Winton Families & More

Family Visit

2008-07-17T22:38:00.000-07:00

My daughter and her two teenage kids came for a visit Tuesday. They wanted to see the Merced County Fair. Before they moved to Orland, they lived in Merced and showed their dairy cows here. I am enjoying their visit. Yesterday my sister invited us to swim with her, so I took a picture of my grandchildren in the pool. After the swim we went to the Jantz Cafe for lunch. It was Wednesday, so we had free pie. Again! We met up with other relatives at the cafe and we managed to get a large table so the eight of us could have a good visit together. It was a very enjoyable day.

Friends

2008-07-17T20:30:00.000-07:00

Seven people who retired from the Assesor's office met for lunch today. Well, actually, one is still working, six of us are retired. It was fun to catch up on what has been happening in our lives since the last time we saw each other. We decided that we need to do this more often. Three of us have lunch quite often, about once a month. Our husbands call us "The Golden Girls." It was fun having the larger group and we had a lot of laughs.
I decided not to mention any names, people who know us will recognize us.

Old Timers Reunion

2008-07-15T13:55:00.000-07:00

The committee for the Winton Old Timers met today to plan the 48th annual reunion. It will be held September 28, 2008, the last Sunday of the month. Registration starts at 10:00 a.m. and lunch will be served at 1:00 p.m. This allows time for those wishing to attend church in the morning.
Tickets are $7.00 for adults and $4.00 for children under the age of 12.
Randy Heller, pictured above on the left, will again be in charge of the barbecue chicken. Also on the menu are baked beans, coleslaw, dinner rolls, beverages and desert.
Mike Crass will serve as MC. Those in attendance, 90 years or older will be honored with a special award to the oldest man and oldest woman. The person who traveled the farthest will also be honored.
We always have a good turn-out, people from out-of-town, out-of-state come to visit with friends they haven't seen in many years. No reservations are required. We never know from year to year who all will show up. Last year some locals who didn't go, were sorry to miss seeing out-of-state people. So, if you are a Wintonite or former Wintonite, please plan to attend.
The gathering will be at the Winton Middle School on Cypress Avenue, between Gertrude and Almond Avenue.
ALSO, bring your old pictures of Winton, people of Winton, etc. from the earliest days of Winton, up to 1975. They will be scanned into a computer while you wait and may be included in the next Winton history book.
The first Winton book, "Memories of Winton, 1911-1950" will be available for purchase at $35.00. A 530 page hardback book with 750 pictures. Many school pictures included.
Mark your calendar for Sunday, September 28, 2008. Click here to see more pictures from the 2007 Winton Old Timers Reunion. This will bring up thumbnail size pictures. Either click on any picture to see the enlargement or click on Detail, right under 2007 Winton Old Timers to see larger than thumbnail size and detail on some photos.

Dog Days of Summer

2008-07-10T09:43:00.000-07:00

If these aren't the Dog Days of Summer, they sure feel like it. It's been well over 100 degrees for at least a week. Hate to think what the Hot August Nights will be like.
Yesterday my sister and I had appointments with our Reflexologist in Turlock, we both needed the treatments, so no way we were going to cancel. We got through just in time for an early lunch at the Jantz Cafe in Atwater. It's always so busy, especially Wednesdays at noon. They give you a free piece of pie with your lunch. We had Coconut Cream. Delicious!!
So, after an hour to rest our tummys at her place, we went swimming in the mobile home park's pool. It felt so good. It was the first time my sister has been swimming in 3 years. But it's been 13 years for me. I tried on my 15-year old bathing suit and was surprised that it was able to stretch enough to cover me.
No, sorry, there are no pictures. LOL. We had a great time in the water. Hated to get out, but didn't want to get a sunburn. Guess we'll have to try that again. We had the pool all to ourselves. I guess the others are smarter than to go in the pool in the hottest part of the day.

Geraniums

2008-07-06T14:31:00.000-07:00

I used to have a collection of unusual Geraniums. My husband had someone build a lath house for them and I was thrilled with all the odd flowering geraniums I found to buy. Surprisingly, they were ordered from Kansas. I thought that was so amazing, I live in California and had to send to Kansas for Geraniums. I still have the 1976-77 catalog from Cook's Geranium Nursery in Lyons, Kansas. Wish I could still order from it. Last time I tried, years ago, I had returned mail. I have several books on the subject, my two favorites are "The Joy of Geraniums" by Helen Van Pelt Wilson and "All About Geraniums" by Peggie Schulz. Both out of print. So, I ordered a new Geranium book today, just to see what's new.
The variegated ivy-leaf Geranium with the white flower in the first picture is L'Elegante, from Kansas. One year I entered it in the Merced County Fair and got a Blue Ribbon. It was so pretty. They had it on a tall post and the long stems hung down with one little white flower on it. I don't remember the names of the orange and red flowered Geraniums.
The next picture is Mr. Wren, the flowers look like someone brushed red paint on the white petals. Very pretty, but a bit stingy with the flowers. The white one is "Noel" a cactus flowered Geranium.
The bottom picture is "Rouletta." The first time I saw that Ivy Geranium was in San Jose. A couple of friends went with me to Santa Cruz to watch the Marching 100 Band play in competition. My daughter was in it. After the parade, we looked up this Geranium Nursery in San Jose that I saw advertised in the little magazine that the International Geranium Society publishes. We bought a few plants from him, but the large beautiful Rouletta was not for sale. He only had the one plant. Later, he was selling all his Geraniums and my husband delighted in telling everyone who would listen that we drove all the way to San Jose and paid big money for Rouletta. It was my Mother's Day present and I loved it. This was in 1977. Now you can find Rouletta look-alikes quite often. Rouletta is a sport off of Mexican Beauty. Sometimes it will (or did) revert back to the plain dark red flowers.
I had many other favorites; the Stellars from Australia; the Phlox type; Bird's Egg with the tiny speckles; Tulip Flowered and the Painted Lady types. I had one called "Valentine" with pretty valentine shaped leaves and salmon-colored flowers. I had a few scented ones, "Mable Grey" was the strongest lemon scented one I've ever seen. If anyone knows where these unusual Geraniums can be ordered, please email me at CalifNative37@aol.com Thanks!! See more Geraniums at flickr.

Disaster in the Back Yard!

2008-07-04T13:39:00.001-07:00

Well, sort of a disaster. Some people came over to pick apricots and peaches. When they left,I decided to water the fruit trees, the apricot looked especially dry. I was letting the water run slow and easy, so a couple of hours later I went out to turn off the water, just in time to see the Suncrest peach tree slowly tumble over.There wasn't anything I could do but watch it. It's too bad that it was the next tree to ripen, so I know I will miss that tree. The only good thing about it is that it was near the middle of the yard and I don't want fruit trees planted there any more. Just along the fence. So, I don't know when I will replace the early peach tree. I still have Flavorcrest, the earliest one.
Maybe I should get an early genetic dwarf peach. I don't think they get over 6 feet tall. I'm going to try to save the peaches, they were close to being ripe, maybe in 2-3 weeks.
Well, this might be a blessing in disguise. Eventually I could have grass planted in the back yard and hire someone to mow it. Cut down on the number of fruit trees. Hey, I could live here forever and not worry about all the yardwork.

Winton Cemetery

2008-07-03T23:02:00.001-07:00

This is a picture that I took recently of the office at the Winton Cemetery. The office faces Almond Avenue and is just past Cypress Avenue, going west on Almond from Winton Way. There is another entrance from Cypress, but the main gates are on Almond.
The employees in the office are very helpful and will give you a map and mark the spot where the person is buried that you are looking for.
I've taken many pictures of the tombstones and sent them to rootsweb. Recently the cemetery website at rootsweb was moved to genweb. Click here for the link to California Cemetery Registration. Click on the county of your choice. They are still in the process of moving the pictures of the tombstones to the new location.
I am toying with the idea of posting my relatives tombstone pictures somewhere else on the web, but am still undecided. I did post a few at flickr, but not sure if that is a good idea. Maybe by the time I make up my mind, they will have them up at genweb. LOL
July 24 --
Hereld, the coordinator for the Merced County, California CAGenWeb genealogy and history website, created an index for the tombstone pictures at the Winton Cemetery.
I am willing to take digital pictures of tombstones at the Winton Cemetery and send them to the requestor by email. They would also be submitted to the above website. email me at CalifNative37@aol.com

Cherry Jam

2008-06-23T19:30:00.000-07:00

I finished the second batch of cherry jam today. It was much easier than the first batch.
I used a paring knife to remove the pits last week. What a mess! Red cherry juice ran down my arms and off my elbows. I looked like I got the worst end of a serious fight.
I ordered a cherry pitter from Amazon after searching the local stores and not finding any. The one I bought is made by OXO. It's really neat, the work goes much faster and is not messy.
I tried making the cherry fruit leather, but I had too many cherries pitted. It was only supposed to be 1/8 inch thick on the cookie sheet, but I think it was more than that. Oh well, I guess I can always make jam out of it. I had some on a pancake tonight. Very good.
I'll try the fruit leather again when the apricots are ripe.

First Day of Summer

2008-06-20T11:24:00.000-07:00

Today is the first day of summer and I had my first peach, picked from the Flavorcrest tree, shown here in the picture. I am kind of bummed out!!
I DIDN'T THIN THEM ENOUGH!! Darn! I'm going to have these small peaches this year from my favorite tree. You can't see it in the picture, but the large branch on the left, goes out and is horizonal and loaded with peaches. I hope it doesn't break off. The second picture is also Flavorcrest, showing the large crop of peaches.
So, what did I do? I took my long-handled rake and knocked peaches off the later trees. I was mad and ruthless. I just hope the peaches left on the trees are not bruised.

That reminds me of the joke that was going around, about the man who painted the church, but being greedy, he thinned the paint to make it go farther. And when the rains came, the paint was washed off the church. In anguish, the man cried out, "God what should I do?" A voice from above said, "Repaint, Repaint and Thin No More."
Next year, my battle cry will be the opposite -- Repeat, Repeat and Thin Some More!

Photo Class

2008-06-17T08:38:00.000-07:00

I'm taking an ROP class to learn how to use my digital camera. There are 20-plus students in the class and our cameras range from the very simple to the big monster SLRs. Mine is in between. Sure, it would be nice to have an SLR digital, with interchangeable lens, but how could I justify paying so much for a camera?
So, I am happy with mine.
This week, our homework was to bring in 4 color prints, 2 each of "before and after" pictures. The picture here is my "after". I like the dark shadow on the fence. It will be interesting to see what subjects the other students bring in.
Oh, another thing, one of the requirements is that we have a color printer, our pictures for class must be in color. I don't have a color printer and no desire to have one. (Am I just squeezing the nickel again?) I love my old laser printer that I bought when I retired 9 1/2 years ago. It was expensive at the time, but has proved to be very economical in the long run. If I want hardcopies of my pictures, I put the file on my Flash Drive and take it to Costco. Lucky for me, the instructor said that would be o.k. for class. I'm so happy I don't have to buy a color printer, there is no room for one, anyway.
One thing I should mention, when taking my pictures in to be printed, I always write on the envelope, "Turn Off Correction." If I don't do that, they will "zoom and trim" and part of the picture will be cut off. Their software does this automatically. I asked the man why they did that. He said most people don't know what they are doing, so the software has the built-in instructions to zoom in. In most cases it makes a better picture to get closer to the subject. Sometimes though, it may cut off heads or other important details. He said all of them do this, not just Costco.

It's the Pits

2008-06-13T15:54:00.000-07:00

Well, here it is, cherry season is basically over in my backyard.
So, do you think I could find a cherry pitter?
Lots of them online, but it's a little late for that. Guess I need to plan ahead. Actually, I didn't know I was going to need a cherry pitter until recently. I was just going to eat them fresh and give away the rest. But then decided to try making some cherry jam.
I went all over today.
To the Mall, Downtown, Across Town; one place I went, he just sold the last cherry pitter a half-hour before I got there.
Guess it's back to the paring knife.
I found some recipes online for cherry fruit leather, I was going to try that too. But the cherry jam is the main thing. I want to take some with me when I visit my daughter this fall in the Netherlands.

The Wedding

2008-06-07T21:59:00.001-07:00

Stephanie and JR were married today. The bride's step-father performed the ceremony. Her father and brother walked her down the aisle. It was a very nice family affair. After the backyard wedding, a reception was held in the Winton Community Hall. Many relatives were present, including one aunt from Nevada and a great aunt from Georgia.
This blended family has many grandparents, all were there to congratulate the bride and groom. See more pictures posted at flickr.

Cherry Pickin' Time

2008-06-02T16:42:00.001-07:00

A friend came over to pick some cherries today. Her husband put up the tall ladder and picked from the higher branches. He said he's never seen so many cherries in all his life.
As soon as they left, Maggie noticed something new in her backyard and couldn't wait to climb to the very tip top to look at the neighbors back yards.

I picked more cherries and took them door-to-door. I learned one thing today -- EVERYBODY loves cherries.
Wednesday~ I was on the short ladder picking cherries again this morning. As I reached up to pick the cherries above my head, there was Maggie. She climbed the tree without me noticing and was right by my hand, wanting to know what I was doing.
She's quite a cat.

Cactus Blooms

2008-06-01T10:53:00.001-07:00

The flowers on this cactus are just beautiful. I got the mother plant from Mrs. Esau years ago. Last year the 'mother' plant looked like this, but I guess I killed it with kindness. Over-watered it. So, it died. I hope I don't make the same mistake with this one. I never know if I am giving it too much water or not enough.

Memorial Day at Winton

2008-05-26T15:03:00.001-07:00

Bill Anderson and Jackie Nugent played Taps at the Veterans' Memorial Service today at the Winton Cemetery.
Judge Brown had the Welcome and Closing Remarks, the Color Guard by local Veterans' organizations. Barbara Beltz' grammar school kids from Winfield School provided the entertainment. Speaker was Al Osborn, retired officer from the U.S.A.F. Several other speakers were on-hand.
Very nice service to honor those who have served and the ones still serving their Country.

Grandkids at Glenn Co Fair

2008-05-20T18:53:00.000-07:00

Tom is showing "Dip n Dot" a young Holstein heifer at the Glenn County Fair. Tom also brought her mother, Dottie, showed them separately and then together. The mother and daughter won the highest award. To see more pictures at flickr, click here.
Laura is showing one of the Jersey cows she brought. Not sure if this is "Truffles" or if that was the other cow.
Both Tom and Laura did very well, winning championships for their animals and for Laura, she won Showmanship in the Senior division of the dairy and also in the "Round Robin" where she had to show 7 different species i.e. meat goat, dairy goat, sheep, dairy cow, beef cow, horse, and pig. The other animals were owned by other kids and Laura didn't have experience with showing them. There was a different judge for each type of animal. So, that was a big win. She has two new buckles to add to the one she won last year. Both Tom and Laura won cute wooden boxes with a place for a picture on the cover. They were very happy with their winnings.

A Poem

2008-05-19T19:30:00.000-07:00

AUGUST EPISODE ~ by John B. Giesbrecht
Established in 1961, Prior to the trip to Kennedy Meadows

On a sunny summer day
‘Twas then we traveled away
Through Sonora vacationlands gate
Up to Tuolumne’s 108

On to the place that won’t bore us,
In Stanislaus National Forrest
With spirits higher’n elevation, we said:
Hell: This is Vacation!

We loaded our rear, then threw in gear
And roared off toward Destination
My bombs spitin Fire,
Bumps hit every tire,
But soon, over smooth roads we’ll go.

Six-gun by my side, enjoying the ride
And playing the radio
Got to catch Jim, He’s not far ahead
Can see by the turds along the roadbed.

We’ll stop in LaGrange to water our thurst,
For the next few miles it’s best I go first.
I’ll do as I please, Might go through Chinese
And wait by the road for Jim and his load.

Here’s the one-twenty, the stretch we can fly
Just watch for a Cop, to pass the time by.
Now on a down grade, something whizzed by-
A hot rod dare devil that’s dome on the fly.

From traffic behind, a bull dodged in line
He’s sneaking up fast,
and might slow the domes ass.

Sonora’s gone by, we start climbing high.
With rocks and pine trees, a fresh mountain breeze
A good place to be, among scenery.

With trees that demand speculation,
With rocks in every formation-
This is my idea of vacation.

And I don’t give a damn,
For people who’ll scram,
Uncared for conservation.

We’re on our way,
A thought for today,
Make the most of it, Man,
Have fun while you can
‘Cause after it’s over, and you’re coming home
You get a sad feeling, unless you’re like Dome.

We’ve passed the last town
And sun’s sinking low
But why should we care
‘Cause we’re on the Go!

When sundown is near, in my pack I’ll peer
And pull out a can of cool western BEER.

Turnout ahead- I’ll stop for a rest
Give things a check
Then on to Pinecrest.
Motor a fire- we’re off once again
With air getting cool and dusk setting in.

As sun is sinking toward the far west
I’m thinking of things I like the best.
Flying along, I’m singing a song
The radio’s quit- but who gives a shit!

Stars are out now, and moons on it’s rise
Ridges lay outlined, Against clear blue skies.
From over a meadow- across Pinetrees high
Swoops an owl, on his nightly fly.

Roads getting smaller, we’re almost there.
With moonlight through Pine trees.
Adventure in air.
The time has arrived, ahead lights tell me,
We’re here once again.

The Place? Kennedy!!!!

Dirks Family

2008-05-14T21:34:00.001-07:00

This picture of my mother's parents was taken in 1937 in front of the Sharon Mennonite Church on Winton Way, Winton. George and Susie (Unruh) Dirks moved to Winton from Greensburg, Kansas in 1923. In Kansas my grandfather was a wheat farmer. In Winton he raised Leghorn hens and sold eggs. Also had a vineyard and sold raisins. I don't think he had very many acres. They lived on Cypress between Gertrude and Almond Avenue.
George Dirks was born in Russia in 1869, he was 5 years old when the family came to America. The family settled in Kansas. My grandfather died in 1939 in the Bloss Hospital in Atwater.
Susie Unruh was born in Galva, Kansas in 1882 and died in a Merced hospital in 1962. My mother, Eva was their first-born in 1904 in Pawnee Rock, KS.
See more pictures at flickr.

Tuesdays in Turlock

2008-05-13T15:43:00.001-07:00

Every Tuesday on East Avenue in Turlock, vendors set up their wares and people come from the surrounding area to shop. We were there today, looking for bargains. We all bought veggies; pictured is my sister buying some tomatoes at bargain prices, and they were delicious.
We bought a few other things; saw some collectibles, but nothing we couldn't live without. It was a fun morning, we all enjoyed looking around.
Years ago, I went to the annual Flea Markets as far away as San Juan Baptista or Oakhurst, in search of every piece of Sheet Music that I remembered from the 30s and 40s. Even went to the Cow Palace a couple of times in the Bay Area. It was very exciting back then, sometimes leaving home at 5 a.m. in order to find a parking place.
Seems like most people who were collecting sheet music wanted them for the covers, but I wanted the music, thinking someday I would be able to play them on the piano. Never could get my fingers to move quickly enough over the keys. My husband used to say, it would sound good if you could just keep it going. Yeah, Right!! That was the hard part. I enjoyed taking piano lessons though. Learned to play chords, but then the next step is to improvise. That's hard. Then wanted to go back to sight reading. Still can't play! My teacher had the patience of Job. Where is the Sheet Music now? In plastic bags stacked up on the "plant shelves" in the spare bedroom. I'm not ready to get rid of them. I still enjoy knowing that I have a huge collection of vintage sheets.

The Joys of Spring

2008-05-11T16:29:00.000-07:00

When we had this house built in '95, my husband was adamant, he was NOT going to mow a lawn. We thought we would have a low-maintenance yard, so we put in ground cover and roses in the front yard.
The back yard is a mini orchard; no lawn there either. So, why is it so much work?

After several years, my husband finally admitted the yard is a full-time job.
People who come to the front door comment on how beautiful the yard is. It IS colorful, but already the roses need to be pruned to make way for the next wave of color. The first bloom is the prettiest.
The second picture shows that soon the cherries will be ripe, usually the end of May. The white tree rose is "Iceberg." I love this time of year. Just wish all the work was caught up. Today, Sunday is a big watering day. In the city limits,we can only water 3 days a week; before 11:00 a.m. and after 7:00 p.m. And that's all year long. Doesn't make much sense in the cool weather, but that's their rules.
Happy Spring Everyone.

Giesbrecht Family

2008-05-06T07:20:00.000-07:00

My paternal grandparents were C.V. (Cornelius) Giesbrecht (1880-1956)and Katharina Fast Giesbrecht (1883-1966). They moved from Waldheim, Saskatchewan Canada to Winton, California in 1911. They had planned to settle at Los Molinos, near Chico, but the Sacramento River flooded there and the mosquitoes were causing an out-break of illnesses. So, they traveled on by train and settled "on the desert," a small community that was just getting started. They had four small children traveling with them, along with his parents, C.D. Giesbrecht (1844-1925) and Helena (Lena) Veer Giesbrecht (1853-1942) and brother, J.V. (Jacob) Giesbrecht (1887-1980) and wife Eva Alice Hardin Giesbrecht (1890-1966).
See more pictures of this Giesbrecht family at flickr.
My grandparents and some other family members are buried in the Willows Cemetery in Glenn County, CA. Here is the link to the tombstone pictures.
My family is on the "Grandma" database that the California Mennonite Historical Society has available on CD. Information on this CD comes from church records, census records and from genealogists. A branch of this family (Deveer) is traced back to the 1500s in the Netherlands.
Who is eligible to be included in this database? Members from the Mennonite Church records in Russia and Prussia; all their ancestors and all their descendants and their spouses. Currently there are more than 941,000 individuals in the file. For more information click here.
Then click on the "Grandma CD-Rom Project."

More on Reflexology

2008-05-05T13:45:00.000-07:00

I should have listed Miguel Gallegos' address and phone number on my "Reflexology vs Romberg's Syndrome" post.
I did do a google search for his name to see how easily he could be found, but unless you add Turlock to your search, there are far too many hits. So ~ here is his address: 309 Lander Ave, Turlock, CA 95380; phone 209-669-3609.
Insurance companies don't recognize reflexologists, even though they will pay for chiropractors. I guess it's too hard to regulate. They seem to dump them in with massages. Miguel does NOT massage your feet, he gives you a treatment.
More on Romberg's Syndrome; it is a rare disease, you can read more about it by doing a google search. Usually it starts at an early age, up to the 20s. I was in my early 40s when I began having problems. At the Stanford Eye Clinic, the doctors had never seen anyone with it (at least at that time), but had read about it. One day when I was there, a doctor from New Zealand was visiting and since he had patients with Romberg's Syndrome, he was asked to examine me. He told me I had a mild case and not to do anything.
I have seen pictures of people with full-blown cases of Romberg's Syndrome and some of them really are heart-breaking. My local eye doctor refers to it as Hemifacial Atrophy, meaning half of the face is wasting away.
Now when I have reflexology treatments and Miguel is working on my feet, I can feel sensations in my face; my jaw, my forehead, my front lower gums, my face gets warm, etc. It's the improved circulation that I am feeling.
The person who told us about Miguel had a problem with his shoulder, his doctor wanted to operate, but Jack kept putting it off. He had a pickup with a manual shift and he finally had to sell it because he could no longer drive it. After having a reflexology treatment Jack went back to his MD. His blood pressure was lower and the doctor was quite impressed and asked how he did that. Jack told him about going to the reflexolgist. The doctor said, you're still going to have the shoulder operation, aren't you? Jack said I don't think I need to and raised his arm high in the air. The doctor could only exclaim, "This is a miracle."
A friend had a rash on his arm that he couldn't keep from scratching. His arm was always bloody and even though he wore long sleeves, you could still see it through his shirt. He went to all the experts, even to "the head doctor at UCSF" who looked at his arm and said he didn't know what it was. This was the same answer he got from all the other doctors. Then he says, "I went to this office in Turlock with a neon open sign in the window. Miguel took one look at my arm and said, it's your liver, it will start to go away after three treatments." And it did.
Moral of that story: Don't be overly impressed with a fancy office.

I have one more story that I've been a little reluctant to tell. I know there are a lot of skeptics out there. But I guess that's o.k.
A lady who had medical problems was examined by doctors in Stockton. They found she had a blockage and wanted to do the balloon treatment to resolve the problem. They wanted to set up an appointment right away, but the lady wanted to wait a week or so. She went to Miguel and he worked on her feet. It was painful, but well worth it. She called Miguel later and said the doctors gave her the test again before the procedure appointment and they were shocked that the blockage was gone. They kept asking her what did you do? The only thing she did was have a treatment at Miguel's.
Yes, I know that's a pretty heavy story and it would be hard for me to believe too, except for my own experience and what reflexology has done for me.
Reflexology is NOT a massage.

Thinning Peaches

2008-05-04T13:01:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again -- time to thin the fruit trees. There are 6 peach, one apricot and one nectarine tree to thin. I remember the first year my husband thinned the peaches. I just about had a heart attack. He hauled bucket after bucket full of small green peaches to the garbage. I was sure we wouldn't have any crop left at all. But somehow there was plenty left for ourselves and some to give away. Since then, I have learned that if they are not thinned, they are not only small, but they don't taste good either. They are not juicy and just not like they are supposed to be. My favorite peach is Flavorcrest, it is the first peach in our yard to ripen, probably a good reason for it to be a favorite, but the flavor is really good as well. Next to ripen is Suncrest, pictured above. (Maggie's favorite tree for climbing) These are the early peaches. For mid-season, we have O'Henry and Faye Elberta, which ripen in early to mid August. The late tree is Summerset and it ripens in mid September.
The nectarine is Fantasia, a yellow fleshed fruit packed with lots of flavor.
The apricot is Tilton, a very old variety, but does good in the hot summers we have here.
The last fruit trees to blossom and the first to ripen are the cherries. We have a Bing and a Stella. Stella is not only the pollinator for Bing, but is also self-pollinating, so if you have room for only one cherry tree, it's the one to grow; besides it tastes a little better than Bing. The Dwarf Stella is really cute, wish I had one of those. I'm happy the cherries never have to be thinned.
We have a Fuyu Persimmon tree that last year was so loaded, I thought the limbs were going to break off. I'll either have to thin it this year or get more props to prop up the limbs.
We used to have a Black Mission Fig tree, and it did very well the first several years and then something happened to it, the leaves would turn brown every year and it didn't produce fruit anymore. So, we had it taken out. I'm thinking something might be in the ground, way down deep. Now I read in my "All About Growing Fruits, Berries & Nuts" book that any fig can be grown in a container. I think I'll try that.
Oh, I almost forgot -- there is a Pomagrante tree and one Thompson grape stump.
Ah, so much fruit! Not bad for one city lot.

Maggie and the Blue Jay

2008-05-03T22:53:00.001-07:00

Last summer Maggie thought it was great sport to chase the sparrows, sometimes climbing up her favorite peach tree in hot pursuit, but she never even got close. This year we have an aggressive Blue Jay hanging around. Whenever he sees Maggie outside, whether she's in the front or back yard, he is right there, harassing her. Sometimes she's afraid to go outside and wants me to go with her for protection. I'd like to get a picture of the two of them together, but the bird backs off when he sees me. He is just a bully, after all.

A postscript here ~ This morning I had a good laugh! Two Blue Jays were after Maggie. I guess she got sick and tired of it. She turned and chased one and it flew away. Maybe this is a turning point in this story about Maggie and Mr. Blue Jay.

Update: Maggie got her revenge. Somehow she caught a Blue Jay and while I was outside watering the front yard, she brought the injured bird in the house, through the patio door. She killed it under the dinning room table. Sure glad she didn't put it on the rug! Maggie is no longer my sweet, innocent cat.
But, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

Iris Gardens

2008-04-27T12:45:00.001-07:00

My sisters and I went to Catheys Valley yesterday to tour the Superstition Iris Gardens. We had planned this a couple of weeks ago and then the very day we were going, the Merced Sun-Star had a nice big article about them. One co-owner is a Master Judge for the AIS and has introduced many Irises of his own. The article included lots of good information about growing Irises, such as don't plant them too deep or they won't bloom. They like full sun, but can handle as little as one-half day of sunshine. They hate to have their feet wet, treat them more like cactus than a house plant, planting in well-drained soil, on a slope or in raised beds.
I had a short list with me of named Irises I used to have, but with 60,000 named varities world-wide, it's no wonder I didn't find those particular ones. We walked up one row and down another, trying to decide which ones to order. So many to choose from. . . it got confusing, so I decided to come home and look at their 1,250 Iris photos online to make up my mind.
To see their online photos, go to: http://community.webshots.com/user/rickt103