of weeks, I have been spending a lot of time doing different tasks in the garden.

On this day we were mulching and planting. We have been lucky to receive help and company from students Taylor and Caroline!

On another day, I spent time applying compost to different plants within the garden.

Now that the soil is built up and healthy, it's almost time to start seeing some delicious greens and pretty flowers!