The Land's Bounty

I was thinking today how grateful I am to live in a place with such beauty and bounty. Heavenly Father really knew what he was doing when he decorated this earth. We have been enjoying the fresh fruit from the trees on our property. Now that spring has arrived, all the fruit trees have sprung into life. The kids and I have been having fun watching the trees sprout buds, seeing them grow bigger and finally open to reveal their pretty flowers. Since you can't all be here to enjoy with us, we thought we'd share with you through our blog.

**NOTE: It would be helpful if you'd light a citrus smelling candle or cut open some lemons for a more interactive sensory experience!!

Since we live in the midst of an avocado grove, I thought they should be front and center. We go for a lot of walks up and down the rows of trees. Everyone seems to really enjoy themselves. Most of the trees are off limits because they are being farmed, but we can have "our fill" off of a few specific trees. So much of the fruit goes to waste, it's a bit sad, but that's how it is.

I am so ignorant when it comes to fruit trees that I'm constantly asking
Salvador, the farm manager, about this tree and that fruit.
Apparently lemons don't have a season, they grow all year long!
That is great news for me because I use lemons all the time.

These are Algerian Tangerines. They are also available all year long.
A cool thing about this type of tangerine is that the fruits can stay on the tree for up to 2 years.
That's good for us because they are super tasty!

We have 3 grapefruit trees. The trees are so full right now that I almost feel bad for them. They look like they're about to break at any moment just for some relief.

These are leeche nuts. They're an Asian fruit.

Oranges, glorious oranges! We have 4 orange trees and 2 different types. This is really wonderful. I can't wait for them to bloom...I just want to smell them!

Juice anyone!

I'd never seen a banana tree until we moved here.
These are currently in my laundry room ripening.

When you cut the bunch down, the tree starts bleeding this sticky, milky white juice. Not just a little juice either, a very steady stream came out for quite some time. Next time we should take a glass to measure, it was that significant.

The fresh bananas we have are more dense in texture
and a little sweeter in flavor than store bought bananas. Perhaps they're a different variety,
I have no idea...another question for Salvador.

This passion fruit vine grows along our fence line.
Trent really likes them, but they're way too much work for me and the seeds drive me crazy!

plum buds

apple blossoms

peach blossoms