Lemon Concentrate on a Tree

On the first morning of my most recent stay with my son in San Jose, I wandered around his back yard and was taken by the sight of huge yellow fruit on his lemon tree.

He used to have more fruit trees in his small back yard, but they've mostly given way to paved patio stones. I don't blame him, the leaf and dried-branch rubbish they produced was just too hard to keep up with.

But y'know, it doesn't rain much in Silicon Valley, and he doesn't stand out there every day hosing down the ground around the plants. California does have water shortages and it's just not socially correct to do that.

As a result, the fruit do grow, but they end up large and shriveled like this one. -->

The insides are still tasty, and in fact, quite a bit tarter than an ordinary lemon. The juice is more like lemon concentrate and a bit more bitter. Heck, if it were my tree, I'd set up a drip-irrigation system to ensure a plump and juicy fruit harvest.

But it's not my tree. LOL.