Loads of intense weather coming in tonight. Heavy Storms.

Just finished pruning lessons with a vineyard down south/downstate.  Very cool people at that place.  It was really great to get away from the urban complex known as Southeast Logan Square (Chicago, Illinois) and get into a field and feel the winds.  The winds actually started coming from the East, but by day's end the prevailing winds took over from the West.  The temperature was brilliant.  The staff members really got sunburned yesterday when pruning and there was nothing but cloud cover yesterday.  Very wild.  Now I know why I see so many vineyard personnel wearing the long-sleeves and the large-brimmed hats.  I'll have some photos in the coming entries.  Just getting a few things together since arriving back at home.

Noticed the Rhubarb are popping out of the ground yesterday.  My roommate and I are thrilled beyond belief.  I hope it is a good year for that plant because I need some pie.  My roommate is viewing it as a culinary challenge.  She'll do great, always does with the kitchen throwdowns.   Add that word to your Urban Dictionary, y'all.

- Out!

Housekeeping.....Next Year's Crop....2012

Just jotting down bulletpoints (first draft of this blog started on March 5):

Sensei comments
Snow in Chicagoland
Fritz Westover
Pruning Cabernet Sauvignon St. Louis 01-2008
Concord Grapes 01-2011, 02-2011, 03-2011
Photographs
Tim Mondavi, Carissa Mondavi, and Gary Vaynerchuk

A couple of things to mention...

Spring is coming no matter if it snowed today or not in the Chicagoland area. Dave Mustaine revealed in an interview recently that his sensei taught him, "You get knocked down 7 times, you get up 8.". The temps are warmer than they were 45 days ago. The last 36 hours have been a wild ride with respect to the weather. Torrents of rain followed temperatures peaking at 59 degrees Fahrenheit, all of which was followed by a think blanket of snow cover (not even more than an inch on the soil - couldn't stick to the concrete). The temps are now at 27 degrees.

I am hopping a train tomorrow night to meet up with a buddy of mine so we can drive to St. Louis by Monday morning where our families are. St. Louis is where my family resides and it'll be great to see them again. I know they also desperately want me to trim up the Cabernet Sauvignon vine. I hope to absorb as much Fritz Westover teaching as possible before I unfasten the safety on the pruners come Monday. 2012's crop depends on it.

One of my partners in crime planted some Concord Grape cuttings today, starting them inside the house and in pots, in Grayslake, Illinois. The pot technique has produced about a 58 % success rate for me when starting cuttings in them in a structure with four walls and heating through April of any year. (That percentage is completely arbitrary, by the by, but probably not too far off in all actuality.)

In addition, my friend also wrapped up the Vitis Riparia to get them ready for a brief period of stasis and eventual planting. That entire question has not even been explored. Again, the madness piece comes into play, but it is loads of fun to consider the possibilities of seeing how Vitis Riparia reacts and responds to care and structure as opposed to wanton living on the frontier appellation of Belvidere Road and McAree in Waukegan, Illinois, Lake County, Illinois.

I also am well aware that Gary Vaynerchuk is ramping up to produce his 1000th show in a matter of days. Today I visited his site at www.winelibrary.tv and realized he just posted a lovely two-part interview with Tim Mondavi and his daughter Carissa Mondavi, both hailing from Continuum Estates in the Napa Valley. I don't know a thing about Tim Mondavi - the name obviously triggers an association with Robert Mondavi, but I thought it was a decent interview. There was mention of the famed Judgment of Paris, something I know little about other than a Stag's Leap reference, and also Tim Mondavi spoke of the importance of the 60 Minutes televised broadcast of 'The French Paradox' from Nov 17 1991. By the way, that article on The Judgment is by Mike Steinberger, longtime wine columnist for Slate Magazine. Mr. Steinberger also visited Gary Vaynerchuk's Wine Library TV in recent years.

--------------------------------------------

..........Finishing this a million years too late. Anyway, www.winelibrary.tv has now been reconfigured and maybe could be considered as at the tail end of matriculating to www.dailygrape.com. Pretty interesting advances.

Also, just watched 'Bottleshock' with a friend the other day and that had some remarkable cinematography. Jeez Louise it was good viewing. It was a movie, but pretty damned cool overall.

Gotta publish this now because loads of cuttings are already growing and it is dy-no-mite all over the place. Major thunderstorms today, as well in the Chicagoland area and region. Super, fast, funky.

Out!!!!! Current temperature on first day of spring is 54 degrees Fahrenheit folks. (finally published on March 21 2011 Sunday morning, wee hours. Birds singing loudly, etc. 2:36AM, if you know what I mean.)

The Catch-All Blog Posting

(cuttings from the Mars Seedless vine. I decided to prune it back to experiment, in all honesty. After the rat poison incident of early summer 2010, the vine struggled and I am just hoping to give it another lease on life in the big city, The Second City actually. We'll see how it develops. Photo taken March 3 2011 Thursday)

(This photo is just for the sake of indicating the green Xylem inside the vine, even after a harsh Chicago winter. This is the first year I have begun to take notice of such physiological characteristics. I am encouraged. Again, these are the few Mars Seedless cuttings I was able to extract. Rolling dice here by trying to get cuttings off these plants in Chicago. Photo taken Thursday March 3 2011)

(Syrah grape vine cuttings. I am a little worried about how the vine wintered. I realize the vine is not matched well with the climate, but I worry a bit about the color that the vine took. My question is whether or not the Periderm actually developed properly. We'll see. Photo: March 3 2011 Thursday)

(Syrah grape vine cuttings just a little bit closer in scope. Note the green of the Xylem. Seeing the green took me by surprise. Photo: March 3 2011 Thursday.)

(Syrah grape vine cuttings. Another close-up of the vine's Xylem after wintering in Chicago, Illinois. This region has seen harsher winters. Seeing the green on this Vinifera planted is a considerable surprise. Photo: March 3 2011 Thursday.)

(Willamette Hops from Thursday March 3 2011. This was a very cold day. On March 2nd, I was in Bloomington, Indiana and the weather was very agreeable. The very next day in Chicago on the 3rd I had been smacked in the face by the winds coming off Lake Michigan as I waited for a bus (downtown Waukegan, IL) after my transmission blew on the blue 1996 Toyota Camry - I had to get to work somehow, right? The result was windburned cheeks, but the experience made me grateful. These Hops still keep growing despite the chilly temps. I am watching these to see what they are capable of. They look like fighters to me.)

(Willamette Hops from Thursday March 3 2011. Look on the right half of the photography to note the faint green in catching a glimpse of this Hops growth.)

(Willamette Hops from Thursday March 3 2011. Again, look for the green in the photo.)


Plenty of photos to catch up on. The weather today reached 59 degrees by 1PM in Chicago. Currently it is 34 degrees Fahrenheit and has been raining quite extensively for well over 8 hours. This storm is massive in its expanse.

How about a photo of the car? Whaddya say? We all need a good laugh after all, right?

(Nothing but a day in the life.......Coaching myself, "Chin Up! Chin Up!!!!!")

Concord Grapes

Got some Concord Grapes in the mail today. A friend is going to plant them today or tomorrow in pots to get them started. Here are a couple of photos. The madness continues. Enjoy! Just a short post. I have to go to work.


And.....................59 degrees Fahrenheit today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's coming, folks. Spring is on the plane to the area. Before long. Before long.

Vitis Riparia - For Better Or For Worse

(Vitis Riparia - Friday Feb 25, 2011 Lake County, Illinois.)

I must've been antsy or anything of the like last week, during the last week of February 2011 actually. The reason I posit such a commentary is that I took it upon myself to prune a wild Riverbank Grape Vine in Lake County, Illinois on Friday Feb 25, 2011.

The backstory is that I used to play the role of Taxi Driver from late July 2010 up until about middle November 2010 when I decided to resign my distinguished post because the vague rules of working with a purposefully vague owner/operator were just irritating the shit out of me. I remember reading somewhere that a cunning person in certain situations can see where rules don't cover certain areas thereby opening a gateway to operating in an underhanded way. Working within the proverbial loophole it might be described as. Take that vague story and apply it to your life or your place of employment and probably in there you'll see some familiar threads.

Returning to that taxi driving bit, yes, I used to drive a taxi primarily in the Waukegan, Gurnee, and Great Lakes areas in northern Illinois. When times are tough, which they still are, you put pride to the side and get a job anywhere, regardless of one's "...station..." as a dear neighbor of mine likes to describe. I am not so much into preserving my station in life, whatever mine might be. My thoughts about 'station' would probably be better suited in a blog that provides a platform for the critique of society and people, generally.

(Vitis Riparia Friday Feb 25, 2011 Lake County, Illinois. Took the photo because this was my first-ever daytime pruning and I was surprised to see the green in the shoot.)

In driving a taxi you get used to certain regions of a state or county, and quite well, because you have to know how to get to places in short order and one can never know when the next call is coming in. But I remember driving down this road just north of Belvidere Road in Waukegan, Illinois. The name of the street is called McAree. McAree apparently picks up right at Belvidere and juts northbound, crossing Washington St. and Grand Avenue, both in Waukegan, Illinois. At the northwest corner of Belvidere and McAree Roads lies a patch of land that is simply grass at the moment. It must be someone's plot of land, but I just don't know. As one walks north on the west side of McAree Road and looks to the west they will notice a wooden privacy fence that has been erected, I believe to prevent individuals from walking into a drainage system on the other side of the now standing wooden fence.

A few times when I was driving southbound in the green minivan taxi toward the terminus of McAree at Belvidere Road, I noticed that a wild grape vine was well-established along the wooden fence. The last time I looked at the vine it was November of 2010. At that time I decided that I would try to either grab a few cuttings from the vine, or go ahead and prune it for practice. I actually ended up doing both on Friday Feb 25, 2011. I took my clippers, parked in the parking lot of the nearby HoBo Hardware store and marched on over to the grape vine.

The vine was in remarkable shape considering that no one had pruned it as yet. Even after my pruning, I am not sure that it is in better shape than when I first reviewed it upon arrival. So I took a shot at it. I pruned the wild grape vine as I desperately need the practice and know-how. I did it because I feel pretty confident that it can benefit from a pruning. It could produce better fruit and not have to send off energy to the ends of the world where its most recent growth has taken it. And, of course, I got my cuttings from it.

One of the decisions I made with the cuttings, once I departed the site after pruning, was to soak them in water. I put them in a 5-gallon bucket filled about halfway with water. From what I have read, it is helpful to aide the cuttings in those first hours after pruning so that the moisture in the cuttings doesn't dry out. Imagine the experience of being completely stricken and rent from a nutrition source, you get the idea.

I have the cuttings still in water, which is problem #1, but I have been at my job in Waukegan away from my materials at my apartment throughout the weekend, still am actually (as I write this update from Bloomington, Indiana). I have a hunch that the cuttings will be fine, given that they can withstand winter temps of -70 degrees fahrenheit. Besides, if they don't do well after sitting in water for 6 days after being lopped, then at least I learn that lesson of why keeping them in water for too long is a bad plan. At the minimum, I know the original vine will be better prepared for the next growing season as a result of my pruning.

As is typical, I have a few photos of the clippings. I meant to take a photo of them in the water bucket, those will have to come on a future posting. For the time being, these blurry iPod photos will have to serve the greater purpose.

I wonder if the vine was the property of Lake County, Illinois. Did I break the law? I am not too concerned. It must've been strange for the clinicians that work at the STD clinic across the street to see some fool like my bad self lopping off cuttings from a wild grape vine. Trust me, a sight like that, in such an area of town, almost assuredly would've been a first for the record books. Put it in the histories!!!!

This feels a bit like a monster getting out of control.

Enjoy!

Chicago vines and hops updated photographs w/o snowcover!!!! - Wed Feb 23, 2011

The title of this posting says it all!!!! And a crashing computer prevents me from wanting to write too much tonight.

Surprising new growth from either an Iris or a Lilly. I actually purchased the plant in Wilmette, IL in the parking lot of a CVS Pharmacy for $1.00. The store was trying to Clearance its little 'Home & Garden' section. Such an early rise for plants. Interesting to note.

Neighbor's gargoyle without snowcap.

My beloved treebase garden. This was conceived of by my neighbor and building manager back in the summer of 2009. I absolutely love this little thing. It adds so much to the yard, I think.

Cabernet Sauvignon grape vine Chicago 2010 - (Wed Feb 23, 2011)

Cabernet Sauvignon grape vine Chicago 2010 - (Wed Feb 23, 2011)

Cabernet Sauvignon grape vine Chicago 2010 - (Wed Feb 23, 2011)...Recall, this vine was planted about 4-5 weeks later than the two previous. It was planted in early August 2010 with the hope that it would better weather the winter by getting acclimated to the soil before temperatures dropped.

Syrah grape vine II Chicago 2009 - (Wed Feb 23, 2011)....The vine trunk is not to be confused with the darker tree limb that fell into the chicken wire protective guard I have around the vine. The limb will soon be extricated.

Mars Seedless grape vine 2009 - (Wed Feb 23, 2011)

Syrah grape vine I 2009 - (Wed Feb 23, 2011)

Willamette Hops refusing to let the winter temperatures get them down (Wed Feb 23, 2011)

Willamette Hops continued....(Wed Feb 23, 2011)

Enjoy!

update from the Chicago vines - photos Wed Feb 9, 2011

I am well over a week late with these photos, but I am putting them up anyway. Here are a few photographs of the vines I have planted in Chicago. I took the photos on Wed Feb 9, 2011. Check, check, check them out!

(Syrah Grape vine I - 2009. This is the vine that I knew was going to give me hope last spring. When I saw the buds bursting, I was ecstatic. Actually, in the ground it was still simply just a woody, bark-like grape vine cutting, and the little fella made it through a harsh Chicago winter. I just couldn't believe the potential of these vines until this one showed what possibilities existed. Absolutely, this is not the right vine for the climate, but I don't care. What I am learning now, I will take with me into my future endeavors elsewhere - whether it be as a hobby grower, or as a gainfully employed worker at a vineyard outside of Healdsburg, California, or anywhere else along HWY 101. I was actually forgetful about how large I allowed this vine to grow - for better or worse. I took this still photo and I also took a video on the 9th of Feb 2011. Stepping back a bit, I feel very much that I am in a better place with this vine being the way it is now, as sprawled out as it is, compared to last February 2010. My intention, as I have made clear on this blog, is to extract cuttings from this vine when I prune it. Pruning this vine will occur Monday Feb 28, 2011. Super-excited is the word, folks.)

(Syrah grape vine II 2009. This was the surprising vine. It shocked me to all get-out when I realized something was actually growing where I had planted it in September 2009. And true to form, given that it is Vinifera, this cutting didn't really start growing until about 1 1/2 to 2 weeks after Syrah I. The day I learned it pulled out of winter, I was so overjoyed my neighbor above me thought I was so strange for my enthusiasm over a young cutting pulling through a Chicago winter. I remember when I planted these vines, I didn't know a thing about how to proceed, about placement, climate, or what else to consider, etc. All I knew was that I had ordered Syrah cuttings on EBay - sounds like a terrible idea, doesn't it(it was all based on the success of the 2008 growing season)? I grew the cuttings in the apartment, all 6 of them, and all six of them did very well. I knew I had to get them in the ground. I didn't realize fully why. Anyway, only 40 inches away to the east (another really bad idea) I had another stronger Syrah cutting planted in the ground. The stronger vine seemed to be doing really well at the start of the 2010 growing season, but then it fell victim to wind damage - maybe even some Canine damage, as it was very tender despite being the one of the strongest of the 6 cuttings as I raised them inside the apartment.

(Mars Seedless grape vine. Last year it's growth was greatly stunted by being too near a rat hole. When the city of Chicago came in the yard to put down rat poison, it clearly affected the vine. It was planted in Sept 2009, during the spring of 2010 the vine had tremendous growth and progress. I bought it from a Lowe's hardware store off of Touhy Avenue in Lincolnshire, Illinois. Then it was all "shot to hell...", as my family is fond of reporting, once the city of Chicago Rat/Pest Control Department came in to engage the rats living just on the other side of the fence between my neighbor and my apartment's yard.)

(Cabernet Sauvignon grape vine. One of the first pair that myself, my roommate, and my neighbor downstairs planted. These vines were started from cuttings that were a result of pruning the original Cabernet Sauvignon vine in St. Louis last Feb 2010. When my roommate and I planted these, we were amazed at how fast roots grew from this cutting (the roots encircled the bottoms of the flower pots by the time we planted them in actual soil). This vine and its sibling grew amazingly well in the apartment while resting in soil in a measly flower pot. Planting these was a crazy idea and is still a long shot. This area is, however, the best place for sunlight during the summer months.)

(This is clearly another Cabernet Sauvignon grape vine. This is the second half of the story mentioned above. Also a very hardy cutting, apparently, and it simply took off in the apartment. It will not get great airflow while abutted to the exterior wall of my brick apartment building. But it still won't stop me from growing vines here. To be redundant, if you come upon grape vine cuttings in late February, just go ahead and gamble and put them in a flower pot and see if they do anything in 12 weeks time. There is nothing to lose.)

(Another Cabernet Sauvignon grape vine and a very strong vine at that. I probably planted this in late July or early August 2010. This vine won't do too great because of where it is situated. The soil is quite good, it won't get enough sun, though. The reason for my planting it was because I had too many cuttings and I had to do something with them before the weather started to get cold. Having done so much nursing and coddling of these cuttings while trying to get them started in the apartment during the springtime, I didn't want to see my roommate and I's efforts be for naught. I also wanted this vine to have more time to get acclimated to the soil, than vines I had hastily planted in the past. My aim was to plant it about 5 weeks earlier than I did the previous year with planting the Mars Seedless grape vine in September 2009. I am definitely looking forward to measure its relative growth to the Mars Seedless. As I indicated above, the Mars Seedless pulled out of the winter of 2009/2010 and had an exceptional start to the growing season until the arrival of the rat poison - the poison was desperately needed, though. There seemed to be a shanty town developing down in that rat hole every time I looked near it.

After writing these little blurbs, it came upon me that this is my 4th growing season with grape vines. Amazing. The first two Cabernet Sauvignon grape vine cuttings went into the ground in March 2008 in St. Louis, Missouri.

See you soon!