The Almond capital of the world

HAVE YOU BEEN TO RIPON? AND WHERE IS RIPON?

Ripon is located south of Modesto in northern California and is two-hour’s drive from San Francisco. It is 6 hours from Los Angeles and 1 1/2 hours to Sacramento. Ripon is a small community built in the 1920's. It has rows and rows of bungalows with garage and spacious yards . It is a peaceful place to live where people take pride in caring for their environment. Spring and summer are seasons to visit when the town’s landscapes turn to green. Birds come by for a journey. They come in variety- blue jays and finch; sparrows and woodpeckers plus a lot more like hummingbirds, blue birds and crows.

Left photo: finch birds who came by daily to our porch for feeds, circa spring 2004.

My first springtime here was quite memorable. We discovered a sparrow mom who made home in our porch and built a nest inside my hanging plant! She gave birth to her brood of four but only had three surviving birdies. Husband and I saw how she fed them daily and how she taught them to fly. We saw as well the day they left us behind. The little birds did learn to fly!

Right photo: The sparrow eggs in our porch in spring 2004

Spring and summer are wonderful times in Ripon. It is the season to plant and to garden. In all my travels since 1989 in different cities overseas, I have never seen such groups of people who love to garden as much as the people here in Ripon. When springtime comes, everyone's energy is high as the planting season unfolds. Annuals and perennials (seedlings) are for sale at the local hardware and mall. Once they are bought and brought home, they start to bloom easily as long as proper care and nourishment are given. Springtime in Ripon sees everyone getting busy tinkering something in their yard. Some do both types of gardening (vegetable and floral). Others do only one- but for me, I do both. I enjoy seeing my hardwork come into fruition when my vegetables bear their fruits in the summer through fall. Just the same I savor as well, the magic that gardening brings in when flowers start to bloom. They make a picturesque memento of a springtime here.

Above right: These were the first few flowers I planted when I relocated here in California two years ago this April 06. Above left: my vegetable garden at different stages of development. I also planted herbs that cooking became more fun and when I needed a spice, all I needed was to pick it up in my garden!

I became an "urban farmer" overnight in Ripon. I enjoy gardening to the utmost. Planting seeds into the soil and seeing them germinate and grow into vines, herbs, fruits and flowers are awe-inspiring for me. However, working in the garden has its down side on me as I have pollen allergies but despite this, I still love gardening. It is therapeutic and calming to my spirit, just as playing the piano and painting keep me grounded all the time.

Above left: the dark pink morning glory before it started to flower, graced our porch and made it look so homey last summer until autumn. Above right: the blue morning glory I planted from seeds (also the pink one) was gorgeous but both vines died and dried out quickly at the onset of winter this year. I didn't know they were annuals!

Right: my painting of my late mother-in-law in pastel, done in winter 2004- size: 18" X 24," my coming out painting after dealing with my "artist's block" for more than 5 years...


What's your favorite season?

Springtime is my favorite time of the year as it also marks the season of yard sales. I enjoy this immensely with dear husband coming along with me. We get out of bed early and head for a drive as early as 7 AM (on Saturdays) to catch the best buy (since early birds get the worm)! We sure have lots of fun doing this and we look forward to doing this again this coming spring!

Above: dear husband (in red pull-over and jeans), as seen inspecting what's up on the loop for a bargain in our neighborhood.


Summer for us means going to the farmer's market for fresh produce and trying out different dishes at various places, driving for wine tasting in Napa Valley or just doing about anything under the sun. We enjoy the wide opportunities of being together. Summer is also the time we get together with my in-laws in Lincoln city, Oregon. It is a week of fun with the family.

Over all, Ripon is your typical suburban place where mostly it is quiet and it is seldom that one hears a noise building up in the air. Here, century old sycamore trees highlight its landscape.

What is it like to live in Ripon?

Well, it is just like living in any peaceful place located anywhere. Being here since April 2004 allowed me to introspect on a multitude of things important to me. Now am thankful I am here. I am more adjusted now with my surroundings and finally I feel at home.

Ripon is predominantly a Protestant community. In fact, there are at least 24 Protestant churches located in here. Infrastructure continues to rise in town. Schemper’s Ace Hardware opened its door to the public at the advent of autumn last year. Starbucks rents a space with Schemper's (at the corner of Main Street), facing the Bethany Homes while Mar-Val and Longs remains to be the grocery shop to go for the most of the Ripon residents.

Above left: the Protestant church as seen across my kitchen window. Foreground, our sycamore tree.

Right across Mar-Val is the local postal office, McDonald's, Subway drive-thru and a bank.
There is also the Dollar Tree at the shopping complex nearby plus a bunch of small scale shops (like the pizza place, yarn shop, beauty salon and Chinese restaurant) all housed in the same building of Marval. At the main street section, there is a consignment shop, real estate office, snack bar and herbal medicine shop. Ripon police station is located on the side street, close to the main road leading to the freeway. Presently, constructions of Walgreens and Bethany Homes (for the elderly) are in progress while new home developers sprout like ants in the pavement. They buy uncultivated lands that were once orchards for almonds. These days, they are being developed into townhouses. Businesses flourish in the area; homes are getting sold and re-sold just as investments in real estate go up and down the market.

When my relatives and friends from overseas ask me,

"Hey, where do you guys live?"

I smile and say,

"In Ripon, just two hours from San Francisco..."

...and my litany goes on and on. To know more about our town, I decided to attach this website on all my out going emails to them. This should answer all their queries:

www.cityofripon.org

"Well, this is Ripon, my home, my place, my life with handsome husband; together we create wonderful memories!"