Bees, Blossoms and Cider!

We all got up at 4am this morning on the farm because we were anticipating sunshine.  We met early for a farm meeting and then began preparing to apply our first spray on the orchard.  We live in the heart of our farm so we try to be very mindful and careful about what we will allow sprayed on our farm.  My parents are 72 years old and have been spearheading the spraying for over 43 years on our small family farm.  They are in great health and I am so grateful to farm besides them. The above picture is from last year and we are not quite in full blossoms stage yet.  Spring is such a hopeful season for me as a farmer.  The blossoms usually start to pop at the end of April and we will soon be welcoming back our favorite working lady bees.  

Last evening, I met up with one of my favorite brewers to plot and prepare for the many kegs of hard cider we will be needing for our many weddings, farm to table dinners fundraisers and at our farm stand.  Our cider is tasting amazing this time of year and I am happy to announce we are going to be bottling my Golden Row Cider this year at Mt. View Orchards.  So stay tuned for it to be in your local markets or swing by the farm stand this Summer/Fall to snag a bottle of our finest cider from our orchard to your glass.

The All Fruit CSA sign ups are picking up speed after a slow start.  A thousand thank yous to all who have befriended my farm this year and want to eat well with Mt. View Orchards this year.  We are the only farm in our valley to offer an All Fruit CSA and so many people are joining because our CSA is a great value and generous amount of local tree-ripened fruit.  The amount of fruit you receive is a great value and you will have plenty to freeze and enjoy year round, guys   I received a letter from a family who has been apart of our CSA for the past 2 years with these kind words. "We love being apart of your All Fruit CSA because we should all be connected to the farmers who grow our food.  We love following the seasons of your farm with your grateful farmer blog and love the friendship we will with Trina and love the generosity and hospitality we feel when we come for a farm visit. We adore the sweet fruit that my kids plow through each week on our drop days. We're thrilled to be apart of the harvest season and we love partnering with Mt. View Orchards."

We are giving tours most weekends for our 2017 and 2018 wedding seasons and I am always so encouraged by meeting the lovely couples who visit our farm.   Stay tuned because we are hosting an OPEN HOUSE on 5/21/17 this year from 2-5pm were we are featuring local gorge vendors and inviting prospective couples to come be our guests and enjoy delicious small plates by Celilo Catering and drink our refreshing Golden Row Cider. Come and learn more about why getting married at Mt. View Orchards is a really special experience. Last year we hosted a handful of events and we received this review from one of our lovely brides, "We got married on 8/6/16 and it was perfection. The venue, the staff, the facilities, and a magical view. Couldn't ask for more. Thank you Mt. View!!!"

I am still volunteering at our local food bank and continue to make ending food insecurity one of the core values of my farming journey.  So many friends and neighbors run out of food near the end of the month and making the commitment to have people over for dinner and to donate generously to my local food bank is something that I plan on doing forever as a farmer.  I care deeply about growing food for my local community and it is my highest honor to farm for you all.  Thank you for following along friends and for backing me up.  Your Grateful Farmer, Trina xox

Learn more about joining our All Fruit CSA, friends.  I personally invite you to enjoy a generous and delicious harvest season with our fruit farm this year! xo Trina

Prosperity and peace

In 2014, I bought my families fruit orchard at the base of Mt. Hood. I had been plotting my whole life to do this but was unsure the date this would actually take place.  I was filled with big farm dreams, wild hope and all the money I had saved thus far in my life. I had been working in the city as a nurse practitioner saving up each month for a down payment for over a decade. Since I was about 5 years old, I had this innate longing to carry on the best of my parents core values on our farm and to help to create a sustainable business for generations to come. This is not something I talked about often because I was waiting for the right timing and the door opened wide three years ago.  I wholeheartedly said, "Yes," and I stepped in with all my courage and bravery.  So far expanding and growing the farm business has been a great success(but also a ton of work with a steep learning curve).  I am grateful because the whole community has rallied for our small family farm and has partnered with me each year to support my dream and save my families farm. A thousand thank you's

I am entering into year three of learning how to be a farmer and my prayer for this year is for more prosperity and peace.  Gratitude has been my medicine and has anchored me in the ups and downs of the finances of farming. Generosity is something I care about deeply as well as I take an aggressive stance on ending food insecurity in our area.  Prosperity matters so I can continue to be generous with those who are hungry in my community. This year, I am really hoping to operate out of place of deep peace and for my businesses to thrive.  I cannot do that without a community of friends who also believes that having local, sustainably raised fruit matters to them as well. I want to be your farmer and I need you to be friends of my farm.  I am asking for you all to consider joining my 2017 All Fruit CSA this year to help off set the huge costs in the Spring and so you can enjoy in the harvest of Summer and Autumn. I grow tree-ripened fruit with you all in mind and I invite you to join my this year in the harvest season, friends. Head to this link to find out more. Hopeful for Spring, Trina. your grateful farmer.

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Generosity is a Multiplier

I was born into a long line of farmers. 

When you are born into a family with a legacy of farming not everyone in the family feels compelled to carry on the dream. But I farm because I believe in the dream of my great-grandparents, grandparents, and parents, and I want to carry it on into the next generation. 

I was taught at a young age to be a good steward of our land--land that has been in my family for generations. The most important purpose of this stewardship is generosity. The word generous doesn't simply mean giving things away; it means creating life to nurture and benefit those around you. My family has always believed that generosity is its own currency--a currency that multiplies value to both the giver and receiver. 

I care deeply about growing fruit for everyone in my community, and work to create access to my fruit for people from every economic background. Being generous with my harvests brings me pleasure because it is an honor to nourish, sustain and bring better health to my region. 

I believe my employees are my kin, close to me like family. I find it easy share my farm land with them and their children.  On our land we have three generations of farm help who believed in the dream as well and have committed their loyalty, support and lives to grow food for our region as well. I love to give them places to grow vegetables gardens for their families and I hope to continue to pay them as much as I possible and improve their housing every single year. 

I count it a honor to be apart of a vibrant farming community. From the legends who farm into their eighties to rookie farmers who are all in and working multiple jobs to keep their farming dreams alive.  Showing up for one another to lending each other a hand feels good and is the soul of a rich and sustainable growing community.

I love opening my farm up like a large living room and inviting others to come and taste and see our harvests. It is a deepest pleasure to host weddings, farm to table fundraisers, schools, sunday suppers and celebrate others life milestones on my families land. Connecting, laughing, toasting and sharing a meal with new friends or old is my favorite thing to do. 

I am entering into my third year of my farming journey and my 40th year of life--I can hardly believe it. I want to thank the following people who have made these past years possible: 

Thanks to my kind and generous parents who would do anything to make my new ownership successful.

To my dear friends who have championed me, cheered me on and believed in my dream as well.  

To my loyal employees who received me as their their boss and work with all their might to create delicious fruit for our region.

To my community who comes and buys fruit from a new female farmer each year and to those who want to get married on our farm.

And to a faithful Father who always backs me up.

Walking around the farm at the end of the day and praying for my land never gets old. I have more dreams in my heart and big plans to be a business owner that helps transform people's lives for the better.  Thank you for following along as I share my farming journey, friends of the blog. My heart is undone with gratitude. xoxo Trina