Christmas Tree Season 2014

Our favorite time of year at Corner Crest Natural Farm has arrived again.  This is our seventh season selling Christmas trees from our hillside in North Plains, Oregon and we are so happy to be here.  

We offer naturally grown Nobles that are unsprayed as well as unshaped.  Our selection includes trees of all sizes, including many very tall Noble firs that are great for vaulted ceilings.  The branches grow in tiers so decorations can hang freely, giving it a look which is sometimes referred to as a Layered Noble.  This traditional Christmas tree is a lovely way to highlight your ornaments, as well as a healthy way to bring holiday spirit into your home.  

We primarily sell U-Cut Christmas Trees with a rustic, small farm experience.  We provide saws and twine as well as hot cocoa, honey mint tea, and candy canes.  We are always happy to give you a hand and we usually have only one or two cars of people here at a time, except on our busiest days.  Most folks that come to our farm like to take their time hiking around and enjoying the view while they choose their tree.  We are on the edge of the forest and overlook the valley.  

Our trees are not planted in rows, but rather in the shadows of the older nobles to help the young ones survive the summer sun.  The natural growth also leads to more variety and character among the trees which can make the selection more of an adventure.

We lack the Certified Organic Christmas Tree label, but our Christmas trees are grown without sprays and artificial fertilizers.  We have found that unshaped trees seem less susceptible to pests and fungus, so they are naturally healthier too.  You can be confident that our trees will not bring harmful chemicals into your home, and that our farming practices do not put them into the environment.  In fact, farming Christmas trees like this is good for the planet.  

Each tree absorbs more than 1 ton of CO2 in its lifetime and 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 them.  

Last year Craig planted about 200 seedlings, mostly Noble Firs as usual, but for the first time we also included some Grand Firs.  These young trees ensure the sustainability of our crop for the future.  We are excited that this year some of the seedlings that Craig planted our first year here have grown into lovely Noble Firs that would be a nice fit for some of our customers who like a smaller tree.  In the coming years, more and more of what we sell will come from Craig's plantings as they grow into mature Christmas trees.  

We hope you come to share a little holiday spirit with us here at Corner Crest Natural Farm.  Meeting new people and seeing friends from years past is truly a highlight of our Christmas season.

And as I slowly inch into this decade, I learned that mobile users don't get the full version of the website, so here is this year's pricing information:

• up to 6 feet - $37
• 6 - 8 feet - $42
• 8 - 10 feet - $48
• Add $4 per foot over 10'
• Ask about Doug firs $10 and up

We take cash and checks. Thank you!

Fall in the Air.

I love fall.  I love the air and the sounds and the edge of a chill.  Somehow as it gets colder I feel all that much warmer inside.  I think I actually spend a considerable amount of the time from early October through whenever it seems the last snow has fallen in a state of giddiness.  

We have already had several very cold days and a dusting of snow which was lovely.  The high winds blew so many small branches out of the firs in the forest, it really looked like someone had carpeted our driveway with evergreen.  We were fortunate that the only notable tree that came down on our property was an old, mostly dead fir that took out just one smaller noble which is now likely to end up as our Christmas tree.

One of the last flowers to bloom for the year, pink in the shade of the forest.

Apples are ripe, including these delicious Fujis off one of Craig's more recently planted trees.

This tiny mushroom made me smile.  It was maybe the same diameter as a dime.

Grapes ripening.

Craig harvesting green ones.

These were so sweet this year.

I got impatient making raisins and discovered that we like halfway dry perhaps even more.  They also left the best grape jelly on the parchment.  I think next year I'm going to try to do this on purpose and blend up the raisins in with the jelly.

Our last little harvest from our little garden.

More ripe apples.

The top of our Golden Delicious tree was too high to harvest so the pileated woodpeckers helped eat them up.  If I had been about 30 seconds faster, there would have been two woodpeckers in this photo.

Putting away some apple sauce for the winter.

A praying mantis.  We also found an egg sack down in the lower brush underneath it.

Our first persimmon crop off the tree Craig planted 2 years ago!  So delicious!

The elk herd, just a bit down the hill.

Taking a break from munching to have a look at us.

One of the larger bull elk overseeing the herd from back near the forest line.

Craig with a bunch of apples and Asian pears, checking on the hens.

The sunsets start getting extra beautiful here as the sun moves more into the southern sky.

It feels so good to come inside to a cozy fire.  Fall is here and winter is coming soon.

Goodbye Deek.

We got Deek as a pup in the summer of 2000.  We moved to the farm when he was 8 years old, and he loved it here from the start.  He used to go on big hikes, and would run with Craig on his bike rides and me on my trail runs.  Although Tux was faster, Deek could out last him on a long adventure.  As he got older, he spent more time on the couch, and more time sleeping.  And after fourteen and a half years, that was all his old body wanted to do.  And then even that was too much, and it was time for goodbye.

Baby Deek with his favorite toy.


Before Deek was big, he was quite small.


Deek and Tux were best friends from the start.


And to the end.  Deek and Tux on one last, slow walk together.

We took lots of breaks for rest and petting.

I don't know how long it will before I can look at this photo without crying.

The vet took a final picture of the three of us.

This was a hard goodbye.  We miss you.  Rest in peace, old friend.  

Late Summertime

As summer rolls along things get hotter and dryer.  We spend the middle of the day seeking shelter and enjoy the cooler edges outside.  The chickens and alpacas tend to go back and forth between shade and sun; baking themselves until they can't take it anymore then cooling off to go do it again.  Chickens are very funny in the sun...  they almost collapse sometimes just from the light then try to play it off like an intentional sun bath.  

The alpacas don't enjoy being sheared, but they very much enjoy the result.

Feeling much better and looking much smaller.

Craig with our very nice, big rooster.

Plum season!!!

Kitty thinks summer is a bit too hot.

Chickens enjoying a dust bath.  

Little lizard.

Sweet and juicy!

Summer was also the time to put away a bunch of tasty food in the pantry.

This guy takes care not to poke himself in the eye with his butt when turning.

More pickles and tomato sauce.

Down at the stream the crawdads were very active on the hot days, dragging around leaves and such.

This frog was bigger than he looks.

See?  Quite large for a frog.  

Craig had a successful elk hunt last fall, providing us with meat for the year.  The summer sun finished the process of baking the skull.

Summer day down at the stream when the water is almost as low as it gets.

More ripening.

Deer munching in the clover.

Caught with a mouth full.

They are so fast when they run.

Not ripe yet, but soon.