Animals in the Vineyards

Here we see a couple of Buckeye butterflies supping on the fallen, rotting Chenin Blanc grapes after the harvest. Thousands of butterflies come in the fall to enjoy these sweet fruits.

Gobbling Grapes

Wild turkeys follow us during harvest, eating the grapes on the ground. Hundreds of turkeys live on our property. Cows like to roll around and eat the crushed skins, stems, and seeds that we spread in the fields to fertilize the soil.

Bugged

Honey bees and butterflies love starthistle - though we do not. Bees make wonderful honey from starthistle, and starthistle roots fixate a lot of nitrogen into the soil. However, it is the most invasive weed we've ever dealt with. Grasshoppers love it here, too, but do not damage much because of good vineyard management. And look - here's a smart cricket living in the winery.

A Stranger and Some Friends

A Green lynx spider - Puecetia viridens, family Oxyopidae - shown about life size - lives in the Orange Muscat vineyard. It is attracted to cactus. Many, many frogs thrive in our ponds. Spuds, our old black lab, likes to run around and scare the frogs into the water.