First Day at Chateau Montelena

I can't move....

Yesterday was my first day of work in the Chateau Montelena vineyard - my "dream job" - ? Wow, this old body isn't used to physical labor - for 8 hours! We started off suckering the vines - pulling unwanted green shoots off of the trunks below the drip lines. No problem. Then someone handed me a shovel - !? Oh yes, using a shovel to break up/dig out weeds in the berms. If you have ever pounded a metal shovel into hard, dry dirt, you know it's not a lot of fun! But I persevered. I couldn't keep up with the men, but at least I had their respect that I wanted to pull my weight and do my share. The heat did not help matters - yesterday was the hottest day of the year so far, 90. The good news is that I probably sweated off at least a pound! Also, the foreman told me there wouldn't be any more shoveling - they were pretty much done with this for the summer. (They spray RoundUp for the small stuff.) So now it should be the typical kinds of activities - pulling leaves around the fruit clusters, tucking the vines up into the wires, etc. Anyway, it was a good day - the workers are all very nice to me, several (at least the ones who speak English) took the time to explain different things to me, etc. Placido, Paulino, Jose, Carlos, Heriberto - those are the names I learned yesterday. I'm also hoping to learn some Spanish along the way - some of my high school Spanish is already starting to come back!