You can’t make wine out of that! They say.

I know it looks bad.                                                                                                                             I  did do this on purpose. Though a little bug and a couple of Peahens helped me with the overall look!. All those dried up raisiny grapes add sweetness. And after a few frosts, the sugars intensify. These grapes like to be frozen before picking.  Tomorrow I am going to begin a small vintage. Last year we had more grapes but they were picked too early. The grape is a Vidal Blanc. 

I know this sounds crazy but this year we should make better wine.  This is actually the ugliest bunch of grapes I could find. I have begun to smell the scent of the grapes on the vines and this is what has convinced me that the time is right.  Maybe just maybe, I will get some lovely dessert wine this time. We are forecast to have a good frost tonight and we pick tomorrow early. Ice wine. I will show you. 

Good morning. I always take the Daily View then the temperature at the same time. This was actually yesterday’s high late in the morning. After this it just got colder and I heard that some people saw a little snow mixed with some light rain. Naturally I refuse to even contemplate such a thing.

My neighbours have morphed into Surrogate Milkers and have begun their training to take over the farming while I am away and John is working.  They are a retired couple with an experience in farming and the military. They chose to start working on the farmy way ahead of time so that they are good and confident when I leave them to it for three weeks in December. I figure they should be able to handle our naughty Daisy, the Shush Sisters and all the others.

More on that another day. Today we pick up the beef for the freezer and distribute it amongst the families.  You will remember that this steer was fattened on alfalfa and was taken in younger. We are getting better at managing these things as we go along.  It is all about planning and timing.

Have a lovely day.

celi

On this day last year.  Cooking Nights with the Old Folks. This story is one of our favourites.  It is a perfect weekend read. Short.  It is about when I was very young and working nights in an old folks home. The residents, ever so slowly, in the dead of night, took over my kitchen. I love this story. This is one I shall rewrite back into its fuller version for the book of short stories.