Walnuts are a big crop in this area.  Orchards spread out around the outskirts of Visalia, and throughout this region of Central California.  I’ve always pretty much taken them for granted, they’ve been a staple of my life since childhood.  With the advent of mechanized harvesting, walnut theft has taken on new dimensions.  Part of the problem is the way most crops are harvested these days.  A honkin’ machine rolls up and grabs the trunk of the tree, and proceeds to shake the hell out of it!  Walnuts cascade to the ground, and once the operator is satisfied that he’s dropped all he can, he moves on to the next tree.  The crop lays on the ground until the next guy (or the same one in a different machine) comes along with what amounts to a broom-and-vacuum machine to pick it up.  Often times the crop sits on the ground overnight.  This is the perfect opportunity for theft.  The call of the night was an interesting twist on the walnut-theft capers we usually get.

Routinely, someone will see strangers in an orchard, and call the Sheriff to report possible theft.  Often vehicles will be stopped for one reason or another, and we’ll find sacks of walnuts, but no receipts.  Other times we simply catch them in the act, picking up walnuts in orchards they don’t own.  It’s an ongoing thing, every year.  Tonight’s call was a bit different.

Mom called this one in.

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