La taille*

On my way up the hill above the village to take some more photos for the toponymy project I met a friend, a winemaker, who said he was on his way to prune his vines. Looking back from the top of the hill I could see that he, or another vine grower, was burning some of the trimmings, making the already rather hazy morning look even mistier, especially straight into the sun as this was. The vines in the foreground have already been pruned and soon will be sprouting this year's new growth. The work of pruning each vine individually, choosing the best shoots to leave so that they can bear the new crop, takes all winter and is nearly finished now.

* pruning

Spring really seems to have arrived at last - it was 16 C and felt hot in the sun this morning.