Back To Bakersfield

I was sad to leave the coast...it was so beautiful, but it was time to return to Bakersfield, and start thinking about returning to Charlotte.

The bay in the background is Morro Bay.  The big rock jutting up is Morro rock,a volcano plug, which a volcano vent that filled with magna and hardened.  There are 9 of them in the area.  These plugs are over 20 million years old!

 Here, we're looking at the ocean to the north...see the barbed wire fence separating the pastures?  The left side is more eaten down by steers than the right!
 We drove home a different way, through the oil fields.  For miles and miles, all you see are pumps, rigs, pipelines.

 These fields, which have no shade, reach 110, 115 degrees in the summer.  And because California gets no summer rain, the fields are very dusty and dirty.  Can you imagine working in them?  Stay in school!  Get an education!

 Then we drove into the farming area, where again we saw orchards.

These trees still have leaves, and lots of tumbleweeds up against the fence.  The farmers will bulldoze all the tumbleweeds into a big pile, and set them on fire.  Because they are so dry, they explode into a fire, and burn very quickly.  Fun to see.

 This field is prepared for planting.  See the mountains in the background...a nice clear day.
 This field is planted, with its irrigation system installed.  The larger pipe carries water, which goes to the upright sprinkles you see.  This is one type of irrigation.

 We're in Buttonwillow, some of the best farming land in California. The soil is very dark.  It is excellent for growing cotton, alfalfa, onions, tree crops.

 This is the farmer's cooperative cotton gin.

Buttonwillow Cotton Gin.

 This is a tomato processing plant.

 Lots of boxes, ready to ship.

 This field uses a flood irrigation system.  There are pipes at the end of the field which release water into the ditches among the rows.

 Potatoes are grown in Kern County...guess where I am?

 The Frito Lay plant...where Lay's potato chips are made.  School children take field trips to the factory...an always popular activity.

 As we continue our drive home, we come across another type of irrigation system that uses above ground sprayers, on hydraulic wheel driven irrigation systems, that roll across the fields.

 Miles and miles of orchards.  Many farmers are replacing field crops with tree orchards, because the permanent crops - trees - get first dibs at water.  And trees are more consistent income producers.  The US used to get our pistachio nuts from Iran.  Because of the recent political trouble, farmers here have planted trees...it takes 7 years for the trees to produce a good crop of nuts.  Aunt Patty's friend Alan has planted many acres of land with pistachio and pomegranate trees.  He also grows cotton, alfalfa, onions for dehydrating.  Farmers like to plant different crops, so that if one crop doesn't do well, there are others to help him earn some money.

Not uncommon for a road to end at an orchard!

What do the farmers do with a field that still has some good plant material, but not enough to harvest?  Would our thrifty farmers allow it to rot?

Nope, they bring in the sheep!  Kern County has a large Basque community, who have been sheepherders here since the late 1800s.  There are some really good restaurants in town, that make traditional Basque food.

The sheepherder moves the sheep from field to field.

These are young pomegranate trees/bushes, that the farmer has planted as a windbreak.  In a few months, these will be covered with leaves and red blossoms, that will become fruit.  Spring here starts in February!

Flash says, "oh, I am so glad to be home, on my sofa!"

Bye for now!