Jay Wright

Gina standard practice is to cut back to a series of two bud spurs along the wire, spaced about four inches apart for wine grapes, eight inches for table grapes. Every few years, depending a lot on variety, it may be necessary to go in hard with loppers or even a saw and remove some of the gnarly looking clusters that develop. You may get a reduced yield the following year but the vines are better for it. Vineyard vines also have all the little dead sticks and tendrils and anything else that looks untidy removed. All foliage canes above the fruiting wire are usually removed, although you can run two extra canes from near the centre at pruning time and use them as fruiting canes. The two are cut off and replaced with fresh canes each year. It does increase yield but it's a big strain on vines. I used to get paid a sizeable production bonus each year if harvest was substantially larger than the previous year. My sauvignon blanc vines produced up to eleven and a quarter tons per acre and chardonnay almost nine tons. These days they want small tonnage but more intense flavours- but still insist on paying producers by the ton, even while expecting them to greatly reduce tonnage. My grape vines are absolutely loaded this year- it'll be many weeks  
though before they start to ripen.
Almost 7pm- chores to do. It's cooling down and the bloody cicadas have finally decided to quieten down. Five hours to midnight- nine tons of fireworks on Sydney Harbour tonight but I'll be asleep long before that. Happy New Year in advance
By the way, Gina Jeffries is a popular country singer down here in Oz. She's released nine albums and is also a breakfast radio DJ.

The English tour guide was showing a group of American tourists through the castle which was supposedly the final home of the legendary Robin Hood. As they entered the huge bedroom high in the castle, the tour guide said This is the room where Robin took his last breath. Poisoned by a jealous woman, he lay in this very bed, surrounded by his faithful band of Merry Men, who at that moment were crying quietly and feeling anything but merry. Robin weakly beckoned his friend Little John to his bedside. In little more than a whisper, he said John, I have one final favour to ask of you. Bring me my bow and a single arrow. He gestured towards the open window and said I will release this final shaft, and wherever it may fall, there I ask that you place my body to lie for all eternity. Will you do this for me my friend? Yes Robin, said John, sobbing. He helped Robin to an almost sitting position, placed the arrow on the string and supported his friend as with trembling hands and failing strength, he drew back the bow as far as he was able and released the arrow, before slumping down and breathing no more.
Little John and the Merry Men did exactly as Robin had asked, placing his body where the arrow fell. And that is why to this very day, the mortal remains of Robin Hood lie atop that oak wardrobe in the corner over there.  

Merry Christmas Permie people. It's 10.30 Christmas morning. Already hot. Santa wasn't kind this year- apparently everything I asked for was either illegal, immoral or really bad for me. So much for being good for a whole year.    

You need to be travelling really early unless it's freezing cold- animals damaged in a collision usually have leaks and bruising which will adversely affect meat really quickly. You need something to put a carcass in to protect your vehicle from blood and other liquids, and you need water and a towel for your hands. I occasionally stop for unusual claws or skulls, hides or sinew, but not for food. I'd eat roadkill if I needed to but thus far it hasn't come to that. A couple of weeks ago I got a phone call from a woman in the city asking for a donation to a charity. I told her that my wife and I already give what we can and live almost entirely on road kill and lawn clippings. She got a chuckle out of that- but no money  

There was an old farmer who was well known for his huge collection of John Deere machinery, all maintained and running. Eventually he got too old to stay on the farm alone so he sold off the collection and moved into a nursing home. Not long after he was woken by the sounds of fire alarms and people yelling and panicking. The rooms and hallways in the nursiong home were quickly filling with smoke. The old feller stood near the exit, inhaled deeply and blew a cloud of smoke outside. In no time he'd cleared enough smoke that people could see to evacuate the building. A reporter later told him they were calling it a miracle. The old farmer said No, not really- I'm just an old ex tractor fan.  (Insert groans here    )  

You can buy a spray for belts to stop them slipping- makes them tacky to touch. Works really well but does collect dust over time.

My uncle Ken was the travelling Singer repair man for much of the state. He used to call in on us occasionally and always gave my mothers treadle machine a service when he did, so it always ran like new. Mum made all our clothes when we were kids and made wedding dresses and stuff for free for other poor people around us. I had a Singer industrial free arm machine for sewing leather. I sold it for two hundred dollars- and later found out what it was actually worth. 'Scuse me while I wipe away this little tear.

Allangela art wrote:Thank you very much for your reply Jay! What a great story about the fire brigade versus rush patch! Not an option for us (the peat would burn for years!). We are hand cutting before seed set and hoping this will give the native grasses a fighting chance.

No peat here- but that's OK- no ridiculously acid soils either    As I said, I've cut a lot of rush with a scythe. It works well, but you need a short brush blade and you need to take it in little bites. I'm always looking at the stuff I cut and thinking I should store it and use it for something later, but I have so much papyrus, phragmites and willow in the shed already. I collect "stuff".  My dear old father was stood in my biggest shed one day with his hands on his hips, just looking around. Eventually he said "Mate, what you need in here is a bloody good fire".  

Gonna be a stinker today. Some places expecting 46 degrees C- about 115 F. A good day for a visit to the river methinks.

I woud think it would make really good mulch. I've cut quite a bit of it here with the scythe and slashed a lot with the tractor. In a thick layer it definitely stops the soil drying out underneath, slows weeds right down and breaks down slowly without bringing in any baddies.
Last year after two unusually wet years we had a huge area of rushes about four feet high which laid over and was so thick the sheep couldn't get through it and the slasher on the tractor couldn't cut it. In the end I called in the local rural fire brigade. They turned up about eight O'clock one night with eleven men and five trucks with lights flashing and set it on fire as a training exercise. We got some really spectacular photos! Did an awesome job and then I ploughed the ground and sowed it down with pasture seed- it's now the most productive patch of grazing ground we have.