Year End 2017

It's already the very end of the year.  Tree season was a pleasure as always, and Christmas Eve brought a joyful surprise.  We were treated to a dusting of a couple inches of snow, just enough for a little magic (and for several cars to get stuck on the hill). 

It was Ember's first snow and she was thrilled.  The alpacas are not fans of snow and even though this is their ninth or tenth winter, the always seem a little perplexed by it.  This video does a pretty good job at capturing the dog/alpaca antics.  Sometimes the alpacas play really well with Ember, but they really just weren't feeling it with all that cold white stuff falling from the sky:

And one final sunset shot as we get ready to bid farewell to another year and look forward to the next:

Customer Gallery 2017

We are off to a wonderful start this holiday season and we hope those of you who decided to share it with us are happy with your trees and the time you spent here at Corner Crest Natural Farm.  It is such a pleasure to meet new families and to reconnect with friends from years past.  

Our ground to tip selection is thin in the 7 - 12 foot range, but there are plenty of trees to be found that will be beautiful for Christmas.  The trees we first planted are nearing 6 feet tall and the taller ones for harvest this year will mainly come from the top portion of larger trees with dried bottoms.  These are especially lovely and have good, strong branches with that beautiful hint of blue color.  

What we offer is rather unique as there aren't many others growing untrimmed, unsprayed noble firs like we do.  If this is what you are looking for, we hope you come visit our little farm.  And if you don't find what you are looking for here, no problem!  We hope you'll consider returning in a couple years when our younger stock reaches the popular sizes for harvest.

You can skip ahead to general info on Christmas Tree Season 2017, or enjoy these photos some of our customers with their natural nobles and holiday greenery.  Thank you!

Wonderful to wrap up the season with good friends as our last customers for the year (unless someone surprises us on Christmas Eve, which sometimes happens):

Always so much fun to see our return customers and which trees they choose each year:

Just the right size to fit in the car:

All good spirits enjoying the misty morning and finding a beautiful tree:

Good friends and a sweet little tree for on top of their coffee table:

We always appreciate our word of mouth referrals and enjoy meeting new families:

We got a tree too!  Just before sunset:

Beautiful day to find a Christmas tree:

We are so happy you chose to use up the last hours sunshine of the weekend with us:

Warm sun, cold air, warm hearts:

One of our favorite traditions, back on track after last year's snow made it impossible:

The perfect tree found in the last light of evening:

 Victory!

Heading back along the trail with a big tree in hand:

 Just the tree for a Scandinavian Christmas.  We removed the bottom 3 feet of burnt branches to leave a healthy tree about 10' tall:

More fun when shared with friends and such a delight to meet the newest of family members!

Every year we sell a couple skinny tall trees that are very elegant when decorated:

The late afternoon was so beautiful and perfect for an adventure to find the perfect tree.  I have a soft spot for the wild doug firs; they always seem SO happy to be picked and in this case, decorated with bubbles too:

We are so happy when people who have been looking for untrimmed noble firs find us and enjoy their adventure here.  I couldn't decide which of these pictures I liked better!

We always enjoy reconnecting with families from years passed and love to see the trees they pick:

Dressed for the occasion in her alpaca shirt!

A smaller tree this year to go on a tabletop now since the smallest family member is pulling up on everything:

So great to see our regulars year after year during the holidays:

Happy in the rain:

Dear friends braving the weather on a very rainy Sunday for their much anticipated annual visit:

It really makes us happy to see our repeat families over the years who bring familiar warmth and smiles: 

An especially beautiful tree with a delightful family who found our farm this year:

This picture captures my absolute favorite kind of moment of having a Christmas tree farm:

Our favorite way to spend Black Friday.

Trees for the whole family!

Seeing friendly faces who come year after year is the highlight of running our little tree farm.

The walk back through the field after a successful search.

Thank you so much for sharing some of your holiday season with us!

Christmas Tree Season 2017

The holiday season is here again and we are excited to be opening for our tenth year selling Christmas trees here at Corner Crest Natural Farm.  We are located in North Plains, Oregon and offer naturally grown noble firs, wild douglas firs, and make your own wreath supplies and instructions.  

We are a very small, rustic farm on the hillside overlooking the valley and backing up to the forest.  We are a U-Cut business but are always happy to give you a hand (or two). We usually have only one or two cars of people here at a time, except on our busiest days, so it rarely (if ever) feels crowded.  Most folks that come to our farm like to take their time hiking around and enjoying the view while they choose their tree.  Come prepared with boots, coats, and gloves.  The ground is uneven and you will encounter blackberry brambles.  We provide saws and twine as well as hot cocoa, honey mint tea, and candy canes.  

Our trees are unshaped which leads to more space and variety in the branches.  They are also unsprayed so you can be confident that you will not be bringing any harmful chemicals into your home and that we are not adding them to the environment.  Noble firs have good strong branches and we think these natural trees are a lovely way to showcase your ornaments for a beautiful, traditional look.  

Our selection in the 6 - 12 foot range is thin this year while we wait for the young trees to grow.  We have been replanting every year and many of the seedlings from our first year here are starting to reach a size where they would make a lovely 5 - 6 foot Christmas tree.  Most of the ones in this photo are in that size range and would fit nicely in a smaller space or raised on a platform (a popular choice for families with dogs and/or small children):

We also have several taller trees whose upper half is lovely but whose lower branches were damaged from the dry summer two years ago.   Like last year, will be selling some of these tall trees to families who just want the top portion.  Usually this is in the 8 foot range, sometimes taller.  The bottom skirt of these trees is brown, and harvesting the top makes room for the sun to reach the lower ground and for seedlings to be planted.  Sometimes trees that grow very close together are also suited for harvesting the upper portion.

In another few years if we don't have too much dry weather, many of the little trees that are now just 2 or 3 feet tall will grow to Christmas tree size, each one absorbing more than 1 ton of CO2 in its lifetime.  Each acre provides the daily oxygen requirements of 18 people.  Live trees are renewable, keep plastic out of landfills, and conserve the resources used in manufacturing artificial trees.  Growing them naturally and not removing all the ground cover also makes the environment friendly to many animals who make our farm their home.

We are open Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 10am until 5pm, but it is usually dark a bit earlier, so it is best to arrive by 4pm if possible.  This time of year we often have glorious sunsets in the southern sky and our evening tree customers sometimes get a spectacular show.  We hope to see you!  Happy Holidays!

Here is this year's pricing information:

Natural Christmas Trees:

Nobles up to 6 feet - $37

6 - 8 feet - $42

8 - 10 feet - $48

Add $4 per foot over 10'

Ask about Doug firs $5 and up

Fresh Wreaths:

Make your own - $10

We take cash and checks.

Thank you!

Last year we donated $125 of tree proceeds towards protecting clean water.  This year we will be donating to Friends of the Columbia Gorge to help with restoration following the devastating fires this summer.
https://gorgefriends.org/

Fall

Fall is here.  We all breathe a sigh of relief with the first rains.  We all are ready to move a little slower and listen as the cooling weather tells us to settle down and get ready for winter.  The colors change and leaves fall and it feels good to go outside in the fresh air and good to come in where it is cozy and warm.  Winter is coming and I love the transition that is autumn.  

The sunsets happen earlier now, and are moving towards the southern sky.

Ember does a good job now watching the chickens and not chasing them.

Craig working on our new main gates.  Puppies must be kept in and neighbor dogs (who are far and away the main predators of our chickens) and coyotes (who very rarely catch a chicken but we don't want them too close either) will be kept out.  

A tiny fairy village.

We love mantises.  This year it seemed they came later than usual, but there were many when they did appear.

Craig with a mantis from the field.

They are really such amazing insects.

Ember very happy with a deer scapula she found.

I couldn't decide which photo was cuter.

I went to pick a couple apples (we did get a very, very few this year). I thought the alpacas had settled down for the night in the barn and I was munching away when I suddenly felt something soft and warm weigh down on my shoulder. Then a fluffy white snout made it clear that he wasn't just being affectionate. And he got my apple.

Leaves starting to change colors.

We had a pretty fantastic pumpkin crop!

The forest misty and yellow.

The forest trail of fallen leaves in browns and oranges and reds.  Fall is here.