Apricot season is in full swing and that means that fresh Apricots are in the stores.

Last weekend was the Apricot Fiesta in Patterson.

I have found that the one thing to make sure you get at the Apricot Fiesta is the Apricot Ice Cream

The only question was one scoop or two, and did I want to get it in a cone or a cup.

It was really hot outside, so I opted to get my two scoops of Apricot Ice Cream in a cup. Then I could eat is slowly and not have to worry about a dripping ice cream cone.

The ice cream was really delicious. I believe it was better than it was last year.

This weekend I decided to get a few pictures of an apricot orchard.

Here we see an apricot orchard that is almost ready for harvest. The Apricot Fiesta is actually held a bit earlier than the harvest time for the area. The apricots that are sold at the fiesta come from areas further south, but still are from the Great Valley of California.

Here is a closer look at the fruit laden apricot trees. The apricots are a beautiful color and they look like they are about ready for harvest.

Here is even a closer look. You can see how close together the apricots grow on the trees. The apricots are still hard, but with the warm weather they will soon be ready for harvest. The orchards will soon be full of pickers.

When you buy fresh apricots in the next couple of months at your grocery store, think about where they came from. They might have come from Patterson, which at one time was the largest producer of apricots in the world. The number of apricot orchards is dwindling now because of competition from other countries.

For example, if you buy dried apricots they are probably from Turkey, which has 95% of the dried apricot market.

What is your favorite fruit?

Steven