Photo essay – A late fall afternoon spent harvesting:

Every neighborhood  has adventures just outside its borders. Most of us live and drive within the same 25 miles all the time. Where we drive mostly depends on work and family pressures, so it’s a joy to escape the routine and explore a bit further or try out a new area. You can be a tourist in your own town,without the budgetary strain!

Here’s a photo essay from a recent adventure. I look forward to visiting these Persimmon trees each year and a late harvest of their bounty. They line a road less than a half hour’s drive from San Diego.

Enjoy!

persimmon buckets car

On most weekends in the fall, families line the rural street with cars.

 

Family Persimmon Pickers Some come prepared to reach the top. We’ve found lots of fruit within arms reach.

 

SydneyUp the hill from the street is the tree owner. Sydney runs the family business and oversees the harvest. You can purchase buckets full ready to take home. She also provides empty buckets for you to fill and then charges by how much you pick. Win.Win.

 

Persimmon toddlers

The little kids have a blast running in the leaves and picking up ripe fruit. No one wants to be left out.

 

Dave PersimmonEveryone goes home happy.

What you do with them at home is another story. We’ve taken to slicing the ripe Persimmons and putting them on dryer trays. The thin, crisp slices are better than candy (and better for you.) Other types of Persimmons are better for cooking.

 

Persimmon buckets

Taken in Ramona, California

Photos: Elaine J. Masters