Our Holistic Orchard Conversion

[steev]

Never getting "it all done", there just being far more than one person can handle, I do try to pick my battles.

[greenfinger]

I sure do miss watching a storm blow in on the Pacific coast. Last time in Cali, many years ago now, I wasn't able to visit the beach. My destination was inland. As a youngster I recall the drive from the valley over Pachico Pass. At what point was it that the sea air could be detected? I looked so forward to that.

[steev]

Admittedly, my experience of other States is severely limited, but I'm greatly impressed by the variety of climates/ecosystems in California. Returning to Oakland last Sunday afternoon through Lamorinda (a composite of three bedroom communities east of the Bay hills), it was such a pleasure to see the marine-layer fog pouring over those hills, being drawn by the hot Central Valley. That's the mechanism that produces cool-to-moderate temps in the SF Bay Area (and the Napa/Sonoma wine country) when the Central Valley (and my farm) are frying. It's also what promotes heat-lightning in the Sierra Nevada, along the East of Cali; wildfire, anyone? This year's late, heavy rains having promoted lush growth of annual weeds which are drying rapidly, it should be a banner year for fire. The first near my farm was three weeks ago.

The good news is that the economy may have recovered enough that we won't see a repeat of the obviously volunteer-fireman-set blazes of two Summers ago near my farm (well, they're only paid when called out and no doubt had a mortgage payment on which they were a tad short; it's not like they have any responsibility to the people whose homes, livestock, and livelihood they're endangering). I got some rather arresting photos of the fire on the east side of the mountains west of my farm, <2 miles away; had they made it to the valley floor, with the dry west wind, they'd have swept the valley; sic transit pump-house, solar well system, irrigation network, critter-corral, and fruit trees.

[mskrieger]

I've never been to that part of California, but your description reminds me of driving from Syria to Lebanon--there's a point at which you crest a mountain range and suddenly the air feels moist and the landscape greens. And yes, there's fog. It's dramatic.