We have started the winter dinners functions. Please book at least a day before.

But if you would like to book in for any other night, of course you can, just as you have done before

Pruning is on the way now when the weather permits.

Nothing else to report At the cafe, life is as usual…we are open daily, the fire is going and you can come in for a glass of mulled wine also.

Sorry folks for not writing for sooo long.

We had a crazy busy few weeks lately. Fed a lot of people over the holidays, tried to get on top of the weeds, taming the new shoots under the growing wires, organising labels for the bottles, looking after my patients @ the hospital etc. etc. etc…

Paul is building houses, spraying the vines, slashing the weeds, waging wars with the bank and the council and babying his present project

the tender for Simbad the IV-th etc. etc. etc…

The grapes are growing at phenomenal rate The Baco Noir already has pea size berries.

Of course, the perpetual enemy powdery mildew is trying to get hold on the berries where it can. The Baco is not susceptible to it but the Primadonnas, the Gewurztraminers, smell like mice. Geeez…I HATE them ! The mildew, not the grapes I imagine them with tiny, white, pointy, sharp teeth latching into the skin of the poor berries…(Image, courtesy of: isa.utl.pt)

It is REAL SUMMER in Tassie !!!!! Come down until it lasts ))

Siegerrebe.

First brood of chicks.

The Robinias I’ve grown from seed are planted out now.

Plums. Munched by resident possum

Baco Noir

Our swallow

Weather is warming up. Paul is out in the vineyard spraying the weeds.

Spring is in the air Our swallows returned, safe and sound. The weather is unpredictable as it is usually in Spring and as it is usually in Tassie We had temperatures up to 20 C but we have cold rain pelting down the next day also. The grapes are growing with frightening speed. Woolly bud one week

…  4 leaves opened the next. 

Paul did not get the time to spray the first protective Sulphur out yet. Crossing fingers… xxx… the nasty fungi didn’t have time to get hold either The soil is pretty muddy, it’ll be hard to drive the tractor into the rows. But with this wind -like today- it should not take long for the soil to dry, so hopefully next week the jobs can be done.

We have with us Joceyine and James helping. They are wonderful helpxers ! They can do anything needed around here from pruning to planting, weeding, running the cafe etc…. when I’m not home. I can go to work in the hospital knowing they are here to run the place

Look who we discovered the other day hiding in the garden tool shed ? ! )) ….

We have a resident possum Isn’t it cute? Probably feeding on the old apple and pear trees but until it decides to munch off the shoots from the grapes, we welcome her/him If it does ?…then we just have to start feeding her/him.

Had the Probus Club for lunch yesterday. Thanks for choosing our venue!

The weather is worming up.The plums are flowering and the Calla lilies are spectacular this year.

The grapes are not yet in wooly bud but are very close. Sap is flowing freely in the canes. Not much to go before we finish tying  down the canes of the Gewurztraminer Pruning is done!

Paul finished the kitchen also the doors are on

and the cabinet that houses the oven is done.

I’ll need the dishwasher and some pics on the walls and it’ll look how I wanted it.

There is only 38 bottles of the 06 Pinot left and 10 of the 08 Tigerblood so if you would like some of these last ones, please let me know asap.

We are about half way with the pruning.

Lucky the weather is OK so far. We had a few really frosty mornings -like today- then later it is sunny and quiet warm.

I am sad

The Herd went to the market. 

It was easy to walk them up the truck, everyone left at the same time. We had problems lately with Peter going out visiting the neighbours He discovered that the measly electric fence wire is no match to his size and power. One morning we found him on the front loan merrily scratching his head on the 10 year old, very slow growing, New Zealand Christmas trees. You can imagine the result… We were thinking for some time now to change to sheep. They are smaller, need less pasture, bring nearly the same income per acre as cattle, can be let into the vineyard to graze and don’t have to be transported  to the abattoir.

The Christmas in July function went well. Everyone enjoyed the afternoon and they’ve promised to come back next year

Paul finished the prototype Sinbad IV. Tested it on the water and floats just as he intended to

I hope it will be built by the time we retire

Here is the menu for the functions starting from this Saturday.

I’m looking forward to see you again this winter

Long time since I wrote…those of you who follow us on Facebook know more up-to-date information

We had a beaut day for the picking. The quality is better then expected and the whites are already enjoyable, though not clear yet They show wonderful varietal character. We had the -now- traditional gulyas party after the harvest. Here is Carl, expertly looking after the fire under the “bogracs” (billy). It is an art to keep the heat just right

Finally I am registered as a nurse It took a looong time after finishing school…I had to sit the IELTS English language test to prove that I am capable of communicating to the level of the Nursing Standard. I had a REAL problem with this!

While I understand that there should be some sort of requirement, I felt humiliated and discriminated.

STUPID even!

Is it not enough that I’ve passed all my exams -including therapeutic communication- at tertiary level alongside all my school mates? Is it not enough that during my 2 month of unpaid practical training I was signed off on all the required competencies?

No. Because I was unfortunate enough that I did my secondary schooling in a foreign place.

After 23 years in this wonderful country, I’ve been made fully aware that I’m NOT an Australian!

Not yet!

or not ever?!

I had to prove over and above my peers to be registered to a profession I love.

It left bitter, angry, sad… painful emotions….

Preparing for the compulsory IELTS exam reminded me of the times when I lived in a country where I had to conform to stupid rules made by stupid -but powerful- people. The weekly Wednesdays when I had to appear in front of the glass window at the police station for 2 years. The nausea, the knot in my stomach, the irregular heartbeats, the rapid breathing, the cold sweat, the tremor in every muscle…

It’s OK.

It’s over now.

I did OK. Scraped through to 7.0 on Reading. Got 8.0 for Speaking and 8.5 for Listening and Writing. Had I known though that as an Australian citizen I have to do this test, I should’ve enrolled to the uni to do the RN course, not the EEN at Polytech level. Because, sure as Hell, I will not go through this torture again to obtain my higher qualification and be registered as an RN…

Here we go… off my chest… on the internet, for the whole world to know…

We’ll be picking the Pinot on the 28th. Have finished the other varieties, they are merrily bubbling away in the winery

Had a LOT of bird damage. The little rascals could get in somehow and munched off quiet a few bunches. The wallabies also discovered that they can chew or rip a hole on the nets and were grazing not just the grass but the grapes too. Ha…that’s our wild life….we have to live with them. Now the nets are open, they can have the place for themselves

Not a big crop this year but we are happy. Some other vineyards lost the lot to the weather this year. Quality?…we’ll see. If they will not come up to Paul’s expectations, they will be distilled into brandy The 2009 Pinot ended up being just that! And boy, does it taste WONDERFULLLLLLL!!!!! It is in the barrel slowly maturing and concentrating those flavours for your pleasure I can’t predict when it will be released but until then you can sample the Daredevil. Our palinka (grappa). It is in a 100ml and a 375 ml bottle, the prices are $ 20.00 and $ 37.00, respectively. Please send an email if you’d like to order it.

I’ve been to Heriots Point Vineyard at the beginning of the week. On the boat, up the river Here are some Autumn pictures in the Huon Valley. Don’t tell me it’s cold in Tassie! Come and see it for yourself!

The Possum Piss is in the bottles, labeling them today.

That’s about it for now…we’re busy with the harvest…