sweet snow

The ritual of the almond blossoms is something I look forward to each year.  Starting the first part of February, the almond orchards throughout Butte County start to come alive.   As row after row opens into bloom, it looks like Mother Nature sprinkled a covering of snow across their tops.  At peak bloom the sweet fragrance of the blossoms provides quite a heady scent.

Bees play an important part in the pollination process of almond blossoms to

ensure a fall crop.  Prior to the opening of the first buds, bee boxes are lined up throughout the orchards.  In a bee's world, optimum conditions for the pollination process are temperatures above 55 degrees, sunshine and no wind.  When all of these conditions are present, the orchards come alive with the sound of busy bees!

 

 

After the blooms have been pollinated, the petals softly fall to the ground and cover the orchard floor in snow.  This is the last act of the almond blossom show before the curtain falls.  My favorite part!  The sweet fragrance of the blossoms at this point can be almost overwhelming.  The following week, the wonderful whiteness will be just a memory to look forward to again next year.

There are several places that I frequent throughout the year that offer a particularly wondrous view when the almonds are in bloom.  The first is looking Northeast towards Mt. Lassen at Mud Creek.  The tops of the almond blossoms can be seen reaching towards the snow covered mountains.  The blueness of the water in Mud Creek is actually the reflection of the blue sky.

The second is the old red barn on River Road located on Pine Creek just off the Sacramento River.  It is surrounded by almonds and offers a majestic contrast to the sea of white when the trees are in bloom. 

And a last bit of advice if you ever have the opportunity to visit Butte County while the almonds are in bloom.  The local pronunciation is "ammond" with a silent "l".  Rumor has it that in the ammond orchards at harvest time a big machine grabs the tree and shakes the ammond tree until the nuts fall to the ground.  Apparently, the machine is so powerful that it shook the  'L  (hell) right out of the trees.