Page 10 - Sanger Herald 5-31-18 E-edition

Lifestyles
SANGER HERALD • 2B • THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2018
Fruit Trail enters 15th year
Sanger
By Mike Nemeth
Sanger Herald
Buddy Mendes last week officially kicked off the 2018 Fresno County Fruit Trail, a self-guided tour through the state’s agricultural heartland that offers visitors a glimpse of the beauty, bounty and flavor of one of the most productive regions in the country.
“One of the top attractions in the state,” he called it.
Mendes, a Fresno County supervisor and one who makes a pilgrimage to multiple events across the region, emceed a brief but substantive event at Simonian Farms at Clovis and Jensen avenues. A number of the 31 trail members, whose operations are identified on trail maps available online at gofruittrail.com, gave presentations outlining their operations, new products or testimony of how the trail has evolved.
“It’s incredible to know what our farmers and ranchers are doing,” said Ryan Jacobsen, chief executive and executive director of the Fresno County Farm Bureau. “All our jobs depend on ag.”
For the trail’s 15th season, quantifying just how many people visit the region just to stop at the roadside fruit stands or stop at markets, restaurants and other attractions remains difficult. But Kristi Johnson, Fresno County tourism manager, said anecdotal evidence and increasing social media activity suggest a sophistication of the trail follower and continued expansion in the numbers who travel from outside the region to see what it has to offer.
Johnson said the trail has “become this area tradition
To get an item into the calendar, email details to nemethfeatures@gmail. com or call Mike or Sharon at 559-875-2511.
Sanger offers a junior lifeguard program again this year thanks to a Wonderful Co. grant. Participants work to develop skills to meet lifeguard course requirements, such as
Make It a Habit
When an engine blew on the Airbus that United Airlines captain Ed Palaccio was flying, the instrument panel lit up like a Christmas tree.
When Ed was asked, “What did you think about when this happened?” His reply was: “I didn’t have time to think. I instinctively did what I had been trained to do.” His passengers were glad that Ed hadn’t been sleeping in class when they covered those procedures. He was so well trained and disciplined, his reactions were instinctive and habitual.
Habit is the flywheel of
Mike Nemeth / Sanger Herald
Lorena Ramos talks about the benefits of cultivating moringa, which is rich in protein.
after year from outside the region. But she said she does get some interesting questions. She said one stood out. The person asked, “I want to know what you think about this drought? Do you have time (to explain its effects)? I said, ‘Do you have hours?’”
Another: “Are nectarines a fuzzless peach?”
A third: “Do you have to plant an orchard every year?”
Hudson said the stands establish a link between farm and market. And she said she does answer every question, giving her visitors a greater perspective of what it takes to grow fruit, nuts and any kind of crop in the Central Valley. “You put a face on our industry,” she said.
And Hudson has been part of the trail since its founding 15 years ago. She said the family now has a seventh generation in farming.
Kings River Winery at 4276 S. Greenwood Ave. has become an increasingly popular stop, and winemaker Bob Bagdasarian said his operation now features about 16 different varieties “all produced and grown there.”
Bagdasarian said Kings River has four new varieties coming out June 4 — a zinfandel, an Apache red, a tempranillo (full- bodied red) and a petite sirah. “The weather right now is really good for wine grapes,” he said. “This year everything looks good.”
The mild spring kept temperatures from getting too hot.
Blair Smittcamp-Martin of Wawona’s Peach Tree Fruit Stand in Clovis brought small fresh-baked pastries with either peaches or berries. They were a big hit. Smittcamp-Martin said this year’s peach crop is
still at least a week away. And Lorena Ramos, a research marketing associate with Fresno County U.C. Cooperative Extension, talked about a new leafy crop that with the right kind of secondary processing could make a big impact in the Valley market. The crop, moringa, already is being grown by some Hmong farmers for the fresh market. But the real potential is vast,
Ramos said.
“It only lasts for a few
days fresh,” she said. But turn the leaves into a powder and moringa becomes a superfood that can be added to everything from shakes to oatmeal. “It’s rich in vitamins and minerals. It has a lot of potential in the market.”
Ramos said she’s working to help farmers establish a powdered supply. A 100 gram serving of moringa has more protein than a cup of milk and more iron than a cup of spinach. “The market’s already there,” she said.
And it may become the next emerging crop. Fresno County in 2016, the last year for which statistics are available, generated $6.18 billion in production value over a wide array of products. That’s more than 400 commodities with 68 of them generating more than a million dollars each.
One of the best stops on the trail remains the Simonian Farms barn, which is filled to the rafters with products, wine and historical items. Mendes mentioned it. “My uncle’s barn is nice,” he said. “But this is my uncle’s barn on steroids. Good steroids.”
The reporter can be contacted by email at nemethfeatures@gmail.com or by phone at the Herald at (559) 875-2511.
Mike Nemeth / Sanger Herald
recognized around the state and, really, around the world.” She said the “large and loyal following” advocates the attractions, drawing others to visit. And she said it doesn’t disappoint. “There’s history
in-water rescue and other basics. The course is open to ages 13 to 17, costs $50 and runs from June 19 to July 27. Register at the Sanger recreation office, 1700 Seventh St. Details, 559-876-6300, option 2.
Sanger’s Movie Night in the Park continues this summer. Show times are 8:45 p.m. Here’s the lineup: June 16 “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell
society. Habits, of course, work both ways — good ones and bad ones.
Years ago, Harvard University psychology professor William James wrote, “If we realized the extent to which we are mere walking bundles of habits, we would give more heed to their formation. We are spinning our own fates, good or evil — and never to be undone.”
Walk into an auditorium you’ve never been in before and sit down. Come back a week later and where do you sit? Exactly where you were the week before! After three times, you’re hooked.
Think about it, you park in the same spot, sit in
in every corner,” she said. Liz Hudson said her Hudson Farms stand at Academy Avenue just south of Central Avenue opens June 14. She said she went out and picked some squash for her display at
No Tales” at City Annex, June 23 “Despicable Me 3” at Community Pool, July 7 “Paddington 2” at Community Pool, July 14 “The Legend of Tarzan” at City Annex, July 21 “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” at City Annex, July 28 “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” at City Annex, and Aug. 4 “Coco” at Community Pool.
Summer Fun at the Community Center continues again this year. For children 5 to 12, it includes two-week
the kickoff. And she made some pretty fantastic cake- style cobbler with peaches and blueberries for those who attended.
Hudson said she loves her clientele, many of whom travel to her stand year
sessions 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday in four sessions: June 11 to 22, June 25 to July 6, July 9toJuly20andJuly23 to Aug. 3. One session is $40 or $140 for all. Older youth 13 to 15 can enroll in a junior recreation leader program that provides fun, leadership training and a T-shirt. Cost is $100 for all eight weeks. Field trips are included. Details, 559-876- 6300, option 2 or recinfo@ ci.sanger.ca.us.
Folks involved with the Sanger Adult Transition Program stopped by the newspaper today, and we showed them around. Our visitors got to see the old Goss Community press run. We welcome tours like this and enjoy showing young people how a real newspaper is put together.
Sanger News & Community Calendar
PASTOR’S CORNER
the same seat,
eat at the same restaurants and
do the same thing
time after time,
month after month,
year after year. Samuel Johnson stated, “The
chains of habit
are generally too small to be felt until they are too strong to be broken.”
Frank A. Clark remarked, “A habit is something you can do without thinking, which is why most of us have so many of them.”
Are you a victim of your habits? Or can you change your habits and life style?
Habits can be broken. But it has to be because of strong motivation,
something stronger than the force of habit, which created motivation to change. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the
tail off an inch at a time. The Ephesians burned their magic books in one great fire. Draw a line and by the grace of God cross it, never to return.
Guideline No. 2: Establish a new habit immediately. “Inthemain,”wroteHenry James, “all experts agree that abrupt acquisition of the new habit is the best way.” You’ll also find God’s help and strength in this guideline, which takes you beyond where you are in the natural. There is God’s help to overcome man’s failure — your failure.
Guideline No. 3: Go public with your commitment. Run up the flag. Tell your friends. Sign a pledge. Paint a sign or fly a banner but
don’t go back. Make a clean break with past habits and friends that drag you down. Nobody but you can do this. But you can.
Guideline No. 4: Reach out for God’s strength. The Bible is full of promises of help. “The power that works in you,” is the Holy Spirit. It’s his hand within giving you strength to be the person he wants you to be. He makes the difference.
Pastor Sam Estes is city advance director and facilitates the Sanger Community Task Force that meets the first and third Tuesdays every month. He can be reached at pastorsam51@gmail.com.
PastorSamEstes
old has gone, the new has come!”
Being a new person, a new creation, means new habits. The following guidelines can make a difference in your life. Harold J. Sala, president of Guidelines International Inc., gives these guidelines for breaking habits.
Guideline No. 1: Break with the old habit decisively. Don’t cut a dog’s