After the storm

We had high winds overnight into yesterday morning. Upon checking the vineyard, I noted quite a few branches broken off the Pinot Noir which is showing vigorous growth. I tied most of them up as high as I could and took a few branches to root. The Solaris and Rondo were looking good and the younger chardonnay vines seem to be struggling. The Albarino is starting to look a little stronger but still inferior. I stuck a broken stem into the ground to replace a dead vine if it roots. 

As I was tying, I noticed that quite a few of the Pinot Noir (year 3) have tiny clusters of grapes. I think I will try one or two in the polytunnel to see if they produce better crops sooner. The Vanessa grapes in the polytunnel are almost ready to pick. 

I bought a storage box for the vineyard at Lidl yesterday. It will let me keep some of my tools nearby so I don't have to walk all the way to the shed or the polytunnel if I see something amiss in the vineyard that needs attention right away. 

Meanwhile, the storm knocked a lot of apples off the trees, especially the big cooker. And Alex planted all the trees along the new fence by the shed and hung the gate, while I picked stones from the field. There are a lot of stones out there! 

I'm glad it's raining today as we need a break. The showers bucket when they come and the sun shines in between. The southern half of the country is under extreme thunderstorm warning. They said the winds were unusually strong for this time of year. The gusts topped 55 knots yesterday morning. They shifted from SW to SE and now we have easterlies again. What the hell is going on here? It was the warmest June on record, with prolonged dry periods and intense thunderstorm activity. 

Climate change is here, my dear! The prolonged heat wave in the Atlantic is indicative of climate change, Met Eireann says. Recent extreme precipitation, thunderstorms and above-average temperatures across Ireland could be linked to the elevated sea-surface temperatures and marine heatwave we have experienced in June 2023.