Zen and the Art of Vineyard Maintenance...

Whew!

Is that the general feeling that comes to mind when I think of the many days it took us (crew of about 3) to "tuck and sucker" the vineyard this year?

Sweaty hard work is fun!

How can a person possibly feel alive until they've wrestled a few hundred grape vines into place?

And...

It rained at a bizarre time of the year.

Actual water from the actual sky

And still hot as all get out.

People might long for the serene quiet of a country vineyard and imagine a country life off the beaten path. One would expect this occupation to be meditative and peaceful and I went into it ready to transcend this world through slow days of steady patience.

tuck. tuck. tuck. ..

But it's not peaceful at all. Tucking vines into trellises with your arms aching and sweat dripping into your eyes and sun baking you to a crisp does not inspire even the slightest moments of nirvana. But it was inspiring, motivating me to think of anything else unrelated to the task at hand. I thought a lot about summer goals, winter goals, travel plans, dreams I'd had, what to eat for dinner, whether or not that was a rattlesnake I just heard, how to get my next-door neighbors to loan me a come-along...

But it's over now, and relaxing on the cool rocks of our beautiful rivers and canyons has never been more appreciated. And if that somehow becomes boring, there's always harvest just around the corner.