My California Garden - Fuyu Persimmons (Eating and Recipe suggestions)

Fuyu Persimmon

Make prime smoothies and salads

California!

Persimmons started out in China, but now they call themselves California natives - having lived here since the mid 1800's. This year we've had a prime crop. I'm partial to non-astingent Fuyu type, since they taste good either crispy - we eat them out-of-hand like apples or add chunks of them to our main dish salads. Then again, if they soften we scoop them out, freeze them, and make them into delicious smoothies - I throw the frozen pulp together with some pieces of frozen bananas, a little non fat milk and some vanilla - better than ice cream!

Do delicious persimmons grow where you live? https://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/persimmon.html

Postcard from HI 152 (Field Trip San Francisco Bay Area)

The natives are friendly on CA HI 152

Highway 152  leads out of Gilroy, self-claimed Garlic Capital of the World, then meanders gently through quintessential CA farm land before rising up Pacheco Pass and out to Interstate Highway 5. HI 5 is a powerhouse interstate, filled with big trucks and small speeding cars. It's famous for talking folks, livestock and products there - in a hurry wherever it is that we need to get to, that's far away. It's the speediest route from the southernmost point of the west coast, up through the low lying, central, predominantly agricultural valleys in California, Oregon, and Washington.

Highway 152 reminds us of our agricultural heritage, 

moving San Francisco Bay Area dwellers on a multitude of western adventures. It's takes us out of Silicon Valley and onto Disneyland, San Diego, or even the Cascades. 

Then it leads us back home again.

HI 152 Farmlands

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Web Resources

CA Highway 152 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_State_Route_152

Gilroy CA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilroy,_California

Hiking Edgewood:Western Bluebird Succeeds

 Before the 1940's, Western Bluebirds were a common sight in places like Edgewood .

After WWII, large-scale building development seriously impacted the ability of these avians to reproduce. Back in the 1960's and 1970's, it was rare to spot a bluebird around here.

 In the 1970's people across the western United States, began efforts to bring bluebirds back. Edgewood is one of a number of places where nesting boxes help this effort. There are currently twenty three nesting boxes for Western Bluebirds in the area of Edgewood Preserve. Bluebirds nests are monitored by Friends of Edgewood volunteers in conjunction with the Sequoia Audobon Society. In 2013, 77 baby bluebirds were born in nests their parents built in park bluebird boxes. 

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 Wikipedia: Western Bluebird - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Bluebird 

       

      

Take Five (Hiking Edgewood)

Aphelocoma californica - CA Scrub Jay

Did you get my good side?

This Edgewood local knows the girls are checking him out!

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Resources
Aphelocoma californica - Western Scrub Jay (CA Western Scrub Jay)

That Burning Ring of Fire: Crater Lake and Annie Creek (Cascades: Crater Lake)

What is more traditionally Californian than an old-style driving vacation?

In early August we took a trip through the Cascades. Heading up the mountain to Crater Lake, we stopped off to see Annie Creek.  

A couple of very macho looking motorcyclists stopped off at the viewpoint near us.  One of them shook his head in wonder, A heck of a view of somethun! he remarked before hopping back onto his bike.

Annie Creek reminds us westerners that we're all sitting on top of that burning Ring of Fire, a great big circle that overlays Mama Earth's volcanic hot spots. 

If we peer to far over the side, might we just sliiiiippppp under the edge of one of her tectonic plates?