Last Day of Harvesting and a SpaceX Satellite Launch

 

                                             

Sep 5, 2025 - Today is our last day of harvesting (we're picking the Syrah).  It took the five us about 2 and a half hours to pick and then we took the grapes to be processed (720 pounds of grapes today) and we got to help with the processing by stomping the grapes.  They want a light pink color for this batch and stomping helps attain the color wanted.  We stomped for 15 minutes and it was amazing how much juice was released during that time.  At first it's hard to get your foot to go to the bottom of the bin, but by the end we were always hitting the bottom.

It's a foggy morning

The Syrah seem to me like they come in a thicker, more compact clump than the Merlot

As we harvest we clip longer vines and pull off leaves so we can see hidden clumps of grapes

That's a nice looking bunch of grapes

our last bins have been added to the large harvest bin

the rows look like a tornado came through

Pacific Wine Services

I'm in

Now we need to get to work (and by the end of our 15 minutes, it was feeling like work!)

A quick video of the stomping

after stomping

it was added to the bladder press and we've got a pretty pink color

This is the cool storage for Pacific Wine

and a mash that's sitting before the bladder press

That's a lot of wine

pretty flowers

and some grapes from the vineyard

nice evening views from the deck

we got to play with a Celestron telescope that Todd got as a b-day gift

an almost full moon 

Sep 6, 2025 - We didn't know what to do with ourselves today without our early morning grape picking.  Todd & Laurie had told us that they could see Space-X launches from their deck, so Kev looked up the launch schedule and found that there was a launch today at 11:06 from Vandenberg Space Force Base (75 miles from here, south of Santa Maria).  The mission, Starlink 17-9 carried 24 broadband satellites into  a low Earth orbit.  SpaceX used its Falcon 9 first stage booster B1075, which launched for a 20th time.  Eight minutes 19 seconds after liftoff, the first state landed on the drone ship "Of Course I Still Love You".  This was the 149th touchdown on this vessel and SpaceX's 501st booster landing to date.  With this launch Space-X has launched over 2000 satellites in 2025.

While we waited for the launch we worked on the telescope settings some more

Lift Off!

contrails from the rocket

Kitty time

another game of cribbage

beers at Ancient Owl Beer Garden in Atascadero

a grain bin clock tower at TinCity (we went to Etto for dinner)

Night time view of Anderson Hill 

The Vineyard and Sunsets

 

                     

Aug 28, 2025 - Today is our last day at Montana de Oro, as it's really hard to get campsites on the weekend.  Todd and Laurie offered up the Vineyard so tomorrow we will head there for the weekend.  We enjoyed the afternoon with Elaine, Ian and Marilyn and went to Beerwood (the local Osos brewpub) for appys and beers.  And we enjoyed the sunset over Spooner Beach. 

It's always a beautiful drive from MDO into Osos

The Greene's are here

The garden at Beerwood

There are 2 chairs on the porch of the Spooner ranch that are the opti-spot for the sunset.  We were shut out earlier this week, but today we got there in time

perfect spot to enjoy the sunset

interesting tree in the front yard of the ranch

Good night

Aug 29, 2025 - Today we're packing up and heading to the Vineyard, but first we did a lap around the Bluff Trail in MDO on our bikes.

Kevin loading up our new rooftop basket

Always some pretty views on the Bluff Trail

More Marilyn pics

We went to Sea Pines Golf Course for lunch and then Ian and Kev played a round

We're headed to the grocery store and then home

Marilyn is a good shopper

Cuddles

Aug 30, 2025 - We're enjoying chilling at the Vineyard today and then heading to Paso Robles for some errands.

The pump house.  We were happy to have a tiny job of turning on the water.  The grapes need 24 hours of water, so we'll turn it off tomorrow.

Our set up at the barn

A morning walk around the vineyard...pretty grapes

from the hill looking down at the house.

We took the gator for a spin 

We enjoy a walk around the property, it's about a mile when you mostly walk next to the fence

we found a leak

here's the break.  Todd told us how to turn off the water for this row

After errands in Paso Robles, I had Ice cream a Negranti's at TinCity.

Some Marilyn pics from Elaine

Marilyn's first trip to High St Deli

and the boardwalk

We grilled some steaks on our new grill and had dinner outside once it cooled off (It was over 100 degrees today!)

someone's milk drunk.  She looks like her Grandpa...

he's also sleepy

Aug 31, 2025 - Today we took our bikes to Morro Bay for some bike riding and Art in the Park.  Then an afternoon visit to Elaine and Ian

Nice view of the vineyard on our morning walk

bike ride from Morro Rock

Art in the Park

Crazy bike ride behind the high school

I think those eyes are going to be blue

We're going for a walk in the Elfin Forest

beauties

sleepy girl

Nice sunset from Baywood Park Beach

sunset across the bay

a few stragglers from Light the Night which left from downtown Osos (I guess everyone decorated their kayaks, canoes and SUPs with lights and paddled around the bay at sunset)

Our favorite sunset spot

Sep 1, 2025 - Chill day and Elaine and I are headed downtown to check out a new gift shop that just opened.  We're back to camping at MDO for another 3 days before the weekend back at the Vineyard with Todd & Laurie

We're seeing Marilyn's eyes more...

who's getting the side eye?

and she's out

I loved this painting downtown with the eyes on these creatures being electric meters.  A perfect example of my Dad's saying "If you can't hide it accent it"

ice cream from High St after a quick run through the Monday afternoon Farmer's market

no ice cream for you...yet

Site 38 at MDO

We don't have any cell service in this part of the campground, so it's an evening of reading

good night

Sep 2, 2025 - Today we walked the Bluff Trail

Sep 2, 2025 - We got up at 5:30, so we could drive to the vineyard to help with harvesting.  The Greene's grow 3 types of grapes (Viognier, Merlot and Syrah) so they can make their own wine.  The majority of the vineyard is Chardonnay, which they sell to one of the local wineries and they come in and pick the grapes with a picking machine.  Today we are harvesting the Viognier grapes.  We started at 7:00AM and we were finished picking by 9:20.  We took a ride with Todd & Laurie to Pacific Wine Services, the group that processes their grapes for them, in Paso Robles.

it's a start

I see you

Viognier are the only white grapes they grow

Our morning haul

At the processing plant, 543 pounds of grapes.

Our grapes are getting dumped in the bladder press for the first step in processing

The juice is being collected (we got to sample it)

after running errands and stopping for a visit with Elaine & Ian we played a few rounds of Cribbage.  It's good we don't have cell service, so we do something instead of mindlessly scrolling on our phones!

Sep 3, 2025 - Today we're harvesting the Merlot.  We started again at 7:00AM, but there was a lot more picking today!  We didn't finish until 10:30 and it was 750 pounds of grapes.

Laurie was already hard at work when we got here.

curly Q

get back to work

the mother lode

I've got a nice looking bin going

Merlot row 1

The harvesters!