Harvest Moon

One of the neat things about living in a rural area is harvest time.

Not only is it fall with all its special colors and nuiances, the locals take great pride in celebrating the harvest. Around here, in the northern San Joaquin Valley of California, agriculture abounds in almost every category. Around Modesto, where we live, the almond and walnut industry is huge...as is cotton, strawberries, lettuce, cabbage, corn...you name it. A little farther north, in the delta area around Stockton and Sacramento, there are immense rice paddy farms, apples, and other fruit trees.

Last night was my Rotary club's annual Harvest Moon fundraiser and dinner. We had a wine and cheese happy hour, a tri-tip, rib, and chicken barbeque, a raffle, and a dance. It is held at Vella Farms...the owner of which is a Salida Rotary club member. Their upgraded "fruit stand" is really a large building erected right next to a huge corn field, transformed into a corn maze. Hayrides are available as are thousands of pumpkins of all shapes and sizes displayed throughout the grounds. All in all, this event makes you feel as though you actually fit in here, ie, us city folk kicking back with the long-time locals...some of which from old, landowner families who have been here quite a while.

The little table we staked out for ourselves was warmly lit with a candle and decorated with several pumpkins and small gourds. I couldn't resist the impromptu shot of my wine glass in front of the orange flame backed by the pumpkins.

The night air has finally turned cool and the days are still warm up here in central California...the harvest is in full swing. So are the celebrations.

Oh yea...there are also a lot of wineries.

Cheers!