When I was a youngin we lived out in the country in Modesto. My grandparents lived across the street from us and had numerous fruit and nut trees. Always it seemed something was ripe there. In our orchards we had about three kinds of peaches, 99% Elberta cling peaches, some english walnut trees, couple varieties of almonds and a couple short rows of boysenberries. Before we moved to Nevada, we either owned or leased about half of one side of the street we lived on, where we tended the peach orchards. Come irrigation day, took all day and part of the night to water all of it. Luckily, us kids were too young, so we got to sleep at night. I miss the fresh fruit, store stuff doesn't cut it. Then when the peaches were finished, right after Labor Day, my dad contracted cutting grapes, with a crew of hard working Mexicans. They went from picking our peaches to cutting grapes. I got to work with them when they picked peaches, I did the grading. Another thing, nothing like a fresh bunch of Thompson seedless grapes snuck out of the gondola or truck, as our dad made us stay in the pickup after school. Behind our house, my dad and grandad raised some Moon and Stars watermelon for a little side money, about half an acre of them. Watermelon, a kids dream come true, right in the back yard. Yum.

At the health food coop here, almonds are now $9.00 to get safe, salmanella? free ones and Safeway has them for $6.99 I think.