Friday, July 18, 2014

A Real Vineyard...


The last time we met, I showed you the progress of the 
grapevine.  After several years, it put on fruit.


We harvested.  All THREE bunches.

We ate a few of them.  But, they are really wine grapes, not table grapes.
Pretty acidy....if that's a word.

But, on last Sunday, we went to a private tour of a real vineyard.

Five years ago, when we moved here, we joined the wine club at


It's just down the road a bit.  And, we like wine.
We agreed to take a quarterly 'shipment' of three bottles of wine.
A hardship, I know.  But, we did it.

They have a 'Pick-Up Party' each time, so locals...or any member who wants to...
can come to the winery and pick up their 'shipment'.
Entertainment and some snacks and wine.
Another hardship....lol

We recently received an invitation to take a complementary tour of the vineyard,
followed by a box lunch....and, of course, wine.


It just so happened to occur on the hottest day we've had all summer.
But, it was worth it.


Gary Elliot, owner and wine maker, led the tour.
He knows his stuff....and, loves his job.


He talked about planting, pruning and the watering, 
that goes into growing wine grapes in Texas.


There are new acres, recently planted, but doing well.
The watering is done with drip emitters. 
  

Drops fall on each side of the vine.
It takes a bit of water.  Right now, they're taking it out of a creek that
flows through the property.
Soon, it may have to come from wells, which makes it harder, because
of the calcium in the water that clogs the emitters.

sangiovese

Grapes 'mist' themselves, through their leaves, especially when the nights stay warm.
This uses even more water.

cabernet

The welcome rains we've had this spring have certainly helped.

viognier

I asked about the later freeze we had this spring.
Gary said he has giant fans (sorry, I didn't get a photo), that he uses to 
blow the cold air up away from the ground.
It must have worked.


We gathered under the shade of a Live Oak grove, and had our box lunches
of Muffaletta sandwiches, fruit salad, chips and cookies.

photo quality due to bad focus, not too much wine

And, of course, some Longhorn Red.



By the way....we told Gary about our grapevine.
He said we're the first ones he's heard that got one to live,
much less make fruit.
We must have done something special.

Well...we planted and watered it.
Not all that special.  But, it worked.

Have a great weekend, and...

Happy Gardening...
~~Linda~~

Friday, July 11, 2014

The Grape Update....



Back in May, I told you how excited we were that
the grapevine we planted a few years ago was finally
putting on some fruit.


We had buds.

The blooms.

 Then, little baby grapes.


Just last week, they were beginning to turn color.


Now this week, they're ripe.

The birds have left them alone.  We've tasted a couple.
They're a bit tart, but taste good.

We're taking a private vineyard tour this weekend,
at Driftwood Estate Winery.
We'll be asking questions. 

Maybe next year, we'll have even more grapes.

So much enjoyment, from ONE grapevine...LOL

Gardeners are indeed a breed apart.

Have a great weekend.

Happy Gardening...
~~Linda~~

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

It Says It All.....




Happy Gardening...
~~Linda~~

Monday, July 7, 2014

Harvest....


The veggie harvest hasn't been so good here this year.

Everybody around, has been showing their great harvests.

Not here.

Hmmm.....I did something wrong.

We had one nice Celebrity tomato.
It was very good.  It even got to ripen on the vine.
The squirrels must have thought it was too much trouble to go after just one.

But, look!
There are more!
It July.  In Texas.
Maybe our unusually cool weather (no triple digits yet),
have made the difference.


So now, I'm headed out to deal with this.

The squash hasn't done well.
The okra hasn't done well.


But, the cosmos is doing VERY well.

I'll have cosmos for the rest of my life.

How's your garden doing?

I'm headed out to clean up that mess, and plant more seeds.
I'm just hard headed enough not to give up.

Happy Gardening...
~~Linda~~

Friday, July 4, 2014

Happy Birthday, America!.....




~~Linda~~

Thursday, July 3, 2014

Wildlife Wednesday....July 2014...



Tina over at  My Gardener Says...
has started a new meme.
She's hosting 
Wildlife Wednesday, 
the first Wednesday of each month.

We have a lot of wildlife here.
From tiny bugs, to large four-legged critters.
There is always an abundance of wildlife.

We're never without the ever present deer.


Among the other four-legged creatures....

This little possum was in the cat's bed, on the porch.

And, the battle with the squirrels continues.
As it does with the raccoons.  Sorry, no photos of them or the armadillos.

There are lots of birds....

Cardinals, and Titmouse (is more than one Titmouse, Titmice?)
and lots of Sparrows....and, more.

A Green Heron, thinking he's hiding.

And this month, we've seen more of the Egytian Geese around.
I think maybe they've decided this might be a good place to live.

And the very efficient clean-up guys...
Black and Turkey Vultures. 

And, this guy wasn't in our garden.
But, we've seen them around here.

This one was in Lake Texana, east of Victoria.
Our daughter and family are camping there, 
and we went down to spend the day.
We didn't see any of the alligators.

But, that's ok. 
 At least we don't have alligators here.

I'll have more to show you next month.
Be sure to visit Tina, and see what others have to show.

What kind of wildlife do you have in your garden?

***********
'Til later...
Take care..
~~Linda~~