Orchard life is fairly tough most of the time.

Day after day, I struggle to keep up with everything that nature throws in our direction. Spring is often unsettled and the risk of damage to new shoots in the vines is high; an entire years work can be destroyed in just a few minutes from a brief shower of hailstones or a few hours of high winds.

And that’s just the beginning; add a few instances of dozy contractors who don’t follow clearly explained instructions, unexpected equipment failures and / or difficulty in obtaining key supplies (thanks to the Kiwi inability to understand the fundamentals of stock control) into the mix and the number of potential disasters rises sharply.

Most days I find myself asking the question: Why am I here?

…but every now and then, a perfect day comes along, and I find myself answering the question.

Because there’s nowhere else I’d rather be. This is where I find my heaven.

Check out a few photos I took today…and you will see what I mean.

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