Greg and I took a ride up the "fruit loop" today on Mt. Hood. This is a winding route which carries you through orchards beautifully situated on the mountain. A stunning drive and a great chance to pick up

fresh apples and pears.

some of the loot
fuji,  tokyo rose,  stark crimson pears,  honey crisp,  ginger crisp,  sansa and a rediscovered heirloom,  pristine,
new on the mountain and only grown this first year by an organic grower

headin' up the mountain
the highway up being about 10 minutes from my house

 view from one of the orchards

punk-ins, etc.

construction on the highway uncovers some pretty big boulders from ancient glacial activity

comin' down

BLT's at the golf course:
Resort at the Mountain

what a beautiful fall day
though evergreens, being what they are, don't actually show it

Blackberries are in! I made a crisp.

himalayan blackberry

a little dangerous to pick

more to come

evergreen blackberry

someone else seems intrigued

food studio

ready for the oven

waiting patiently 

 I roasted tomatoes. These are delicious and easy to make and freeze. They have an intense flavor and can be very useful in different ways. Bruschetta, sandwiches, soups, stews, and sauces. They are also very tasty as a side dish served warm from the oven. Nice addition to a brunch.

japanese black trifele, san marzano, sungold, 

jaune flamme, brandywine

russian black plum

Brush olive oil on the roasting pan, cut the tomatoes in 1/2 width-wise, brush the tops with a little olive oil and season with coarse salt and a little pepper. Just slow roast at 250˚ for about 3 hours, for smaller 

roma-size tomatoes. Roasting time varies depending on the size of the tomatoes. I like my finished tomatoes on the soft side.

 In Wisconsin, we picked all of Kim's red tomatoes before the big chill set in. We roasted 

some and she intends to make enchilada sauce and stewed tomatoes with the rest. 

This inspired me to attempt my own enchilada sauce, so when I got home, I made a batch. 

ready to go from the garden
              

now to hyper-blend

my Vita Mix 3600

yummy finished enchilada sauce

 I visited my family in Wisconsin

and went to a Badger/OSU football game.

tailgatin' family

a sea of red

a little badger boosterin'

I also visited the Amish settlement...

and at the grocery store, I find jar after jar of pickled goodness.

This is how things turned out...

straw bales with peppers, cukes, eggplant, and nasturtiums

                         

the twiggy looking part is the bird's nest with nasturtiums growing out

This summer I decided to do something different with my garden. My soil has a lot of clay in it, so I took a raised bed class and discovered some new ideas to try. I built a bird's nest as a raised bed. It was pretty fun, big enough for Big Bird to nest in!

                                                       this is my raised-bed bird's nest

I gave straw bale gardening a try

and my new raised bed is working great for root crops

I begin

I sent some photos to my family as they had not visited for awhile and I wanted to show them a day in my life. The photos inspired me. I thought they were really pretty, thus my pretty life.