Summertime! and the vineyard is thriving

Summer is starting out with the vineyard looking better than ever.
Our Spring weather was perfect - mild, no major frost events, a lot of rain late in the season - and the vines are thriving. Ed started irrigating for the first time this past weekend. Last year he started in March! So the vines have been able to make it this far with all the Spring rain.
A lot of local growers are remarking on how large the grape clusters are this year - and ours are, too. Pinot clusters are typically small, but this year they are huge (relatively speaking)! And there are lots of them.
It remains to be seen whether we will need to drop some fruit to manage the crop load, but our vines are on 3.5' spacing, so because the cordons are short each one can support more fruit than if they were longer. The vineyard looks absolutely beautiful.
We are looking forward to a stellar 2009 vintage. It starts in the vineyard!

The newsletter promised some more pictures where you can actually see Ed mowing, so here they are.

I'm having a good time this summer. I'm getting to go to Jazz on the Plazz with Ed & Mary on Wednesdays, when they drink wine and visit - and I get to visit with all the other dogs there. Plus, we've had all these artists come to the vineyard to paint, and I like to visit with them. They're putting their paintings in a show at the Museum, and I've been there, too. And I always love to go to the beach!
- Pinot