Last night I was relaxing in the bath after a big bushwalk, and I heard a helicopter overhead. Nothing unusual about that - but it kept getting louder and louder as if it was coming in to land - then I remembered that there was frost forecast for this morning, and the grape vines have started to bud. I was hoping they'd have to send the helicopter in - both to save the vines from the frost, and because I LOVE helicopters. I called out to the kids (by this stage the noise was directly above the house so I figured they'd probably heard it but maybe not realised what was happening) and they ran outside to watch it land. Luna was terrified and was happy to have their company. Tony and the kids chatted a bit to the pilot before he headed off to wherever he stays on the frost nights.
The helicopter has come most years in spring, when there's a frost forecast for the next morning and there are already buds or leaves on the vines. It's job is to fly over the vines and created enough wind that the dew can't freeze and destroy the crop. Some other vineyards have big fans installed to do the same job, or have a sprinkler system installed which stops the water from freezing. If the new leaves are damaged in spring, the wineries will have to wait for a secondary crop which would mean that yield would be down significantly. Usually when the helicopter comes the temperature doesn't end up dropping enough to form a frost, so the pilot gets a good night's sleep somewhere and comes back and picks his helicopter up in the morning.
Last night we went to bed as usual and I woke at 2.40am to a noise I couldn't identify. I'd put the washing machine on timer so that it would wash overnight and at first I thought it was the spin cycle, although I couldn't ever remember the noise taking over the whole house. There as also what sounded like an alarm going off. Then I remembered the helicopter and jumped out of bed to see it - I went out into the carport (where it was pretty cold, just below zero I later found out) and could see the helicopter getting ready to take off (it was over near the sheds). The noise was phenomenal, echoing through the carport and practically shaking the house. The alarm sound was just the high pitch of the propellers whizzing around, and there was a deep throbbing sound as well. I watched it take off in the dark night (it had lights) which was exciting, then watched for a while as it flew back and forth over each area of the vineyard, under an almost full moon. It was totally worth getting up at 3am and standing in the cold to see it.
Luna was once again terrified and when I opened the back door she raced straight into the house (she's usually reluctant to come in). She curled up on the couch and was much happier. I watched the helicopter for a bit longer (from the warmth of inside) then went back to bed - it flew for half an hour then landed again and the noise was pretty loud the whole time. Tony and the kids didn't wake up - I was surprised. I heard it take off two more times through the night - a big night for the pilot this time. The temperarture hovered just below zero for most of the rest of the night, then warmed up quickly once the sun came up. I slept in a little due to being up in the middle of the night, so the frost was gone by time I went outside.
I love living where we do for so many reasons, and this was one that I don't think of very often - it's like a little value add to have the excitement of the helicopter on our property, and I also enjoy the strong reminder of how much agriculture is at the mercy of the weather. I'm grateful to live here and be surrounded by grapevines and that the company is in a good enough position to protect their assets - which helps with Tony's job security and income.
