A Walk Through The Woods

Cat On A Hot Tin Roof

Unwelcome Guests

We have two hornet's nests on the property and we haven't quite figured out how to get rid of them yet. They need to find a new home soon, preferrably before harvest because all those sweet grapes attract so many bees. Any suggestions?

Puppies For Sale

If you thought I was kidding about selling eggs ( I wasn't by the way) you can be sure I'm not kidding about selling these puppies. This is only half of them. My Dad's registered Border Collie had 8 puppies around Valentine's Day and they are (hopefully) on their way to other people's homes- like yours possibly? They're cute as can be. I think they have sold two and are keeping one, so that leaves 5, count them, 5 more puppies to sell. You want one? They are excellent at keeping critters out of your vineyard. Their mom, Cassie, also chases shadows and water coming out of the hose and will give you a stick to throw for hours on end, Frisbees too.

You know you can't live on a farm without chickens. They're laying eggs like crazy- anybody need a dozen?

Clip Clop

Here's another picture of Shadow, my horse. Click here or here for previous pictures of my "stud."

As we've seen here before, I have a sweet spot for the farm cats.

Sepia toned hay bales

Farmall Art

Cats on Corqs

This picture was actually taken on Christmas Eve, on my Dad's porch, where the UPS man delivered our boxes of corqs. The fuzzy cat in the front is Cassandra, and the short haired grey cat on the other box is Shannon.

Mr. Coveralls

Howdy.

Pony Girl

My horse, Shadow, on occassion roams the barnyard and nibbles on grass wherever he pleases. With the lack of rain over the summer, he pretty much goes where he wants in order to find some grass, and if we keep him nearby we can make sure he has enough water. A few times we left the gate open and he wandered to the neighbors, but usually it doesn't take much to get him back, just a scoop or two of grain. My niece, Hannah, has recently become very interested in horses, so he has been rode more times this summer than the past 4 years put together. He is a gentle soul, though, and I like that he is so good with her, considering he seriously hardly ever gets rode, and he is about 23 years old.

This is a picture of him doing what he does best, eat grass. In the background are our "old Concord" grapes.

Butterfly on Thistle

I will have to admit that I really like this picture I took yesterday while testing the sugar of the Norton grapes. I like the blue on the tips of the wings, and a tiny bit of orange and yellow, and the black contrasted with the purple of the thistle flower. If I look at the green grass below, I get dizzy.

And A Partridge In A Pear Tree

We have two doves on the property, they have been here at least a month if not most of the summer. They are light grey, with dark grey or black on the tips of their wings and a ring around their neck. I have never seen this type of dove before, and I have no idea why they chose to come here, but they are peaceful, and beautiful, and are always seen together. Some people believe that when you have a rare animal cross your path, that symbolizes something in your life. Wonder what these doves are trying to tell me, if anything? If anyone has any knowledge about what type of doves these are, and/or if they are native to Missouri, I would love you to leave a comment.

Although we aren't organically certified, we do what we can to help the enviroment and at the same time help our farm. These are the cedar posts we cut from our forests to use as end posts for the trellis.

I know I asked for rain, but I'm not sure I asked for three days of rain. Can you see the ground hog in the picture? Even he's trying to get out of the rain and into the barn.

This is our new toy. It is a seeder, so it throws seeds onto the ground for corn, or soybeans, I guess. We are using it to spread fertilizer. The fertilizer goes in the basket; the yellow part, and the tractor spins a disk, and fertilizer comes out both sides at the bottom, where the two red shoots are. Very exciting.

Hazy Shade of Winter

"Whiskey For My Men,

Wine For My Horses." Is that how that song goes? ;) This is my horse, Shadow. I got him for my 15th birthday. He's a Quarter Horse. During the winter he goes in the barn, but on some nice winter days he roams the barnyard, as shown here. Do you have a horse nibbling grass outside your office window?

Humble Beginnings

The building where the first Sainte Genevieve Winery wine was made is getting torn down this week. It originated as a garage for the house, and was on the property when mom and dad bought it in 1967. I never remember too many cars actually parked in it though. The story I have heard is that my two brothers wanted to start a machine shop in the garage to fix cars and whatnot, so they bought some tools and poured a concrete floor. In December 1983 we received our official bonded winery license and the garage soon turned into the winery. My brother, Joe, played basketball in high school, so a basketball hoop was hung. Like any American pursuing the dream, my dad used what he had available to him, and that was the garage. We built barrel racks, cut a hole in the back room for an air conditioner, and I bottled more wine out there than I care to admit.

I read an article about a year or two ago in the Food and Wine Magazine about a little winery in the Amador foothills who ran their winery out of a garage, and the journalist made it seem so rustic and authentic, and I'm sure it was/is, but Dad and I couldn't help but chuckle. What some people found quaint, we found bothersome. It's all about perscpective, isn't it?

Now, we are in this new fangled building, and although it isn't beautiful, it is 1,000 more functional than that old building, and for that I am grateful everyday. I have an office/lab, and all my tanks indoors, and drains in the floors. It's a little winemaker's dream come true. I, for one, know I WILL NOT miss the old building, but I can't say the same for Dad.