Schweinefest 2014!

One of my favorite things I've come to enjoy since moving back to my motherland are all the spontaneous invitations for breakfast, walks and friends and family who drop by in the evenings for a visit.  Love abounds here in country and flows so freely. I am grateful to be home- loved so well by my people. Even with all these lovely new connections, life in the country is significantly less social than my former life in the big city so this year my cousin Jim and I decided that we always wanted to learn how to roast a pig in the ground so we decided we would attempt a pig roast and throw a community party.

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 We came up with the name of "Schweinefest," because of our Swiss heritage. When we were preparing the fire pit 24 hours before the meal we made the joke that we can make anything sound Swiss (even a Hawaiian Pig roast) by adding some Schweizerdeutsch to the title.  It was the most fun I've had with fire my whole life and I've caught the fire roasting fever.  To be candid it was also a lot of work, heavy lifting and serious amounts of heat! It was 93 degrees on the day we made the fire and put the pig into the earth and on Sunday it was 85 degrees and humid when we brought her out.  I am really ready for the sweater and soup weather of autumn and in hindsight we probably need to throw this party a little later in the fall. We were rather lucky on our first attempt of roasting the "schwein," we learned so much about fire pit cooking and didn't burn down my parents home.  Great Success!

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 The pig we used for Schweinefest 2014 was raised by two amazing young women in FFA at the Hood River County fair.  I am so grateful for my 4-H/FFA experience and I know these young women have bright futures ahead of them and are full of so much promise. My life has come full circle and similarly to those who purchased my animals at the fair when I was young it was a huge honor to go the fair and buy pigs as a farmer for Mt. View Orchards.  I love fruit finished pork and have been giving my piggies ample amounts of cherries, peaches and ripe pears and apples ever since they arrived on the farm.  I made 12 apple streusel pies for Schweinefest and they were gone by the nights end. We also pressed 13 gallons of five different apple types for a fresh pressed apple cider(nectar from heaven).  We used the left over apple pumice to wrap around the pork making it taste like "meat candy."

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thank you Ramona Kline for the amazing photos

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The purpose of the party was to celebrate our abundant 2014 harvest, the Autumnal equinox and my homecoming.   Many of my old pals(city kitties) and my friends, family and neighbors(country cats) came out to the orchard in droves.  Even though we had over 100 people at Schweinefest after it was said and done we have copious amount of sweet pulled pork and the fire pit is still putting off steam 2 days after the party.  It really was a beautiful evening with so much warmth, affection and Pork!  My mom gave a toast that had everyone in stitches and she had us exclaim, "hip hip hooray," in unison.  I love the bejesus out of my parents. They really are so very good to me and I find it easy to give them all my lovely daughterness. I'm learning how to collaborate with them on the farm and feeling so grateful for this rare opportunity.

It really was a magical evening and I think I want to make it an annual tradition here on the farm.  A yearly harvest party that celebrates the orchards bounty, loyal neighbors, fire roasted pork, apple pies. thankful toasts, a welcome to new neighbors and our orchard filled with the sounds of laughter is something I want to recreate as many times as possible here at Mt. View Orchards.  I woke up the day after the party and felt so grateful and properly and fully welcomed back home.  I still have so much to learn as a young orchardist but at my homecoming party I was surrounded by so many farming legends, supportive friends and family, beautiful apples still hanging from the tree and it filled me with so much hope that I am not taking on this orchard project alone.  I am in an orcharding community and they are always going to show up when I am in need.  I am a grateful farmer. 

Delicious Collaborations

What could be better than a small family farm collaborating with their favorite brewery? Well for this thirsty farmer who loves good beer....Absolutely nothing!  I have been over the moon these past months because we have had the honor of partnering with some of my favorite breweries and restaurants around town. As blessed as we felt for having such an abundant peach crop we were a little worried about how we were going to sell all our peaches at our fruit stand. We started thinking outside our realm and reached out to several restaurants and breweries here in the Gorge and Portland. Fortunately, several people were more than glad to oblige and we are putting a serious dent in our peach surplus. Today my brothers dropped off 250 pounds of our farm fresh peaches to Jerry Fechter at Lompoc Brewery on North Williams in Portland, Oregon. They're planning on making their famous peach-wheat beer with our fruit (keep an eye out for this one at Lompoc pubs soon). Then last week we dropped off 600lbs of peaches to Matt Swihart of Double Mountain Brewery in Hood River, Oregon. He shared that this Belgian style ale will be ready in 8 short months and we can all go down to Double Mountain and enjoy the Pêche Mode. Count me IN!! I love peaches. I love beer. Can't wait to see what other awesome beer concoctions come about with our fruit and with our favorite brewers!

The timing of these orders were absolutely heaven sent, because we have had such a bumper crop of our sweet 2014 peaches and it hurts us farmers to see them go to waste.  We love finding them good homes where the fruit of our labor can be enjoyed. The BIG bonus is that I also love preservation and fermentation and peaches can be easily enjoyed year round.   Friends who know me well, realize that I love celebrating other people's big WINS, and these peach sales are a big win for us!  I always keep a bottle of chilled cider or champagne in the fridge that I happily pop open for the smallest of occasions.  I confess that my brother's tease me for giving the sappiest and or most lengthy toasts at weddings or at birthday parties but what can I say, I love toasts and I love celebrating breakthroughs! Prost to our peach win!

Mt. View Orchards has had the pleasure of collaborating with some amazing Restaurants this summer as well, including Ned Ludd(Jason French), Old Salt(Ben Meyers), Miss Zumstein's Bakery (Anja Spence), Solstice Wood Fire Pizza and Bar(Aaron Baumhackl), Cicci Gelato(Theresa Labriola) and Chuck's produce in Vancouver Washington.  Farm to table at its finest! I am still reeling from the shock and awe of these delicious collaborations.

I have personally had so many delicious meals at these eateries and I am so grateful for their creative incorporations of our lapin cherries, elberta peaches, honeycrisp apples, bartlett pears, aurora blueberries and wild huckleberries on their scrumptious menus. I'm a fan of their work and feel honored to have something worthy to offer them as well.  We proudly went and tested our farm fresh fruit when they debuted at the various establishments. Bravo!   From Peach pizza, fruit desserts, cherry sauces over tender pork and polenta, peach gelato, blueberry muffins, canned peaches and pears to pies and jams. We also sold our Mt. View Orchards fruit wood and could smell the sweet and smoky aromas of seasoned pear wood filling the air and the crackling heat inside the wood fired ovens making for some fantastic fire cooked food. Fruitwood + fire + peaches =Summer magic!

 Choosing to buy directly from a farmer is a win/win. The customer gets their fruit at an affordable price and there is no middle man that takes a cut away from the farmer. This is exactly why we want to work directly with restaurants, breweries, farmers markets and through our fruit stand. There is no real comparison going to a farm and meeting the farmer that proudly grew your fruit.  Big box stores and grocery stores are convenient but lack the soul, story and beautiful scenery of Mt. View Orchards.  Small family farms are sadly on the decline in the states but what keeps them alive and thriving is when they have a loyal customer base who continually comes throughout the season and each and every year.

Though it is impossible for me to honor every person that comes to support our farm, I want you all to know that when I see familiar faces show up at our fruit stand each week my heart is always full of gratitude. As great as all these wholesale orders and partnerships are, the truth is that every sale, big and small, keep us going.  It warms my heart to hear from newer customers that they were referred to us by a friend, or saw my blog, or just felt like bravely following our lovely new signs and coming over to see us.  Our farm stand is not on the main highway, but is sweetly tucked away in the center of a 50 acre orchard. Sometimes that can make it challenging for people to find us, but we have been so blessed by loyal customers that come faithfully each year and invite their friends and family as well.  We are also grateful for the brave new customers that veer off the main drag of the fruit loop and come west towards Mt. View Orchards. Thank you ALL!

A group of cousins picking peaches together this August at Mt. View Orchards.

 I know I am biased, but I believe that our orchard is really a special place and one of the friendliest farms around.  We love being farmers and growing beautiful and affordable fruit for all who come to visit us. One of our core values is to really value our customers at Mt. View Orchards.  With all my heart, I want to thank everyone for their continued support and I also want to thank the many eateries, breweries and numerous non-profits that choose to partner with Mt. View Orchards.  My eyes are filled with tears of joy as I write because never in my wildest dreams could I have ever imagined that so many people would want to collaborate with us.  I consider your partnerships a precious gift and I am a grateful farmer.

A happy little farmer picking cherries this July at Mt. View Orchards.

Harvest Moon

September has got to be my all-time favorite month on the orchard. I love when warm summer days start to mix with a hint of a chill and crispy fall air and end in brisk evenings. I am addicted to all things Autumn and anticipate this season the most.  The heaven-on-earth fragrance of ripening apples and pears fills the air here at Mt. View Orchards, compelling forest friends like black bears, deer, elk, wild turkeys, and birds to wander across the Middle Fork of the Hood River on the west side of our property and stuff their faces with fallen fruit. We often frighten each other when we cross paths on my morning jogs around the orchard.  

Our farmhouse kitchen is overflowing with the warm and aromatic fragrances of my absolute favorite spices, including cinnamon, cloves, all-spice, cardamom and nutmeg.  Freshly harvested, vibrant Starkrimson pears slowly cooking down on the stove in a warm bath of vanilla bean pods, the nectar of fresh-pressed cider and fall spices make my kitchen smell like amour.  I have always believed that there is nothing on this planet that smells more like HOME than a Gravenstein apple pie baking in the oven. 

Thanks to wonderfully favorable weather and abundant water supply, we have one of the most beautiful crops shining like rubies on our faithful trees this year. I couldn’t be more thankful. We only had two nights of frost in May, followed by a glorious, warm summer—making 2014's crops, some of our finest yet.  As a farmer, you are at the mercy of the weather. There is absolutely nothing, besides prayer and thanksgiving, that you can do to manipulate this powerful force. I have deep compassion for our farming friends in California and Southern Oregon, whose crops have been hurting from this year’s drought in their region. We are very blessed to be planted at the base of Mt. Hood, which provides ample run-off water to keep our crops hydrated and trees happy. On warm summer nights, we open our windows and are quieted to sleep by the gentle roar of the Hood River flowing to the Columbia River.  I am thankful for this endless source of water and know that it is a beautiful gift.

Last night, I sat underneath a harvest moon and listened to the soothing sounds of wind whistling through the leaves and the rhythmic pulsing of the sprinklers giving our trees a much-needed drink.  Near me was a nearly 100-year-old heirloom apple tree. Every harvest, the sweetness of its apples and the legacy it represents takes my breath away.  Its breezes taste like fresh apple peel. On this particular night, I found myself profoundly thankful for the opportunity of learning to run a 50-acre orchard. Overwhelming as it can be, I gain strength from the knowledge that generations before me have faced the same challenges and overcome them in order to make this moment possible. I am so grateful to God for their perseverance, faith, and struggle to leave Switzerland and to come to Oregon with a fruit farm in their hearts—and then to build that dream and offer it as a gift to their children. To all of them, I say thank you.  My heart is full and I am a grateful farmer.

Ps. I am sharing a blessing below that a dear friend sent me when she heard that I was moving home to learn how to farm my families orchard.  I have read it most mornings before I start my day on the farm and I thought I would share it with you all, for it has been an anchor to my heart in this massive transition home.  I hope that it inspires and steadies your heart as well.

For A New Beginning
- John O’ Donohue

In out-of-the-way places of the heart,
Where your thoughts never think to wander,
This beginning has been quietly forming,
Waiting until you were ready to emerge.

For a long time it has watched your desire,
Feeling the emptiness growing inside you,
Noticing how you willed yourself on,
Still unable to leave what you had outgrown.

It watched you play with the seduction of safety
And the gray promises that sameness whispered,
Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent,
Wondered would you always live like this.

Then the delight, when your courage kindled,
And out you stepped onto new ground,
Your eyes young again with energy and dream,
A path of plentitude opening before you.

Though your destination is not yet clear
You can trust the promise of this opening;
Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning
That is at one with your life’s desire.

Awaken your spirit to adventure;
Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk;
Soon you will be home in a new rhythm,
For your soul senses the world that awaits you.