Nothing is as good as living on a farm. We enjoy collecting farm-fresh eggs from the hens in the morning, harvesting vegetables from the greenhouse, canning pears from the fruit trees, harvesting firewood to enjoy the six months of Oregon rain, and the delight in enjoying mushrooms as winter approaches.
Joy in the Greenhouse.....
Raising milkweed (Asclepias spp.) for the Monarch butterfly.
Our son, Luke Fitzpatrick, holding seeds from the milkweed.
Kathy freezing sweet corn.
Kathy making applesauce.
Happiness with a warm fire in the wood stove .....
Firewood brings a flicker of happiness during the dreary months of rain in Oregon. Harvest and storage of firewood is a top priority on the farm.
Mushrooming in Oregon .....
Ken is delighted to find a Giant boletus (Boletus edulis var. grandedulis) in the Coastal Range.
Summer boletus harvested from the front yard.
Boletus for dinner!
Morels
Morning's bounty from the Coastal Range, identified, collected and cooked by Ken.
Farming...Fun, Day to Day Activities During Summer!
Trash ...
2016, installing new well.
Using dozer to pull out dump truck.
Putting roof on two sheds.
2020 from the barn
Alas.....Beautiful Santiam Valley Ranch
It Speaks For Itself.
Garbage thrown into the ditches on the side of the road finds its way into the irrigation canals and heads its way to Mill Creek and then to the Willamette River.
This pure water comes from the glaciers on Mt. Jefferson, wallows a while in Detroit Dam, and then flows West in the Santiam River. Some is diverted into irrigation canals built by farmers with oxen and horses. It doesn’t make sense to throw garbage into the water that supplies our food. We all need to think about making the world a better place and dispose of garbage properly.
Cleaning pond with excavator.
Re-siding and painting north-facing side of shop.
Clear skies from COVID-19, April, 2020
Black Oregon Red-spotted common garter snake unique to the Willamette Valley.
