A California Online Magazine with Local Focus and Global Appeal
When I was a kid, something I could always count on during the summer was an excursion “out to the country” to pick produce. Peaches, strawberries, corn, and black-eyed peas were readily available at you-pick farms scattered throughout the rural areas just outside Fresno.
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Looking for a scenic, yet tasty, way to spend a day? Look no further than the Valley’s own backyard, where you’ll find the famous Fresno County Fruit Trail. Enjoy a refreshing trip into the heartland of Central Valley Agriculture, filled with nature’s freshest treats.
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I have a range of feelings as I stroll through the Organic Stone Fruit Festival grounds. I think back to the number of times I have attended, the fruits I have tasted, the people I have met, and the first story I did on the experience some years ago. With that in mind, I decided not to give a comprehensive report. There was just too much to observe, digest, and regurgitate (to use and abuse a digestion theme). I decided to simply offer some impressions, observations, and reflections.
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Californians don’t need to be told that it can get hot in California. Really hot. The highest temperature ever recorded here was 134 degrees. Although it might not always reach these extreme temperatures, but when it’s hot and dry, it’s even more important to make sure you are looking after your body and giving it what it needs to keep cool.
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Fruit stands, veggie stands, produce stands, whatever you call them, the San Joaquin Valley has lots of them. There are so many, there’s a Fresno Fruit Trail, brother to the springtime Blossom Trail. Some of the businesses I’ve visited are on the official Fruit Trail list, others aren’t, but they all have good stuff. Follow me on a sort-of circle (with a detour) for a fresh-picked adventure.
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Downtown Fresno and the Tower District are homes to some of the most serious “foodies” in the country, especially when it comes to healthy, natural, wholesome organic food. Among those who inhabit her byways are leaders in the new food culture of wellness and health through good eating. That is why it was not surprising that several weeks ago, the brightest and best caravanned to the country for a “get-out-of-town” event in the country, where mouths were watering and minds were being fed. It was the 6th Annual Organic Stone Fruit Jubilee.
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This February something new and exciting moved into the spot on 10th Street in downtown Reedley that used to be the home of Domino’s Pizza. Something not only healthier, but unique! Before you even walk through the door at Mooner’s you are greeted with bright colors and a feeling of fun. This feeling continues once you step inside–combined with great fruit treats and drinks!
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More than 90 people from the Sanger, Reedley, Orange Cove, Kingsburg, Selma, Fowler, Fresno, and surrounding areas, attended the 25th Annual Fresno County Blossom Trail Opening Ceremony recently. This year the ceremony was held in Sanger and hosted by the Sanger Chamber of Commerce and City of Sanger, in cooperation with the Fresno County Blossom Trail Committee.
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Whenever someone from out of state comes to the Valley, they always ask what a packing shed (or house) is, and many even check into touring one. Even some natives of the Central Valley are a little sketchy on what a packing house is. Whenever you are driving down a road there always seems to be a truck hauling some fruit somewhere.
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As a west Texas farm boy, where five families shared a communal garden to the “Victory” garden at Pantex Ordinance Plant to the backyard garden at our new home in California, I have been around organic produce for a long time. In fact, organic farming has been around since the Revolutionary War and could be considered the primary farming method until World War II. Around that time, farming became a lot more technical and there was an explosion of new chemical products, many based on German patents that resulted in potent insecticides, fungicides, and herbicides used by farmers to control pests and increase yields.
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The late spring and early summer air seems to smell sweeter than at other times of the year because that’s when fresh peaches begin to show up in the markets. I imagine the air delicately imbued with the odor of succulent juices incased in the fuzzy fruit. I smile when I see the first locally grown peaches in the farm stands and on the market shelves knowing that I can now make some of my family’s favorite treats.
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Bubbles is 6 years old and likes to float through the room playing with all the other animals and toys along the way! He is a very energetic kitten that acts a bit like a wind-up toy, so he will go and go, and then when he has wound out, he will plop down for a motor filled cuddle. He does not like to be by himself and he will tell you so with his dainty sounding meow. Bubbles has been fostered with other cats, dogs and children. He does enjoy sharing a soft stuffed animal as his surrogate mommy for night time sleeping. Bubbles will bring you unending joy and he will keep you happy as you float through life together!! He is available at Cat House on the Kings.
