Yes, it's been a bumper citrus year for us here in S. Calif as well, and also, no winter to speak of (nor any rain to speak of, sad to say.) I would continue to try to pick fruit. It does help the tree as they going into bloom. It's hard, though, some years, when you have just a ton of fruit, and only so many ways to eat it! See if you can juice your Blood oranges. Your Valencias should actually not quite be ripe, yet. They ripen more like May. Navel oranges aren't the best for juicing, as the juice can become bitter when refrigerated. So, more eating, cooking, and giving away for your navels, I guess :-)

And, don't worry about your lemon. Plant it and see if the fruit stays or not. Often with newer trees, the fruit doesn't make it to maturity. If a few do, lemons are probably are the most tolerant, as they are SO prodigious. Lemons grow like weeds here. I don't think a couple of fruit could deter the growth of a lemon tree :-)

Patty S.

Thanks so much for the advice, Patty! The blood oranges are super sweet, so should be great for juicing. We were fortunate to have so many of those, considering this is only the third year it's had fruit. It's the small one in the center of my photo. I will make another batch of marmalade from those also. It's so beautiful!

Just found out last week a hummingbird has taken up residence in the large navel tree. I get buzzed every time I pick one of those! Can't see the nest, but I'm sure it's in there. Looking forward to seeing more little birdies at my feeder!