the simple life

I'm rather enjoying my new vineyard-centered life – it's certainly
nothing glamorous, but it's got a wholesome goodness to it. I wake up
at 5:30 and lie in bed for fifteen minutes or so before getting up my
nerve to get out from under my warm duvet. I put on 2-3 layers of
clothing – long johns, windbliocking pants, a l/s tee, fleece,
windbreaker, headband or hat, hiking socks and liners and trainers
(sneakers). I make some herbal tea, and cook up some eggs or a cheese
toastie to eat with yogurt and fresh juice. After breakfast, I put
together my lunch and snacks, and clean the dishes.

When I'm all packed up and ready to go, I head out to the street with
the rest of the Lemon Tree/Nicholson Contracting gang – Sarah, Trish,
Adrian, Peter, Ben, Mike, Jodi. We're picked up by one of the big
white vans around 6:40, and then we head to Seddon, about 24km away.
We see the sun rise over the Wairau and Awatere valleys, pinks and
oranges lighting up the whole sky over rolling green hills dotted with
sheep, cows and horses, or lined with wavy rows of vines.

At the vineyard, I trim and wrap vines for about 5 hours before lunch,
stopping many times along the way to take in the snow-capped mountains
or marvel at the way the changing light transforms the landscape over
the course of the day. The sun gradually warms the cold air, and
everything smells so fresh. Colorful little birds with big white eye
patches land on the wires if I stand still long enough, and sometimes
I'm treated to an unbelievable stunt-plane show from the nearby Omaka
aviation heritage center.

After eating lunch among the vines, it's time for another 3-5 hours of
trimming and wrapping, depending on weather & how ambitious the bosses
are feeling today. On the ride back home, most everyone's too tired
to talk much, and I admire the view again..

Back at the hostel, a steaming hot shower is my first priority. My
body and mind are both tired – wrapping takes a surprising amount of
concentration, plus it's solitary work so I have to keep myself
entertained. After showering, I make dinner, and we all swap simple
recipe ideas and share samples of what we've cooked.. I have the
appetite of a teenage boy, and eat to satisfy it, but my clothes are
getting looser (I attribute this partly to my refusal to pay to tumble
dry them, though!!)

We all sit around and talk or play games – cards or chess – for a
little while, listening to the local radio station or someone's CD
collection, and I head to bed around 8 or 9, falling asleep pretty
much as soon as my head hits the pillow.