A Day On The Farm Is A Good Day Indeed!

STRAWBERRIES!!!
I LOVE STRAWBERRIES!!!

Since moving back to Oregon I get really excited for June because not only is it the start of our gorgeous summers but it means berry season is arriving and that makes this girl who grew up on a berry farm really happy! I swear I would be in heaven if our bodies could handle a diet of just berries...I could eat them all day every day!
For the past two summers I've had fun little berry picking parties with friends at Krugers Farm on Sauvie Island, about 15 miles from downtown Portland. This year we had our picking party near the end of the season (we had a really short season this year) so the berries were smaller than normal but still packed with amazing taste! Some of the berries went to freezer jam, some into a baked goody with fresh rhubarb, some into the freezer for later, and many eaten fresh at each meal for the last few days! Next up is Raspberries and Blueberries...cannot wait!! Farmer Don, see you soon!
Farmer Don driving the tractor out to the "good" field of berries!
Look at this cute map of my favorite farm on Sauvie Island...it's such a perfect farm!

Lunchtime Stroll

I work in a really fun part of Portland, historic NW Twenty-Third, or also commonly known as NW "trendy-third" by the locals. This is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Portland and they have kept a lot of the businesses in the quaint houses that have graced the neighborhood for many many decades. It has been A LONG TIME since I took a lunchtime window-shopping stroll and thought you might like to come along...have fun getting to know the neighborhood!

Starting off, the first place we come to is Pepino's which is home to my favorite taco's in town! The ladies who work here are so nice and always seem to know that as much as I tell them I "might" try something new that I will almost always end of sticking with the $3.99 fish taco special...so yummy! If you don't want taco's for lunch, how about a crepe from this oh so cute sidewalk cafe! Oh wait, there is still another option just up the block...Mio Sushi! I am fairly new to adventures in sushi but I can recommend their cucumber rolls (I get mine without avocados), a great option if you are looking for something healthy and fresh!Looking for something to do this weekend? Make sure to check out a phone pole, also known as community bulletin board, for what is happening in town! Isn't this a great bike!!Better stop and say Hello to the urban chickens :)Oh my goodness, right across the way is Urbino, probably my favorite store on Twenty-Third! As soon as you walk through the door you will be transported to Old Europe and may be enticed to spend all afternoon wandering through oooing and awwing over all their goodies! Better get going if we want to keep exploring!Thirsty yet? How about a quick pint at McMenamins...oh wait, I might need to wait until Happy Hour as I forgot that it is still lunchtime :)
Ok, lets cross the street before we hit Moonstruck Chocolate Cafe (don't worry, we'll visit it sometime soon!) and let's start heading back. Don't you just love walking through the leaves!Want to get inspired by funky clothes or unique home good then 3 Monkeys is your place to shop! They always have such great finds on the sidewalk that make it hard to walk by without visualizing them in your home! I spy vintage holiday ornaments in the window so we might have to return here when we visit Moonstruck on our next lunchtime stroll :)Here is our hidden treasure, Laurelwood Public House! When it is raining (if you haven't heard, that happens quite a bit in Oregon!) you might want to pick a table by the fireplace and enjoy some of their amazingly delicious food! Want a fun salad? Try their spinach, feta, red onion, and pink grapefruit salad...sounds like a strange combo but once you try it you will love it!
Ok, I might have lied as Nob Hill Shoes is my favorite store on Twenty-Third...Dansko Love, no need to say more!Oh, I should stop in at the bookshop to see if they have my latest bookclub selection, Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing.
And here we are back at our starting point so let's end our lunchtime stroll with a vanilla latte at Vivace!! Aren't you glad we didn't stop at one of the Starbucks we passed, way to go local!Hope you liked the tour, there might be another one in the future as this barely touched the surface of NW Twenty-Third! It was great sharing it with you :)

Apple Cider Making

Our family has a tradition of making apple cider every fall. All I remember of it from childhood is having to go to my grandpa's really early in the morning, usually in the rain, getting sticky hands from pouring cider into the containers, and having donuts as a morning treat! I can say that I like the tradition a lot more now! And here are some pictures to show you how our Hansen Family Apple Cider is made...

Start with A LOT of apples...a whole bin full straight from the apple orchard!!

Put them in the egg basket and take them to be cut...Eli and Catie like helping with this part!

Now the apples need to be quartered...luckly that water is warm, not ice cold like grandpa used to make it. This is also a great time to catch up on family news from aunts, uncles, and cousins :)Here's the press, already working on some applesPour the apples into the press where it will crush them down...make sure to use that really old stick so your hands don't get cut on the blades at the bottom of the bin!

Take a moment to cuddle with Lily...isn't she a cutie-pie!!!Here is my sister pressing the crushed apples for their sweet sweet ciderKenton pours cider into 1/2 gallon containers making sure to sieve out any apple chunks that got through the press.Ta-Da!!! Here's the final product, 92 1/2 gallons of Hansen Family Apple Cider...the best Apple Cider you will ever taste!!And now that work is over it's time to play on the farm...YAY!!!

Fall At My Front Door

Cough Cough, Sniff Sniff...I'm on week #2 of being sick (actually, really really sick for me!) so I haven't felt like doing much of anything, including taking the energy to think of things to write on this blog. Today I went into work late (probably should have taken dear ol' mom's advice and not gone it at all) but wanted to spend a few minutes before I left capturing some of the pretty sights all within about 50 feet of my apartment door...enjoy some more pictures of fall, which if you couldn't have guessed by all my recent photos is my absolute favorite time of year!I'm about to have 4 days of R&R! Keep your fingers and toes crossed that I feel better because there is some fun planned for these days that I don't want to miss out on...things like apple cider making, wine tasting, and the Oregon Symphony...oh I cannot wait!!!

Pumpkin Patch

It's officially fall and nothing feels like fall as much as visiting a pumpkin patch!! Over the weekend I took my niece and nephew to Roloff Pumpkin Farm which you may know as the farm from TLC's hit show Little People Big World! It was opening day and I think the afternoon grayness kept many farm goers away as we almost had the place to ourselves! We did the farm tour and if you watch the show you can see some pics of the farm here that you may recognize :)

Here are some cute pictures of the adorable Eli and Lily with their favorite auntie having a fun day at the pumpkin patch!!

Portland Swifts

Every fall, about 4 blocks from where I work, a natural phenom happens and tonight I went to witness it for the first time this season. For about 3 weeks in September, anywhere from 20,000-40,000 swifts nest in a chimney of an elementary school as they migrate south for the winter. What makes the nesting pretty spectacular is that at sunset the birds literally begin swarming in from all directions and start circling the chimney. They circle in one direction, all dive and start circling another direction, do more massive dives and fly-by's over the hundreds of spectators, then start circling the chimney again. Then just as the sun disappears they form a vortex and quickly the thousands and thousands of swifts head down into the chimney feet first where they latch onto the insides of the chimney and find rest for the night. This vortex of thousands of birds looks like a spinning tornado and the whole crowd cheers them on until the last swift is safely inside...pretty amazing!

I forgot my camera tonight so here are some pictures I found on flickr...enjoy!

Hiking With Eli

My birthday was on Saturday and I could not have asked for a better way to spend it than with Eli, my favorite little boy in the whole wide world! My mom and I took Eli on a hike and he did a GREAT job walking the 3 miles all by himself! I think getting bribed with skittles from Auntie Lisa helped his little legs keep going :) He also has recently learned the story of Hansel and Gretel and was very concerned the whole day with dropping enough pine cones and sticks on the trail so they could find their way out...what a good little boy wanting to make sure his fairytale friends get out of the woods safely :)

We hiked to Bagby Hot Springs which is an amazing area in the Mt. Hood National Forest. The trail was absolutely beautiful and I loved being surrounded by so many trees!! I truly live in a beautiful part of our country and I was so glad to spend my birthday enjoying the sights and smells of the forest, as well as being responsible for saving Hansel and Gretel, with two people I love!!

Here is a true Oregonian if I've ever seen one!

I thought it was great that they left fallen trees down (perfect for little boys to play on!) and simply cut parts away so people can continue safely on the trail :)

One of the beautiful bridges we had to cross

Eli inside a HUGE tree stump!

Look at the size of this tree...AMAZING!
Loved seeing all the many shades of green!

Reward for the day was playing in the hot springs!! Way to go Eli!!