Rainy Day, Dream Away...

Let the sun take a holiday....Man I love that tune- not just 'cause Hendrix wrote it (it's on Electric Ladyland), and not just 'cause he takes a big hit off a spliff at the beginning of the song (although that alone makes it listenable). It's a tune that has stuck with me since childhood, and it still pops into my mind on the occasional rainy day around here. Which we really need right now- the water table is low, and drought seems imminent, and we're all more than a little concerned. A lack of water makes worries about the economy pale in comparison- you can live without money, but water is at the top of the "essentials" list along with air. Along with beer. And steak. And a crisp new prescription for medical marijuana for some unspecified ailment issued by a down on his luck doctor with a degree from some internet medical school based in Honduras. But that's about it as far as essentials go.

This morning, I was talking to a guy who thought the worry was not enough water for frost protection. Which could be an issue- we've got all the signs of an early bud break, and lord knows, last year we ran frost protection in a bunch of vineyards we work with for almost a month straight. And right now, there are some pretty empty ponds that normally would be overflowing. So if the ponds are dry and there is budbreak and frost, who knows what will happen?

But to me, the bigger issue that looms is whether there will be sufficient water to irrigate the vines later in the year. Used to be people started watering early and stopped in the fall- but we've since learned that fall is when the vines need water most- just turning off the water causes them to shut down, and they aren't developing flavors and getting physiologically ripe. They don't (generally) need a deluge- just enough to keep doing their job and hanging as long as possible (unlike unwanted guests, hanging around is a great thing for grapes).

Not watering in the spring causes the vines to rely on what is available (and work a bit to "mine" water). It's called early season deficit irrigation, and it helps slow down the growth early on (which manages canopy better, which means better exposure to sunlight and better air movement through the canopy) So, only when the coolest/latest/greatest technology says it's time to water do we add water- which is late in the year.

The question this year is whether there will be enough water in the late season to irrigate- will wells and ponds run dry, and will the vines shut down long before physiological ripeness is achieved? We're hearing there will be rationing this year- but when you live off a well, "rationing" is meaningless if the well runs dry. And though I live in town, many of our friends and growers do not, and we are all in this together.

I have no idea what rain will come or how much water will be around in fall- and even though right now it seems a long way off- it is never too early to worry in farming. Yesterday it rained, but not today. And Hendrix is playing, and I'm thinking I'll do my rain dance.

It's scary to see someone of my description and physique engaging in a ritualistic homage to the rain gods, but as horrifying as it might be, I prefer it to the economic carnage that a drought can cause. It's not a pretty sight, and it really only really seems to work when a front is moving in, but it's a damn fine excuse to go scare some tourists downtown. Which, even in a drought year, can be pretty good sport. But if rain follows, you can be sure I'll be taking full credit for it....