Showing posts with label vineyard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vineyard. Show all posts
Saturday, July 9, 2016
Sunday, August 11, 2013
How Do You Get A Rattlesnake Out of the Birdnet?
 |
| Snake caught in bird netting to protect grapevines. |
A Southern Pacific Rattlesnake (Crotalus
oreganus helleri) became tangled in bird netting under the mother-lode vine at
the corner of our property and the snake seems about as long as the vine. There is always a serpent in the Garden of
Eden. Always.
How do you remove a live rattlesnake from bird netting
without a shotgun, 22 or shovel? Death was not an option. “Don’t kill it,” the
Vineyardista pleaded. “The last time you killed a snake the princess became
ill.” Is not killing the rattlesnake you captured like pissing into the
wind? After you let it go, what are the odds that it will come back to bite you
(or worse, your dog)?
First, I loosened the net from where it was caught at the bottom
of the fence, to Ms. Snake’s hissing and rattling. I could see a way to cut the
net to free her, but it became clear she was tangled and would not be able to
wriggle free. So, I called the SnakeBusters, aka our neighbor Steve who is something
of a herpetologist with a naturalist’s respect for God’s great creatures, among
which he includes snakes. When Steve arrived with a hoe this is what we did:
Releasing Tangled Rattlesnake From Bird Netting
1.
Cut netting around snake.
2.
Before cutting the final strands of net, Steve
attempted to pin the snake’s head to the earth, so we could trim the net closer
to the body. As the snake was on a steep slope of decomposed granite, traction
was poor, and there was a chance Steve –could slip and fall onto the snake.
(This California SnakeBuster works in sandals.)
3.
We cut the snake free of the snags and she crawled
to lower ground.
4.
Steve climbed around the vines to level ground,
met the snake, picked it up with his hoe and brought her to the dirt road by
our shed. (Nothing like carrying a snake along a thin, steep path of
grapevines. He could have easily slipped.)
 |
| Snake on ice. |
6.
With darkness falling, we decided to bring the
snake to the animal shelter in the morning, where they had the proper gear to
take care of her.
7.
I picked out a wine fermenter (aka, 24 gallon
Brute container). Steve lifted the snake into the container, and we put on a
lid – leaving a crack for air. (Hint: Don’t knock over a Brute container at your neighbor’s house in
the country at night because you never know what’s inside.)
8.
In the morning, I checked on Ms. Snake. She was
quite “genki” and still very pissed. I pulled the container to a shady area and
she rattled at me.
9.
Back at the house, I tweeted and called the wild
animal rescue shelter. I never got through.
Not seeing anything on their website about snake rescue, Steve and I
discussed plan B.
1.
This was plan B, which in hindsight should have
been plan A.
1.
After work, I bought two 10 lbs. bags of ice at
the Deli.
1.
Got home, and carefully poured the crushed ice
into the container. The first bag covered most of her. The 2nd bag
covered her completely. The snake was iced at 6:30 pm
1.
At 8 pm, Steve came over with his hoe (his
favorite snake tool).
1.
We dumped the container, with the snake emerging
on the top of the ice. She was moving slowly,
but I would say not immobile by any means. Ideally, she would have been on ice a
few hours. Instead, it was 90 minutes.
Still, she was moving much more slowly than the day before.
 |
| Southern Pacific Rattlesnake on Ice. |
1.
Steve calls Ms. Snake “him” but I’ve had
experience with 1,000 year old cultivated snakes in China and I know that this
is a snake princess from the Middle Kingdom who is seeking her revenge on me.
 |
| Steve manages the snake with his hoe. |
1.
In the morning, I carry the container down to
the open space canyon adjacent to our property, kick it over and out comes Ms.
Snake, angry as ever. When I’ve let smaller snakes go in the past, they quickly
scurry away, but Ms. Snake just sits there. I take “our favorite tool” (a stick
we use to hang bird neck) and prod her down the hill as she rattles at me. I
tell her the same thing I tell the birds I free from the nets: “Don’t come
back.”
A friend asked me, “How long is
she?” Answer: “I don’t know – we were
too busy to measure.” And we still didn’t measure her the 2nd
day. I would say she was big enough and
she commanded our respect. Steve called her a beautiful specimen.
In hindsight, plan B would have
been a good plan A. After we had trapped the snake the first night, that would
have been the time to put her on ice (making sure there wasn’t so much ice she
would drown when it melted) and to ice her “overnight.” A few more extra hours
of cooling would have made her a bit easier to handle.
 |
| Born Free. |
Monday, January 7, 2008
New Year: New Vineyard
The New Year is underway and so is our work installing a new trellis system, Phase II of the Blue-Merle Vineyard Master Plan. What better time to catalog this work step-by-step for those of you considering planting your own vineyard this year. We've decided to increase our plantings of Grenache, Aglianico and Petite Sirah, and to fill in some significant gaps in the vineyard landscape. We will be planting an additional 190 vines, bringing out total to well over 1,000 vines. Many of our rows are wide (16 ft.) -- which means we could increase the density of our plantings. But let's face it. This is supposed to be a hobby, not a profession. This will be enough. At least until next year.
Here's a check list for those of you wanting to get started. Like most things in life, there are more than 100 ways to skin this cat. So don't take my words as a must-do manual; this is what worked for us. (Be sure and share with us what worked for you!)
Develop a master landscape plan for your property.
Design your vineyard, either making a sketch by hand, or using a computer program such as SmartDraw. Remember, "vineyard is art." Keep this motto in mind as you design and install the vineyard. Follow the contour of the land. (At first, I had a notion that rows were supposed to be North - South. That would have been a mistake on our hillside, so we followed the land.) Read books on the topic, such as Vineyard Simple and from Vines to Wine.
Consult with a local vineyard expert as necessary and as desired. Decide how much of the work you want to do yourself, and how much assistance you require. In the San Diego area, there are consultants who will implement your vision for you. The going rate is approximately $40/vine, including the trellis system, irrigation, vines and planting. (Of course the final cost will depend on terrain -- and how many unexpected obstacles confront you -- such as a humongous 3,000 lbs. rock directly under a spot where you want to dig a post hole!) Another good reason for consulting with an expert is you may need help down the road maintaining the vineyard (mildew control, Pierce's Disease prevention, etc. -- hey, I never said this was going to be easy, but, you can do it.)
Prepare your land. Are you able to plow or till your land? Do you need to add any nutrients? (As we are on a steep hillside, there was little we could do in this regard.)
Stake out your vineyard design, using stakes, string and measuring tape. The string really helps you visualize the location of rows, and the spacing. (Also use the string to line up your end posts when you get to that step).
Ready to get started? If you're ready, and you'll be hiring labor, you'll save yourself a bunch of money by having everything staged and organized in advance. So plan, and have everything ready:
Dig your post holes. For digging, your choices are by hand with a post digger, with a handheld auger (which rent for about $50/day at Home Depot) or the auger of a professional drill (such as that provided by a BobCat). Note: You would be smart to start digging at the "cornerstone" to set the first post. Then, go to the end of your planned rows, and set that post. With those two posts set, use string to define the line by which to perfectly line up your other posts. As you will be looking at your vineyard everyday, the time spent in lining up your rows correctly is well worth it! We used 10 ft. poles when we installed over 30 rows last year. This year we purchased some smaller 8ft poles for some of the short rows we're installing. Believe 
me, the 8ft poles are a lot easier to work with and to carry around! (Discuss with your consultant what poles are appropriate for you.) The depth of your holes will depend on your poles and your digging method. When we used the BobCat auger, we went about 4 ft. deep. When digging by hand, we try to go at least 3 ft. At a minimum, we went 2.5 deep in some places. Remember to angle the hole, so the post will be at an angle (and be able to accommodate more weight and tension when the wires are tightened).
Set the posts. There are a number of different ways to do this. One is to insert the post, then
maybe add back some dirt, compacting it (with a "compactor"). Use a level, to make sure the post is "straight." If you "eyeball" it, I guarantee you will be redoing some posts. Once "level" (straight) add cement. I prefer to mix the cement in a wheel barrow -- then add it. We found that 2 @ 60 lbs. bags for each post was right for us. Others might only use one bag and refill the rest of the hole with dirt then compact it. Another technique would be to pour dry cement down the hole, then add water, and stir (but like I said, I prefer whenever possible to do the mixing first in the wheelbarrow, then pour). After 
setting the post, you may make a "brace" to keep it in place. After the concrete is dry, the post should be extremely stiff, and not budge when you push it at all. (When setting a few posts over the Christmas holiday, I tried to take a short cut and see if I could get away with a hole 2 ft. deep and one bag of concrete. This was a total failure, and we had to redo those three posts the next day.)
7) Align the posts. Use string.
This is a good place to take a rest. In the next post, we'll talk about irrigation, installing the drip system, and stringing and tightening the wire. Click here if you want to see highlights how we installed the vineyard at the Blue Merle last year.
(February 28, 2008) -- The trellis system is in. The drip lines are in. We've got gophers and weeds to deal with. We'll use an auger to start digging the holes this weekend. Nova Vines is shipping the vines out next week. We'll plant those babies in 9 more days. We were able to up the shipment to 235 vines, including an extra 25 Tempranillo, bringing the total to 1,085. We also finished pruning the first year vines. More about that later. The gophers are attacking. Need to get an owl. Just warmed up this week; the snakes must be thawing out, so need to keep an eye on them. Bluey's paw getting better -- seems to be non cancerous. He must have pricked it on a bougainvillea while digging.
Here's a check list for those of you wanting to get started. Like most things in life, there are more than 100 ways to skin this cat. So don't take my words as a must-do manual; this is what worked for us. (Be sure and share with us what worked for you!)
Develop a master landscape plan for your property.
Design your vineyard, either making a sketch by hand, or using a computer program such as SmartDraw. Remember, "vineyard is art." Keep this motto in mind as you design and install the vineyard. Follow the contour of the land. (At first, I had a notion that rows were supposed to be North - South. That would have been a mistake on our hillside, so we followed the land.) Read books on the topic, such as Vineyard Simple and from Vines to Wine.Consult with a local vineyard expert as necessary and as desired. Decide how much of the work you want to do yourself, and how much assistance you require. In the San Diego area, there are consultants who will implement your vision for you. The going rate is approximately $40/vine, including the trellis system, irrigation, vines and planting. (Of course the final cost will depend on terrain -- and how many unexpected obstacles confront you -- such as a humongous 3,000 lbs. rock directly under a spot where you want to dig a post hole!) Another good reason for consulting with an expert is you may need help down the road maintaining the vineyard (mildew control, Pierce's Disease prevention, etc. -- hey, I never said this was going to be easy, but, you can do it.)
Prepare your land. Are you able to plow or till your land? Do you need to add any nutrients? (As we are on a steep hillside, there was little we could do in this regard.)
Stake out your vineyard design, using stakes, string and measuring tape. The string really helps you visualize the location of rows, and the spacing. (Also use the string to line up your end posts when you get to that step).
Ready to get started? If you're ready, and you'll be hiring labor, you'll save yourself a bunch of money by having everything staged and organized in advance. So plan, and have everything ready:
Dig your post holes. For digging, your choices are by hand with a post digger, with a handheld auger (which rent for about $50/day at Home Depot) or the auger of a professional drill (such as that provided by a BobCat). Note: You would be smart to start digging at the "cornerstone" to set the first post. Then, go to the end of your planned rows, and set that post. With those two posts set, use string to define the line by which to perfectly line up your other posts. As you will be looking at your vineyard everyday, the time spent in lining up your rows correctly is well worth it! We used 10 ft. poles when we installed over 30 rows last year. This year we purchased some smaller 8ft poles for some of the short rows we're installing. Believe 
me, the 8ft poles are a lot easier to work with and to carry around! (Discuss with your consultant what poles are appropriate for you.) The depth of your holes will depend on your poles and your digging method. When we used the BobCat auger, we went about 4 ft. deep. When digging by hand, we try to go at least 3 ft. At a minimum, we went 2.5 deep in some places. Remember to angle the hole, so the post will be at an angle (and be able to accommodate more weight and tension when the wires are tightened).Set the posts. There are a number of different ways to do this. One is to insert the post, then
maybe add back some dirt, compacting it (with a "compactor"). Use a level, to make sure the post is "straight." If you "eyeball" it, I guarantee you will be redoing some posts. Once "level" (straight) add cement. I prefer to mix the cement in a wheel barrow -- then add it. We found that 2 @ 60 lbs. bags for each post was right for us. Others might only use one bag and refill the rest of the hole with dirt then compact it. Another technique would be to pour dry cement down the hole, then add water, and stir (but like I said, I prefer whenever possible to do the mixing first in the wheelbarrow, then pour). After 
setting the post, you may make a "brace" to keep it in place. After the concrete is dry, the post should be extremely stiff, and not budge when you push it at all. (When setting a few posts over the Christmas holiday, I tried to take a short cut and see if I could get away with a hole 2 ft. deep and one bag of concrete. This was a total failure, and we had to redo those three posts the next day.)7) Align the posts. Use string.
This is a good place to take a rest. In the next post, we'll talk about irrigation, installing the drip system, and stringing and tightening the wire. Click here if you want to see highlights how we installed the vineyard at the Blue Merle last year.
(February 28, 2008) -- The trellis system is in. The drip lines are in. We've got gophers and weeds to deal with. We'll use an auger to start digging the holes this weekend. Nova Vines is shipping the vines out next week. We'll plant those babies in 9 more days. We were able to up the shipment to 235 vines, including an extra 25 Tempranillo, bringing the total to 1,085. We also finished pruning the first year vines. More about that later. The gophers are attacking. Need to get an owl. Just warmed up this week; the snakes must be thawing out, so need to keep an eye on them. Bluey's paw getting better -- seems to be non cancerous. He must have pricked it on a bougainvillea while digging.
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