Spring, where are you?

To my mind last Sunday was the first day of spring. A bit of sunshine, the gentlest of breezes.

Of course, the Monday night the wind gusted at 70 kilometers an hour and we had a horizontal 12 millimeters of rain. Tuesday was winter again. The Fairest Cape of Storms.

Yes, the signs have been there for a while. Even before we left for Kruger the Geese and ducks and Cranes were getting noisy. In anticipation. But spring it was not. Now that spring has sprung the results of the noise are there to be seen. Little furry things everywhere. Scurrying and paddling behind their mothers. And the swallows are back. Bad news is that the starlings have taken over their stoep. Their swallows’ feathers are a bit ruffled. Good news is that they found another spot next to Lereen’s office. A step down from their previous pozzy. Their nest is complete, and they are chasing goggatjies and other insects.

Spring spells hope and expectation and gives a bit of a glimpse into summer.  So, what do we expect? Hope for?

To have a look forward, we must look back a bit. Winter was moderately cold with a solid colder latter part. Rainfall was below par. For the vineyards it is not so bad, but the olives drink more water, so a lot of irrigation with water that we have little of. Baboon dam is half full and Terrapin dam less than a quarter.

The grape budding looks rather even, and the olives are covered in little buds. With the odd flower visible. Very promising.

Even budding is especially important with grapes as it leads to a more even ripening which leads to easier and more effective picking. With olives the uneven ripening is not such a problem.

We are now entering the most critical time of the olive season. Flowering and setting. Our biggest enemy is the weather, especially wind and heat. Our allies, feed and water and doepa consisting of trace elements; copper zinc boron, molybdenum etc. And the olives are still ok after Monday’s storm. So, we are looking forward to pumping the water. And lots of it. The real good news is that by then we will effectively be off the grid. There is no tax on the sun. Yet. 

We have more and more cows that are looking fat and healthy. Most of them have calved. All part of the plan to use every bit of the farm. And improve the olive orchards. They clear the winter growth under the trees and fertilize the land as they go. Organic weed-eaters.

Most of the hay we made has been stowed away. For the goats and the cows and calves. A bit of an experiment is our Boergoats. They clear the invasive plants, especially the Port Jacksons. Unfortunately, you cannot put them in the olives unless you want some random pruning. But they eat the Port Jacksons.

We lost a few of the older goats but luckily most of the new crop of first timers look like they want to earn their keep. All, except one, have kidded. So, we are making cheese again. The 15th year in a row.

I am sure I have mentioned this before, about the blinding sex drive of guinea fowl this time of the year. This morning, I nearly drove off the road to avoid two fuckers doing their thing in the middle of the road. Last week two were chasing each other near Fisherhaven. A car in front of me could not swerve quickly enough. Another tarentaal in bird heaven.

Some homework: Wilmarie got a permanent teaching post. I could not say no. She will still help on Saturdays and school holidays with the tasting. I will take up most of the slack. Sue is effectively back on deliveries. In about two months’ time we will release our new vintages. We will need a bit more cellar space in harvesting, so we decided to do a bit of a promotion on all stock. Buy a box of our latest vintage and pay for five bottles. Use the code: Spring25. The offer is valid until the end of November. Lekker shop! 

While sitting here typing, the birds have started talking to each other. And an owl says goodbye to the night. It was a good winter for owls. Not so much for swallows.

In the meantime. Stay away from roads when the spring urge grabs you. Sex makes you shortsighted. It could be deadly.

Written by Johan Heyns