The new farming season comes just when the harvest season arrives.

No, I'm not talking about autumn, when the nut tree varieties shed their leaves and are ready for winter.

November and December are the official farm meeting seasons. February and March are trade show seasons, and growers will visit places like Tulare and Colusa to see what machinists and software programmers are doing while they are busy bringing products to market.

This is November, and I came to Florida for the first time. Fort Lauderdale, to be precise. My badge says that I am a guest of Greg Long, the board member of Golden State Farm Credit. You will find a local branch at Sale Lane in Red Bluff.

I'm not a big shopper, so I did some research and found that I can take a small hike in Little Havana, and Greg is in meetings all day.

The new food and culture are in my alley, so I hopped on a rented car on Tuesday and arrived at Calle Ocho – SW 8th Street in Miami 45 minutes away.

To be honest, I was a little nervous at first. Local news the night before showed that the Cuban-American protesters were on the street where I was going to meet my Cuban guide, Ariel.

The protesters wore white T-shirts and chanted "Freedom, Freedom, Freedom" on a large stage with the slogan "Patria Y Vida". This is a growing movement that means "homeland and life".

Anyway, our first stop is the Ball and Chain bar and nightclub. In mojito and Cuban sandwiches-thin slices of kimchi covered with melted cheese and ham-we learn about the history of mojito, which was originally a medicinal drink used to curb disease on the island.

The films of Ernest Hemingway and James Bond and Johnny Depp, who had worked part-time in Cuba, were praised for making the drink popular worldwide.

We danced salsa with the live band for a while, and then walked down the street to the Belo family's cigar shop, where a small Cuban lady rolled traditional cigars every day. Finally, according to statistics, she rolled 4 million cigars in her lifetime.

Going further, the most important meeting point of this Cuban community is Domino Park.

Domino is a game that can be played without electricity. In this park, alcohol-traditionally rum-is banned, so participants and bystanders can share a small cup of sweet Cuban coffee.

When players and bystanders place cards, politics and life are shared and debated, the cards are 0-9, until no one else can play.

Diagonal to Domino Park is a clothing store with an indescribable family history. In fact, most Cubans, including my guide and new friend Ariel, share stories of immigration with pain and deep homesickness.

You see, the owner of this store, La Casa de Los Trucos, is a child who was flown over from Cuba. They participated in the famous Pedropan operation. They are part of the 15% reunited with their parents. The other 85% never saw their mother or father again.

Action Peter Pan shaped a generation of Cuban Americans. In 1959, the dictator Fulgencio Batista fled Cuba and the Fidel Castro regime came to power.

According to Ariel, the people of Castro began to close all schools, including Catholic schools and private schools, which caused massive panic and unfortunate rumors.

The parents were told that Castro planned to bring all school-age children to the Soviet Union and instill communism education in them. There, they will learn to fight and become part of Castro's army.

Therefore, with the help of the Catholic Welfare Bureau and a Miami pastor named Father Brian Walsh, the US State Department approved his visa exemption. Parents across the island copied the waiver with Walsh's signature, and the Cuban government accepted it.

Every day, the two direct Pan Am flights from Havana to Miami are crowded with children. Some went to family members, while others went to foster families and boarding schools across the country.

Sadly, the failed Bay of Pigs operation in 1961 shattered the hope of the Castro regime ending and the children returning home.

According to Peter Pan children and Yale University professor Carlos Air, more than 50 years later, Peter Pan children firmly opposed any normalization of relations with the regime responsible for destroying their families.

Other Peter Pan’s children include former U.S. Senator Mel Martinez and Miguel "Mike" Bezos, the stepfather who raised Amazon founder and billionaire Jeff Bezos.

The protests in Little Havana on Monday were a response to food and medicine shortages in their hometown.

"You know who initiated this campaign," Florida Senator Marco Rubio asked a group of reporters gathered. "Artist, poet and songwriter."

The song "Homeland and Life" is an interpretation of Fidel Castro's famous "Homeland or Death" ode.

Many of the lyrics of this song are based on actions and strategies in the domino game. These words also reflect the sweetness of life in Cuba, reflected in their sweet tobacco, sugary coffee, fritters and mojitos.

I spent a four-hour eating and cigar escape in Little Havana, which made me understand that life can sometimes be very bittersweet.

Shanna Long is a fourth-generation reporter and former editor of the Corning Daily Observer. She lives in Corning with her husband and grows almonds, walnuts and plums. You can contact her at sjolong@gmail.com, instagram @sjolong.

Sign up for email newsletters