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April 10, 2005
Deer Fence Continued...
Started the day by finishing up the herbicide spraying. Only had 10 rows to do so that didn't take long at all. Then it was time to continue drilling holes for the deer fence. I'd finished all I could around the sides and back (still need a breaker to get through some rock in the back...) so I just had to do the side along Sagle Road. Getting the fence line marked was a little challenging because the crest in the hill prevents you from seeing corner to corner, so you have to place median markers to help line everything up. This is the same hill that proved difficult when we first marked out the vineyard. So it took a little back and forth but finally got a line I was happy with. Of course once I had the final fence line marked I realized I didn't clear enough of the brush on the hillside next to the road, thus I wouldn't be able to get the tractor/bush hawg around it to keep the fence line cleared. So once I get the posts installed I can cut out the last small bit of hill to create a nice, safe, level road to keep things tidy.
Once everything was marked, I installed some new cutting teeth on the auger and started drilling holes. Being so close to the brush line there was quite a few tree roots to drill through but that didn't prove too problematic. Only one hole really sucked, requiring extensive ass-kickery with a digging bar, but tenacity prevailed and I got through. Having completed that I decided to work on the corner post that we set last weekend. We couldn't get the hole dug deep enough so the corner was actually a foot high, and looking at it today really bugged me, so I took a tow chain, wrapped it around the post and pulled it out with the tractor loader. Feeling all confident since I just successfully used the digging bar on the previous problem hole, I figured I could get down another foot. Of course I first had to remove all the gravel we poured down the hole last week. Sigh...
So I commence to banging down this hole, which is of course filled with mud and water. As the hole gets deeper you are getting closer and closer to the ground as you peer in the hole until SPLASH! a big blob of mud comes right out and whacks you in the face. Ah, the romance of the wine industry!
About this time Shannon comes by and we run down to the Blimpie for a sub. The afternoon is gorgeous and we hang out for a bit, then she's off to the house and I decide enough of this digging nonsense. I have a few piles of debris to move out of the vineyard (left over from the bob war fence removal odyssey) so I had to make a few trips moving junk over to one of the horrid outbuildings that defaces the edge of our property. The hope here is that when we go to build a proper residence some huge machine of crushing destruction will take the building and all the junk inside and just make it disappear. In reality I'll probably end up tossing it one piece at a time into a dumpster but it's nice to daydream...
I finished the day's chores by setting the two posts that will hold the entrance gate to the vineyard from Sagle Road. I've added some rocks along the gravel to make a nice border, and the two posts lend a sense of "proper entryway" which I think will look quite nice. The day done, it was time to lock up the shack and head home, where Shannon was waiting with a bottle of wine (for me) and pink lemonade (for her) to enjoy on the front porch. With the dawgs of course, and Seamus peeking out the window! Family foto...
We relaxed and watched the sunset - she aglow with her pregnancy, and I simmering in my filth - sensing the milestone that will come to pass next Saturday as our first two acres are planted. Soon it will be real - our vineyard, our dream, our future.
Notaviva Vineyards
Wine - Music - America
Posted by
Stephen
at
April 10, 2005 11:18 PM
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