Living on the Ridge

 I was reading this book last week and it got me thinking about ….

This quote is from one of my favorite podcasts last week-What Should I Read Next?

When I heard that, I realized that I say that frequently.  Right now, I'm studying the growing of oranges.  This is how I got to my current topic of study-growing oranges.

So "I was reading this book last week and it got me thinking about how oranges are grown here in Florida."  The book was Oranges by John McPhee.  

Found out we live on "The Ridge".  A prime citrus growing area in Florida that runs from Leesburg to Sebring.  We live just north of Sebring.  

Oranges are fascinating.  Did you know that ....?

• Oranges from the top of the tree are sweeter than fruit from the bottom of the tree
• Oranges are sweeter on the south side of the tree
• There are sweeter sections within an orange.  The blossom end is sweeter than the other side of the orange.

We have an orange grove nearby that sells fruit as well as orange ice cream.  It is a favorite for us and we often take our visitors there.  They sell fresh squeezed orange and grapefruit juice.  

 Tom and I have been exploring around this area looking at orange groves and processing plants.  The orange industry here has been hit hard with a disease called greening.  Lower cost imported fruit from Brazil is seems to have hit the industry hard too.  In 1970, the United States was the top producer of oranges in the world.  We outproduced the countries in 2nd to fourth place.  Now we are the 5th largest producer of oranges.  

Orange groves often have fruit that has fallen off the tree but it is a big no-no to stop and pick it up.  This didn't stop my grandmother and her sister from sampling oranges on a visit too Florida in the 1960's.  I've been remembering stories from here this week and there are a lot of them.  

My grandmother told me this story about berry picking when she was young.

My grandmother always loved to pick berries.  Berries of any kind-blueberries, strawberries, raspberries.  She shared a memory with me from her young days about berry picking.  Her five sisters shared the love of fresh berries.  Their neighbor down the road had a big strawberry patch that proved to be too much of a temptation for them.  One summer day, they sneaked to the patch and helped themselves.  While feasting on the berries, they heard the neighbor approaching.  The six girls quickly left and hid nearby.  The neighbor arrived at the patch and said, "The Mitchell hussies have been here."  The story always makes me smile because all six girls were devout Christians but apparently fresh strawberries caused them to be called hussies.

It has been a fun week thinking about oranges and learning more about them.

What have you been reading this week and what has it gotten you thinking about?  I'd love to hear from you.