Six month bed check

First leaf in all its glory.

Construction

Much like choosing a house site, choosing how to build our home was not a quick decision either. We considered all manner of materials: rammed earth, adobe, steel, wood. In the end, wood won first place.

Now fully underway, the house is starting to take shape. It's an amazing process to watch what you've obsessed over on paper become a three-dimensional reality.

Next week the roof line goes up and we say adios to our fabulous framing crew.

Rain day

Thursday was our very first rain day here at Buena Suerte Vineyards. A hallowed day for farmers when, after a nice big rain, it's too wet to do much of anything. After working seven days a week for months, it's a treasured forced day off.

We received a full inch of the wet stuff. More than three times what we've received all year.

We celebrated with burning our trash. I know, it was just as exciting as it sounds. We've been under a burn ban all summer and this was our first opportunity to do so. The barn feels practically empty now.

The south vineyard

What was once nothing but sand dune and shin oak, is now prepped and ready for plowing.

These floppy ears kill me

Bulldozing bulletin: Week 4

We have come to the end of our bulldozing fete. Can I get an amen?

In order to finish all the projects, Nathan resumed 24-hour shift work. The Bingham crew generously volunteered to help so the dozer dozed around the clock.

Meanwhile, the scraper has done a marvelous job at getting stuck repeatedly. The dozer also got repeated practice at pulling it out of trouble. 

After breaking what we thought was a heavy-duty chain, we are now in possession of two chains, each rated at 15,000 pounds. 

Surely those will hold for a while. 

Labor Day Weekend

It's befitting that for this long holiday weekend, my parents have joined us for several days of bulldozing, scraping and leveling. 

We'll rest next year.