Of Grapes and Wine and Doing it Right

Is there anything more cheerful than a giant sunflower??


How about one with a bumblebee happily gathering nectar and pollen...


These sunny faced giants are taller than me and stand around the circumference
of the garden.
I planted them to attract any garden stink bugs.
It's part of our integrated pest management efforts.


Planting specific flowers in and around a vegetable garden,
as well as bringing beneficial insects into a garden to eat the "bad" ones...
 both are part of an organic way of managing crop-destroying insects.


You might recall that I had mentioned a great book entitled Farmacology,
 that I read while on vacation.
A chapter in the book was dedicated to Integrated Pest Management.


The author wrote of Scribe Winery in Sonoma California and their
efforts to produce wine using IPM techniques.


Hubbs ordered several bottles of their wine,
(short, stubby little bottles...very cute!)
and we opened the first last evening.
It is a little more than our usual cheap wine,
but we believe in supporting individuals who are trying to make a change...
trying to do it "right."


We took our glasses down the outside stairs to the lowest level of our back decks.
This small deck juts out into the woods.


It is private, secluded, peaceful...a hidden sanctuary...
and the perfect place to share a glass of wine at the end of a long hot day.


By the way, our own grape vines are doing well,
loaded with grapes that should ripen over the next month.


These grapes will not make wine,
but instead will be turned into grape jam.
(Better than Welch's any day...and organic, too!)

Can you believe it's Friday already?
I hear our heat wave is to end this weekend...
with temperatures plummeting way down into the 80's!
Please take that high humidity with you, Mr. 96 Degree Heat!
We are planning a quiet weekend at home.
You?

Comments

Stephane said…
Not a quiet weekend here, the big feed store is having 15 percent off on Saturday am, Christmas in July. And then we are off to see Red 2.
Country Gal said…
Lovely photos . Everything looks wonderful and a quiet weekend WOW ! enjoy ! Our sunflowers haven't fully grown yet and I didn't even plant any lol the chipmunks and birds did it for us in my back garden ! Thanks for sharing and have a good day !
jaz@octoberfarm said…
my stink bugs have moved on...thank goodness! this weather is awful for me as well as my gardens. my grapes have something which is making them rot before they ripen. i pulled out a tomato plant that wilted. my peppers are poopers. bummer!
Lynne said…
I enjoyed this post . . . love your private little oasis amidst the trees!
Junebug said…
Enjoy your quiet weekend at home! I think you are sending the heat wave our direction. It going to be a challenge since I am off to Crater Lake for 3 days. Can you believe an Oregonian never been there??? Hope all my water timers work!! Hugs!
Cindy said…
I love your hidden sanctuary! My favorite thing is to sit on our deck and watch the birds. Have a nice, cooler weekend! We are looking forward to it. But I'm afraid we will have to get some yard work done that we have put off during the heat wave:)
vlb5757 said…
The shots of the sunflowers made my heart skip a beat. I meant to plant some this year and forgot. Next year for sure! Our weekends are usually working out in the yard but with this heat, it will be very little. We might go at the crack of dawn to pick blueberries. We try to do as much as we can, but I think you have us beat!
This N That said…
Got any plants that repel Skeeters???
Have a great weekend..Should be a little cooler by Sunday..
I'm hoping ours is ending too. What a week. Lovely spot!
Mary Ann said…
I'm going to look for the book... and are the sunflowers doing their jobs? (attracting stink bugs?)
Susannah said…
Great post! I love your little secluded area...must be very quiet there!
I love that picture of your two pairs of feet hanging out at the end of the day. Just lovely.

IPM is a killer idea (well, literally, right!) and if done well, like you are doing, the end result can be a garden that is properly maintained, relatively free from pests and absolutely gorgeous. Win win!

Hope it cools off for you and the piggies!
Unknown said…
Frey is another excellent organic wine that you might try. They sell it here in our local international farmer's market. That sunflower is gorgeous!
Sunflowers make me happy too! Cheers to a great weekend!
Robyn said…
I LOVE your deck! and that sunflower is BEAUTIFUL. I think they are one of my most favorite flowers. Hope you had a wonderful weekend!
Anonymous said…
Ooh, the sunflower photo caught my eye! I had hoped to have a few this summer, but we planted them and not one single one came up. I was so disappointed... hopefully next year we can do better. I love that your lower deck sits so near the trees, it looks like a little hideaway area. xox