Nature Journal #8: Backyard in San Marino, CA
During Thanksgiving break, I had the opportunity to return to my hometown of San Marino, California. I have lived in this small suburb of Los Angeles (only 12,000 people and 4 sq miles) for my whole life. Although I was eager to leave my small town for college, I will always miss my beautiful and unique California backyard. My parents told me that, when an arborist analyzed it, they noted eight unique fruit trees. Although I cannot recall them all, I decided to take a nature walk in my backyard during break to inspect the different trees I could find and notice how they have changed throughout the seasons and years. Unfortunately, many of the trees are not producing fruit in the winter.
Before our house was built in the 1940s, the land was an orange orchard. I believe this is what made the grounds so suitable for a variety of different trees to thrive. As you walk towards the back of my yard, there lies our largest tree: an avocado tree. When in season, the straggly branches create copious amounts of avocados. Unfortunately, the squirrels often get to them quickly, leaves half eaten pits scattered along the path. I feel ashamed that I have never eaten one of the avocados before, but they often take a long time to become ripe.
If you turn right from there, you approach our first of two tangerine trees. These are not producing fruit during this time of year, so they appear bare. Once again, I have never eaten one of our tangerines. As I write this, I realize how pitiful this sounds; perhaps this journal will motivate me to try more of my fruit. From there, we approach the fig tree. This tree has been very stubborn over time, as it stopped producing fruit for years. We thought that it had died, but then it began producing again. Hopefully, we shall see more figs in the summer time. Directly adjacent to the fig tree is a kumquat tree. For those unaware, these are small orange citrusy fruits the size of grapes. I have eaten these, and they are delicious!
Next, we arrive to our most highly producing tree...which has also caused some issues for us. While all the other trees have stopped producing for the winter, our persimmon tree is in full season! Ironically, this tree is partially above the driveway, so the fruits drop, splatter, and create stains. Sometimes I think, if only the fig tree overlooked the driveway. Each year, we have nonprofit companies visit the house to collect our persimmons to donate them. I suppose good has come from that persimmon tree after all. Lastly, our lemon tree sits directly next to my bedroom. This tree also produces abundant fruit, but it has been sparse this winter. We utilize this tree frequently, often picking juicy lemons for recipes. I have fond memories of making lemonade from the tree to sell with my brother at our own lemonade stand. I am going to be heartbroken once my parents eventually move out of our home, because I know we will never have another backyard as special as this one. It has facilitated so much joy throughout my childhood and also been resourceful for others, exemplifying how therapeutic nature can be.
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