Pinot Noir is originally a cool climate variety

I found this article really interesting. Having grown up in Provence, studied oenology and viticulture in Montpellier, and made wine in Bordeaux, Hallgren found himself particularly drawn to New York State’s expression of the Pinot Noir grape. ‘It’s a good reminder that Pinot Noir, at least in its original form, is a cool climate variety,’ says Hallgren.

Well, maybe that's why it's growing so beautifully in Ireland and has the reputation of being difficult in warmer climates. Maybe we were meant to cultivate Pinot Noir! Maybe moving it to warmer climes introduced disease and pestilence it wasn't used to. Hmmmm! Climate activism of a different ilk. 

On another note, they poured and polished the concrete floor of the shed today. Hooray! It's beautiful, and we are closer to done. 

Concrete

They are pouring the concrete floor of the shed today. It wasn't supposed to happen until Thursday but the cement trucks were available today, so today it is. I have always used cement and concrete interchangeably, but in looking it up today, I realised that was incorrect. 

"A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel (aggregate) together. Cement mixed with fine aggregate produces mortar for masonry, or with sand and gravel, produces concrete. Concrete is the most widely used material in existence and is behind only water as the planet's most-consumed resource." per Wikipedia

We were supposed to get our fibre broadband installed this morning, but those guys haven't shown up yet. And that's a good thing or we'd be having pandemonium on the driveway this morning.  

Oh, I can't wait: fast broadband and no more workers, trucks, and mayhem. Long may we be content with the current state of affairs. No more building!

Now, if we could just have a little rain, please. 

Weather

 How very strange this weather pattern is this year. It's May and it feels like July. High pressure dominates and northerlies have settled in. 

They're calling it a Scorcher!

"Tomorrow will be a dry and generally sunny day, though the sunshine may be a little hazy at times. Turning warm again with highest temperatures of 17 to 22 degrees generally, warmest in the west."

Met Eireann

We've only had 48 mm of rain in May, and that was at the beginning of the month. Our winds have been light and northerly, our temperatures in the low 20s, and our sunshine index high. We haven't had rain in ages and none is in the forecast for at least another week. I've been watering everything except the vineyard daily. It's getting tedious and worrisome. The high pressure has been sitting over us for weeks, today registering 1028 mb. 

On Thursday we could reach 24C, a record temperature perhaps like the 29 May 2018, when we also hit 24C.  The flora is loving it and everything seems to be growing explosively. The vines are looking good so far, with lots of florets. Only the gooseberries seem affected by the drought, with their leaves shriveling and turning brown and the berries remaining quite small. 

We expect the concrete floor of the shed to be poured this week. Then we wait for a month before we can use it. Party to celebrate the shed and my 69th birthday on the 1st of July. Who would have thought I'd ever be this old. And, hopefully, more to come. I'm finally enjoying it.

And the cuckoo has arrived and was calling incessantly yesterday. I hope he gets a callback. 

Frost in the Finger Lakes

More climate weirdness, this time in the Finger Lakes of upstate New York. After record warmth caused rapid growth, frost may have severely damaged their crops. 

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Hailstorms in France

Climate weirdness has settled in, with record temperatures and wildfires in Pacific NW Canada, floods and landslides in California and Italy after severe drought for years, massive storms and a tsunami in New Zealand, devastating tornadoes in the states, and hailstorms in Texas and Provence. 

Apparently, the landslides in California have triggered a new gold rush, with nuggets now worth about $1900 an ounce. 

Devastating for Provence - Defense system for St Emilion

A swath of vineyards in Provence has suffered massive damage they say. The vineyards in St Emilion suffered a similar fate a couple of years ago and have now organized a system of protection for their vineyards using cloud-seeding balloons. Each balloon is filled with 200g of hygroscopic salts which are dispersed in the clouds once a certain altitude is reached. These salts help to suppress hail formation, creating rain showers instead. We'll see if the cloud seeding works. 

I wonder what effect the hygroscopic salts will have on the terroir when they fall to earth in the rain?

Scientists predict that hailstorms will become more severe with climate change. The golfball-sized hail that fell in Catalonia last year may be an indicator. 

 El Niño on its way - expect more weirdness

 El Niño may be forming if the Atlantic Sea Surface Temperatures are an indicator. 

El Niño has the potential to accelerate climate change with devastating economic consequences and worse. 

Last of the walls is complete

The lads came this morning to remove the mold for the last section of the retaining wall. So the structure is now complete. Cahill will come Monday to level out the stone base of the floor and surrounding gravel. Then we wait ten days. Right now, there is no rain in the forecast and many days of sunshine and temps nearing 20C as a high pressure system dominates over us. Bizarre. 

New plan and schedule

 

The lads finished the shed structure and the retaining walls of the shed today. They are going to remove the frame and prepare the floor area tomorrow. They've already taken the roller machine. The new plan is to pour cement for the floor in ten days rather than the 28 they said before. Then we won't be able to drive on it for a month, but that brings us to the end of July which gives us time to prepare for harvest. Finishing up in August would not have given us much time to order and prepare equipment, and shift all our stuff from the garage to the shed. I feel a little relieved. 

I'd say the digger will go tomorrow, and most of the cement frames are almost ready to go, loaded on a trailer. 

They said the cement floor laying would be ideal for a rainy day. So on Sunday night, the 28th of May, we will perform a rain dance so they come Monday morning on the 29th. On the 30th we get fibre broadband installed here, so let's hope they finish on the Monday, 

They will come to install the drain and backfill behind the wall at a later date. As long as it's done before the heavy rains of late summer, I'll be happy. Otherwise, I'll be worrying about the hill tumbling down. 

Not quite almost there

 

This might look like it's almost finished, but we just learned that it's probably going to be another two months before we can use it. Yeah, this week, they'll finish the roof and remaining small panels, plus they'll pour the last section of the wall -- the retaining wall for the hillside. Then we have to wait a month for the cement walls to cure. If you try to pour the concrete floor or fill in the back behind the shed, the concrete will collapse. 

What a bummer. So it will be built but not usable. It will be a month before we pour the floor and then a month for it to set before we can put any weight on it. So bummed. I wanted everything moved out of the house and garage now. 

Progress report on the shed

While we were in Kilrush today working on the boat, the crew erected another 1/4 of the shed today. They also poured the foundation for the retaining walls for the hillside. We are very pleased with the work they've done. The walls are half complete. We figure another two days for the walls, two days for the roof, and then two days for the floor and retaining wall. The end may be in sight.