Animal farm...

Farm dog (nasty predator that he is) has been banished from Four Cedars ever since the flock of Targhees arrived. And while the ewes add a certain character to the backside of the vineyard, they still regard me suspiciously and from a safe distance. In other words, we haven't exactly bonded, which I suppose is a good thing since one of them might spend the winter in my freezer.

That's left me no one to talk to this week except for the chickens. Fortunately, my three hens and two roosters are attentive listeners. And unlike the sheep, they greet me enthusiastically every time I pass nearby. This leaves me in a quandry. With two of the five unable to provide for my breakfast, will I have the heart (or the stomach) to turn them into supper.

Time will tell. Maybe I could assign that task to farm dog, nasty predator that he is. He returns with hubby this Friday!

The LeSeuer County herd at Blue Earth County summer camp.

Hurry up and grow...

I was reading the latest edition of Notes from the North, the newsletter of the Minnesota Grape Growers Association, and learned that Edelweiss is the most widely planted "wine" grape in both Nebraska and Iowa. Edelweiss, originally released as a table grape, makes for a crisp, grapey, fruity flowery wine; not necessarily the style of wine I'd choose to go with lunch.

This was the point of the article, however. As growers, we need to set our personal tastes aside and grow grapes for a developing industry. According to the article, 95 percent of the people who walk into a Midwestern tasting room like grapey, crisp, fruity flowery wine.

Edelweiss has become the No. 1 wine in Nebraska. Not the No. 1 Nebraska wine, but the No. 1 wine asked for in Nebraska, topping wines from California, France, Australia, and others. This is important news for growers who, like me, have rows and rows of Edelweiss in the ground. How far is it to Nebraska, anyway?