HARD WINTER WORK ON THE FARM.

Winter on Fynbos Estate. Weeding the Chardonnay in the icy weather.

With the end of the wedding season came the opportunity to do much needed farm work. Apart from picking olives and bottling olive oil, we have been pruning, planting and weeding vineyards, pulling down defunct structures and erecting new sheds. We have built walls, levelled ground for paving and refurbished furniture. A solar geezer has been installed in the worker’s accommodation, and Fynbos House and our office, have been insulated against the winter cold. With our dogs and those of guests in mind, we have fenced Fynbos House, and Ronel and her team have cut down iffy looking oak limbs and pruned our many fruit trees.

Trimming dead branches off the Oaks.

Top left: Building farm walls. Top right: New fences. Left bottom: Levelling ground. Bottom right: Removing ramp.

Work has also been progressing on the mountain. Cape Nature, in conjunction with Working on Water sent in a team to clear aliens on the top of Dragonridge, and Paardeberg FPA (Fire Protection Association) and PSI (Paardeberg Sustainability Initiative) along with Working on Fire, has tackled alien clearing on Sonkop and the lower reaches of Dragonridge. Both Working on Fire and Water are projects designed to give work and impart skills to the unemployed. Finally, Telkom sent in a team to deal with erosion of the mountain road and clear the edges on either side of it.

Top row: Working for Fire-team. Bottom left: Telkom road fixing team. Bottom right: Cape Nature clearing aliens

As always we have had lots of help from volunteers – in particular from Jackie and Jake from the USA , Lucille from France and Jacobus and Lorin from SA. We have also used a team of 5 men who we fetch in the mornings from LIngelette and take home in the evenings. They have been a great help.

Jacobus painting and Jake sanding furniture

Lucille painting and Lorin & Jacobus at work.

The 5-man team from LIngelette.