As I write this we are in day two of an ice storm. We’ve had a lot of tree damage so far, and the roads are treacherous. It’s beautiful to look at the smaller trees and the limbs from our Yew hedge bent over because they are encased in an inch or two of ice. At the same time it can cause quite a bit of damage as the Yews lean over on to Worden Hill Road in front of our house and the ice causes limbs from the larger trees to break and crash to the ground around us. The trellis wires and vines are also encased in ice but we don’t expect any damage there. So we prepared (bought more shovels, snow melt, and sand) and try to make good decisions (avoid driving) but ultimately we’re not in control. In that way, it’s like farming a vineyard. We can prepare and do our best to make good decisions, but ultimately nature has a much bigger impact on the vintage than we do. So we do what we can knowing it’s not entirely up to us. And that’s when the magic happens.- Bill Sweat, Winegrower