Farmers caution visitors enjoying blossom season

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Blossom season is here, despite a blast of winter over the last week, and the blossoms bring a lot of business for photographers.

Soft white flowers with just a touch of pink grace the side of roads across the Valley right now.

Almond orchards can help Kimberly Wilson earn a living but she's not a farmer. She's a photographer, and when spring comes, she gets a bounty of business that seemed to hibernate for winter.

People love photos in the blossoms, but Wilson is pretty picky when clients suggest a particular orchard.

"So my automatic response is 'that's great. I love finding new places. I love exploring new places. Do you know the farmer? Do you know the rancher? Do you know the family?' and they're usually like 'oh no, I didn't even think of that.' so I'm like 'ok come out to the west side,'" Wilson said.

Wilson knows a lot of the farmers out here and they let her use their property. But trespassing isn't her main concern. Farmers say there are a lot of pitfalls to blossom hunting, some of which come in big boxes.

"Those bees are our big friends this time of year but there are lots of them out in the field, there's also lots of tractor work going on this time of year making sure we have applications going on the blossoms this time of year so it's very important for that reason,"Jacobsen said. "Farms are busy places. You know, one thing that everybody sees is the beautiful blossom this time of year. But people forget that turns into the fruit and nuts that are a basis of our economy. That is somebody's living out there."

The applications Ryan Jacobsen refers to are pesticides, which he says might be a problem for some people.

Allergies are also a concern, and a lot of farmers have used a lot of water to prevent freeze damage lately, so their fields are a muddy mess.

Jacobsen suggests finding designated photo spots on the website Goblossomtrail.com and leaving the rest to the farmers.