Pullin' Wahr

Kenny and I saddled up our two mules and got us started on pullin' wahr. We donned our work flip flops, our sweat stained vineyard caps, our carhart-like workpants and moseyed out in the field.

The vineyard has three layers of wahr (wire to non-redneck folk). Last year we pulled the first layer of wire so we could train up the vines. Transforming them from unruly bushes to those lovely vines you see all over California wine country...and here. After retraining most of the vines BACK up to the first wire (see earlier blog), they are now ready to grow even higher. Even if we're not ready for them.

Ever slaves to the wishes of the vines, we started pulling the 2nd wire. In order to start pulling the second layer of wire above the first set, we saddled up our two mules, Kenny and Kris, and whipped them into the field. Of course, we don't have any mules, WE are the mules.

First, we "drop" the 75 pound wheel of 12 gage stainless steel wire onto the wire wheel. The wire wheel is what minimizes, notice I say minimize not eliminates, the wire from getting tangled. The wire wheel is attached to a two 2x4s and one 4x4 platform that drags behind the tractor, we affectionately call Seabiscuit.

Kenny drives Seabiscuit to the north side of the 289' long row we need to pull and then the mule work starts. Kenny grabs the start of the wire and I yell some "Yah, yah" for encouragement. While he's dragging, I'm bent down pushing the extension arms above the wire wheel as fast as I can. I believe I'm helping to spin the wheel to make it less pull work for Kenny and to keep the wire from getting tangled. But it really is a crap shoot. When Kenny, excuse me Mule #1, gets to the south end of the row, 289' later, I , Mule #2, grab the wire from the wire wheel and pull behind him to the south end of the vineyard row. Mule #1 passes me by on the other side of the row heading north.

When Kenny gets to the end of where we started, he yells down to me to stop pullling. Then I become a sort of Nascar pit crew of one. My job down on the south end of the row is to lift that wire from the ground up to 14 inches above the first wire and attach it with the heavy duty staple nail to the wood post. I race to do this before he starts working on things down at his end. If I get too far behind, I won't be able to lift the wire, that is really heavy, up to the next training level.

Back at the north end, Kenny starts pulling the wire taught, trimming the extra wire, and putting on the crimp. The crimp acts as a connector for the splice of the two ends of the wire. Then with a honkin' crimper, he steps on the crimper, crushing, or crimping, the connector in two places. He then waits for me.

I've now walked an additional 289' back to the beginning to lift up that north side of the wire and attach it with an industrial nail. Then the tightener is attached. This thing looks like a spool. We have a special tightener tool that grabs the spool. As Kenny moves the tightener spool tool in the loose wire direction, the wire will wrap around the spool and tighten up. The spool has a latch mechanism on it that does not allow it to unwrap. The tightener is something we will be adjusting on a regular basis as the vines mature and weigh heavier on the wire.

While Kenny's tightening the wire up, I'm on the tractor, moving the wire apparatus to the next row. Grabbing the bucket full of nails and tighteners, and the short-handled sledge hammer on the way.

Finally, on the row we just pulled, we walk on each side of the wire and pull up the wire to the 5th hook from the top. The wire is tight so gloves and a bit of "oof" are required to raise the jsut pulled wire section. We adjust the vines and the wire as we go.

So that's 1,156' of walking per wire pull. Now you fully understand why I feel like a mule.

The good part is we only have to pull this wire once.....per row....I think.

Remember Imbibe and Enjoy!