The month of January 2010 was the roughest anyone can remember, even the old-timers!  The first two weeks of January were devastating to our trees in the Shop Grove.  Basically, fruit is damaged when the temperatures are at or below 28 degrees for 4 or more hours.  The leaves and twigs will take a bit lower, and the older branches of the tree are the most cold hardy.

 

Well, the temperatures were low enough to damage the trees all the way back into the mature wood.  Here's the graph of the worst few days:

 

 

You can see that we had 9 nights out of 10 with temperatures below 28 degrees.  It snowed all the way down to Tampa -- including a dusting in Citra.

 

Fortunately we had picked all the fruit during the holiday season, but the trees were hit hard.  We started to see the effects after about a week as the temperature started to "warm" up.  The first sign was that the leaves began to curl, indicating that they were damaged and would fall.  Here's how it looked at first:

 

 

The leaves eventually dropped, and we had a warm stretch of weather and the trees tried to start growing, much too early.  Sure enough, another stretch of cold weather with temperatures down into the 20's came along and hit them again.  That one killed the smaller twigs and branches on the trees.  At that point, we knew that we are in for a rehabilitation effort that would probably last a couple of years.  We were kept in suspense though, as the cold temperatures lingered all the way through the month of March.  Here's what the trees looked like about then:

 

 

We could scratch the bark of the larger wood and see green bark, so we knew they were still alive.  Finally, in early April, we started seeing the signs of life we were anxiously awaiting as the first new shoots began to emerge from deep in the tree.  They came from buds that had been dormant for maybe 15 years, stored away by the trees just in case disaster ever hit.  Our faithful trees never stopped trying, and we were overjoyed to see the promise of recovery.  Here's what the new shoots looked like:

 

 

These new shoots will eventually grow into a new tree.  We'll have to do some pruning, and really be careful with the care of the trees.  We're planning on installing a new irrigation system to help protect them over the next couple of winters.  We're hopeful that they'll make a quick recovery and get back in production soon.

 

The wildflowers:  Last week we were up at the shop and noticed something very beautiful.  The trees in the Shop Grove were 20 years old, and had long shaded the ground under each tree.  Now that there are no leaves on the trees, the Florida spring sunshine is bathing the soil, and long-dormant seeds are beginning to sprout for the first time in many years.  We noticed the appearance of a plant with delicate flowers that were rich blue in color, and very delicate.  Check these out:

 

 

Here's a close-up:

 

 

No doubt one of our customers will recognize these and let us know what they are.  All we know is that they are stunning, and only appeared for a brief time before the daytime temperatures climbed into the 80's.  It struck us, though, that it was like the Lord was saying, "OK, I've allowed you to enjoy the fruits of your trees for many years.  Now it's time to let some of my other creations emerge and enrich your lives, just for a moment.  The cost will only make you appreciate them even more.  Once they've had a chance to make the world beautiful and complete a life cycle to renew their supply of seeds for the future, we'll get on with bringing your trees back again".

 

How can we stand in the middle of a frozen-out orange grove and believe that we are among the most fortunate people in the world?  By seeing the majesty of nature, and appreciating that we do not control anything.  We can have some impact with our management, and work hard to produce delicious fruit for your gifts, but ultimately we're not the ones in charge.  We appreciate the richness of our experience, and hope by sharing it with you, when you receive or send a box of our fruit, you'll feel a part of it, too!

 

Looking ahead:  We have other groves near Citra that are more protected from cold, and they came through just fine so we'll have plenty of Navels next year.  Our groves down in the Indian River escaped any damage, and are busily flowering and producing next year's crops.  As always, our careful choice of grove locations will ensure plenty of fruit for next year.  Here's some flowers on a Honeybell tree a few days ago:

 

 

Next time you're headed to Florida, or if you live nearby, plan on stopping by Citra or Fort Pierce and we'll show you the groves.  We're never too busy to spend the time, because ultimately it is all about you.  As Fletcher says, "It's your place, we just take care of it for you".  Let's hope it adds richness to your life, too.