It was nice of Haniza forwarding me her recommended website links to fruit picking, when I voiced my search to her. The best is http://www.harvest4u.com/ where it brings us to the farms in Brentwood - a bountiful agricultural region home of almost 40-something local farms. Of course, most of the fruits ( except oranges & nuts) are out of season at this time of year and Pick-your-Own is definitely out of the question. The place would be lovelier in the 
months of May onwards, during Spring and Summer, but we wanted to try our luck with picked fruits and I thought it would be good experience too for the children to view the countryside... kampung la tuu! And besides, Brentwood is just about 1 hour drive from Cupertino... jadi tak la jauh sangat. It is north of San Jose and located between San Francisco on the West and Stockton on the East. Smith Family Farm is busy with Christmas Trees and creating Christmas gift 
packages this time of year. They only have tomatoes, corn and nuts in their shop. It is here that we can see and meet ramai 'Mat Salleh'... tapi pekerja am nya pulak ramai Mexicans... hmm, macam kita jugak, terpaksa ambil outside help! Gursky Ranch is run by Mr Gursky and family. Pictures on the left is him and his daughter entertaining us at the counter. Cucu dia comel sangat... Mrs Gursky is somewhere in the shop. Their shop is filled with honey, apple cider and nuts - almonds, walnuts, raisins, 
pecans, pistachios. The Gurskys were nice enough to give us directions to another farm - peterwolfe.com, when I enquired about oranges and limes and even call them up to inform of our arrival. The local farms here are mostly family run and I guess they know their neighbours very well. I also understand that they are members of Brentwood Agricultural Land Trust which is like their own Persatuan Petani. Bersatu teguh! Remember..? :-) Alienation and unhealthy competition 
would definitely kill them! Their logo is Buy Fresh, Buy Local. The idea is for customers to come and buy at the farms, meet the farmers and enjoy the delicious variety of seasonal fruits. That way the fruits don't have to travel a long way, no need for middle-men and of course price would be cheaper! They also cater for deliveries if any individuals, markets or restaurants call up to order in advance. I believe our Pasar Tani used to have a similar concept..but what 
happened? Take Pasar Tani kat Stadium Shah Alam for example...sayur layu, ikan tak segar and harga mahal! Tahun lepas la...tahun ni mungkin berubah. Teringat masa-masa menyusuri jalan-jalan Ulu Selangor, Ijok, Banting dan kawasan sekitarnya... tak kurang dengan pokok buahan dan hasil tani. Kat sini belum jumpa lagi Dragon Fruit..alaa, buah yang isinya warna merah, didalam ada biji halus-halus warna hitam...rasa macam buah kiwi dan kaya dengan vitamin C. Sedap...tapi mahal! Bentuk pokok macam kaktus. Hish..nostalgia pulak. AnyWayy, ..... We didn't get to meet Mr Wolfe, however Mrs Wolfe and his 
daughter were around at the shack. We were not allowed to pick so we just took pictures, under the watchful eyes of a worker! I don't really know the difference between orange / tangerine / or mandarin. I simply call them 'limau'! 
Anak bujang Rose yang 'pemalu'....
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