Vineyard vermin

I love taking pictures and it's no surprise vineyard landscapes are some of my favorite subjects. Four years ago, I took a couple of steps onto some private land to get a great angle on a beautiful row of cabernet sauvignon with a red barn in the distance.

Then, BOOM! An unmistakable blast of shotgun fire nearby. Whoa, these folks take trespassers seriously. I dove back into my car and began packing up my gear. Two minutes passed then BOOM! Another round. I drove down the road a bit to look for another angle on the barn and heard the explosion again.

It soon dawned on me, it was some kind of blast cannon on a timer to scare away birds and rodents (and, amateur photographers, apparently). So much for the romance of peaceful vineyard living!

Indeed, there is something artificial-looking about vineyard this time of year. Most of the vineyards are draped in plastic green netting to prevent birds and ground squirrels from gorging themselves on the vineyard owners profits. Mike Prowes, from Creston Hills Vineyard, estimates he's lost over a couple of thousand dollars-worth of grapes this year to squirrels alone.
He tried a number of remedies from firearms to poisons, only to worry more about terrifying or harming the prize Australian shepherds he and Sharon own.

His latest eradication effort is with traps. He's caught over 200 already. They're certainly not as handsome as his scarecrow, but definitely more effective.