Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses went into the tabernacle of witness, and behold, the rod of Aaron, of the house of Levi, had sprouted and put forth buds, had produced blossoms and yielded ripe almonds. ~Â Numbers 17:7-9, God confirming Aaron’s call to Moses by blossoming an almond branch. Almonds…
Category: Farms
Fuzzy almonds
Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?†And I said, “I see a branch of an almond tree.†~ Jeremiah 1:11, God confirms Jeremiah's call by showing him a blossoming almond branch. Here's what the almonds look like early in the season. I estimate about 100-150 per…
Stormy skies over the fields
“When March comes in like a lion, it goes out like a lamb” ~ English Proverb Well, I thought we were in the clear, but March’s ‘Lion’ stage is still here. But the clouds make for nice panoramas. Took this on my ride in near Westley, CA.
Pano of the field – now I am happy
Clouds and darkness surround us, yet Heaven is just, and the day of triumph will surely come, when justice and truth will be vindicated. ~ Mary Todd Lincoln This morning it was sunny and clear with some nice clouds over the hills, so I decided to take one more panorama and stitch it together using…
Water house
“Water is life’s mater and matrix, mother and medium. There is no life without water.†~Albert Szent-Gyorgyi (Hungarian Biochemist, 1937 Nobel Prize for Medicine, 1893-1986) This water house is at a small local farm reservoir, pumping water through the culverts used to water the local orchard (see yesterday’s photo).
Gnarly trees dude
Surely man was not created to be an idle fellow; he was not set in this universal orchard to stand still as a tree. ~ Thomas Dekker These gnarly trees caught my eye on the way to work. Not sure what these are, I only know that they are not almonds. See the water house…
Furrows and sky
Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil and you’re a thousand miles from the corn field. ~ Dwight D. Eisenhower I’ve been driving past this plowed field daily, and have noticed the shadows that look like scalloped edges at the end of the furrows. Nice interplay of light and shadow here.
White petals gone, green lives here
Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?†And I said, “I see a branch of an almond tree.†– Jeremiah 1:11 (Jeremiah, the “Weeping Prophet”) You may remember this pic, it has changed from the beautiful white petals of early spring. Green leaves and buds that…
Some things change quickly, other things, not so much
Worm or beetle – drought or tempest – on a farmer’s land may fall, Each is loaded full o’ ruin, but a mortgage beats ’em all. ~ Will Carleton (1845 – 1912) American poet Two months ago I took a picture of a newly tilled field, hoping to show the progress of it over time. …
Change happens
“There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direction†~ Winston Churchill As I wrote previously, the blossom season for almonds is very short. A week ago, it looked like a snowfall. This morning, it is already greening. You can also see that the farmer mowed the greenery between the trees…
Brangus Beef ?
The feeling of friendship is like that of being comfortably filled with roast beef; love, like being enlivened with champagne. ~ Samuel Johnson (1709-1784), English author When I first moved to the country, this hay barn’s lettering mystified me. That is, until I looked up “brangus.” As it turns out, a Brangus is a breed of…
More orchard petal snow
The almond blossoms look so much like snow. Nice, and right off the side of the road on my way to work.
Cherry blossoms, and life, are fleeting
"It may just be because I get homesick, but I have concluded Washington's cherry blossoms are just plain overrated." ~ Newt Gingrich This pic is just from a decorative (fruitless?) cherry tree in the parking lot near my building at work. Still, very pretty right now. I've been to Washington DC when the trees are blooming,…
Petals like snow
“The apple blossom exists to create fruit; when that comes, the petal falls.” ~ Kabir The beautiful petals of the almonds are only here for a couple weeks – already after one week or so, they are falling like snow on the ground. It is a little sad, but as the the quote from the Indian philosopher…
The strip
Knowing trees, I understand the meaning of patience. Knowing grass, I can appreciate persistence. ~ Hal Borland One of the interesting patterns in the fields is the yellow, pesticide treated grass v. the natural grass. In the orchards, there is a clear spray line between them, and that's what you see here. I've included a…
Bloom county
“If your heart is a volcano, how shall you expect flowers to bloom?†~ Kahlil Gibran The almond blooms, which you've seen from afar the last two days, are quite pretty up close. Enjoy. Oh, and enjoy one of my favorite Bloom County strips below.
The fields are white, but not quite unto harvest
“Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!” ~ Jesus Christ (John 4:35) This is just 1/4 of the horizon on my way to work – the almond…
Fields of many colors
This is one of the many orchards I pass every morning. You can see that the petals of the blossoms are already falling. This week or so of blossoms will pass quickly. Still have overcast, so am lacking the nice natural sunlight. However, I did use a high pass filter on a layer with 50%…
It’s almond blossom season
“I am not bound for any public place, but for ground of my own where I have planted vines and orchard trees, and in the heat of the day climbed up into the healing shadow of the woods.†~ Wendell Berry This time of year is probably the most beautiful in the Central Valley – many…
Pastoral Scenes 3
“Cultivators of the earth are the most valuable citizens. They are the most vigorous, the most independant, the most virtuous, and they are tied to their country and wedded to it’s liberty and interests by the most lasting bands.” ~ Thomas Jefferson This is a common sight in our area – newly planted orchards of…