Sunburns, Blisters, and Bruises

That mostly sums it up for the first round of pruning.



Actually, I don't think anyone was sunburned at Crimson Clover the other day despite record high temperatures and full bright sun! It was a gorgeous California winter day. If you recall last year when we pruned at Chaine d'Or, we bailed out midday because of freezing rain. The following day it snowed in the foothills, and we definitely felt that coming!! Brrrr.



The blisters come with the territory, you toss another bandaid on and keep going. I was glad this year to notice my new work books were a bit more broken in and less rigid on my heels. Paul loves telling the story of us at Mel Cottons and asking the clerk for waterproof boots for me. She came back with some cute little slip on plastic clogs... He was very patient and explained that no, this wasn't some tidy little garden to putter in, that it was heavy duty farming and the boots needed to be sturdy and waterproof.



At one point I over asserted myself with the vine cutting and jabbed it right down onto my thigh. See, there is this thrusting motion you do when you're disengaging it from the wires, and I was perhaps a little overzealous about it. I have this fantastic welt and bruise, but I know it's temporary, just a glaring reminder I need to be more careful.



Pruning Crimson could have been more peaceful and I would have been able to let my mind wander about to other interesting thoughts, but the fumes from the neighbors gas chainsaw were a bit distracting. So was the roaring rip of each tree branch he cut. Just about the time we thought he was done, he fired up the chipper....



The greatest highlight was watching Truffles (Jazzy) play with the vineyard dog Rascal. They're about the same size, she's a French Bulldog (that snorts like a piglet, which is why I call her Truffles), and he's some type of Terrier mix. They were a cute ball of fur chasing each other about in the short grass.



I'm not sure if Paul or I have a picture of her yet, but we'll put one up soon.