Very smokey today. No fires around here, but fires all over the West from Canada to Mexico, and the smoke is blanketing everywhere. Portland air quality is bad, so we are lucky. The smoke has kept the sun out, so the temperature hasn't gotten above 78, although temps in the upper 80s were forecast. Forecast is for showers this weekend, and hopefully that will happen. Thanks to all of the firefighters and first responders out there.

Nehalem River at the Farm August 2018

The river has been lovely this summer. Starting in May when we had nice weather and one of the lowest rainfalls on record. Here at the farm we had only 2 days of measurable rainfall. It was great for fruit tree pollination, but not good for fire danger and was a warning of the heat to come. July and August were hot. Portland set a record for most days over 90. It is cooler here at the farm, typically 5-10 degrees cooler than Portland, but still hot. So, a nice dip in the Nehalem after a hot day working on firewood is wonderful. We have also had a number of folks visit and enjoy the river, and that is always fun. And of course Bernie and Max want to be in the river all of the time, especially Bernie and his sticks!

Sampat and Kay visited last week.

Bernie and his sticks.

Max makes waves with his tail.

Joe's Decks 8/1/2018

The main project this summer has been cutting up log decks that Joe set aside for us. Since we didn't have much firewood from the farm this year, Joe is selling us some of the wood they he would sell for pulp. We hope to get 30 or so cords from it. It's mostly alder and fir. There are a few maple logs and even a small hemlock or two. We will use it for OWC bundles as well as for ourselves and a few neighbors.

In this photo Eve is working on the deck at the end of the road. We finished that one and are now working on the other 3-4 decks.

Big Fir below the Cemetery Road on 5/23/2018-5/26/2018

In May Eve, Luke, and Scott cut up. split, and hauled the big fir below the Cemetery Road. Forrest felled it for us. It was a standing dead tree, and the top smashed up when it fell, the the rest was big and made some beautiful firewood. Great job Scott, Luke, and Eve!

Eve is marking the tree so that Luke can cut it into perfect 16" rounds.

Eve carried down some of the rounds in the ATV.

Scott and Eve split the big rounds and carried them down in Scott's truck. That's the way to do it!

Leenda Painting at the River on 5/15/2018

It is amazing that we were able to get in the river and swim this early. River was low, and not too cold. Leenda created this beautiful painting.

Jepson and Buster on 4/22/2018

It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood, so Jepson took a chair into the middle of the upper field and had a long sit. His trusty friend Buster joined him. A lovely sight the two of them make!

Truffles! Found by Gucci on 3/29/2018

Marilyn and Tammy brought their dogs Gucci and Blue to the farm to hunt for truffles. Gucci is a national champion truffle dog. She was amazing and found several Oregon black truffles and at least one Oregon white truffle, even though we were at the tail end of the season. Here is a link to an article about Gucci:

http://guidedogs.blogspot.com/2015/02/a-dog-nose-story-gucci-finds-new-career.html

We infused Swiss cheese, goat cheese, butter, and eggs with the truffles. We had scrambled eggs with cheese, bagels with goat cheese, and popcorn with truffle butter. Yummy!

Changes in Spring 3/21-2018-3/29/2018

Daffodil by the barn on 3/21/2018

Snow in the upper field on 3/23/2018

Upper field with beautiful weather on 3/25/2018

First trillium seen on 3/29/2018

Planting Fir on 3/10/2018

First Crocus and Frog of the Spring on 3/9/2018

Elk at Joe's on 2/26/2018

The elk are in Joe's field. Taken from Banzer Road.

Snow! on 2/21/2018

Cedar and Fir Protection from Elk, Deer, and Beaver on 2/8/2108

This cedar tree in the upper field is big and beautiful due to Eve's work protecting it from elk and deer. She adds baskets to the trees when planted, then moves them up each year, eventually adding 5 ft wands to keep them above the elk. She also wraps blackberry vines around them, and that really does the trick. Here is a link to a video with Eve describing her cedar protection strategy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyhrP0C8jLI&.

This fir tree was eaten by beavers just after we started the CREP thinning. We had limbed some of the trees near the river, thinking that they were far enough away from the water that the beaver would not bother them. We had to add chicken wire around the trees, and also put up a low fence along the edge of the stand. That did the trick, and they haven't been back.

New Mailbox on 1/30/2018

A neighbor up Fishhawk was coming home from a trip to California and fell asleep just as he got to our mailbox. Knocked Jepson's well-fortified mailbox over, and totaled his car. He graciously put up a new mailbox for us.

Thinning the CREP Acres on 1/16/2018

We got the go ahead to thin our CREP acres this year. Our neighbor Forrest Shetler is cutting the trees. It is such tight spacing that the trees don't fall down, so we use the Jr Arch to pull them down, then limb and cut to firewood length. The trees are big for their age and not yet shutting down, so perfect timing for thinning. They were planted at 440 trees per acre and we have the OK to thin to 300 trees per acre. That should give them lots of room to grow. We just signed the new CREP contract. Old one for 15 years completed in 2016, which makes the trees 16 years in the ground. We did have a few planted by Boy Scouts a couple of years into the project, so some of these trees are a bit younger. The first stand that we are thinning is in the upper field. A beautiful stand of trees. The cedar are amazing due to Eve's diligence in protecting them from the elk.

First signs of Spring on 1/15/2018

Daffodils by the barn are just popping up. 

Cedar Row Bundled Firewood at New Seasons on 1/4/2018

Beautiful Winter Day. 12/13/2017

New Truck! On 12/7/2017

We bought this lovely 2010 Toyota Tacoma 2 wheel drive from a friend of a friend. Only 42k miles, and well cared for. We will convert it to a well used farm truck!

The Boys on 11/27/2017

Bernie and Max enjoying a lovely Fall day in the field.

New Farm Sign. Completed on 10/31/2017

Eve did a great job building this structure to show off our farm signs. We were named Columbia County Tree Farmers of the year in 2017. We are also ATFS and FSC certified. In 2015 we celebrated 25 years with the American Tree Farm System, and will add a Century Farm sign next year. Tuffet purchased the farm in March of 1919.

Beautiful Cherry Firewood 10/29/2017

This firewood came from the thinning that Joe Banzer did for us in 2017. It is beautiful cherry. Joe saved the cherry and maple for us. The saw logs went to the mill and the small fir went to pulp. Much of the maple and cherry was bundled and sold under the OWC label at local stores.

A beautiful Fall day on 10/28/2017

New Privy! Finished on 10/8/2017

Scott and Eve built the new privy using parts from the old one. Scott did the hard work of digging while Baker hauled the dirt away. Project was finished on 10/8/2017. Great job everyone!