For years Doug's brother-in-law, Rusty, would come to the ranch and help with the grape harvest. Each Christmas we would be the beneficiary of Rusty and Paul's efforts. These are Rose Concord grapes that Paul planted for Rusty's raisin efforts. While they were not quite ripe they were very good and the taste reminded me of the Concord grapes I would eat that were grown along the shore of Lake Erie.
Another of Paul and Ruth's business is the making of jams. Each Christmas we would receive a few jars of their product. Here Paul is explaining the jam/preserve operation to Doug.
Paul is standing in his peach orchard. I believe these are white peaches that should be ripe within the next few days. He uses no pesticides in his operation and keep the orchard beds covered with grasses. A lot of their produce is not fit for market so they compost it and return the nutrients to the soil. His fruit is about 4 times larger than that of the neighboring orchard so it would appear that his efforts are paying off both for the consumer and the orchard's soil.
While at the ranch we were also treated to fresh off the vine blackberries and elderberries. They were sweet, warm and juciy from being plucked off the plant and popped directly into your mouth. They quite literally melted in your mouth.
Paul is also a noted artist known for his impressionist oil paintings of the valley. We enjoyed the time we spent with him and are very grateful for the two large boxes of peaches, cherry plums and nectarines he packed up for our journey.
Thursday we leave Visalia for San Luis Obispo and the Mozart Festival. We are looking forward to spending time with Doug's sister, Tina, who is the principal cellist for the orchestra.
Life is excellent!
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