Vineyard Journal Archives
Hello…
and thanks for following our Vineyard Journal. The Facebook page for Country Moon Winery was started in December of 2013 after which the writing of journal entries the old-fashioned way went slowly to the wayside. The use of Facebook was quick and easy but still didn’t satisfy the nature of journaling, neither did it allow every person to access the information the way a regular web page does. So for the years 2015 through 2019 we have created these web pages to bridge the gap from our previous website to our new WordPress blog format. There is a brief overlap of information on this page as we transition from one format to the next. Most photos here are screen shots from the Photo section on Facebook.
2014 Recap
The motorcycling couple from Martinsville was a story from 2014 and that post continues to be our most popular, generating over 900 likes. It was liked by the city of Martinsville and Jim and Dawn “went viral.” At least viral for us. So that was a fun thing to happen soon in our Facebook experience.
Facebook became a fun way to share photos of visitors. We had motorcoaches, limousines, and party buses full of adventurous wine enthusiasts. The local chapter of the Red Hat Society made a visit as well as several ladies groups and garden clubs. I can’t resist including photos of the moon during eclipses and solstices.
Winter 2015
We ended the old year and started the new by hosting a couples champagne party. Selfies document our attendance at the Indiana Horticultural Congress, during which I took my initial exam for the Private Applicator’s License.
“deciding how to prune them”
After last year’s Sabbath rest in the Concord block, deciding how to prune them this year is a puzzle. By letting them rest or not pruning them for a year, they have grown from strange places. meaning the formed buds ready to go this year are a great distance from the supporting arms and wires. If I keep the buds likely to be fruitful I will have some dangling branches that may not withstand the weight of fruit. If I prune back to the cordon arm I may not have anything grow at all. The solution may be a combination of both, giving the hard pruned nodes a year to recover, but leaving enough green potential to sustain the vine. I will truly have to experiment and learn from the vine to see what it can do or wants to do.
“…Speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee…Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this? In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.”— Job 12:7-10
Spring 2015
Watching for signs of new life the daffodil tips were up on St. Patrick’s Day. The grass greens up and the lilacs bud by April 2nd. We enjoyed a visit from the Purdue Grape Action Team on April 17th where they toured the vineyard and tasted some wine.
Summer 2015
Armed with 50 SPF sunscreen and my new cowl neck hoodie sun shirt, I made my first #MayTheFourthBeWithYou post on May 4th of course. Brian enjoys a glass of wine in the shade of a new canopy. It was a good year for strawberries and we gathered several quarts from our small patch.
The bee balm signals the peak of summer and becomes an attraction for butterflies and hummingbirds. The winery seems to be an attraction for bachelorette gatherings and we are happy to provide a safe place for gals to drink a little and have fun.
For five days in August we bottled last year’s wine. Our new bottles have always been a challenge to receive given our long and winding driveway. This year we opted to have the big truck drop at the FedEx dock in Anderson and we picked them up in a smaller truck from there. We had a faithful crew that withstood some warm days of repetitive work. Vineyard tours are especially fun in late August when the fruit is ripening and the grapes can be samples from the vine. And soon it was time to harvest again! A good group of family and friends showed up to pick and crush the grapes.
Autumn 2015
A two-day Fall Festival included a full eclipse of the moon which fell on Sunday evening, September 27th, creating an opportunity to celebrate with lots of food and wine. The eclipse was due to begin at 9:07 pm. The weather was pleasant but the sky was cloudy. For those in the crowd who stayed, the moon emerged from the clouds just as it reached its full eclipse and began to change colors. The clouds cleared out soon after that and we cleaned up by the light of the blood moon.
“the last waxing sliver”
It’s 6:30 am on October 11th, 2015. Looking to the eastern sky, just before the sun rises, there is a beautiful new constellation to behold. Actually it is a line of planets assembled at a diagonal to the horizon and below the constellation of Leo. The crescent moon rides within the line being just above Mercury, followed by Jupiter, Mars and Venus. As interesting as this is to have such a gathering, the significance for me is that this last waxing sliver of the moon’s phase is the same moon (literally “month”) that gave us the last of 4 lunar eclipses. This sequence has been labeled the Blood Moon Tetrad of 2014-2015. The eclipses themselves drew many fans but I wonder how many are watching this wave goodbye. On 3 previous mornings, each planet has had its close conjunction with the moon, as if each one gives the moon a high five for its job well done! The eclipses drew much attention, but what was the message? Some think it a sign for Israel since the eclipses also coincided with the spring and autumn feasts of the Hebrew calendar. I ponder the possibilities, gazing at the moon and its planet greeters nestled in the breast of the lion of Judah, until the earth turns toward the sun and I can see it no longer.
“Seek the LORD, and ye shall live; Seek him that maketh the Pleidas and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning…The LORD is his name.” — Amos 5:6-8
It’s always fun to see what folks are driving on the days they visit. Deb and Larry pose with the Camaro he restored. Nice!
Fall is a great time for campfire parties and mulled apple wine. We were open on the Saturday after Thanksgiving as part of the new “Shop Small” promotion orchestrated by American Express. The falling leaves revealed a huge hornet’s nest hanging from the silver maple directly over the driveway. We were advised to leave it alone until the weather gets cold and the hornets leave. We did and they did.