a kid in a candy store. let me tell you why.the city of santa cruz is about an hour from our house in the east bay. monterey is about an hour south of santa cruz along the central coast. if you happen to be from these parts, then forgive my geography lesson. but if you hail from another part of the globe, then this little tip might be of importance. as i've said a billion times before, this east coast girl turned mid-westerner was a little geographically challenged when it came to my california knowledge. even after living here for a year, i find myself breaking out the map regularly to get an understanding of how it all fits together.
on sunday morning the fam woke in our hotel in santa cruz, had a little eats, and then headed down the coast to monterey. just a few miles into our trip, my eyes became amazed. on either side of road, for as far as the eye could see, there was row after row of luscious green crops. after a wee bit, i couldn't resist the urge to grab for my camera. i was in city girl amazement.
after a few minutes of the camera clicking away, my hubby made a sweet and generous suggestion.
"do you want me to pull over for a minute?"
"do you mind? yes. yes! not yet. here. perfect!"
and before the car could come to a complete stop, i was hopping out and trucking down into the fields. this is what i saw:
row after perfect row of ripening strawberries. i've lived in new york, virginia, georgia and illinois. on almost every strawberry clam shell that i have ever purchased has been the stamp, "grown in california". i shouldn't have been surprised at these rows of succulent red berries, but for some reason i was. for some reason, i never realized how many berry fields it takes to stock the supermarkets of the u.s. with strawberries. but here i was, seeing just a small glimpse of the never ending fields with my own eyes for the first time. i was berry struck!
on sunday morning the fam woke in our hotel in santa cruz, had a little eats, and then headed down the coast to monterey. just a few miles into our trip, my eyes became amazed. on either side of road, for as far as the eye could see, there was row after row of luscious green crops. after a wee bit, i couldn't resist the urge to grab for my camera. i was in city girl amazement.
after a few minutes of the camera clicking away, my hubby made a sweet and generous suggestion."do you want me to pull over for a minute?"
"do you mind? yes. yes! not yet. here. perfect!"
and before the car could come to a complete stop, i was hopping out and trucking down into the fields. this is what i saw:
row after perfect row of ripening strawberries. i've lived in new york, virginia, georgia and illinois. on almost every strawberry clam shell that i have ever purchased has been the stamp, "grown in california". i shouldn't have been surprised at these rows of succulent red berries, but for some reason i was. for some reason, i never realized how many berry fields it takes to stock the supermarkets of the u.s. with strawberries. but here i was, seeing just a small glimpse of the never ending fields with my own eyes for the first time. i was berry struck!
after a few quick snaps i hopped back into the car and onward we went. suddenly the fields changed and we kept seeing these leafy, green, tall rows of stalks. what could they be? again, my hubby noticed me in agricultural awe. again, he asked if i wanted to stop. hooray!
now, i've told you before that i have a thing for artichokes, so it shouldn't surprise you that i was in heaven when i stepped into the very fields that grow these buttery globes of deliciousness. they are beautiful and surprising. i had no idea that these gems grew on such tall stalks. i had no clue that there was so much foliage necessary to produce just a few chokes. but there they were, right in front of my eyes for me to take in.
aren't they gorgeous? just look at the morning dew dripping off of the compact flower!
and then back into the car we went. it was a heavenly ride. did i mention that i was like a kid in a candy store? well, i wasn't kidding. i enjoyed this ride, indeed.
a few miles down the road we heard a chopper up in the sky. it was out of control. the helicopter would swoop down from the sky and dust the crops with a cloud and then swoop back up into the sky to circle around and do it again. yep- it was a crop duster fighting the pests that wanted to take a little nibble at those beautiful berries and globes. and do you know what? for the first time in my adult life, i sort of began to understand the farmer who uses pesticides. i'm not saying that i'm buying what they're selling, but with that much on the line, one just might opt to protect what they have labored so hard for.
and today, as i perused the plants at whole foods, i almost fell on the sidewalk right there in front of the store! can you guess what i saw? small starter plants of my beloved chokes! and you can bet your bottom dollar that i put two of those organically grown buggers into my buggy. don't hold your breath- if you recall, i haven't had much success at california gardening. but here's to hoping!
d and i planted them straight away into my pathetic containers from home depot. i'll keep you posted. but even as i write this, my taste buds are dreaming of the tasty globes that could possibly come from my own backyard.
and then back into the car we went. it was a heavenly ride. did i mention that i was like a kid in a candy store? well, i wasn't kidding. i enjoyed this ride, indeed.
a few miles down the road we heard a chopper up in the sky. it was out of control. the helicopter would swoop down from the sky and dust the crops with a cloud and then swoop back up into the sky to circle around and do it again. yep- it was a crop duster fighting the pests that wanted to take a little nibble at those beautiful berries and globes. and do you know what? for the first time in my adult life, i sort of began to understand the farmer who uses pesticides. i'm not saying that i'm buying what they're selling, but with that much on the line, one just might opt to protect what they have labored so hard for.
and today, as i perused the plants at whole foods, i almost fell on the sidewalk right there in front of the store! can you guess what i saw? small starter plants of my beloved chokes! and you can bet your bottom dollar that i put two of those organically grown buggers into my buggy. don't hold your breath- if you recall, i haven't had much success at california gardening. but here's to hoping!
d and i planted them straight away into my pathetic containers from home depot. i'll keep you posted. but even as i write this, my taste buds are dreaming of the tasty globes that could possibly come from my own backyard.
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