Nov 8 2012

Autumn’s Harvest Blog Hop


If  you’re looking for the Autumn’s Harvest Blog Hop, then you have found it.

***Contest alert! After reading my article check the bottom of my post for the contest***

I rent a house on a farm, in the middle of an almond orchard, in a farm town in the middle of the farming belt along HWY 99 in the Central Valley of California.

I’m very familiar with the harvest season, since each year I get an up close and personal view of the process.

*All photos were taken by me*
1. All these lovely almond blooms
2. That opened in the early spring time…Fell off.
 3. Leaving the baby nut behind, and during the long hot summer the nut matures.
 4. And once the almonds have dried, the outer shell popped open
 5. Dried Almond
6. Almond cracked open and ready to eat.
The Harvest began on Thursday Aug. 30, 2012, which meant for me that I got woken up bright and early by the machines shaken the bejessus out of the trees, and the hiss of almonds hitting the ground.
A week later, the nut has dried, and the sweepers come in (making more noise), and move the almonds into neat rows so they be swept up and loaded into trucks (making more dust and noise).
There you have it! That’s the story of the almond.
Oh, and if you wanted to know if you pronounce the ‘d’ on the end of the word almond, here’s the story:
When the nut falls off the tree the ‘d’ is knocked off, and you have a almon.

***Contest alert***

Leave a comment about your own harvest experience and your email addy, for a chance to win a five dollar Amazon gift certificate.

And just for stopping by, you also receive two free downloads, which is the start of my science fiction romance series, The Alien Heart series.

Look for the first book, Alien Heart, some time next year.

The Arcons Are Coming!

Exodus Arcon Trailer The first of a new Science Fiction series

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Janice’s website: http://janiceseagraves.org/

Janice’s main blog: http://ladyjanice.blogspot.com/

 

97 comments on “Autumn’s Harvest Blog Hop”

    • Hi Savannah,

      I don’t know if you’d enjoy it. It gets very hot here. Every summer it reaches a hundred plus and we have summer clear into the fall months. It is a dry heat, but hot is hot when it gets that high. But the crops sure do seem to love it. 🙂

      Thank you for dropping by.

      Like

    • Hi Pamela,

      Thank you. I had fun making the video and I’m an amature photographer and love taking photos. Out here I have a lot I can take photos of. 🙂

      Thank you for dropping by.

      Janice~

      Like

  6. Pretty pics! I live on a farm in a tiny farming community which grows world famous sweet corn. Right now, the farmers are cutting the corn. They cut until after 2:00 am last night…sigh.

    Like

  7. That was really informative about almonds…my dad had an almond tree once so this information was cool…also liked your Arcons are coming video…looks interesting…good luck with it!

    Like

    • Hi Brenda,

      Thank you. 🙂 I took those photos right outside my door.

      Thank you, I enjoyed making the video. The main book, Alien Heart, which I consider the flagship of the series should be out sometime next year.

      Thank you for stopping by.

      Janice~

      Like

  8. Wow! Loved the pictures you posted! Autumn is my favorite season! I like all the beautiful colors outside and the weather is not that hot anymore but not freezing cold either. It’s just perfect! Thank you for the giveaway!

    verusbognar (at) gmail (dot) com

    Like

  11. I loved the pictures and the story of the almond, they are my favorite. I live in Indiana, in a small farming town. we have lots of corn so we are always on the look out for farming tractors and stuff on the roads.
    crystaley73 at yahoo dot com

    Like

  12. I love harvesting the last of the herbs from our herb garden in the fall along with the squash. Going to the apple orchard with the kids has brought many wonderful memories. Commercial harvesting is not my friend though. What that means to me is allergies and asthma attacks. I love the hand picked harvest and the delicious foods that come from it.

    Like

  13. Thank you for the lovely pictures specially the almond blossoms which I’ve never seen before.
    bituin76 at hotmail dot com

    Like

  15. I haven’t ever harvested before. Sounds like an experience I should have someday. 😀

    freshmankay[at]gmail[dot]com

    Like

  18. It’s my favorite season so I love hearing about your autumn— love the changing leaves, anything pumpkin and halloween!!

    booksconsidered[at]gmail[dot]com

    Like

  20. I didn’t know almonds look so beautiful in bloom!
    As I was little, my family used to raise potatoes, so I helped with the harvest, of course. I liked it, even if I was exhausted at the end of the day.

    spamscape [at] gmail [dot] com

    Like

  22. I adore autumn because of the amazing colors, bundling up in sweaters, Halloween and my birthday! Autumn also means cuddling up with a good book and a cup of cocoa!

    grapeapril75(at)gmail(dot)com

    I love the hops cause of all the awesome new books I find to add to my to read list!

    Like

  23. Well, I don’t have much experience harvesting anything having been a city dweller all of my life, but one year my mum grew gourds in the little patch in the front yard. We had tons of them! I honestly don’t know how they grew so well and we’ve never been able to duplicate it.

    JYL22075 at gmail dot com

    Like

  27. I live in NC, so most of the crops hete are tobacco, corn, cotton and soybeans! I love watching the farmers with the cotton, it is absolutely amazing to me how they can pack the cotton into the bales:)! I learned something new today, I love almomds(especially honey roasted almonds) but I had no idea the process! Thank you for sharing and being a part of the hop! Hope you enjoy your day!
    allysonbrann06@yahoo.com

    Like

  29. Hello Janice. 🙂
    The only things I’ve harvested have been walnuts because of all the walnut trees on the five acres, mainly they are by the creek.} and the vegetables from gramma’s garden. Everything from tomatoes, onions, peas, carrots, cabbage, and squash, to {rarely} pumpkins, water melons, and strawberries.

    MIL, gramma, the kids and I all go out and plants the seeds, then water daily, and when ready gathering them is the kids’ favorite parts.

    I’ve tried growing a garden, but with limited tools for the job and lousy soil, it’s impossible to get anything to grow.

    However when I was little Mama and I {on her rare days off} would gather fruit from our fruit trees and make all kinds of Jam, and can it. Talk about hard work!

    bidelia78@yahoo.com.

    Like

  30. I do a fair amount of garden myself. From planting to tomatoes to radishes to carrots and so on…
    FYI easiest (and yummest in my opinion) for tomatoes just wash them and put them in zippo storage bag & freeze after your done harvesting them 🙂
    Thanks for sharing the almond 🙂

    Beckey
    BeckeyWhiteATgmailDOTcom

    Like

    • Hi Beckey,

      Oh, I love tomatoes. I raised them most years, but we eat the fresh ones so fast that there is none left to freese.

      I’m glad you liked my alomnd story.

      Thank you for dropping by. 🙂

      Janice~

      Like

    • Hi Tara,

      I’m not sure. My dad was from Tennese and pronouced it almon, and I was raised in California and pronouced it almond. Then I heard the joke on TV about the d falling off when the almond hits the ground.

      Thank you for dropping by.

      Janice~

      Like

  33. When I was younger I used to help my grandparents with harvesting. My grandpa had a farm, so I got to see the corn and beans planted, growing, and harvested each year. I also helped pick berries in the woods around the farm. I helped my grandma plant her garden and then pick it all. I loved sitting with a huge bucket of green beans fresh from the garden, snapping them. The grandkids always did the snapping.

    spdrs_bb_mama(at)yahoo(dot)com

    Like

  35. When I was growing up in New York, my Dad had a massive garden. I remember IN THE Summer when I’d go outside and “pick a salad” for lunch!

    Thanks for the amazing giveaway!
    elizabeth @ bookattict . com

    Like

  37. I love almonds–thank you for the story and pictures. I have not one harvest story–I have never picked anything, and won’t even cut grass. I have a harvest of photos of autumn leaves, though, Thanks for participating in the blog hop!

    brendurbanist at gmail dot com

    Like

  39. Re: The harvest – I love home grown tomatoes! The best. In general, you reap what you show. When you plant seeds of any kind, discord, love, hatred…you will get a crop. It may seem like years between the sowing and the harvesting, but it comes.

    I love autumn with all the brilliant colors: oranges, yellows and reds of leaves. I love crisp, cool mornings where the sky is so blue it looks endless and the air is so fresh in your lungs. I love snuggling up in a warm throw on a cold autumn day with a good book. Of course, I love snuggling up with a good book about anytime of the year. I love Thanksgiving because it is a time to remember all the many blessings in my life and express thanks. I love baking spicy pumpkin pies with dollops of cream.

    I like stories of the unexpected. I also love the steamy passion but I hate mentioning favorite authors because the list is long. I appreciate the many styles authors use to weave stories of mystery, love, intrigue, preternatural and inspiration. I love reading because I can go anywhere, any time in my mind and imagine indescribable things.

    Thank you for this contest and the opportunity to be introduced to new authors.

    Like

  41. My harvest experience is doing the pumkin patch!
    I love the Fall because of the football games and tailgating! And of course having a campfire with roasted hotdogs! Thanks for the chance to win a great giveaway!

    kacidesigns AT yahoo DOT com

    Like

    • Hi Kaci,

      I’ve done the pumpkin patch too. One of our local farmers used to donate land, time and efforts to raise pumpkins for the pumkin patch for the kids at my daughter’s school.

      I love roasting winnie over an open fire too. 🙂

      Thank you for dropping by.

      Janice~

      Like

  42. Sadly I have a black thumb and do not have much luck with harvests…but I do have a plum tree that makes for great plum jam!

    kissyjensen at gmail dot com

    Like

  43. I live in central IL, middle of nowhere and surrounded by farmland. That means the fall is very busy time of year for many of they people around here as so many of them are either farmer’s or their businesses work with or rely on agriculture. It also means getting stuck going 15-20 mph down the road behind a tractor is just a fact of life this time of year.

    snhoveln (at) gmail (dot) com

    Like

    • Hi Stephanie,

      Oh, I know what you mean. I’ve been in a hurry to pick up my daughter from school and have to slow down for a tractor or some sort of harvester. But then I get to play a game called what does this harvest?

      Thank you for dropping by.

      Janice~

      Like

  47. Thanks for joining in the hop. It was great to be introduced to your work.
    My favorite part about autumn is that the cool weather gives me the perfect excuse to keep my oven full of yummy deliciousness that I really can’t do during two of the three other seasons. I love the feeling of being able to have yummy stuff baking while I nestle in with a good read.
    planterofhope(at)aol(dot)com

    Like

  50. WOW! Beautiful pictures. I remember as a teen in central Illinois we would have to detassle the corn in the summer. It was awful, but made lots of money. As for harvesting, I would help my dad in the large garden we had growing up. We had everything! Corn, green beans, peppers, potatoes, carrots, broccoli, pumpkins, squash, watermelon, cantalope. Everything!
    mel
    bournmelissa at hotmail dot com

    Like

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