Deep breaking

Since the completion of harvest, Nathan has been largely focused on deep breaking what was the peanut field. We're using a 49" Towner disc. Yes, you read that correctly--just the discs are 49" in diameter. The contraption as a whole is taller than I am. 

The purpose of deep breaking is threefold: (1) to bring up the clay buried beneath the sand, (2) to loosen the soil and (3) to chop up the roots lingering beneath the surface.

Using Big John to pull the plow, we're getting a depth anywhere between 20 and 24 inches.

It is a slow process and one full of surprises. Take, for example, what the Towner accidently hit as it was plowing away: an old rusted sand fighter (shown below). It seems it was left in the field, forgotten for decades and covered by sand dunes. Until now. Took three guys to dig it out.

Apparently we need to invest in a good metal detector before further plowing.

Happy Thanksgiving from Santa Fe

Family vineyard tour

Last weekend we had the delight of hosting a few beloved family members at the vineyard for a brief tour.

We started the way any self-respecting Texan would: with a tailgate party. Featured were Texas wines made from several of the grape varieties we grow, including viognier, sangiovese, tempranillo and muscato giallo. (The wines were not made from our actual grapes, of course--just from some of the same varieties we're growing. We're still two to three years out from any wines made with BSV grapes.)

The sand served as our dump bucket.

The dogs were especially intrigued but were not allowed to imbibe.

After wine and cheese we played with guns. Always a good idea.

Any nearby deer hunters were inevitably peeved by our ruckus, but we had a most enjoyable time.

We did find a few minutes to actually tour the property and then it was back to the caliche mound for additional target practice. The afternoon ended all too quickly. John, Sara and John R., y'all come back soon!

Some days

Some days it's just easier to do things the old fashioned way.

Adoration

Cotton adores Nathan. She loves me, but she loves him.

Maybe it's the deer feet he lets her chew.

Urp.

Maybe it's the dog house he built her.

Or maybe it's the tumbleweeds he brings her to play with.

Regardless, she is never ever ever far behind him.

Deer

Now that harvest is over we've got a whole litany of projects to accomplish--preparing the fields for winter, maintenance on all the equipment, building roads, finishing the house site. We won't be bored for sure.

In the meantime, another fun challenge has arisen. The problem: hungry deer who like to feast on our unsuspecting grapevines.

Now I used to think deer were cute and cuddly and fun to look at. But it's a whole different story when your livelihood is diminished by their appetites. What the deer eat off now directly impacts next year's yield. The solution (we hope)? Meet our new electric fence.

Our vineyard overseers encircled all 51,000 vines in electricity in hopes of discouraging the foragers. Tasty cover crops were then planted nearby to keep them satiated.

Deer hunting season can't come soon enough.

Peanut harvest part 2

As the threat of rain increased, the harvesters decided to pick up the drying peanuts a day or two sooner than anticipated.

This guy did the picking up.

And this guy held the peanuts for the transport trucks. 

Apparently the fabulous harvest team finished minutes before the heavy rain started. Reminds me of turning in a college paper with only seconds to spare before the deadline. Not that I ever did that.

After the harvester came through Nathan and I gleaned a bit of what was left behind in the field. 

I would not recommend these shoes for gleaning peanuts out of a sandy field.

We thought it might be fun to make our own peanut butter with these beauties. 

This is either a really good idea or a really bad one.