Sunday, November 18, 2018

Christmas Tree Season 2018

Hi!  The holiday season is here again and we are excited to be opening for our eleventh 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 will be open on Black Friday (11/23/2018), and all Saturdays and Sundays between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve.  Our open hours are from 10am until dark.  Please note that this year we will not have regular open hours on the other Fridays, but we are available by appointment.  We have also pulled the signs back from the driveway entrances and put them up by the gate.

Our trees are untrimmed and unsprayed and as such, they are not the dense cone shape most commercial farms offer.  They are also going to have some brown needles and irregular spacing between the branches.  Many people do not find what they are looking for, especially in the 7-9 foot range where our supply is thinnest.  However, when we walk around the farm we find so many trees, even in the popular sizes, that we think are beautiful to harvest this Christmas with all the character that comes with a naturally grown Noble Fir or wild Douglas Fir.




Our pricing is the same as last year:
Christmas Trees:
Nobles up to 6 feet - $37
6 - 8 feet - $42
8 - 10 feet - $48
Add $4 per foot over 10'
Ask about wild Doug firs $10 and up
Fresh Wreaths:
Make your own - $10
We take cash and checks. Thanks!

Keep reading for more details, and if you are planning to come we look forward to seeing you!

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 and candy canes.  We don't have reindeer but we do have two alpacas who are pretty entertaining.  (Thanks @lizv42 for the photo!)


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.  Here is Craig among some of the trees that are just reaching a good size for a smaller room with some larger trees uphill behind him:



We are a small farm and although we replant each year, nobles grow very slowly and have been struggling with the increasingly hot and dry summers.  Some of the trees we planted our first year are reaching a good size to harvest, and some older ones have lovely top portions and can be harvested just above the lower browned branches.  We don't have a huge selection but there are lovely trees to be found and more that are still growing to a harvestable size.  These are still mostly too young to harvest, but hopefully they can survive the summers and grow another couple years:



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.  The last three summers have been very hard on our trees and they are showing signs of stress from the prolonged heat and dry spells.  Many of our big trees put out cones this year which have also provided snacks for birds and critters such as these partially eaten cones up high on a big noble fir:

This year we have chosen to donate to Direct Relief, a nonprofit who is supplying relief following the devastating fires that recently burned in California, and who responds each year to wildfires throughout the Western U.S.

We also are donating to EdenAcres Environmental Education, a non profit which provides a variety of exceptional outdoor learning opportunities to local schools, homeschoolers, and others:
They are currently working to expand their school garden program to reach more children:
https://donate.seedmoney.org/3035/school-gardens-for-all

Meanwhile, we are looking forward to tree season once again, and we hope to enjoy some of the lovely sunsets we get here at Corner Crest Natural Farm as the sun moves further south in the sky in this final month of fall.  

Saturday, November 17, 2018

Following the First Frost

The first frost has come and winter is definitely letting us know it's on the way.  We can see our breath in the morning air and we wear lots of layers for our evening walks.  The sun still shines warm on many days, but the forecast is full of rain ahead.  We could use the water, and hopefully some reaches the fires down in California where they really need it desperately.

Meanwhile, we have our little fire going in our wood stove to stay warm, and starting to get ready for tree season which will be here in less than a week.  The end of the year is sure coming fast.

Hello little amanita!


Another larger but less red one:

This cute little red amanita was just starting to pop up:

More pretty fall colors:

Another big mushroom:

Alpacas in the mist:

Keeping our home warm and cozy:

Tuesday, October 30, 2018

Fall is Here

We have had rain, we have had more sun, and we have lots of leaves on the ground.  The air is soft and rich.  Fall is definitely here.  We only have kale remaining in the garden along with some late robust peppers (and some overripe cherry tomatoes).  The fall grasses are coming in and making the alpacas happy.  The falling apples are making the chickens and the alpacas happy.  And we continue to enjoy the apple crop still on the trees.  Some of the Fuji apples in particular were just amazing this year.  

The rest of the farm for the most part found the summer too hot and dry, especially the nobles.  Even many of the mature trees are having a hard time with the long stretches of rainless days during the summer.  There are brown branches among the green ones and many of the larger nobles have started producing cones.  If this pattern of sustained hot and dry summers continues, it might not make sense to be replanting nobles in a few years.  But for now, pretty much all of the trees on the farm and in the forest are very happy that fall is here, and we are too.

Alpacas enjoying autumn grasses:

Some fall colors from up high:

One of the few remaining apples on this tree:

Friend Rooster collecting apple pieces for his hens:

This wild tree was loaded with fruit this year and the apples are really good!

A tiny starter wasp nest, abandoned in the cold:

Collecting apples:

Piper is getting big:

A little city of golden fungus:

Craig with a mantis earring:

The mantis had climbed from his hand, up his arm and head to his hat.  Once on top we moved it to some plants:

Hi Fuzzy Wuzzy Wooly Bear:

One of the gorgeous pileated woodpeckers who lives in the woods and likes grapes:

One of the last garden harvests:

A very fat spider, presumably looking for somewhere to settle down and lay her eggs:

Our pumpkin crop! 



Monday, September 17, 2018

Late Summer

We always breathe a sigh of relief when the heat breaks.  When the smoke clears.  When the rain comes.  We love the bounty and life and buzz of summer, but the dry heat takes its toll.  This time of year feels very energizing.  The days are still long and warm, but growing shorter and cooler.  The garden is still producing an abundant harvest, but is getting most of its water from the rain.  Sometimes it feels like fall doesn't get here fast enough, but there is an undeniable sweetness to these final weeks of summer.

Another colorful and tasty harvest:

A few times each week during garden season, a big portion of our dinner looks a lot like this:

Our corn was especially cute this year:

Harvest rainbow:

Garden goods and figs from the tree:

This mantis rode home in Craig's truck from down in Hillsboro. We think it'll be happy here:

More deliciousness:

We accidentally grew tons of cherry tomatoes this year.  Two plants is plenty for us, but I think we have about ten.  They are delicious though!

Hello garden frog:

Hello garden lizard:

Another resident hanging out with the chard:

Apple season is getting close:

Some early apples and late plums rounding out the garden harvest:

Sometimes I think our garden is asking me something...

This was our first year growing okra.  What a surprisingly fun and tasty vegetable!  I definitely plan to grow more of it next year:

Hanging out and appreciating the water drops:

Craig puts little trays of water in the barrels for the animals. Can you spot the frog and the mantis who seem to share this cucumber plant as their home?

This plum tree blooms later than the others which means that it is more likely to be well pollinated.  Good thing too, because these are delicious:

Produce rainbow:

Looking majestic on the parsley.  It turns out the parsley is really excellent this year too.

Apples, pears, plums, and grapes:

I thought this was a feather with a sweet message:

This mama deer came walking by our window:

Her fawn was following along with her too:

As it starts cooling off, Kitty always gets a little more affectionate:

And as fall draws near and the sun sets more in the southern sky, we are often treated to quite a show at sunset: