Marine heatwave and first pruning

 Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies on 22 May 2025
(from the Marine Institute’s Marine Heatwave Monitoring Tool).

Met Éireann has reported that Ireland is experiencing a marine heatwave similar to that of June 2024. As of mid-May, temperatures at several IMDBON buoys were already more than 1°C above the monthly average. With a week remaining in the month, the final monthly averages will likely be even higher.

Given that we are on Clew Bay, I wonder what effect the higher ocean temperature will have on our vines. They are looking exceptionally good this year. It was drizzly and chilly this morning, but cleared up beautifully after lunch. I spent the afternoon pruning vines and training them onto the trellises. It got so warm I stripped down to T-shirt.

I also cleared growth from around the roses and tied them up as they are huge this year. The Tequila Sunrise and the yellow ones are already taller than me, and with the rain and sun, they have started blooming prolifically. Everything is growing exponentially.

Interestingly, I look at vines so differently now after taking part in the pruning workshops. Vines are so extraordinarily symmetrical and methodical. A cane shoots out and forms a leaf. Shortly after, it forms an inflorescence, then a simple tendril, then either a tiny inflorescence or a tendril with some flower buds on it, then another tendril that is very vigorous with multiple limbs, then more growth with leaves in between. Some form two inflorescences and so two bunches of grapes. The tendril with grapes or tiny bunch is younger than the other bunches. It's an insurance policy and will develop later, just in case something goes drastically wrong. Because the vines expend a lot of energy on the tendrils and tiny bunches, we prune them out at this time. That helps the primary bunches of grapes to develop more vigorously, or that's the theory. 

So that was my job today. I pruned what I could reach of the branches in advanced stages. I pushed them up through the wires to rest on top of the trellis. I picked off any shoots forming along the woody upright trunk. I pulled grass and weeds from around the vines. 

It was a very serene Zen experience to be in the vineyard performing these tasks today. I loved it. Ghost and Mini kept me company, sleeping in the tall grass in the shade between the vines, invisible to the world. It was so beautiful out and the perfect temperature. Yet all around, I could see we had our microclimate, and it was raining over Westport and Newport. Clare Island parted the clouds for us again.

Primary inflorescence

Secondary inflorescence

Tiny backup inflorescence 

Tendril with inflorescence

Tertiary tendril

Tendril and leaf bud, which get clipped off

Sky over us

Sky over Westport

Rain, glorious gentle rain!

It started to sprinkle the day before yesterday, gently irrigating the land. We got about 7.5 mm on Friday when the rain continued with more vigour, but still gently, not inundating the parched soil. Towards evening, the sun came out. Yesterday we got 13.3 mm, and it continues in passing showers today. It is lashing out there at the moment, and we've had wind gusting more than 47 knots. So our total rainfall for the month to date is a whopping 23 mm, not even 1/4 of the 99.2 mm LTA. They are promising eight days of rain now before the high returns and a heat wave follows. 

Nevertheless, everything is going to grow even more robustly now. Let the vines bear fruit. 

Climate madness

NOAA has predicted an active North Atlantic hurricane season ten days before its official start. Hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov 30. The current outlook predicts a 60% chance of an "above-normal" hurricane season, with between 13 to 19 named storms. Six to 10 of those are expected to strengthen into hurricanes, and three to five could become major hurricanes, according to the forecasters. They estimated a 30% chance of a "near-normal" season and a 10% chance of a "below-normal" season. They held their news conference in New Orleans to commemorate the 20 year anniversary of Katrina's landfall there.

Continued ENSO-neutral conditions, warmer than average ocean temperatures, forecasts for weak wind shear, and the potential for higher activity from the West African Monsoon, a primary starting point for Atlantic hurricanes, all tend to favour tropical storm formation. And we are getting very close ... the two-year running average for the global surface temperature anomaly is now 1.599°C above the 1850-1900 baseline. Sea ice is tracking at the same level as last year. 

Rain, finally!

A gentle rain has started to quench the parched earth. You can sense a collective sigh of relief by all living things. It's a nice steady rain that will have a chance to soak in. The best kind. 

The dust, cobwebs and pollen are washing away. The moss will soon be turning green again. Perhaps the flowers on the vines will open and the wind due tomorrow will help them get pollinated. I've loved the sun, but I love the rain as well. The all-powerful water without which nothing can survive. The poor hedgehog was out searching for it the other day. I hope she's okay. Alex gave her a dish of water.

Furnace has had 2.5 mm of rain this month through yesterday. We didn't have that much even. We'll see after the next three days how far we catch up. In the meantime, I had a glass of our White Seahorse Solaris last night with my fish pie. It's very pleasant. 

Alex's Vevor distillation machine arrived today. Another project awaits in the winery. He also bought an apple crusher that takes a bushel of whole apples and chops them up. No more hand chopping, or so they say. 

Another beautiful day in paradise

 

Another beautiful day in the west of Ireland. No rain. Sunshine. Not too hot. Goldilocks weather. We spent the night in Westport, had dinner at Arno's and saw a play at the Town Hall Theatre, both exquisite. This morning we rode ebikes around the Quay and through Westport Estate where a transformation is underway. By midday we were home and tending to the critters and gardens. Our slice of paradise. 

Still no rain

 

It's the 21st of May, and we have blue sky with a few puffball clouds floating by.  It's very warm and I am watering every day, but not the vineyard. It's holding up well, given that we haven't had more than a few drops of rain all month. We're forecast to get plenty of rain on Saturday and high winds with more rain on Sunday, so it looks like this is the last of the fine weather. 

25C and sunny

 

It's hot and sunny with a gentle breeze. 25C is about 77F, but it feels more like 80s in the sun. We are the warmest spot in the country. No rain in the forecast until Friday. The vines are fine so far, but everything else needs watering daily. Several places have alerts for water conservation, but not us yet. 

We went to our second 'Heard it through the Grapevine' session with Andrew, the gardener at Turlough House. It was beneficial, and we learned a lot about this stage of pruning. We cut back tendrils, removed weak and non-productive branches, and shortened the length of new growth to several leaves after the bunches of grapes. On some of the grape bunches, we removed the shoulder batch -- the last batch at the top of the bunch, which is always behind the rest in development. It's a survival mechanism. They hold back development in case some catastrophe befalls the main bunch. There will then still be some fruit produced later than normal. Removing that batch strengthens the rest and makes them grow bigger. 

Old vine before pruning

Old vine after pruning

All in all, it's been a fun pastime.

25-26C in our neck of the woods

No clouds, no rain, more of the same

 

The new gates are up, the hedgerow is planted and watered, and the fence is in place. Alex has started reducing the number of bunches and nipping the buds. I'm just wandering around. We have our next session of the pruning workshop at Turlough House on Saturday. 

Still no rain and there's no rain, no clouds, no wind in the forecast for at least the next week. Looks like it's time to get the kayak in the water. 

Warm and sunny again

 

According to Met Éireann's climate report, we've had only 0.8 mm of rain in May so far. The temperature, at an average of 12.8°c, has been higher than the long-term average but lower than the prior two years, despite feeling hotter. Shorts, T-shirts and sandals are the deal this week. 

We walked the vineyard and the land with Cormac and Louise, our nephew and his partner, yesterday and explained a lot of what's going on. They are very interested in helping with the vineyard work. They've just returned from a sabbatical trip around the world. They'll be away for another 6 weeks in Spain and France and then back to work. It's nice to know they have an interest. 

The sloe hedge is planted and the new fence and gates erected. Another fruit to add to the collection.