Nik, India, and I went to an International Llama show in OberBozen! It was a really fun, laid back show at a llama farm! There were lots of cute crias running around. It was so fun to see llamas in Italy! Apparently there are over 400 llamas in South Tirol! Crazy!
This dynamic trio (a horse, dog, and llama) did tricks in the ring to cool music!
Crias!
Neat coloration...
Wednesday: New Tiroler Hut (Tirolean Hat)
Brigitte took me into Merano and bought me this wonderful Tirolean Mountain Farmer hat! Its supposed to keep rain off for over 4 hours! It is made from sheep's wool that is felted tightly so water cannot leak through it! Its the best present ever!
All Week!: Viticulture!We've got so much done this week! We have worked in Weberacker and the Goldenraut. We weeded and put in the support poles for over 600 vines - check it out!
Below is one of the new young vines in Weberacker. I was weeding around each vine to allow the maximum amount of sunlight to get to those baby leaves! The grass has grown in quickly, but the vines are growing quickly as well!
Here are the rows with their new vegetation.
The picture below shows how we keep the support posts next to the vines. There are wire clips you can purchase to clip them onto the wires the run along the spalier. This post will keep the vine upright and enable it to keep more grapes off the ground than it could hold by itself. These vines will not produce grapes this season, and will produce the most grapes after about three years.
India, Nik, and I work wonderfully together. I set the iron posts while Nik pounded them in behind me. India then clipped them in. The three of us finished it over a period of two days.
The following pictures are from the Goldenraut.
The next two pictures show the longest vines at the top of the spalier. When they got so long it makes it difficult to harvest grapes and uneven amounts of sunlight get to all the leaves.
So India went along and tied (with the "clicker") the vines up vertical to the main trunk.
Then Nik went along with the clippers to prune the tops. Its obvious Nik has a lot of fun in the vineyard. He dances and chants while he's working (or does that mean he's crazy?)
Here is the finished product: beautiful! Its important to have at least 110 to 130 centimeters of leaf/vine growth per grape cluster. After these have been cut, they will stimulate new growth. This new growth that grows out and up will give the grapes the best concentrated sugar compared to other parts of the vine. Its an important growth stage for the vine and the grapes.Then we went through and "de-leaved" the north side of the grapes. To do this its important to leave the stems and only take the leaves as to not stimulate new growth. Its done on the north side so that the maturing grapes don't get too much sunlight, but dry out more quickly after a rain.
A word on pruning:Nik told me more about pruning today. After harvesting the grapes, all the vines are cut back except one, which will be tied to the wire in place of the brown one seen below. In the autumn, each green vine will grow a woody bark to overwinter. At that point it is time to start pruning. In the case of the vine below, Nik said that he would most likely keep the lower right stem and cut the others. He said to always leave one bud extra aside from the stem you are keeping.
All Week: mowing in the pear orchard!
I got to use a mega-super-duty weedwhacker! The motor and gas tank ride on my back on straps like a back-pack and I hold the other end. When caring for an orchard or vineyard the usual goal is to have a monoculture - to promote the life and ultimate production of one crop. (In my opinion Brunnenburg is a huge polyculture of monocultures...but that's another story). I've decided that this has given me excellent training to be a goat later in life. I can barely walk on or climb up this orchard and I got to weed whack it! It was thrilling! I only wish I would be able to taste the pears or the schnapps before going home (which is impossible because I'm coming home in 10 days...). Enjoy these beautiful pictures!
The sun shone through the clouds onto the pear orchard while I was there today to silhouette the castle.
I mowed another pear orchard today that is on the other side of Brunnenburg. I am scheduled to a lot of mowing the next few days. I'm glad that I can take over mowing for Nik - he hurt his knee and is difficult for him.My Daily Travels to Work
I look forward to a lot of things each day. One of my favorite parts of the day are the walk to and from work. To get to the outer reaches of the grounds where some of the vineyards lie, I may walk along the stone steps that connect past the castle. There are lots of stones here, so they are used in many ways. Stone walls hold back the earth that the vines are grown in and edge lots of other places. Here are the steps through the Schlossacker that takes me past the castle wall.
This is my favorite part of the walk - if one took a wrong step you would go off the edge instead of up to the next tier! Ha!
Closer to the castle there are walls of fruit trees - apricots.
The apricots have just been ripening...
Here is the view through the apricot trees.
And along the castle wall, to home.
What a lovely journey.
This is my favorite part of the walk - if one took a wrong step you would go off the edge instead of up to the next tier! Ha!Closer to the castle there are walls of fruit trees - apricots.The apricots have just been ripening...Here is the view through the apricot trees.
And along the castle wall, to home.What a lovely journey. 