tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post5243031653487150909..comments2024-03-28T13:49:48.236+00:00Comments on Magnon's Meanderings: Vines and Vineyards.Cro Magnonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06840670227576695352noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-47696409523444843582019-08-09T04:33:14.423+01:002019-08-09T04:33:14.423+01:00Over the time I've spent living here, it's...Over the time I've spent living here, it's almost as if it's become a different area altogether. Cro Magnonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06840670227576695352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-67793255126044275322019-08-09T04:30:35.832+01:002019-08-09T04:30:35.832+01:00We had a cousin with a vineyard (Cote de Castillon...We had a cousin with a vineyard (Cote de Castillon) who was paid by the EU NOT to pick his grapes. Instead he sold them to his neighbour; making twice his usual income!Cro Magnonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06840670227576695352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-21783004956143341832019-08-09T04:28:10.902+01:002019-08-09T04:28:10.902+01:00The UK lost huge acreages of Apples in recent time...The UK lost huge acreages of Apples in recent times, and English apples are some of the best. Terrible shame.Cro Magnonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06840670227576695352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-43298647762229565042019-08-09T00:42:57.384+01:002019-08-09T00:42:57.384+01:00Live anywhere long enough and you probably will se...Live anywhere long enough and you probably will see drastic change. I spent thirty years in one suburb and watched it change from rural to a city. Now, thirty plus years in another rural area, and it has grown into the intersection of three large cities.Joanne Noragonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16601010208310707750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-80935608884305888202019-08-08T22:11:00.689+01:002019-08-08T22:11:00.689+01:00If there was money on offer to get out then people...If there was money on offer to get out then people would take it whatever. Suddenly their grapes would all have been a commercial crop. Rachel Phillipshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16053924416805878169noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-54134017424965854982019-08-08T22:02:54.546+01:002019-08-08T22:02:54.546+01:00Was that back when there was the 'wine lake...Was that back when there was the 'wine lake' and the 'butter mountain'? But it shouldn't have affected those who grew wine grapes for their own consumption.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-20571509488519850822019-08-08T20:11:47.266+01:002019-08-08T20:11:47.266+01:00I remember Weaver posting about the lost of all th...I remember Weaver posting about the lost of all the old eating apples. The farms were not big enough o the EU taxed them I can't quite remember but how sad.<br />parsnipangryparsniphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17236094827257446781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-15832223703489762672019-08-08T20:08:21.176+01:002019-08-08T20:08:21.176+01:00Gwil.... When I saw the painting I thought Grapes ...Gwil.... When I saw the painting I thought Grapes of Wrath also.<br />parsnipangryparsniphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17236094827257446781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-66229019512387544312019-08-08T17:03:11.351+01:002019-08-08T17:03:11.351+01:00Don't forget that back in the UK, even if you ...Don't forget that back in the UK, even if you leave a very specific will, it can be overturned by the courts; which makes a mockery of the whole process!Cro Magnonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06840670227576695352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-75635497553971658052019-08-08T15:35:32.681+01:002019-08-08T15:35:32.681+01:00I've quite a healthy crop of grapes again this...I've quite a healthy crop of grapes again this year; all except for my new eating grape, the Black Hamburg. It started the year looking fantastic, and has ended with just one bunch of grapes!Cro Magnonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06840670227576695352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-43251414142652089792019-08-08T15:33:55.760+01:002019-08-08T15:33:55.760+01:00I suspect that here we'll end-up looking like ...I suspect that here we'll end-up looking like Sussex/Surrey, where most fields contain ponies.Cro Magnonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06840670227576695352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-9228407957540161052019-08-08T15:11:41.362+01:002019-08-08T15:11:41.362+01:00Cro, one of our neighbors has the most beautifully...Cro, one of our neighbors has the most beautifully kept grapevines. I'll have to ask his permission to take a picture and share it on my blog. Of course, we can only grow the scuppernong and muscadine grapes in this swampy, humid environment because they're half wild. But they're tasty and make a nice (very sweet) wine and fantastic jelly.Jenniferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12512800812290518552noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-50679095865512807332019-08-08T14:38:58.185+01:002019-08-08T14:38:58.185+01:00Thank you Cro. As I said it's a nice painting ...Thank you Cro. As I said it's a nice painting and it fits to the times - climate change etc.. It reminds me of Steinbeck. Grapes of Wrath I think. <br />EU is determined to break that small farm, small mentality as they see it, way of life. It's their raison d'etre. It's probably why the ECB here called EZB was created. Gwil Whttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03305768121713053837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-77646582885996886862019-08-08T14:34:01.101+01:002019-08-08T14:34:01.101+01:00That's interesting about succession laws in Fr...That's interesting about succession laws in France. It's basically the same in Austria. There's a complicated formula for working out who gets what % of your worldly goods when you pop your clogs. And you thought you could give what's yours to whomsoever you would, ha ha ha. Your relatives that you haven't seen or heard from for donkeys years - they'll have their share too. Kafkaland. Gwil Whttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03305768121713053837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-55719612761865515172019-08-08T14:33:49.922+01:002019-08-08T14:33:49.922+01:00I think the face of farming is changing everywhere...I think the face of farming is changing everywhere Cro and it is very sad> trouble is there is no money to be made in it.The Weaver of Grasshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13947971556343746883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-9057201152717639332019-08-08T14:15:20.212+01:002019-08-08T14:15:20.212+01:00In the days of the Quotas, I had a friend who was ...In the days of the Quotas, I had a friend who was pouring milk down the drain. I suggested he made soft cheese or something similar with his excess. He said he couldn't, then his neighbour did exactly that, and did very well.Cro Magnonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06840670227576695352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-79236579075152673302019-08-08T14:06:27.428+01:002019-08-08T14:06:27.428+01:00Gwil. Stamping eggs for small producers is quite a...Gwil. Stamping eggs for small producers is quite a recent thing here. I did notice that some eggs I bought recently at a large supermarket were all UNSTAMPED.Cro Magnonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06840670227576695352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-34351223190671303802019-08-08T14:04:31.972+01:002019-08-08T14:04:31.972+01:00Succession laws in France make it impossible to di...Succession laws in France make it impossible to disinherit any one person, so farms end-up being owned by all sorts of uninterested people, all over the country. It's a terrible mess. As for the milk collection, it is far better these days for dairy farmers to make Yoghurt or Cheese etc, but investment in kit is expensive; and the regulations are very strict. OK if one is doing it on a big scale; otherwise not!Cro Magnonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06840670227576695352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-36033286092965272222019-08-08T13:12:11.341+01:002019-08-08T13:12:11.341+01:00I much preferred it how it was 47 years ago. There...I much preferred it how it was 47 years ago. There was a true communal spirit; everyone helped everyone else, and life was good. Now everyone seems to be at each other's throats. Cro Magnonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06840670227576695352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-87881712821647791762019-08-08T13:06:02.895+01:002019-08-08T13:06:02.895+01:00Yes, it's quite an old painting.
Small peasa...Yes, it's quite an old painting. <br /><br />Small peasant farms are obviously inefficient compared to large 'prairie farms', but they preserved a way of life. Once that way of life has gone, so much else goes with it. People here often look depressed.Cro Magnonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06840670227576695352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-27295770706427995852019-08-08T13:02:21.684+01:002019-08-08T13:02:21.684+01:00It's a reasonably high return crop, so why not...It's a reasonably high return crop, so why not! And wine is good for you too.Cro Magnonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06840670227576695352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-71333898837326452202019-08-08T13:00:29.088+01:002019-08-08T13:00:29.088+01:00In the UK too, and they're producing some priz...In the UK too, and they're producing some prize-winning wines!Cro Magnonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06840670227576695352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-29790814533304385392019-08-08T12:34:46.300+01:002019-08-08T12:34:46.300+01:00It is a different world and change is inevitable. ...It is a different world and change is inevitable. Farms, owned by families for generations, are being sold off here to developers because the younger generation want a different life and the land is very valuable. What farming is done is for cash crops, corn and soybeans, and that is owned by investors who don’t care what pesticides they use. However, what I am seeing is that more and more people, who have never gardened before, have small raised beds of vegetables, or belong to a co-op and share in the food. <br /><br />I love your painting, Cro.Starting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06032033918798053005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-89029449842805576122019-08-08T11:23:41.260+01:002019-08-08T11:23:41.260+01:00We used to get eggs from a welsh farmer direct. Th...We used to get eggs from a welsh farmer direct. Then one day mum said What's This? We all looked and noticed the eggs were stamped with little lions. I asked about that said dad, and it turns out they now have to send the eggs to Liverpool for them to be stamped and sent back to Wales. Why do they stamp them, I asked (I was only a nipper at the time). To prove that they are fresh, someone said. And we all laughed. But they weren't as fresh as the eggs we had before. Gwil Whttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03305768121713053837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-37700630865060330112019-08-08T11:18:15.492+01:002019-08-08T11:18:15.492+01:00From eggs to plastic wrapped identical exact weigh...From eggs to plastic wrapped identical exact weight and shape chicken portions and all done by machine. Not a human soul in sight. In some factories green illumination. Supposed to keep animals calm when they smell blood. <br /><br />I like the painting Cro. Did you do it? <br /><br />Gwil Whttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03305768121713053837noreply@blogger.com