It’s a Sign!

Ok, it really is a sign. How could I ignore a town that had a street named after my blog! J

To be honest, I traveled to Shafter because I wanted to see what Wildwood Road looked like. I was hoping to find a “For Rent” sign in front of a perfect home with a huge fenced yard and lots of trees.

Shafter is 18 miles N.W. of Bakersfield. The population, according to the 2000 census, is 12,736. 68% of the people there are Hispanic and 29% white, the remainder - other. The unemployment rate is 21%.

According to Wikipedia the town is named after General Wm. Rufus Shafter. The business of the town centers around agriculture. I saw alfalfa and corn fields, orchards and very large dairy farms.

Corn already 5 feet high...

Wildwood Road is bound on all sides by fields. There was a small group of homes surrounded by beautiful, graceful eucalyptus trees. Sadly, there was not a “For Rent” sign to be found in the enclave.

Alfalfa, orchard, wind-break trees...

Cow keeping an eye out for strangers...

Further down the road a large dairy farm. The cows all housed in large open air barns. There are mountains of hay, lots filled with farm equipment and hills of tarp-covered silage. Are you familiar with the California ad campaign about cow milk from California? I didn’t see cows feeding in lush pastures. It’s all about precise production. Those girls do serious work for a living! This is agri-business. These farmers are taking it in the chops right now as milk prices are very low. The recession has many faces in California.