Spring officially started here this week, marked by the Vernal Equinox. But we are not totally convinced it’s real. The weather on Tuesday and Wednesday wasn’t quite as bad as forecast, with night time temperatures down to -5C, though there wasn’t any snow. I hope that the vines in the local vineyards can take it – fortunately they had not yet reached bud break when it was cold. But by the weekend, bud break was starting to be visible across the more than 30 vineyards in the region. It’s now time for crossed fingers, as late frosts in the mountains can wipe out the year’s grape harvest in a single night. This winter had several cold snaps, with overnight temperatures 8 or 10 degrees below freezing. Unfortunately the cold wasn’t sustained for more than three days at a time, so it has not been a total knockout blow to a major local pest, the glassy winged sharpshooter. This fruit fly transmits the bacterial Pierce’s disease which is fatal to vines, and over the years has led to the closure of several Georgia vineyards.
Phylloxera is another worldwide scourge of vineyards and is endemic here, so all vitis vinifera is grafted on American rootstock. Discussing this with Sharon Paul, winemaker at Three Sisters, she commented on her plantings of Cynthiana (alias Norton – the best American varietal for winemaking) : “This grows on its own rootstock and suffers from phylloxera. Students from the agricultural college come to inspect the results – occasional brown spots on the leaves with no other damage. Mind you, Cynthiana requires a very different regime to vinifera – very late winter pruning and it is totally intolerant of sulphur, so greatest care is needed when spraying nearby vinifera plantings against mildew with Bordeaux mixture.”
John C. Campbell Folk School
We made a recent trip across the state line into North Carolina. Not for immoral or illegal purposes – we had to go up North to Blairsville for Lisa to renew her driving licence. This was the place where I finally passed my driving test and obtained a Georgia license myself. When we were that far, we thought, let’s take the rest of the day sightseeing (benefits of retirement!). So we ended up at the John Campbell Folk School. This is very interesting and old-established centre, set up nearly a hundred years ago on the model of the folkehojskole which were a force in the rural life of Denmark. It teaches long and short courses in decorative arts and practical skill like blacksmithing, carpentry and basketmaking. The school now spreads over a campus of about 100 acres, dotted with workshops, a forge, dormitories and lots of communal buildings. And a very high quality craft shop selling handmade products from students and teachers. I can see that Lisa is going to want to spend time attending courses here.
On the build site
Inside the house, things are progressing apace, both planning and executing. We had a day at the site on Monday in discussions with the various specialists and refining details. This phase of the work is conducted in two stages – rough fit and, subsequently, final fit. First fit is all about putting in the infrastructure before the walls are covered with sheetrock (plasterboard to the English). And that is what is going on apace with wires, pipes and ducts all over the place. Part of the heating/aircon system is in the attic, where a large metal box is surrounded by silver flexible ducts – it’s like an octopus squatting over us. And we are starting to see the results of earlier investigations that we conducted – the correct brand of taps and showers will be supported by their proprietary valves now installed in the wall. We had a walkthrough with the electrician to ensure that the right number of plugs and light fixtures are being set up in the correct places. The well man has been back to plan the location of the pipe linking the well with the water system in the house, and so on.
We have been a bit worried about the ridge on which we are building – it rears up near one side of the house with no visible means of support. So now TJ (who did all the concreting work) is constructing a retaining wall here. Also going on outside is installation of siding (planks of artificial timber which make up part of the outside walls, giving a clapboard appearance).
So, lots going on in all areas of the house. By early April, most of the internal rough fit will be complete and then the internal walls can be finished (subject to signoff by the building inspectors). Fingers tightly crossed that it all goes well and the various trades don’t start tripping up over each other – come back soon and find out if the crews do everything without hitting more snags.
Robin’s Opinions of America
A list of an outsider’s observations on USA
1st September Thoughts on Grey Squirrels
6th October Subdivisions
13th October Flags in America
27th October The Confederate flag
10th November Groundhogs and A relentless hunt for bargains
17th November The American Mailbox and American meat
24th November Georgia Public Television and TV scheduling
1st December Serviceable roads and Awesome
8th December Wines from Georgia and Blue laws
22nd December Licence plates and Polystyrene plates
4th January Pressure balanced valves and Knocking Copy