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This week’s fruit:
Cal Red Peaches
Frog Hollow Farm, Brentwood, CA
The beloved Cal Red is in a class by itself and is the “Oh my God” peach! A relatively new variety and a California native, the Cal Red was bred by University of California botanist Claron O. Hesse in the mid 1960s. Aptly named for the Golden State, the Cal Red is a beautiful golden peach marked with a gentle, sun-kissed blush. Our best-selling variety, Cal Red fans mark their calendars to eagerly await harvest each year.
August Red Nectarines
Frog Hollow Farm, Brentwood, CA
These late season nectarine that is elegantly shaped and rich in flavor, with deep red skin and warm orange flesh.
Red Flame Seedless Grapes
Frog Hollow Farm, Brentwood, CA
Enjoy these out of hand or try them in green salads, chicken salads, or fruit salads. Grapes can be enjoyed fro
m the counter within a few days of receiving your box or refrigerated to enjoy them further into the week.
Flavor King Pluots
Frog Hollow Farm, Brentwood, CA
A dark-skinned pluot with red flesh, it has an intense rich flavor combined with sweet, spicy tones that are reminiscent of the Santa Rosa. A nice acid bite and firm texture that softens beautifully as the fruit continues to ripen, the Flavor King is amazing out of hand and equally good for baking. (see this week’s recipe!)
…all varieties are subject to change…
A Note from Farmer Al:
Dear CSA Members,
I continue to be surprised and delighted by all the wildlife we have here on the farm. Every morning I’m up before dawn to have coffee out on a ridge overlooking our new plantings of recent years and each morning I’m never disappointed. I see at least 3-4 owls gliding and swooping silently over the tree tops in search of prey…mostly gophers. Actually, sometimes they’re not so silent…they make a clicking sound similar to the clucking of chickens only quicker and sharper. And of course the screech!
We know they’re eating lots of gophers, because we find the gopher bones and fur all rolled up in gross- looking wads right below the many owl boxes we’ve placed throughout the orchards. Then there are the hawks. We have a family of Red Tail hawks living in a trio of ancient Eucalyptus trees. These trees are truly immense…probably well over 100 years old and 80 feet tall, with trunks 4”-6” in diameter. They’re so huge, it makes me think that they may be among the oldest living
Eucalyptus trees in the state of California.
My neighbor Gary is a Falconer. For weeks, he’s been trying to capture the three young red tails, born earlier this Spring and living in a huge nest high up in one of these gigantic trees. At first he used live mice to lure them but that didn’t work so he switched to a live dove. I didn’t think he’d ever catch one, but sure enough he did. I found him out in the orchard one evening last week with this beautiful young Red-tail tethered to his wrist with a 10” leash. Gary’s hands and shoulders were protected from the birds’ shard claws by heavy leather gloves and shoulder pads. He says he’ll train the hawk to kill rabbits and work with him for one year before releasing him back into the wild.
I’d like to see that bird kill a few ground squirrels instead!
Regards,
Farmer Al
