A late start on writing today with a mid-morning commitment to picking grapes. The crop did not flourish this year due to heat and smoke, so the output was somewhat disappointing. It was still a step-up from last year’s lost  harvest due to heavy rain and mold. I did get my ritualistic run in prior to the drive to my friend’s hobby vineyard in Tualatin, but having access to only one car came to haunt us. My wife’s daughter, struggling with rehab on her broken leg, needed my wife’s help while I had our car miles away. She ended up calling an Uber. I arrived a couple of hours later to take care of Tally’s afternoon walk. This was the second time in the past month that we’ve both needed a car on the same day. Our second vehicle in parked in Florida, waiting for our eventual move. 

The was no baseball to watch today, while college football has already lost its appeal. The BIG 10 and Pac 12 teams don’t start until the end of the month, as Alabama and Clemson continue to dominate the national ratings. I still have to wait two months for college basketball to start. It seems like forever since March Madness was canceled due to Coronavirus, although it’s really only been six months, as that term is now rarely used in favor of simply Covid. Even Cam Newton and The President have now caught the bug. 

I did gather with a number of “strangers” today, straying outside our normal social bubble. We were outdoors able to practice social distancing while wearing masks. Our job was to cut the grapes off the vine, strip off any weeds, and feed them into a machine that separated the stems. The juices will sit for about ten days before we crush, strain and store them in a wooden cask to ferment. I’m currently drinking the 2017 vintage, and picked up a case of 2018 as compensation for my hard work. It’s interesting to be involved in the process from picking to drinking, without the tough responsibilities of growing, maintaining, and managing. It’s a risk-reward business, as I commiserate with the professional growers about the lack of plump, juicy grapes in 2020. Supplies will be limited at higher prices. It will be a game of quality vs. quantity. 

I scheduled a flu vaccine for next week and will need to get a haircut. Sadly, these are the only things on my to-do calendar. Boredom persists! We would have been flying to Egypt this weekend, but the Nile river cruise was cancelled. Travel, dining out, gathering with friends, and movies continue to no longer be routine luxuries. Retirement has become a stay-at-home, uneventful pattern of simply trying to stay healthy.  Running and dog walking are typically the only times I leave the comfort of my home office for the great outdoors. There would be little to look forward to without our plans to build in Florida. Initial steps should be underway already. Otherwise, BOREDOM.