Peaches are starting to grow

Just one month after the last post, peach flowers are falling away to reveal tiny little peaches. About a quarter inch long & wide as a pencil point, they already have fuzz on their green skins. It's hard to believe that in three months we'll be eating them, standing slightly back to avoid dripping the juice on our clothes.

Spring!!! Spring!!!
Peaches & nectarines are in full bloom. These are always the loveliest trees because of the bright pink color. Each variety is a different shade. The San Gabriel mountains are still covered with snow...in fact they had snowfall last week. Bees appear out of nowhere to pollinate the flowers. We have 2 or 3 other species of bees in addition to the honeybees. Each species looks a bit different & they all seem to get along. It's still cold first thing in the morning, but they get busy around mid-morning & stay at work all day unless the wind kicks up. I can almost taste the peaches now.

Last week we had snow...8' of it. A beautiful winter wonderland and so good for the trees. The trees need cold right now. Each variety needs a specified amount of "winter chill hours." The cold really sets the trees up for the next growing season.
So this week, we have very warm temps, like a late spring. Even though the days are beautiful, we're not happy. Too much warm weather may trick the trees into blooming too early. The Farmers Almanac promises more cold temps and more rain in a week or so.
When you're a farmer, you're always worried about the weather. And, Mark Twain, we still haven't been able to do anything about it.

Winter Apples!

Here's another example of the freaky weather we've had in 2010. There are lots of apples on these trees, but all the leaves have dropped off. And it's mid-December. We'll be picking them off in a few days, but I think I'll leave a few fruits on the trees to see what happens. I think they'll be ok as long as we don't have a hard frost.

Fall Colors

The trees are starting to turn fall colors. The peaches are particularly pretty, with mahogany colored leaves.
When I lived in the city, seasons were marked by the school year or by the parade of holidays. In the country, the signs are more basic. The sky, the trees, the temperatures at night, all tell me that fall is here. Each season has things to enjoy.
Right now, I think I'll go pick and enjoy a ripe Fuji apple.

Fair
Ribbons
We're always excited this time of year to participate in the Antelope Valley Fair. We're very proud to have won ribbons every year we've participated, since 2003. Our big winners this year: nectarines & Asian pears.

Dogs pick their own fruit!

Our dogs Sky King the golden retriever & Chocolate the labrador retriever go out into the orchard every morning just after breakfast to pick their dessert. They repeat this several times a day. What do they like? Just like people, they want the ripest, tastiest fruit. They will go from tree to tree, sniffing around until they find fruit to their liking. Grab it & pull. My husband Jack saw Sky King bypass the low level fruit & jump at the tree to pick own just a little higher. He got it on first leap too.