Spring

Spring is lovely and long here, near Beaune in France. It starts in February with the daffodils blooming followed by the asparagus shoots appearing in March. Then the strawberries come into fruit. And then there are the eggs… Spring is when our flock gets broody and we are up to our eyes in eggs.

Pumpjack Piddlewick Who We Are

If you’ve read any of our posts about working in a vineyard, you’ll be coming to realise that a vineyard’s work is never done.  Each season brings a different requirement. Obviously harvesting grapes in autumn, then there is pruning in winter. And spring in the vineyard? It’s all about de-budding. Read More →

Are you taking care of your trees and pruning suckers? | PumpjackPiddlewick

One of the great benefits of living with someone who has a degree in oenology and viticulture (fancy titles for winemaking and vineyard management) is that he is a wiz at pruning. Pumpjack really understands how things grow and what to do when. He is my mentor and has taughtRead More →

It’s another tough year in the vineyards here in France. Spring is the time when, like all plants, they start to bud. Called bud burst in vineyard speak. But these sensitive buds are also very prone to frost. And some years are definitely worse than others. Spring? In the past,Read More →

Nesting ducks on Easter at PumpjackPiddlewick

And now we enter the phase of nesting ducks. Somehow it seems appropriate that with Easter comes nesting ducks. We can definitely see why ducks (and chickens) and eggs have become synonymous. We went from our duck difficulties of finding a mate in February to brooding ducks in March. NestingRead More →