The ground here is crumbly and loose, small ditches to collect water, strong stakes and supports for tall tomato plants that are getting close to harvesting time. After the hurricane, I expect this crop may be a bit of a mess – certainly the ground will be sticky and muddy and hell to walk through – the clay soil just sucking you in, caking your shoes. But since then, the sun has been out and the sky is cloudless. I bet those tomatoes are going to be all right!
I pushed this photo in a lot of ways to get that sun glare and spots that showed up when I aimed to the western sky. Even though this is good farmland, I felt that sunny glare – not quite like that of a person staggering through a desert in mad search of water – but I did feel its intensity! Again, at a friend’s family farm.
Along the California coast, fog forms and covers the land, usually in the mornings and later in the day. It is a very standard – and annoying! – part of summers here – “May Grey” and “June Gloom” and “Goodbye July” are the standard snarks about the lack of sun! Here, another view of the farm, misty fog coming in as the afternoon moves into evening.
Another photo from the visit to a friend’s family farm. Here you can see the empty field from yesterday beyond the small cultivated area. Tom is gathering lettuce, basil, carrots, chard, cebollas and other delicious goodies while Judy and I wandered around shooting pictures, trying to get some good shots. At heart, I am a farm / country girl, and being out here was (pardon the pun) food for the soul.
California is filled with open space and ranchlands; in fact, according to the US Department of Agriculture:
Over a third of the country’s vegetables and two-thirds of the country’s fruits and nuts are grown in California. California is the leading US state for cash farm receipts, accounting for over 13 percent of the nation’s total agricultural value.
So, California is far more than rich people, Los Angeles, and movie stars. Where I live, agriculture is a major industry. It is around little towns and large suburban areas that you find ranches, for flowers, avocados, citrus, strawberries, and vegetables. Here, a view of a ranch in Santa Paula, taken from a train ride several years ago. The original photo is below.
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