Rain is Good...

...at least that's what I keep telling myself while so many projects are screaming for attention... Still, without the rain, nothing would be possible and our plants would all dry up and we'd starve (in theory anyway unless the government has a huge stockpile of "soylent green"). 

So not much to do on these super rainy days but keep dry and plan for when it stops. Not that I mind, there's so much else to do indoors as well! hopefully though, we get a break sometime this week to burn some of the brush we've accumulated from clearing blackberries in the vineyard. Depending on the weather and imposed burn day status, we plan to have a simple gathering and celebrate the progression of our circular mandala-shaped garden at the vineyard. The wood ashes left by burning the brush will, in turn, enrich the soil by providing crucial minerals such as potassium, phosphorus, and magnesium which aid in neutralizing acidic soil. Finger's crossed for Friday!

The vines have yet to be pruned but that will have to wait until the rain stops too. One of the lovely things about Permaculture is the simple beauty of it's systems. In order to get the most output for what we put into making our wine we have to be smart about how we work. Since we don't hire extra help in the vineyard and do the work ourselves, this is an important strategy for us to keep in mind. For instance, working through the rain may work for some farmers but our vines will stay dormant until about March so there are still plenty of time to wait for a more pleasant day to prune, and let me tell you, pruning hundreds of grapevines is not something you can do on a spare weekend unless there's help!

Daily tasks around our urban micro-farm still need tending to on a daily basis; feeding and caring for chickens, keeping up with the planting, chores around the house, small DIY projects, upkeep of the homestead, and running our family businesses. On top of that, we each have our own personal lives to lead. Steadily though, things are getting done and growing more efficient with ever new lesson learned and measure taken. Slowly, step by step...

Winter is the best time of year to make future plans in the garden, compost leaves, repair things, do research, gaze-at-the-sky-through-naked-tree-limbs-because-its-pretty and this is exactly what we're up to now. Back to checking things off the "to do" list! :)

Here's what our day's have been looking like recently:

Peeking out the window

Our Tree