I spent the day just driving the valley, looking at the crops that flourish here. Apples, of course, then pears, peaches, corn, tomatoes, melons, hops and mint. The nice thing about Yakima is that it’s at it’s best growing food for humans, so the corn is sweet corn.
I see more hop fields this year, perhaps displacing grapes. There are fewer wineries than in the past, a couple of my favorites aren’t there anymore. Last week the two big hop distributors here merged, and they control 80% of the world’s market. If you have a beer anywhere in the world, chances are it’s hop flavor comes from Yakima.
Luckily for me the hops aren’t ripe yet. I love the smell of hops, but it gets very overpowering this time of year.
And then I end the day with a stop at the tavern, to see today even more friends. I see them once a year, for just 3 or 4 days, but we enjoy the visit.
Tomorrow I have to stock the larder for the next ten days. The trick is to get as much fresh pickings from the valley that I can store without it going bad before I can eat it.