In my GARDEN PARTY post,
I mentioned the birds might eat the tiny grapes on the new grapevines...
and several of you sweet people mentioned using nets...
and that brought back the following memories
of when our son and daughter in law owned a pretty large VINEYARD...
May I introduce you to my handsome son, DAVID KEITH, beautiful granddaughter, LACEY JEAN and my adorable and lovely daughter*in*luv, KATHLEEN..aka KATHY, grandmother of CATHLEEN, aka as CATE......
THE GREAT GRANDDAUGHTER..
They are just about to spread NETTING over this LARGE vineyard
and it was NO EASY TASK...
It is looking mighty like a day of WORK....work in the beautiful West Texas vineyard known as BASO DEL SOL..
AND son, DAVID, has gathered all his family in to help....
even his daddy, MR. SWEET...he is the one that is going to be driving the tractor and.....
taking all these great photos. what a man!!
***
The implement used to apply these nets is pulled behind a tractor.
Large rolls of netting fit on the back of the implement and is pulled up
through a pully type thing...
through a pully type thing...
KATHY would pull and keep straight, the netting as it was fed out to DAVID.
This instrument cost several thousand dollars but, MR. SWEET,
BEING ABLE TO LEAP TALL BUILDING IN A SINGLE BOUND,
BUILT the implement for
mere pennies......well, maybe a dollar...
BEING ABLE TO LEAP TALL BUILDING IN A SINGLE BOUND,
BUILT the implement for
mere pennies......well, maybe a dollar...
using metal and such that he had on hand.
WHAT A MAN, I say !!
The grapes that were so GREEN just a few weeks ago are now turning purple ....
that means they are getting really sweet....
and THAT means........................
B.I.R.D.S.
***
***
In order to keep the birds out of the grapes....
netting had to be strung over every single row of the grapes and
everyone had to help...
Even the 11 yr. old twins helped this work day...
See all the RED Solo cups dotting the vineyard?
The girls put these up on every metal post so that the netting wouldn't hang.
...what a smart family....
The girls put these up on every metal post so that the netting wouldn't hang.
...what a smart family....
"Awww, DAVID...you're workin' hard and looking good while you're doing it !!"
***
Rows and rows of netting and rows and rows of beautiful grapevines...
This is only a portion of the huge, beautiful vineyard......
***
DAVID walked the rows, putting the nets on while KATHY kept the netting straight as it was fed out to the grapevines...
LACEY JEAN was on the other side, doing the same thing..
AT the end of this HARD, HOT day...
NO ONE was thinking of WINE...
NOSIREE...
All they wanted to drink was
ICE COLD BOTTLED WATER...
and PLENTY of it..................!!
I played the role of WATER BOY and kept them supplied with cold bottles of water.
I played the role of WATER BOY and kept them supplied with cold bottles of water.
***
Hard, hot, long day but take a look at those TANS, would ya!!
:O)
P.S.....the netting worked, year after year, and the grapes
were sold to a local winery.
Linking with OUTDOOR WEDNESDAY
What a great story! Do they still own the vineyard?
ReplyDeleteHow great, I am sure that it wa a lot of work, but so many wonderful grapes.
ReplyDeleteGreat memories BJ, thanks for sharing.
Mary
Interesting post. Never seen anything like this. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post. Never seen anything like this. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteBJ this is a very interesting and informative post and thanks for sharing it. Combined efforts always produce great accomplishments. I respect how close knit and inventive your family is.
ReplyDeletexoxo,
Vera
families that work together.. cant beat that! The rewards are priceless!
ReplyDeletehave a great day
xoxo
vivian
that is amazing,, thankyou for sharing this!!!!I had no idea they netted the grapes,,what a huge job!
ReplyDeleteBJ, That did look like a ton of work. I never thought about netting over grape vineyards. My daughter use to try to get more cherries than the birds so she could make a pie for her husband...she made me laugh many times with her tricks. Blessings to all, xoxo, Susie
ReplyDeleteThat's a HUGE job. It's pain enough putting the netting over a small (and I mean, like about the size of a double bed small) garden) -- it gets so tangled! That's fabulous! Thanks for letting us know about how this is done.
ReplyDeleteO.M.G...can I say that again..O.M.Goodness, I absolutely love this post. Love these photos, love all this hard work, dag-gone-it... this is what I missed about blogging, I am enjoying it once again... and thankful for "sweet" bloggers like you.
ReplyDeleteSo much work goes into any sort of agriculture venture. First the worry to get things growing, then the worry of weather that might destroy it (or birds), then that the harvest weather will hold out. Such a gamble.
ReplyDeleteHOLY CRIMOLI, BJ...that is quite a production & I had no idea you could do an entire field like that!! I'll have to share this post with my sister, who struggles to cover just her little crop of blueberries with netting each year. I am SO impressed!!
ReplyDeleteSo interesting. I love seeing your family working together. That must have been quite a job. Your container gardens in the previous post look beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThat does look like a hard day of farming, I bet it was no treat to take them all down and keep them straight when they were done with them either!
ReplyDeleteThis was a very informative and interesting post. A lot of hard work but worth it in the end. Have a blessed day. Madeline
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing time farming grapes, so very interesting! A family that farms and plays together, stays together! Love the awesome pictures of your family all working together. Great post~
ReplyDeleteNancy
Makes me glad I'm not a farmer, too much work
ReplyDeleteThank you for reminding me - I have only two grape vines but sure want to protect those grapes, so netting it is!
ReplyDeleteOh wow bj, how smart your family members are. First, hubs for creating a way to do the netting and cost effective and all the family pitching in! Beautiful grapes and the birds love them as much as we do. I bet that was "A good Year."
ReplyDeletehugs……...
Great story bj ... so glad you captured it in those wonderful pictures. Lots of work, but good pay-back I am sure. I fully netted a small apple tree once, but the squirrel would cut the net and get inside ... like NO apples to harvest. We had a huge grape vineyard just across the road from us in Michigan but I do not remember them netting it. Wonderful grapes and I am sure the birds got their share.
ReplyDeleteNow that looks like hard work, but interesting story! I love to walk in a vineyard! Did they sell their vineyard? Pam @ Everyday Living
ReplyDeleteI need something that would shoot the netting over my 12 feet tall cherry trees. Do you think Mr. Sweet could come up with an idea? Then I would get Harvey to build it.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
awesome story
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome. Now I know why there are 'farm hands'. My family is not so...well, you know!
ReplyDeleteJane
What a beautiful site! Love green things growing and producing fruit! SHOOOO away those birds, whatever works:) Have a blessed day dear B.J. HUGS
ReplyDeleteSuch a great post and interesting story! Wonderful how everyone helped with this huge task and got it done so efficiently. I enjoyed seeing the sunny weather there too.....it is very cold and windy here in the UK today!
ReplyDeleteHelen xox
And by the way, yes we are still getting that house. Still waiting for all the paperwork and crap from the lender. We got a closing date, so that's good
ReplyDeleteHad the pleasure of seeing a vineyard when I was in California many year ago. Enjoyed it; especially, when you could go and pick what you wanted. That is the way families are supposed to be-sharing and caring.
ReplyDeletethis was a neat post to see and read! yes, your mr. sweet is so dang handy. :) lots of work by a great family unit. :)
ReplyDeleteI too saw a vineyard many years ago in California and it was so much fun, besides even sampling wines.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your sweet comment my friend.
FABBY
Nice to meet your family. That looked like a lot of work but it's good to know it worked. Our area is a Wine Growing region now so I'll have to check and see if they use nets here.
ReplyDelete