WINTER FARM WORK

Winter, supposedly our quiet guest time, is the period for concerted farm work.  And so once again, despite a worrying shortage of rain, we got on with all the usual processes.(building, gardening, repairing, winemaking, lemon processing and vineyard pruning).
In addition this year Johan designed a bridge to the camping hut, we re-routed a road (which meant Diana could direct the digger loader), we installed a new hydraulic wine press and we made marmalade for the first time.
Thanks go to Barry Schreiber for all the wood donated to us, to Rensche for bringing and planting veggie seedlings and to Lee (our current volunteer) for managing the citrus for lemoncello and marmalade.

From top left clockwise: 1) Marilese varnishes poles for fences. 2) Eliot and Tulani sand fence poles. 3) Starting the new road. 4) Progress on the new road. 5) New sewerage system for farmhouse.

From top left clockwise: 1) Garden work. 2) Donkeys love weeding time. 3) Rensche picks spinach. 4) Rensche plants veggies. 5) Johan with his bridge.

From top left clockwise: 1) Lee zesting lemons. 2) Lemon harvest. 3) Lee picking lemons. 4) Stephan hangs plant supports. 5) Packing wine away.

Pruning the vines.

From top left clockwise: 1) Building a stone channel for run-off water. 2) Unloading wood. 3) Tidying up the yard. 4) Turning compost. 5) Landscaping.

From top left clockwise: 1) Building the restaurant stoep. 2) Building foundations. 3) Landscaping. 4) Basil packs wine. 5) Crating wine.

From top left clockwise: 1) Bottle filling machine at work. 2) The new hydraulic press being installed. 3) Moving the new hydraulic press. 4) Closer view of the bottling machine.