Cherry Picking in Leona Valley (California)

I’m a sucker for harvesting fruit.  Mostly because if I harvest it, I know I get to eat it.  And tree-ripened fruit trumps store-bought fruit any day.  (Well, so long as it’s not wormy or buggy!)

Each year, “you pick” cherry orchards open in Leona Valley, near Palmdale and Lancaster, an hour or two north of Los Angeles.  The cherry season is short, dictated by weather.  It usually starts in late May or so and runs through mid- to late June.  But all of that depends on the weather.  This year, most of the cherry farms didn’t open for picking until June.  Some of the smaller farms ran out of cherries the first weekend.

Even large farms like Villa del Sol don’t expect they’ll make to to Fourth of July.  A worker there told me that with the weather starting to heat up, the cherries start to get mushy.

Some years, a late freeze can wipe out much of the crop.  At Villa del Sol this year, a late freeze wiped out a little bit of their cherry crop, but only a certain type of cherry that is more sensitive to the late cold.

Each year, for the last couple of years, I’ve made the trek in mid-June to get my cherry fix.  I skip the Bings and other red cherries and head straight for the Rainier cherries.  They are a type of white cherry.  On the tree, they’re sort of a yellowish pink.  And off the tree, they can be downright addicting.

This year’s cherries are much smaller than last year’s cherries, no matter what orchard you go to.  I asked the owners at C&D Cherries in Leona Valley and they said the fact they only got seven inches of rain this year made the difference.  That’s about half the regular annual rainfall.

And this year, it rained at odd times.  It was sunny and hot when we’d normally get rain in Southern California.  And we got rain when it’d normally be fairly dry.  So the strange weather year means smaller cherries.  But that’s okay, because they still taste good!

So here are my tips for cherry picking in Southern California:

• Call before you go.  Some places open earlier than others and some sell out earlier than others.  Some are open weekdays.  Some are not.  Many of the farms have email lists that’ll update you when they open and when they close.
• Wear clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty or stained.  (I’ve never gotten stained, but cherry picking can be dirty and dusty.  You’ll see the dirt on your hands.)
• Take along a pair of scissors.  Most places will not let you take off the entire stem because it can ruin the crop for the following year.  But you can take scissors and cut the cherries off, so that part of the stem stays on the tree and part stays on the cherry.  If the cherries have the stems when you take them home, they’ll last a little bit longer.  At some farms, you can “rent” scissors.
• Take along a cooler with some ice to transport your cherries home.  The weather in Leona Valley is desert weather.  It can be hot.  And hot cherries equal wilted cherries.  You don’t want that!  An ice-filled cooler means your cherries will make their way home (and to your mouth and stomach) in better shape.
• Take along water to drink while you are picking or for afterwards.  It can be hot and sweaty work and you don’t want to end up in the local newspaper as the guy or girl who ended up with heat stroke in the cherry orchards.  That wouldn’t be much fun.
• Bring a hat to wear, but bear in mind that it can be windy, so a hat that you can tie on or cinch down is best.
• Bring cash.  Many of the orchards are small, family-run places that are cash-only.
• Taste test a cherry from a tree before you start picking.  You generally aren’t supposed to eat cherries in the orchards, but you can test one to make sure you like what that tree produces.  And if you’re filling up a bucket with cherries to buy, the farmer should be okay with testing one or two. Some places will also have cherries to test out front, where you enter the orchard.

If you want more information about cherry picking in the Leona Valley, the Leona Valley Cherry Grower’s Association lists “you pick” farms in the area that are pesticide free.

So what do you do if your eyes are bigger than your stomach and your bring home too many cherries??  You can make them into jam, freeze them or even can them.  I grew up eating canned Rainier cherries (from Oregon) as “dessert.”  So canned cherries remind me of my childhood.  I plan to can some this year.  But no matter what you do with your cherry haul…

Happy cherry picking!

Some Language Help for Those Entering German-Speaking Newsrooms

Nearly one year ago, I was among nine American journalists chosen to take part in the Arthur F. Burns Fellowship, a journalism exchange program between the United States and Germany.  (Ten German journalists were also chosen for the fellowship.)

With my limited German language skills, I was sent to NDR, a German radio network in Hamburg, which has a German-speaking newsroom.

While the reporters there were kind and helpful, it was still difficult to figure out what was going on because of my lack of German language skills.  German language classes may teach you how to ask for directions, order a beer or book a hotel, but they don’t teach you newsroom speak.

So I reached out to the German Burns fellows to fill me in on some newsroom language.  With their help, we came up with the following list.  I’m posting it here for future Burns fellows and other non-German speakers who might find themselves lost and confused in German newsrooms.

Special thanks to all of the 2011 Arthur F. Burns fellows who contributed to this list!

 

Key German newsroom phrases:

• “Wir werden ein Interview machen.” = I would like to do an interview (with you).
• “Unter zwei” = off the record
• “Unter drei” = on background
• “ein aktueller Aufhänger” = news peg
• “ein zeitloses thema” – a timeless topic or “green” story that can be held for a later date
• “Wir muessen das Programm oeffnen” or “Wir muessen ins Programm gehen” – old school German for: breaking news!
• “Ich bin kein Praktikant!” = “I am not an intern.”  (Key phrase for Burns fellows who are professional journalists.)
• “Hol dir deinen Kaffee doch selbst! Ich bin kein Praktikant!” = “Go get yourself some coffee! I’m no trainee!”

Phrases for broadcasters:

•  “Anmoderation” or “Anmod” = Lede (for broadcaster).
• “Abmoderation” or “Abmod” = tag or line of copy read by anchor or host after the story
• “Beitrag” or “Stueck” = broadcast story or piece
• “Korri-Gespraech” = a talk to the correspondent.
• “da musste dranbleiben” = stay tuned!
• “weiterdrehen” = to do a broadcast story about the same topic someone has done before, but from a different angle.
• “Der äht so viel” – he talks not fluent, with a lot of “äh, eum, well…”
• “Das versendet sich” = “that debroadcasts,” which are the words you comfort someone who is worried about an error in a (radio) piece.  In plain English, “Don’t worry. Tomorrow nobody gives a f#*k anyway.”

 

 Phrases for newspaper people:

• “Das machen wir auf den Fuss.” = place a piece on the bottom of the page
• “Eckenbrüller” = piece on the top corner of a page
• “Aufmacher” = front page story
• “Anlauf” = lead
• “Hurenkind/Schusterjunge” = if you make a break just before the end of a column so that there’s only one line of text on the top or bottom of that column
• “Die Nachdrehe” = a piece written about the same topic someone has done before but from a different angle. The verb is “nachdrehen”
• ‎”Das machen wir groß!” = do make a story big, put it on the frontpage, etc.
• “Habe ich gern gelesen, aber…” = I don’t like your article.
• ‎”Das druckt doch eh nicht!”  = A (mean) expression to say that you are convinced that a story doesn’t fit to be published.
• “Schmuckbild” = a big picture with little text that is more of a graphic element than a news item. For example: Picture of people sunbathing when yesterday was a hot day and the real lead story is something you can’t illustrate.
• “Das Thema kann man nicht bebildern” = There are no pictures to illustrate that piece of text.

Other phrases you might hear in a German newsroom:

• “Das muessen wir noch ein wenig anspitzen!” = “We have to jazz that up a little”
• “Ich moechte das jetzt nicht abmoderieren, aber…” = “I don’t want to ask you not to write the story, but…”
• “Das Thema haben wir in mehreren Ressorts GESPIELT” = “We’ve had a couple of pieces on that topic in different parts of the newspaper
• ‎”Hast du das auf dem Schirm?” =  “You have that on your screen?” means: “Are you aware that you have to cover that?”  Works also as a reply when someone asks you to cover something: “Keine Sorge, ich hab das auf dem Schirm.” = “Don’t worry.  I have it on my screen.”
• “Der Dreh” – the spin!
• “Das läuft gut” = It’s running.  A quote or result of an investigation which is again quoted by other newspapers, TV, or press-agencies.  Also, “The story is getting a lot of play.”
• “Geh scheissen!” = Used by old school journalists from Austria when you are suggesting a bad story.
• ‎”Der Leser hat kein Archiv” = The reader has no archive, so we can run the story we did last year and the year before again!
• ‎”Locken auf der Glatze drehen” = “twist curls on a bald head,” means to write a lot of yada yada even though you got nothing to write about.  A more rude phrasing for the same thing is “Aus Scheiße Gold machen,” which means to “make gold out of s*#t.”
• “Dies ist nicht ihr Beritt!” = “This is not your beat!”  The term for intruding into some co-worker’s field.  For example, when somebody tries to do a piece on a traffic-issue without asking the guy responsible for traffic beforehand, the traffic-guy might say, “Herr Kollege, dies ist nicht ihr Beritt!”

Cars Land Celebrates Opening With Celebrities, Earthquake, Party

Just got back from the big shin-dig at Disney California Adventure in Anaheim.

The park spent the past five years undergoing a more than $1-billion renovation.  A big chunk of that renovation is the addition of the 12-acre Cars Land, based on the animated movie, “Cars.”

The new land transports you directly to Radiator Springs and it’s particularly stunning at night.

The festivities began June 14, 2012, with red carpet arrivals, which included lots of actors and actresses from Disney Channel and ABC shows, plus actors who lent their voices to the “Cars” movies.

Edie McClure was the voice of Minny in “Cars 2.”  Of course, if you’re of the generation that grew up in the 1980s (like me!), you may know her better as the secretary in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”

Country singer Brad Paisley also made his way down the red carpet.  What surprised me is that all of the people and media around me had no idea who he was.

“Who is that?” they said.

Me: “Brad Paisley.  You know, the country singer?”

Them: “Oh, you mean the one who’s married to Kimberly Williams?”

Only one of the biggest country music superstars right now.  But okay.

 

Most of the “kids” from the ABC show “Modern Family” were there, including Nolan Gould.

And another “Modern Family” cast member, Rico Rodriguez, who plays Manny on the show.

He was great with the crowd.  He ran over to the group of screaming fans and ran along, giving them all high-fives.

Ariel Winter plays the nerdy sister in “Modern Family,” but in real life, she’s quite beautiful.

(Though she was in platform heels so high that I wondered how she could walk in them without breaking her neck.  Saw several people in similar height shoes.  That’s a walking skill I do not have.

 

Also attending the red carpet arrivals, actress Ginnifer Goodwin.  More power to all the girls who can pull off the short shorts because I most certainly am not going to try it!

 

 

And what would a Disney-Pixar event be if singer-songwriter Randy Newman wasn’t there?  Okay, everyone now… “You’ve got a friend in me…”

 

 

Jenifer Lewis is the voice of Flo in “Cars.”

 

 

John Ratzenberger (voice of Mack in “Cars”) and actor Andy Garcia.

 

 

Michael Wallis doing his “no speeding!” impression of Sheriff in “Cars.”  He’s the voice of Sheriff.

 

 

Actor Brad Garrett.  He’s done voice work in a bunch of Disney animated movies over the past few years, but I know him as the brother in the TV show, “Everybody Loves Raymond.

 

 

This is Bob Iger.  He’s the president and CEO of the Walt Disney Company.

 

 

And, of course, Larry the Cable Guy, the voice of “Mater” in the “Cars” movies.

 

 

I’d like to point out that even the Disney security dog had a name tag, like every other Disney employee.

She’s Zoey.  And she’s from Auburn, Alabama.  How a dog from Alabama ends up in a Disney park in California, I have no idea.

 

So after the red carpet arrivals, I went to hang out in the media center (behind the park) for a bit, to give my feet a break.  I was sitting at a table, eating a Mickey Mouse head Rice Krispie treat when I feel my chair shake just a little.  I thought either someone was walking by or had hit my chair.  Then I realize, there was no one behind me at all.  And then I realize, “Hey, there are a few other people looking around, going ‘What’s going on?'”  It was an earthquake!

Being a native of Southern California, earthquakes are not new to me.  (I remember my first quake when I was about five or so, eating an ice cream cone in our kitchen. Scared the crap out of me.  I also was in the 1994 Northridge Earthquake, a magnitude 6.7, which was the scariest quake I’ve been in.)  Anyhow!  This one was just a little quake, but enough to add some excitement to the evening.  I mean, what are your chances of going to a theme park and feeling an earthquake?!?

After that, it was off to…

My favorite way to enter the new Cars Land in Disney California Adventure is from the side entrance.  You come around the corner and the rocky mountains of Ornament Valley come into view.

The red rocks are the largest fake rock project ever in a U.S. Disney park.

The rock work is 128 feet tall.  That means the Matterhorn in Disneyland is still taller, at 147 feet.

In Disney California Adventure, the Hollywood Tower of Terror still trumps the Cars Land rock work at 199 feet tall.

But the cool part about the Cars Land rocks is that when you’re in Cars Land, they FEEL much taller than they are.  Amazing how the Imagineers can trick you into thinking everything is bigger than it really is.

 

If you walk into Cars Land from the main entrance, you see the view that Lightning McQueen saw as he came into the town in the movie.

 

 

Fortunately for you, they don’t make you re-pave Radiator Springs, like Lightning McQueen had to do.

 

 

You pass the Cozy Cone Motel, which in the park is really a food place.

 

 

The food at the Cozy Cone is all “cone” themed, with items like Chili Cone Queso, which is a soft pretzel-like cone with chili con queso (chili with a cheesy sauce) inside.

You can see tables set up along the orange fencing.  That’s for the live media broadcasts from the park.  Those won’t stay there for good.

 

 

Across the way from the Cozy Cone is Flo’s Cafe.  It’s a take on a classic Route 66 diner.

 

 

The best ride (translation: be prepared for a long, winding line) of the three rides in Cars Land is most definitely the Radiator Springs Racers.

 

 

Notice how the signing to tell you which line to use is hidden in the tires.

 

If the Radiator Springs Racers line looks short from the outside, it’s not necessarily short on the inside.  The line is well hidden and can snake through several rooms before getting to the ride loading area.  So be prepared, especially if you go when the ride is new!  Some rooms have bottles or radiator caps on the walls.  The lights are bottles, too.  Very detailed touches.

But I’ve been told by some friends that the line can be very warm to stand in during the day.  And this is before summer and Southern California’s hot season kicks into gear.  I haven’t experienced this myself, though.

 

This is the line below.  Notice the rooms on the right side and how they can fit a lot of people in there.

 

 

There’s the car.  We’re getting near the front of the line!  When you’re near the front, be sure to check out what is says where the state usually goes on the license plates.  Each car is different.  The one in the above picture says Torqueville.

 

 

We’re in!

 

 

We’re off!  The ride has characters and they do things.  Yep, detailed description, right?  I’m not going to spoil it for you!  But for sure there are familiar faces from the “Cars” movies.

 

 

Heading back down the main street of Radiator Springs, you’ll find Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree near the entrance of Cars Land.

 

And one last parting shot of the new parts of Disney California Adventure: Carthay Circle Theater, modeled after the real one by the same name.  The original opened in 1926 and is where Walt Disney’s “Snow White” debuted.

The new theater is at the end of Buena Vista Street, which is supposed to transport you back to 1920s Hollywood, when Disney first came to California.

The interesting part with this picture is if you put it in black and white, it totally looks like a picture from back in the day.

Cars Land opens to the public June 15, 2012.  Obviously, it’s expected to be a really busy weekend at both Disney California Adventure and Disneyland.