Jeff and Lars worked all week making trellis post holes for the new grapes. Right now, the grape vines are still small enough that the tractor can straddle them, so it was a bit time-sensitive to get these post holes done. Jeff also sharpened all 150 posts with his chain saw this week. Today – with Zach’s help – they “pounded” the posts in, using the tractor’s front bucket, which we weighed down with rocks. It does not look that exciting yet – just a big field with fence posts in rows. Now we have to install the end-posts and then run the wires for the trellis.
Chronicles of the Long Shot Farm
Considering Plans for a Fruit/Produce Stand
Yes, we were actually thinking about building a small fruit or produce stand – something that is somewhat temporary, not trashy looking, won’t blow away on a windy day and could be stored away for the winter.
We do have lots of left-over building materials: roofing, 2×4’s, pressure treated lumber, regular lumber and even some plywood sheeting.
So we googled some images and sketched up some rough drafts – not sure yet if we are going to actually do this, but it has been fun thinking about possibilities. (It could always be converted into a playhouse)
By the way – the Robin eggs from the pictures
of the previous post are gone!
Another Sure Sign of Spring
Every evening we check the grape vines to see if the buds are opening yet…anticipating “bud-break”. This evening we noticed a Robin’s nest for the first time. Not even hidden a little bit, but out in plain site, on our first trellis post of the first row of grapes. We were either oblivious to this nest, or we have a speed-nest-builder in the grape patch. Regardless – Robin’s are a sure sign of Spring!
Backyard Spring Cleaning
We transformed the back porch from its winter purpose of covered fire-wood storage back to our summer sitting area – complete with flowers and mulch. That took some serious muscle, as left-over firewood had to be moved back to the wood pile and re-stacked. We scrubbed and swept until it was “back to normal” and then brought out the patio furniture.
This weekend was also perfect for cleaning the backyard flower beds and doing some serious lawn-mowing. Though it was pretty cold: by Sunday afternoon I needed two seatshirts and a travel mug with hot coffee to stay warm on the riding mower.
Website Improvements
It’s been a while since I edited our website. This evening I was updating the recipe section (after I finally figured out how to make the pull-down menu work). I also found a new widget that I thought would be fun to have: it’s a countdown to a major event widget. I assume this is geared toward wedding websites or grand openings, but we found our own use: the website count-down is for the expected first day of blackberry harvest and it is now on our home page. We’ll change it for the grape harvest countdown in mid July.
