Wednesday 10 August 2016

Our Addiction To Short Cuts Isn't Always That Healthy.

Nothing wrong with plain old elbow grease...

Growing and making wine is a labour intensive business and often some aspects of it are attended to with a chemical or two. Weeds and bugs being the main one.

Mostly, the weeds growing between the individual wines are taken care of with a spray of something, which quite frankly, I don't even want to think about. " Everyone is doing it. That's just the way it's done ." Does it save money and time? Yes, of course, but they have made wine before the invention of chemicals, not such big quantities but perhaps good quality nonetheless.

There is a new breed of vintners who are going back to grass roots or rather growing vines the natural way. Weeds and grass growing in between the vines, get removed manually with a weed eater ( eh, it sounds poisonous but is an apparatus wielded by a person ) or eaten by a flock of sheep.

Which leads me to today's topic...sheep or rather a flock of them circulating the various vineyards owned by a local wine maker. I have told you about them before, but yesterday the cuteness factor was doubled. The herd's ram must have had a whole lot of fun, as there were a few youngsters frolicking about.

It was so divine seeing these sheep grazing in a vineyard and it made me think about a documentary I saw on TV. Someone had opened a Cow Cafe ( no, not that cow's Cafe! ) and yes, it is a coffee shop on a farm, overlooking the cow stable. The owner said that quite often kids visiting from the city would be overjoyed at stroking a real cow. Sadly, some of them had never seen one or yet alone known that cows made milk!

Could there be an opportunity to open a " Farm Cafe " in our area? Just imagine the sheer joy on the faces of young kids, when they are allowed to cuddle a little lamb, perhaps be chased by an audibly upset goose, milk a cow, muck out a horse stable and feed a pig...rural bliss is making a comeback.

How cute is this speckled sheep?
Siblings perhaps? They were about to butt heads, but their mum intervened.
In plain sight, yet most merely drive by without noticing them.
Life is simple...

Biggi

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