The Big Peach

Photo by Christopher Tomlinson
New York City is known as "The Big Apple". Maybe Grand Junction should
now be known as "The Big Peach". Grower Robert Helmer is holding a peach
that was recently harvested in the Grand Valley that weighs a whopping
1.5 pounds! The size of a softball, he can barely hold it in his hands.
The average peach bought in grocery stores weighs just .5 pounds so, this
is a pretty big one! However, it fell just short of the record, as a peach once
harvested in Michigan grew to 1.6 pounds. Maybe next year...

Palisade Peach Festival

Just a few miles east of our house lies the small town of Palisade.
Palisade is home to many orchards and vineyards, but is probably best
known for it's peaches...especially in Colorado. Every August, the town
holds it's Peach Festival and peach lovers flock in from miles around.
The festival is well run, with great transportation to and from outlying
parking lots. Lynn and I parked near the elementary school and then
walked along the Colorado Riverfront Trail until we came to the festival
grounds at Riverbend Park. It was really sunny and hot, making it a bit
uncomfortable but there were a lot of great craft booths and food stands
for everyone to enjoy. It was a good time had by all.

Valerie's Leaving

Tonight we attended a small going away dinner for our friend,
Valerie, who is moving back to Michigan for a few months.
Our friend Christine, was a fantastic hostess as usual and
since her home is in the middle of wine country near Palisade,
there were tons of stars visible and we saw no less than six
satellites cross overhead. We'll miss Valerie, but she should
be back in the spring.

Palisade Sunday Market

There are a number of Farmer's Markets in the Grand
Valley. Probably most notable is the Grand Junction
Downtown Farmer's Market that happens every Thursday
night. Sometimes though it's nice to visit a smaller,
more intimate market and the small town of Palisade's
Sunday Market fits that bill. I really enjoyed the much
smaller feel of the market and although it took only a
few minutes to walk through, there were lots of
interesting booths and vendors to visit and there was
very little repetition in products. Like other markets,
a lot of the local businesses were also open and we
had a good time visiting the Blue Pig Gallery where our

friend Christine has been known to have some work
displayed. The whole market is only a couple of

streets long, but combined with a really pretty location

and very friendly people, I'm sure we'll visit again.

Bees!

While we were driving through Palisade today, we stopped and
snapped a photo of one of the most important cogs of the Grand
Valley fruit industry...Bees! Most orchard farmers don't own their
own bees, but have them brought in by services each year to have
their fruit trees pollinated. Without pollination, there would be
no fruit. The bees are so important to the local economy that the
Town of Palisade recently held their International Honey Bee
Festival to honor them!

Fruit Blossoms

It's spring in the Grand Valley and since our valley is known for
it's fruit orchards, there are lots of blossoms this time time of year.
They are especially pretty in the Palisade area. In the next few
months we'll have fresh, locally grown peaches, nectarines, apricots,
cherries, apples, plums, pears and grapes