50 OCTOBER 2024 By Lauren Geiser Vessa Turley is no stranger to the Arcadia sports scene. Featured multiple times in Arcadia News, this tennis powerhouse continues making waves on and off the court with her relentless drive and national rankings. Now a senior in high school, her tennis journey is only gaining momentum. Inspired by her mother’s participation in a local tennis league, Vessa started playing at age eight and instantly fell in love. The individual aspect of the game is what drew her in. “I tried volleyball, soccer and softball, but none clicked like tennis,” Vessa said. “With tennis, I didn’t have to wait for a whole team to show up. I could play as long as I wanted.” That self-driven nature is what’s helped propel her to the top of the national rankings for 18 and under doubles. She’s placed as a tennis champion in numerous competitions this year, including the J60 International Tennis Federation Doubles Champion in Las Vegas, J200 International Federation Doubles Finalist in Canada, J100 International Tennis Federation Doubles Champion in Florida, National Clay Court Championship 18s Doubles and National Doubles Championship 18s. She even got the chance to meet tennis legend Billie Jean King at the Billie Jean National Title Doubles Championship last year. (Read that story in the Arcadia News October 2023 edition!) “This is Vessa’s fifth ball at USTA National Championship events all time. She has three gold, one silver and one bronze,” Dad, Andrew, said. “The only surface she hasn’t won a national title on is indoors, but she has national titles from clay courts summer, winter clay nationals, National Doubles hard courts, Eddie Herr Adidas Hard courts and more. It’s pretty incredible!” Her success has also taken her beyond U.S. borders. She has competed in Peru, the Dominican Republic, and more, which she said helps broaden her tennis skills and perspective. “Playing internationally is a whole different experience,” she said. “You’re not just playing in front of the usual crowd, you’re surrounded by new cultures and players with different playing styles.” Looking ahead, Vessa is set on going pro and entering professional tournaments in the fall and winter. Teaming up with other ranked players to enter these events, Vessa said she recognizes the value of playing alongside fellow seasoned professionals as she starts building an athletic career. Vessa’s college recruitment process has already begun. She has received full-ride offers from Division 1 schools but is still exploring her options. She’s looking forward to making a final decision by November. “It’s nerve-wracking but exciting,” she said. Her rigorous training schedule includes five to six practice days a week, split between the court and gym workouts. Despite the demanding routine, she balances tennis with academics and time spent with friends. As she looks toward her future, the lessons she learned on the court will continue to fuel her drive. Whether she’s competing in national tournaments or stepping into the pro circuit, Vessa continues to refine the game and push her limits. This tennis star has her sights set on college ball and beyond Vessa with partner Riley Crowder at the National Clay Court Championship 18s doubles. PHOTO COURTESY OF VESSA TURLEY Playing internationally is a whole different experience. You’re not just playing in front of the usual crowd, you’re surrounded by new cultures and players with different playing styles.

J M Chapman Agency Inc Jay Chapman, Agent Bus: (480) 945-7122 7055 E Thomas Rd Scottsdale, AZ 85251 jchapman@amfam.com American Family Mutual Insurance Company, S.I. & its Operating Companies, 6000 American Parkway, Madison, WI 53783 ©2015 006441 – Rev. 2/20 – 12923221 CALL (480) 945-7122 FOR A NO-OBLIGATION FREE QUOTE. INSURANCE DESIGNED WITH YOU AND YOUR DREAMS IN MIND. J M Chapman Agency Inc Jay Chapman, Agent Bus: (480) 945-7122 7055 E Thomas Rd Scottsdale, AZ 85251 jchapman@amfam.com merican Family Mutual Insurance Company, .I. & its Operating Companies, 000 American Parkway, Madison, WI 53783 2015 006441 – Rev. 2/20 – 12923221 ALL (480) 945-7122 FOR A O-OBLIGATION FREE QUOTE. NSURANCE DESIGNED WITH OU AND YOUR DREAMS IN IND. J M Chapman Agency Inc Jay Chapman, Agent Bus: (480) 945-7122 7055 E Thomas Rd Scottsdale, AZ 85251 jchapman@amfam.com American Family Mutual Insurance Company, S.I. & its Operating Companies, 6000 American Parkway, Madison, WI 53783 ©2015 006441 – Rev. 2/20 – 12923221 CALL (480) 945-7122 FOR A NO-OBLIGATION FREE QUOTE. INSURANCE DESIGNED WITH YOU AND YOUR DREAMS IN MIND. INSURANCE DESIGNED WITH YOU AND YOUR DREAMS IN MIND. CALL (480) 990-8855 FOR A NO-OBLIGATION FREE QUOTE. 51 OCTOBER 2024 October’s cookbook recommendation: “ APPLE Recipes from the Orchard” by James Rich October’s novel recommendation: “The Glass Chateau” by Stephen P. Kiernan October’s recipe: Apple pie T here are 31 days in October, but how do we celebrate these days since golden leaves have yet to fall and cozy clothing is still packed away? As a child, I always looked forward to fall because my German grandmother began baking apple pies. Years later, I visited the East Coast during October when pumpkins of every shape and size accompanied an abundance of nearby potted chrysanthemums in striking colors. Halloween contests consisting of whimsical pumpkin carvings and floral displays greeted visitors upon entering the lobbies of every hotel and restaurant. Emotions wore the veil of fall, and the scent of baked apples drifted everywhere! As residents of the Valley of the Sun, these subtle luxuries allude us. Our weather hasn’t changed, but the recipes in our kitchens can! Pumpkins, squash, pears, and apples are abundant this month. An apple tree’s sturdy limbs beckon us to climb high into the twisted, curling branches. Their display of gold and crimson skins calls to us to pluck from their stems. America’s first apple trees were planted from seeds, cuttings, and small plants brought by the Jamestown settlers to the New World in the early 1600s. The Pilgrims planted orchards soon after. Going back before recorded human history, we find the origin of the modern domesticated apple, Malus domestica, deep in the southeastern corner of Kazakhstan, along the Tien Shan Mountain range. To this day, the Tien Shan’s forests are filled with ancient groves of wild apple and other fruit trees. They grow as high as 50 feet, with fruit ranging in size from tiny walnut-shaped fruitlets to enormous globes, and in every color from yellow to deep violet. It was here and in another nearby mountain range, the Dzungarian, that the ancestors of today’s sweet table apples first appeared about 4.5 million years ago – the result of an evolutionary dance between native wild apple trees and the mountain birds and animals who favored the fleshiest, most honeyed fruits, then distributed those seeds far and wide. Natural selection, at its finest, allowed the fruits with the highest sugar levels to dominate their habitat. Arizona hosts roughly nine orchards producing abundant supplies of fruit. Besides being delicious with a tart-sweet balance, apples are adaptive plants. They are the world’s third most widely grown fruit after bananas and grapes. They’re grown commercially in 35 states and in home gardens and orchards – there are actually more than 7,500 known cultivars of apples. I recently went to Apple Annie’s Orchard in Willcox. This family-owned and operated, year-round, you-pick retail farming operation in the Sulphur Springs Valley sits at an elevation of 4,300 feet. Fresh-baked pies, bread, fudge, gourmet jar goods, and gift items are available. In the 1980s, peaches and pears were added to Apple Annie’s mix. In 2003, they expanded the business by purchasing Hunsdon Farms and 125 acres of vegetables. In 2013, they bought the Stout’s Cider Mill building, a Willcox landmark. The Apple Annie’s Orchard Country Store opened in May of the same year. Guests can even watch apple cider donuts being made and, while still warm, rolled in a sugar and cinnamon mixture. No matter the weather, nothing compares to the lush beauty of the orchards at full fruit. Walking among the trees gave the most pleasing vision of nature, in which sweet fruit was being given in abundance as if by some universal kindness. Apple orchards represent everything inspiring in nature – their abundance and sweetness strike me as a spiritual setting. Before leaving, I drove to the field of bright orange pumpkins that basked in the sun, waiting to be picked. This month, the sky is the limit for apple anything – apple pie, sausage, apple and cheddar strata, Dutch baby, apple crisp, apple tea cake with lemon glaze, apple galette, and apple cider donuts. For the love of apples Thyme in My Kitchen BY SHERRY KLUSMAN thyme.in.my.kitchen