Photographed by Nich McElroy1/15Ripe Ojai pixies in the Friend Ranch’s home orchard. In the month of April the town of Ojai is transformed by the sudden abundance of the citrus.
Photographed by Nich Hance McElroy2/15Pixies are picked entirely by hand. The variety was deliberately bred to be shorter than other citrus trees for ease and safety while harvesting.
Photographed by Nich McElroy3/15The Friend's packing house along highway 33 in Ojai sells fresh citrus, juice, and citrus honey.
Photographed by Nich McElroy4/15Ojai pixies ready to be harvested.
Photographed by Nich McElroy5/15Left: Tony Thacher, the fourth generation of citrus growers at Friend's Orchards in Ojai, sorting pixies at his family’s packing plant. Right: Kitty—the resident pest control at the family's citrus packing house—beside a crate of second rate citrus fruit. The equipment they use for sorting and packing citrus dates back to the 1970s.
Photographed by Nich McElroy6/15After an Ojai tangerine pixie tree’s fruit is harvested, it blooms. With the help of pollinators, this year’s blossoms will become next year’s fruits.
Photographed by Nich McElroy7/15Many citrus orchards in the Ojai Valley have the Topatopa Mountains as a backdrop.
Photographed by Nich McElroy8/15Jim Churchill demonstrating the proper technique to peel a pixie in a continuous spiral. The variety was bred to be easily peeled when ripe.
Photographed by Nich McElroy9/15While pixie season is fleeting, it coincides with a uniquely beautiful season to visit Ojai, when the weather is temperate and the smell of citrus blossoms permeates the town.
Photographed by Nich McElroy10/15Left: Menu items—an entree, desert, and cocktail—all using Ojai pixies at Ojai’s Azu restaurant. Azu also serves White Pixie Wheat Ale from neighboring Ojai Valley Brewery. Right: Ojai Valley Inn makes a variety of pixie cocktails in-season, including the Shelf Road featuring Ventura Spirits Company’s Pixie-infused Wilder Gin.
Photographed by Nich McElroy11/15The pixie tangerine frozen yogurt from Ojai Bliss along downtown’s Ojai Ave.
Photographed by Nich McElroy12/15Celeste. If she takes on the family business, she would become the sixth generation to grow Friend’s citrus in the Ojai Valley.
Photographed by Nich McElroy13/15Despite their name, pixies come in a variety of shapes and sizes, from large to small and perfectly round to knobby and oblong.
Photographed by Nich McElroy14/15Emily Ayala with her dog, Vader, in their east valley orchard. Following her father, Tony, Emily is a fifth generation citrus grower. While there are no “u-pick” opportunities in Ojai, the citrus can be purchased directly from vendors at the Ojai Valley farmer’s market, many local stores, and from the Friend’s packing house along Highway 33.
Photographed by Nich McElroy15/15The unique cycle of warm days and cool evenings—influenced by the inflow of littoral air from the nearby Pacific Ocean—makes Ojai the perfect region for growing pixie tangerines, and gives the citrus its unique terroir.
