The first time we flood irrigated

My first month in Orland was very hot. If I remember correctly, we had 3 digit temperatures for 23 straight days! I think it was a record breaking heatwave. I don't recall what outside looked like. I stayed indoors with the AC cranked high.

After our first week, my husband had to go back to San Jose to work and I was left to man the farm! Wouldn't you know it, the day after he leaves the drain to the bathtub stops working. Not only does it stop draining...stuff was coming back into the tub! So there I am, standing in muddy water and my hair full of shampoo. I wanted to cry. But I can't...farmers don't cry.

I called in the plumber. I heard a lot of banging and grunting, he walked up and down the stairs to the basement, walked around the house looking for something called a clean out. In the meantime, I'm on the phone with the house warranty people trying to figure out who is financially responsible for the repairs.

The plumber left without fixing the problem because I don't have a clean out. The warranty people said I was responsible for the repairs because I don't have a clean out. I decided it was a good time for a cry. After two days without a shower, I went outside, hooked the hose onto a tree trunk and showered. I didn't care who came up the drive way.
The shower felt that good. I called another plumber the next day he didn't care if I had a clean out or not..he fixed it the problem, handed me a bill with a little chuckle and said see you soon! Kinda scary when a plumber says see you soon. Well, I did see him again, but that's another story.

Sam is our closest neighbor and has an almond orchard too. If it wasn't for him, our trees would have died before the end of our first year farming. Sam knows our orchard as well as he knows his own. He explained to us how flood irrigation works and how to flood irrigate. For those of you that don't know, when water is released to a certain district the first farmer on the list gets his share of the water.

When he is done, he calls the next farmer on the list and so on. Your water can come to you at any given time. On Friday evening about 6:00 p.m. we got the call. It was our turn to water. We figured we be done by 1:00 a.m. Rick released the water down the furrows.

We watered the almond trees and turned our attention to the olive trees. There are 2 things I can tell you right now. Don't wear tennis shoes while flood irrigating and don't try to clean out the irrigation ditches while water is coming.

It is now 2:30 a.m., some of the olive trees are getting water but we mostly have a huge pond. I'm driving the ATV holding a flashlight while Rick is trying to clear a way for the water to flow. The temperature is about 100 degrees and the humidity from the water adds to the heat. I'm trying to hold the light steady but the bugs are swarming around me and the light making my job difficult.


We finally finished irrigating Saturday night around 10:00 p.m. Rick and I looked at each other in relief, sat on the ATV and watched the most beautiful full moon ever.

How did Walsh Family Orchards come to be?

Walsh Family Orchards

Once upon a time.... long, long ago, there lived a princess.. oops, wrong story.

My story begins about 15 years ago. My wonderful husband of 30+ years started dreaming about owning a farm. It was a dream of his to live off mother earth and to retire with a small income from the fruits of his labor. And of course being a dutiful wife, I always replied "You've got to be joking!, what about the kids, my Mom, friends yadda, yadda yadda?". Off and on he'd search the newspapers and internet for a farm. For years, I let him have his pipe dream. That far away look in his eyes was so endearing. Secretly, I never thought it would come true. Then it happened, he found a farm! A few months later, I'm living in a farm house surrounded by 34 acres of almond and olive trees in Northern California. The closest town is Orland, and I think the population is less than 5,000 .

Neither my husband or I had any experience in farming. All that I knew from farming came from books or watching TV. I had visions of me languishing on the patio quenching my thirst with mint julips. Rick's brother Mike and his wife Kathy have an almond orchard in Manteca which is a 3 hour drive from us. I recall Mike sharing his farming experiences with Rick during family gatherings.

Almost 2 years ago to the date, I left the city life for country living. Many of my city friends have told me that I am living a life they dreamed about. Going back to basics and living a simple life style. Lemme tell you, farming olives and almonds is not a simple lifestyle and my idea of going back to basics has changed since the move. In San Jose, my idea of basics was getting my killer nails polished once a week. Now days, I keep my nails clipped short and my hair is always in a ponytail.

We learned very quickly that the income from the farm was barely sufficient to cover the cost of operating the farm.

We didn't have enough to hire someone to help, so, I traded in my high heels for a pair of GoreTex working boots, my INC pantsuits for OshGosh B'Gosh overalls. I gave up the dream of sipping mint julips on the patio and I became a field hand and started learning the business of farming olives and almonds