Though
it is hard to believe, another year is here and it is time to
once again inform you of the crop conditions for this year.
2005 promises to be another reasonably good year for the fruit
crops, though the prolonged cool spring did play havoc with
some of the fruit varieties. Overall, however, we anticipate
another productive and profitable harvest season. This will
make the 5th year in a row that we have escaped a major freeze
to our crops, so we are so very grateful to report the good
news to you. In our 81 years in business, this is the longest
period in our recollections that we have escaped a major crop
failure due to winter or spring freezes.
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| A
typical, bustling day at Stahl Orchards’ Fruit Stand |
As all
who are residents of Colorado will recall, April and the first
half of May was very cool and damp. These weather conditions
delayed the blooming period for the trees which will result
in later harvests than in recent years. The first harvest to
begin is always sweet cherries. This year, we expect harvest
to begin about June 24th which is still slightly earlier than
average but a week later than last year. We look for this trend
to continue throughout the season as the other fruits ripen,
so take that into consideration when planning your visit to
western Colorado for your fruit buying trips. The
Fruit-Ripening Chart has been modified to reflect these
anticipated later ripening dates. Apricot harvest should begin
around July 4th. See our link at the left for more information.
On this
our 81st year, we want to express our thanks to all our loyal
customers. Some of you have been scheduling “fruit buying trips”
to our orchards now for decades. How can we possibly thank you
enough? Without your faithful support, we never would have survived
the rigors of fruit growing for so many years. A huge amount
of the credit to our success goes to our faithful employees,
so we have chosen to honor them this year. Pictured here is
our reliable and hard working manager of the fruit stand, Fiona
Swanson-Sandifer. She grew up on a fruit farm and is one of
the hardest working individuals an employer could ever hope
for. Some of you may remember the Swanson Fruit Farms which
she and her family operated until the death of her father, Henry,
in 1981 when they sold the orchard to us and it became a part
of Stahl Orchards. Without her faithfully honed work habits,
however, it is unlikely that we would still be in business today.
She has been truly a God-send.
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| Dolores
Deonier, Ian Stahl and Mark Stahl |
Also pictured
here is Dolores Deonier, who was our faithful fruit stand manager
back in the 1970’s. She was also an exceptional lady with wonderful
work and people skills. She presently lives alone in Oklahoma
near where her daughter lives, having lost her wonderful husband,
Otis, a couple years ago. He also spent many hours working in
our orchards and was much loved and appreciated. Some of you
long time customers may remember Dolores so we thought we would
include her in this year’s newsletter. In the picture with Dolores
are our son Mark and grandson Ian, who were able to visit her
on a recent trip to the Tulsa area. We just received the news
that we will be grandparents of a second grandson in October.
How excited we are.
For our
retail customers, the fruit stand will be open on a seven day
a week basis just as in years past. It will again be managed
by Fiona Swanson-Sandifer, our faithful and reliable friend
and employee. We trust you appreciate her as much as we do.
Because she has spent her whole life in the fruit business,
she is extremely knowledgeable to answer your questions.
Most of
you receiving this flyer in the mail know where we are located,
as you have been here before; but, for those readers who have
never been to Paonia before or don’t know where we are located,
a brief description follows: We are located on Colorado Highway
133 at mile marker 8 (about 225 miles west of Denver). If taking
I-70, exit at Glenwood Springs and head toward Aspen on Colorado
Hwy. 82. At Carbondale, take Highway 133 and about 60 miles
later you’ll run headlong into our orchards just one mile west
of Paonia. You’ll get here by traveling over one of the most
beautiful scenic byways in the state of Colorado called the
“West Elk Loop”. If you’re unfamiliar with western Colorado,
you might find the location map on our web site helpful, www.stahlorchards.com.
Once the harvest begins (about June 24th), we are open everyday,
including weekends, from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm. We are happy to
arrange other hours for you upon special request. While disappointing
some customers, we do not accept mail orders. |
