Work, Work, Work

The walnut harvest is done.  The nuts have been dehydrated and sent to the buyer.  All that remains is to find out what the price will be, and so we wait.  How many pounds of nuts can you get from 17 acres?  Try 85,840.  That's right.  There were almost 86,000 POUNDS of nuts hanging above our heads this summer.  That blows my mind.  It's craziness!!

That's the weight of the nuts in the shell.  They give about 50% edible yield, once the shell is off and the inedible nuts discarded.

When the harvest was finished, our farmer set about laser-leveling the checks.  These are the spaces between the rows of trees, down which the water flows when we irrigate.  The check needs to have a slight decline, to keep the water from pooling at the top of the check.

This side of the grove hadn't been done yet.  Aren't the trees looking lovely?

 Here you can see how nice and smooth the check is.

 They even rebuilt the road, between the halves of the grove.  In the above picture, you can see an air valve sticking up a bit in the lower right hand corner.  This allows air to escape the plumbing system, when the pump is running.   The water pools out from a sunken valve to the left, to water the thirsty trees.

Other things have been happening, besides the harvest.

Our neighbors' house sold, and a new family moved in.  They must have some small pets or something, as there is now a huge flock of buzzards (?) living in the trees right behind them.  They circle around the neighborhood, and it's a bit unnerving to take Pixel out to do her business.  What if one of these comes swooping down for a bite to eat?

They remind me of the Snow White ride, at Disneyland, except that I know they are not vultures.  At least I don't think they are.

Pixel is growing, but not fast enough.  She likes to bite everything.  Well, she doesn't bite the cats.  She just likes to bark at and chase them.

 And she's crazy about socks.  It doesn't matter if they are on one's foot or not.

 Catching some air, there, Pixel?

And that's a wrap. 

I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving, filled with many things to be thankful for.