Along the High Trestle Trail, berries settle on.
Elderberries hang purple from red branches, dressed like Red Hat ladies out on the town. Honeysuckle opts for Christmas colors, setting red balls among still-green leaves. And the clustered white berries of the local dogwood carry dark center spots that make them look like manic eyeballs.
Esparto, California, is surrounded by some of the most productive and lush farmland in the nation, producing vast crops of vegetables, fruits and nuts. Yet the town does not have a grocery store that sells fresh produce. For Countryside Community Church, which describes itself on its website as “an old church with a new vision,” this gap became an opportunity to live out its call as a Matthew 25 congregation.