california

I grew up living next door to orange groves.

The fans that would come on to protect them from frost in the night would lull me to sleep.

We played in them at the risk of getting in trouble, and walked home with fallen, rotten oranges stuck in the soles of our shoes.

The smell of them in the Spring is something everyone should experience at least once.

I just think fruit trees are so beautiful.

Orange trees feel like home.

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21 Comments

  1. i, too grew up in Orange trees. And lemons, and avocados. But it is the smell of the orange Blossoms that I miss the most. Thanks for sharing. :)

  2. We lived in what used to be an orange grove in Clearwater Florida, for 7 years. The smell of the orange blossoms in the spring is simply amazing. Good memories.

  3. but they are almost all gone now =/

    i still remember how livid alisha was about everything changing back then, the last straw was the new mail box

    she walked up to it and screamed
    “ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME???!!”

    your sister is cute.

  4. I grew up in California and was surrounded by grape vineyards. My husband grew up in the middle of an orange grove! We live in Colorado now but when we go back to visit family I love to take pics of the orange grove and trees. Gotta love all that agriculture in Cali. One of the biggest things I miss about the state!

  5. I grew up in the middle of an orange grove in central Florida. It was a wonderful playground and I miss them very much now that they are mostly gone. I do have a tangerine, a lime and a grapefruit tree in my yard and I love the smell in the Spring (even if I am ALLERGIC!!)

  6. Yes Tara! I love your description. I live right across the street from those beloved orange groves and fans! Come visit them before they are turned into Target!

  7. Born and raised in Vermont and just a short 5 minute drive from my favorite APPLE orchards. Last week, the trees were in full bloom. The ground a bed of dandelions. SO SO pretty! I drove with two VERY uncooperative children. Hoping to capture a moment or two with this beautiful backdrop that nature had provided for us. The bees.. OMG, there were BEES! Who were happily busy, btw. And SUN! And let us just say that by the time we left, I wished for some wine with their whines. And I cried. I really cried! Because the sweet man that owned the orchard told me that these blossoms are gone just as soon as they come. He was right. I drove by a couple of days later and a good wind had taken them. Sigh. Always next year! ;)

  8. I whole heartedly agree! Growing up in the Santa Clara Valley, way before Silicon, we still had groves of cherry, plum and apricot trees throughout the suburbs. We always knew that summer truly arrived by the first cherry stands.

  9. This post made me so unbelievably happy. My grandmother lived in Rancho Bernardo and her backyard was an orange grove. I grew up in the Pacific Northwest but our at least annual trips down to the sunshine are still so clear and saturated with love.

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