Friday, April 7, 2017

Amazingly beautiful

Yesterday was our first lambing experience and we're so excited to have a new ram lamb who is healthy and handsome!

I felt like I was going through the whole experience right along side our mama Fern.  The birth was single and simple (well for me that is) and today we watch as mama and baby explore greener pastures.

Two more mama's to go but I have to say for our first...I will never forget this one!
Gotland beauties!

Fern our Gotland mama with baby, minutes after


Saturday, March 25, 2017

WELCOME TO PLEASANT OAKS FARM

VERA LYNNE SMILING FOR THE CAMERA

We're a small farm on 14 acres outside of Rogue River, Oregon.  We enjoy the homestead life of growing food and processing it, raising chickens, and our very sweet Gotland Sheep. 

Vera is usually the first to call out to the others when someone new comes to the fence line.  They are curious, bright and very friendly.  Our first lambs are due this Spring and we're looking forward to this new adventure.

Our property is partially wooded on the side of the creek and home to a forest of Cottonwoods, Cedar and Pine.  Mostly around our home is flat pasture land with a large garden area and orchard of 35+ fruit and nut trees.

Before moving back to the Southern Oregon area, we lived on property in Junction City,  northwest of Eugene.  We laugh at those who say we're not farmers mostly because of what we grow and eat.  This chart shows one year of what we harvested in the Eugene area.

Food Storage 2009

All the food that is listed below was produced on the our farm in raised beds, using cover cropping, compost, and crop rotations in a 100 foot by 85 foot plot. There was no tilling. There were no chemicals, and David and Elaine did all the food processing.
Dried Canned Frozen Cool Storage Herbs
50 qts tomatoes 9 pts pickled veggies 20 - 4 packs of corn on the cob 155 lbs potatoes 1 gal apple mint
22 qts zucchini 12 qts butternut squash 20 - 8 packs of stuffed cabbage 200 lbs onions 1 pt spearmint
5 gal red onions 7 qts sweet meat squash 16 - 1.5 qts spagetti squash 600 heads of garlic 1 pt orange mint
8 qts strawberries 7 qts pumpkin 5 gal blueberries 30 spaghetti squash 2 qts peppermint
8 qts anaheim peppers 25 qts grape juice 5 gal marionberries 12 butternut squash 1 gal mugwort
3 qts celery 25 pts strawberry jam 3 gal boysenberries 8 sweet meat squash 1.5 gal motherwort
4 gal celery leaves 12 qts blackberry jam 3 gal strawberries 4 pumpkins 1 gal yarrow flowers
1.5 qts Eur. Soldier Beans 12 pints boysenberry jam 20 - 10 packs anaheim peppers - .5 gal lavender
2 qts Swed. brown beans 22 qts sauerkraut 8 pts pesto - 1 qt lemon balm
1 qt scarlett runner beans 48 qts tomato sauce 50 lbs walnuts (bought/shelled on farm) - 4 qts lemon verbena
8 ristras (50-100 peppers) 14 qts salsa - - 3 qts pineapple sage
- 16 qts pickles - - 4 qts basil
- 58 qts green beans - - 1 qt clarey
- - - - 1 qt rosemary
- - - - 3 qts calendula flowers
- - - - 2 qts skullcap
- - - - 1 pt dill seed
- - - - 1 pt lemongrass
STILL IN THE GARDEN: (1) 4 foot by 20 foot bed of turnips and rutabagas, (2) 4 foot by 26 foot beds of brassicas, (1) 4 foot by 18 foot bed of mixed lettuce, spinach, cilantro, and green onions, (1) 4 foot by 18 foot bed of Swiss Chard and Kale.

Maybe we're not farmers because we eat most of what we grow instead it's all about the process.  We're up before dawn and during the summer months we're usually busy until 4pm.

We're enjoying the area we grew up in, not in the literal age sense but in the development of sensing what it is we need and want.  Room to roam, land to explore, nature to observe, space to grow and green pastures for our Gotlands to enjoy.