Pruning

This is, as chaiselongue correctly states, used for burning the vines after they have been pruned. An important date in the year for me. As after they have pruned the vines they burn them wheeling this along the ground, the cinders fall on to the earth acting as a mulch and all the nutrients go into the ground.
Three months later, hidden under the cover of darkness I steal the wonderful pigment this process creates. The Sancerre earth is very red in places, full of iron ore. This mixture and the time lapse creates a rich brown that I use in my painting.