Kevin Merrill/On the Farm | Posted: Sunday, April 8, 2007 12:00 am
Our grape vines along the 101 corridor between Los Alamos and Santa Maria are beginning to show off their verdant, light-green leaves.
With the warm, springtime weather and frosts in just the coldest areas, the vines explode in growth. They offer a sharp contrast to the drying coastal hills surrounding the vineyards. Due to the lack of rainfall this year, we are already seeing south-facing slopes begin to turn brown, a tough year for the cattlemen along the Central Coast.
While we continue to hope and pray for more rain this season, it is nice to relax and enjoy the beautiful spring weather, like we had last Sunday. We celebrated our little boy Clayton/s 5th birthday the weekend before. My mom and both my sisters, Mia from Alexandria, Va., and Elisa with her little boy Travis from Edgewood, N.M., joined us. My wife Karen/s sisters Elizabeth and Carol came over from Visalia, along with Carol/s husband Ed Merzoian and several nephews and nieces.
Saturday night, Clayton/s godparents Maria and Tavo Acosta joined us for a family barbecue and pre-birthday celebration. Sunday afternoon we hosted a party for Clayton/s preschool friends and their parents. I was glad to go to work on Monday and rest. Elisa, Travis and Mom stayed with us for the rest of the week.
Mom went back home to Paso Robles on Friday and Elisa and Travis left our house at 9 a.m. Sunday to fly home to New Mexico. It was a beautiful morning and the kids wanted to play baseball in the front yard. We gathered up our gloves, Clayton got his bat and Kathleen found a couple of tee-balls and we were off.
Karen was finishing up some tax returns. She used to work for a CPA in Bakersfield and every year she helps him during tax time and stays up to date on current tax laws. The kids and I played catch for awhile and then they each took their turns batting. Baxter, our little Corgi, played shortstop and ran away with a ball or two before returning and dropping them on the lawn for us.
Soon the kids wanted to take a ride around the vineyard to see if we could find some deer or the coyote that was howling close to our house the night before. So off we went in my pickup. They each took turns driving as we made our way down the driveway to get the Sunday paper, and then off to the hills to see what we could find.
It was pretty late in the morning by this time and the deer had already found a shady oak to rest under. A few squirrels were scampering about. The coyotes were also resting up for another moonlit night/s activity. We could hear quail in the brush and watched a seemingly endless supply of jackrabbits dart between the hillsides and the vineyard.
We made our way back home and found Mom waiting for us with lunch. Kathleen wanted to have a picnic under one of the oaks close to our home. I put the dogs away so they wouldn/t enjoy the lunch before the kids had a chance to eat it. We had our picnic on the grass beneath a small sprawling oak.
After lunch, I mowed the lawn and the kids got ready to give Baxter a bath. You are never too sure who gets a better bath, the kids, Baxter, or dad as we all get to help give a puppy a bath he did not really want to take.
The afternoon starts to fade into evening as I watch the sunlight make its way through the branches and leaves of the oaks heavily laden with flowers that will produce a new crop of acorns. A light cool breeze comes up, reminding me that it is still early springtime. I light the barbecue, pour myself a glass of Premiere Syrah, and watch the kids play in the yard.
A perfect ending to a hectic week, and a great day with the kids.
Kevin Merrill is a vineyard manager for Mesa Vineyard Management. He is president of the Central Coast Wine Growers/ Association Foundation, and a current board member of the Santa Barbara County Farm Bureau. He can be reached at kmerrill@mesavineyard.com.