L'eau and Behold

The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner is one of my least favorite poems; in fact it’s down right frustrating because now it has a quite literal meaning. The property has water coming out of every nook and cranny, but none of these crannies are near the vineyard. The vines are still growing in their own way, many are already peeking out of their grow tubes like two kids in a trench coat. I’d call this progress and an affirmation that the grow tubes do in fact work. Others would say, “of course they’re growing, it’s still summer you dolt”. We were a bit concerned that they wouldn’t if I’m being honest, but blind faith in Google has paid off yet again. Some of the vines have already burst out of the tubes though and that brings us back to square one for pest control but I’ll be damned if we’re building a fence in September.

The problem is that watering the vines is starting to feel like being stuck in line at Tim Hortons with someone who insists on paying with exact change. The nearest source of water is a hose that we can hook up to a spring but the pressure is about as exhilarating as watching The Postman on mute. For a mere $10,000 we could dig a new well but we’re poor, like MC Hammer poor. The best thing we can come up with is to hook up a pump to a nearby pond and feed the water uphill. But why stop there when we can be lazier! We could also feed the pump into a sleek, sinuous, and preferably cheap irrigation system. It would cost us around $250.00 between the pump and the system and all we would have to do in future trips would be to flick a switch to water the vines. So the question becomes, is $250.00 worth not having to wait passively beside a watering can being filled? Sure, why not.

Progress is being made, however we are a long way from finishing the vineyard. We still eventually have to build a fence, winterize, and exchange cursory glances with the menacing deer.

The ants still live by the way.

Look at the little arms!

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