Sunday night there was a huge moon out--something about it being closer to earth than normal.

Today we left Fairfield and drove down Route 12 and 5 to Lancaster, arriving about 2:00 p.m.  The drive down through the central valley was one of wonder at the sheer flatness of the farming fields.  From what I could tell there were lots of almond groves and other types of nut trees. They are huge groves of trees in 3-4 stages of height:  fully mature, about 5years old, down to seedlings.   I did see several signs of protest along the way.  The Congress has cut off the water supply in the valley, therefore, crops  cannot be grown and food costs rise. 

 This one says Valley Farmers paid 100 percent of the Water allocation but received only a percentage of it in the three years listed.

The valley in many parts looked barren and dry.  When we got into the hills about 30 minutes from Lancaster, it was a bit more green.

 The start of a new orchard, top and the greener valley, bottom.