5 o'clock and the weekend is here!

Cloudy skies in both instances, but quite a difference between March (L) and September (R). Now it's time to order #covercrop seed to convert the coming rainy season precipitation into next year's soil organic matter.

I’m guessing 1 and 3 Also, it’s critical media coverage does not normalize this in any way

When someone does a better job than you at captioning your pics.

See that? Of course not! What you don't see are Californicus mites, released in our orchard to consume persea mites who feed on #avocado leaves and can weaken trees and lead to sunburned or dropped fruit. They're small, but do a big job. #IPM

A snapshot of Silicon Valley in 2025 is Mark Zuckerberg, now a MAGA-friendly mixed martial arts fan who doesn’t worry much about hate speech on his platforms and complains that corporate America isn’t masculine enough.

Roscoe is all smiles after spending his day in the #avocado orchard. Now he can just sit on my feet and relax.

Remnants of a tropical storm are pushing into our area. This muggy weather (80 degrees and 90% RH at 9:30) should bring some rain starting overnight, especially in the mountains that feed our aquifer. Not used to putting out the rain gauge in September!

A very helpdul reminder for me to get that men's health examination sorted.

Today is #nationalguacamoleday, but no one told the #avocados. These won't be ready until next spring.

#avocado trees have two major growth spurts during the year, spring and late summer. Under foggy morning skies, this one in Santa Paula is showing some nice vigor.

Don't have any particular point, other than that this one year old #avocado tree is making me happy. Updates as the situation warrants.

"Books. How do they work?"

While the #avocado trees planted in 2022 are still a bit small, they are strong enough to carry a crop for next season. Looking forward to seeing how they deliver in March-April 2026.

In my Navy flying days we did some support ops for USCG and DEA. My understanding was that extra bodies took up cargo space, plus each extra person was a potential leak or witness. Don't send 11 guys to do the job of 1 or 2. Vessels that appeared undercrewed drew suspicion, not overcrewed.

During our irrigation this morning, we experimented with impact sprinklers in a few locations in the orchard. Not for irrigation, but as a form of fire preparation (since that season is coming). Mixed results, will make tweaks and try it again soon.

A lot of #avocado promotions this weekend due to 5-10 million extra pounds in the market. Chance to get some deals, help CA growers close out the season, so stock up and guac up!

“I’m a journalist, not a historian, but I’m a student of history. There aren’t very many countries in which the figurative political head of the country assembled his own personal paramilitary force that was loyal only to him where things turned out well. So that’s where I think we are right now.”

Roscoe looks small on a big pile of mulch, but he's about 55 lbs now. This mulch will get spread amongst the young #avocado trees, helping them grow. He just knows it's fun to climb and roll in the pine needles.

Robert Rivas and Shannon Douglass: “These immigrants are nothing less than the backbone of America’s food supply, doing jobs that few native-born Americans seek. The [ICE] raids targeting them now will have real consequences for all Americans…” www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/o...

You do not often see the Speaker of the CA State Assembly and the President of the California Farm Bureau coauthoring opinions. That this moment has called for it underlines the unusual times we are in.

After a week that required too much time in the office, it was nice to get out with the pups and do a little pruning "after work."

After a 100 degree day in Santa Paula, the avocado trees are looking good. Partly due to pre-irrigating before the heat, partly due to relatively humid conditions from the monsoon weather pattern. Note clouds in pic, not usually seen with hot weather here.

When it hits 95 degrees running through the orchard sprinklers isn't enough for Keiko... she insists on her plunge pool. (Which had been clean water 5 minutes earlier)

Relentless focus on irrigation efficiency early in the season means we have the luxury of giving the #avocado trees a little extra with hot weather coming.

I shared this obviously-full-of-ridiculously-wrong-nonsense diagram And it’s striking how many AI fan techbros say that the problem is me not understanding the power of this tool No, the problem is that it generates response that are full of ridiculously wrong nonsense and people believe it.

Wishing everyone a dragonfruit flower kind of morning.

This one year old #avocado tree had more than 30 egg sized fruit on it. That would be a great strain on such a small tree, so we thinned it out. Ludwig is proud of his supervisory role.

Orchard practices are always evolving. With these avocado trees (planted 2022) we are taking a much more active role in pruning and shaping while they're small. Hoping for less pruning and better production later on.

Tried to get away from work for a bit, but #avocados are in the Central American jungle, so I got a few reminders....

Ello has detected another broken irrigation riser. Keeping the lines, hoses and sprinklers working makes for happy #avocado trees.

Happy semiannual groundwater usage reporting day for those who celebrate. Read the meter, do the math, complete the form, pay the fee. Another incentive for us to keep our water use down. Happy to say we're doing well, but the hot, dry part of the year is yet to come.

Roscoe ambles through the #avocado orchard with Santa Paula Peak and San Cayetano in the background. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Where did the winter #covercrop go? It's still there, but after mowing it is acting as a mulch, protecting the soil from wind and sun, preserving water for the #avocados.

Why do we grow 2 varieties of #avocado? To even out production swings. Last year Hass out produced Lambs 3:1. This year Lambs win 9:1. Less volatility with 2 varieties.

We've been quiet the last few weeks as we completed our 2025 #avocado harvest. Did not want to draw attention to a crew in the field. But many thanks to the hardworking guys who brought in the crop.

A Wednesday morning look at 6 year old #avocado trees in a moderate density planting scheme. Pruning to relieve crowding and competition for light will be important going forward, but should pay for itself in higher production.

🥗 #WeFeedYou www.nytimes.com/2025/07/10/u...

Happy to be out in the orchard. Impatient that I'm on foot, not on the ATV. SO SLOW!

Took a lot of pictures this morning of our 12 year old #avocado trees. They will be getting a heavy pruning this summer. Hoping to improve productivity, sunlight infiltration and reduce competition among the tightly planted trees for the future.

Some empty beeboxes await new tenants among the mustard. #avocados in the background.

This is laughably insane. She seems to think that people currently on medicaid (63% of nursing home residents and 60% of people with long term care needs) are going to suddenly become farm laborers and this will somehow fill the void between now and full automation IE Robots working the fields.

Keiko inspects cleared ground where additional trees will be planted in Santa Paula. 93060 is the leading #avocado zip code in the US by acreage.

A lot of this country’s problems boil down to straight white men who see themselves as some sort of default “normal” but any variation on that as “an identity” that is “political”

Boom.

"How will we eat if there are no farms?" I mean... it's not a perfect solution, but... www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

Was thinking about a thoughtful, zen post about perfection captured in a single tree. Then Keiko busts through the frame and confronts a previously unseen skunk 50 feet to my right. Standoff did not result in any harm. But the zen moment had passed.

Fog creeps up the Santa Clara River Valley.

This time of year is when our soil moisture monitoring system pays for itself. Being able to see when we have saturated the root zone instead of guessing saved about 150,000 gallons of water today.

Ventura County 2024 crop report came out this week. #avocados were the second most valuable crop (wholesale $ to grower) at $338M. 170% more than 2023. Nice growth, but that had more to do with alternating cropping cycle. But increased acreage in county helps.