St. Patrick's Day

Hope your St. Patrick's Day was as fun as ours was! Walking Auggie we saw cacti in bloom in the park, with lovely pink flowers.

Next thing we did this morning was to head over to the Peanut Patch in Yuma for a tour of their facility.

Originally this was the site of the first of many peanut farms in the area, but unfortunately the arrival of the whitefly (which peanut plants host) resulted in a widespread loss of green leafy crops such as lettuce and broccoli. Because this area is one of the nation's top producing regions for green leafy crops, it was decided that eliminating peanuts as a local crop would help control the whitefly. 

So out went local peanut production, and in came a store that has become famous in the area. Our guide Donna showed us antique equipment that was once used in peanut production, such as this combine.

The Peanut Patch makes its own peanut brittle and we were able to see it being made.  First the sugars and peanuts are cooked in a large copper bowl that holds 17 pounds of the confection.  It can take about 45 minutes to cook it to the right consistency, with someone stirring it constantly.

Next the peanut brittle is quickly spread onto a large oiled marble table, smoothed out, and allowed to cool.

After about 10 minutes it is cool enough to taste.  Yum! The Peanut Patch also makes homemade fudge and ice cream, and sells all kinds of nuts, seeds, honey, teas, peanut butter, and more.

When we got back Bob and I had a bite of lunch and then it was time for me to head over for craft time in the Clubhouse.  I brought my spinning wheel and had a fun time spinning yarn and talking about spinning and sheep.  Such a nice group of women here at the park!

Next up was our St. Patrick's Day dinner back at the Clubhouse. And boy was it good! About 130 people showed up to enjoy a meal of corned beef and cabbage, carrots, roasted potatoes, and Irish Soda Bread, all for $5 a person. We had a great time meeting people at our table and sharing our most favorite places we had been to.

After dinner we took Auggie for a walk as the sun went down and ended up on the Patio to listen to music by a couple of Escapees. Wherever we go there is music at these parks, and if you play an instrument or sing there are opportunities to get together with other musicians and jam. Or just listen in. Auggie sat on my lap and fell asleep as we enjoyed the tunes for about an hour before calling it a night.