However, I like to think that somehow, someway, that 'farmer' portion of the song really stuck, inside of us, somewhere, deep down. Not just because Pat loves his little fruit farm we have going on in the backyard, but also because our family loves agricultural areas! How do I know this? Because we happen to live in one of the greatest areas for agriculture!
We have always appreciated the fresh produce found in the Central Valley of California, even though we aren't fans of the harsh HOT summers. (I'll take it over humidity any day, thank you very much!) When we moved to Idaho we gained a deeper appreciation for the fertile soil that we find in abundance here. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with Idaho - I fell in love with Idaho and will always love and treasure the experiences we had while living there, not to mention the wonderful, amazing friends we made. Truth be told I have a serious love/hate relationship with California - I LOVE the land and all that it blesses us with - beaches, mountains, desert, forests, etc. It's the politics and the over abundance of people that get to me. I know, get in line!
I love that we can drive a few minutes and get fresh produce, and that on our way there we can see almond and grape orchards! I love that my husband SO enjoys our peaches, nectarines, oranges, apples, cherries and soon to be plums! I love that our neighbors give us lemons off of their tree. I love that we have an asparagus festival just 20 minutes away from here annually. I love that we can get asparagus pizza from a restaurant in Stockton, and the tempura asparagus we get from Dave Wong's. I love that we pay $5 for a 4 lb. box of fresh strawberries at Costco! I LOVE fresh produce! I LOVE living near farmland, basically being surrounded by it!
So, Rach and I went around one day last month and took pictures of some of our favorites in order to share them with you - whoever you may be! Enjoy!
The fruit stand we go to, and have for many, many years, located on Jack Tone and Hwy. 120 on the way to Yosemite.
They have all kinds of interesting canned goods there - gives you all kinds of ideas for cooking!
A valley favorite - almonds!
Fuji apples - so fresh and crisp...
can I just say 'YUM' now for all the produce that follows? :)
Fresh, beautiful strawberries!
Lovely asparagus... don't you just love the color? My advice: cook them in the oven with a bit of olive oil, some kosher salt at 400 degrees for about 15-20 minutes. So tasty!
Squash, tomatoes and red potatoes... favorites.
Gorgeous produce!
Can you just smell the flavors?
And they happen to have the world's best pie... these are the cream pies.
The fruit pies. Just a final word... YUM.
Grape vines.
Almond orchards.
We think these might be cherry trees, but we weren't sure. They were between buds and leaves. Now they should be all leaves.
And then there are all the animals we see from the road, in fact we have a mini farm attached to our backyard, along with some swanky houses in a gated community.
Wow, we live in an amazingly beautiful area. So blessed!
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