Summer Visit to Wisteria

Yesterday, when I posted about that cute little doggie, Scruffy, I mentioned that Tessie and I had made a stop at Wisteria Vineyard for a visit.  When we got there, I tried the new sparkling Traminette - nice on a toasty summer afternoon - and visited with our viniculturalists and some neighbors, ruminating on Page County topics.

Then Tessie and I took the little walk out through the barnyard area to the vines, and ultimately to Hawksbill Creek.  This is a route that Tessie has gotten familiar with, and she really enjoys running ahead of me and then returning to make sure I haven't gotten lost somewhere back there. 

I've got a few photos here of the walk:  grapes under the arbor with the little swing; and some apples with the vines in the background.

These are the images that entice me to keep coming back to Wisteria.  But it's the little walk that Tessie enjoys.  This time was kind of special - as we walked through the gate, Blackie, the yearling, was out in the roadway between the barnyard and the pasture. 

Tessie was fascinated, slowing to watch, and I kept an eye on her to make sure she didn't scare him into a run; she is a sheepdog, so I also wanted to see if some mix of chemicals and genetics kicked in with a herding move or something.  Nothing doing.

It really ended up a Mexican standoff of sorts, and he finally decided he'd had enough of a pesky dog AND a stranger, so he went back into the barnyard with the others.  Then Tessie ran on ahead, after a few sniffs of where he went off to (and the sheep poop near the gate).  In the barnyard photo, Blackie is the one with the little white blaze on his face.

A couple of things about Wisteria - I wrote about the stray, Scruffie, yesterday - these folks are involved in quite a few rescue/animal shelter activities.  It's a cause they're quite committed to, even holding a fund raiser one evening last summer.

Blackie and his kin are Romney sheep.  One of the annual events at the farm is the shearing day, which Sue organizes with the local coop. On the blog link below, scroll down to the 4/7/11 post for a note about the shearing this year.  Blackie's dark brown and black wool is going to make some beautiful fiber, just as the tans and grays of his aunts and uncles do!  http://www.wisteriavineyard.com/7701.html

Finally, and I am overdue for a post on this topic, Wisteria Farm and Vineyard is a charter member of Page County Grown.  I may have a post on that organization later this week.