Well, the almonds in most of California are in full bloom, which was where these were taken today. It's an old dry land orchard, that's been producing for decades, even though they only get 6-10 inches of rain every year. They plant two kinds of almonds, since almonds won't produce without being pollinated by another genetically different almond tree. Named almond varieties are all grafted, so they are genetically identical, and won't produce anything at all! So farmers mix different types together, and even in high tech California a billion dollar industry all comes down to an insect.

The Septuagint version of Proverbs chapter 6 says

The bees go from one tree to another, and in the hive, the bump into each other and the pollen gets mixed around, so odds are really high that every bee that goes out of the hive has grains from more than one type of almond, and so basically every time they land on a flower, it can cause a fruit to form.

I've been doing this farmer's pollinating for years now, and it's really fun, since he owns a commercial candy kitchen. I don't eat too many sweets, but he makes an almond brittle that's renowned in this area, and when he sends me my pollination fee, he always sends a nice packet of almond brittle. The kids really look forward to it each year.

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Tim Vaughan
Member, Redeemer Presbyterian, OPC,
Santa Maria
California

Way cool!! I wish I could have your job Tim. I just love flowers and trees and everything that has to do with them. Keeping bees would be so neat.

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Traci
Lynnwood OPC
"I have taken all my good deeds, and all my bad deeds, and cast them through each other in a heap before the Lord, and fled from both, and betaken myself to the Lord Jesus Christ, and in him I have sweet peace."--David Dickson

One year, I had to spend a chunk of time in DC and left in mid-March to go home to the great valley of California. As I left, the weather in DC was grey and spitting snow. When I got home, all the almond trees were in bloom. What a glorious contrast.

And bee keeping; how cool! I always wished I had the kind of room around me to keep bees.

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JWithnell
Member Bethel OPC
Virginia
http://learningyesican.blogspot.com/

Thanks for sharing!
My sister-in-law's family are almond farmers in Durham.
I've looked into keeping bees and maybe someday I'll have some. They are amazing creatures

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Rose, wife of Cody
Momma to Cosette
Redding, CA

Love... it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 1 Corinthians 13:6-7

My blog: Prudenza

Very beautiful trees (and the purplish grass, sweeping up the hillside).

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Heidi
Indianapolis, Indiana

Patience must dwell with Love, for Love and Sorrow
Have pitched their tent together here:
Love all alone will build a house tomorrow,
And sorrow not be near. -Christina Rossetti

Great pics thanks for sharing

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Martin - Reformed
Husband to the most godly, honorable and loyal wife Line
Searching for a Church
Webpage www.5solas.dk
Free Online Reformed Seminary - http://www.tnars.net
Soli Deo Gloria

SLO County almond groves! Worked in them driving a tractor with trailer picking up bags the pickers would leave as they went to take them to the co-op shelling mill. The tree shakers were quite a sight to behold. Beautiful country, Tim.

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Brad
Member- Eagle Heights PCA
Winchester, VA

Pro 16:33 The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.

Isa 8:20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

How are your bees? I thought the ones in CA were hard hit by the mysterious bee killer plague. The guy in PA we get honey from lost a lot of his hives.

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Lynnie

PCA

Central NJ

Nice pictures. One of these days I'll have to post some of mine.

BTW, I note that you are a builder of tops like me.

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We shall not adjust our Bible to the age; but before we have done with it, by God's grace, we shall adjust the age to the Bible. - Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Lawrence Underwood, Jr.
Pastor - Providence Family Fellowship / Mobile, Alabama
1644/46 LBC
My Blog - Imprimis

That is really cool. How far are you from Monterey or Vacaville Tim? I'll be visiting relatives there in the future and it would be nice to meet you.

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Rich
PCA, Northern VA
Student, New Geneva Theological Seminary

WebsiteMaven - Web Hosting Reviews, Guides, and Advice to build and promote your web site.
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Monterrey is just about an hour and a half away. My town and Monterrey are both right off the same highway. Be sure to PM me before you go!

Yes, there is something, probably a virus that's been really hard on bees, but mine seem to be doing fine. Not that it's easy, as Lawrence can tell you, but with a bit of work and God's blessing, the bees are out doing their job. This morning I started at 4am to take some hives to a raspberry farmer, so I covered quite a bit of territory, then a tree trimming job, so time for a beer.

Thanks, all.

That's way cool Tim... and what beautiful countryside.

I've wanted to keep bees ever since learning the story of Mary Jones of the British and Foreign Bible Society fame.

You make it look easy.

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Steve Butts - Former SBC-er
Three Forms of Unity - Bradenton CRCNA - Bradenton, Florida
(A conservative member in a conservative congregation)

"Turning away to false Theology is equal to turning away to false gods" — Francis Schaeffer (Death in the City)

Wow, How cool. You mean you take your bees to the trees, let them do their work pollinating, and then take the bees home? What a great job, and important!

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Timothy Johnson
First United Presbyterian of Moline
PCUSA (Yea, I know)
Theology/Philosophy Sunday School Teacher
Davenport, IA

I love Almonds!!!


So thank you for taking your bees to pollinate them

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Bobbi Clark
Covenant Member
Pinewood Pres. (PCA) Middleburg

When I kept Silent, My bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. Psalm 32:3

I'm out of 'thanks', as well as allergic to almonds (my loss, I know). But boy, having an office like that is like working in God's rec room!

Theognome

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Bill Cunningham
Covenant Reformed Church, URC
Kansas City
There are three kinds of people- those who can count, and those who can't.

Yes, Tim. Almonds bloom from late Feb. to early April, depending on where they are. I keep the bees there about 6 weeks, and then move them to someone else who needs them, or to an area where I can get some nice honey production. Here's one of the bees working on a flower from that same orchard a few years back. She is gathering pollen for the babies, and nectar for the adults, and she incidentally brings pollen from a genetically different almond tree to the female part of the flower, which on almonds, is in the middle, so the tree gets a chance to reproduce.

So everyone scores. The farmer makes many hundreds of dollars in increased production, the consumer gets a cheaper product because with better production supply is greater and the price drops. I get some extra money, and the bees love the almond pollen because it lets them feed extra babies in late winter when not much else is blooming.

Absolutely stunning!

Tim, you always seem to have something wonderful to share about God's creation. Thanks for sharing those.

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J Baldwin
Keowee Presbyterian Church, PCA
Pickens, SC
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” Luke 10:27

Check Out My Blog: http://reflectjoy.blogspot.com/

Thanks Tim for the info. That's one happy lookin bee!