Bi-Weekly Update: Nov 30 - Dec 13

We have been busy with so many projects, that it was difficult to narrow down photos and videos to upload for this blog. So we mostly uploaded videos of our pigs, goats and turkeys “playing.” But first, more about the Sauvie Island Center :

Shortly after we bought the farm in January, we teamed up with the SIC. This week, we sat down them to check-in and reassess our first year together. We didn’t know how they’d overcome the obstacle of how to get kids to the farm during Covid, especially from underserved neighborhoods.

But like so many folks, they reinvented themselves to help get through this year and to help where new needs presented themselves. They worked with families and teachers and even, weekly, hosted student pods for hands-on classes. They worked on videos and curriculum for students to access at home. We are so proud to host this amazing group of people. Check out their end of the season video, which shows their season long transformation and sums up what they were up to:

The weather has given us so many useable days last two weeks, that we’ve continue to plant like crazy, aka we are pooped. So what do you do when you’re need a break? Take a break to play with the animals.

Jim drilling holes in a 5 gallon jug to hide treats for the pigs to find.

Megan at Douglas Farm generously offered to help us, again. Douglas Farm has some of the most amazing peaches I’ve ever had. They have many other amazing produce and we are excited to continue to showcase lots of it again next season.

They are two driveways down from us, so we drove our tractor over and started digging, then loaded up some of her berry plants that she was digging up to make room for other things. This is an even bigger gift, because by planting them now, instead of waiting until the spring, we should be able to harvest some fruit from the plants this summer.

Raspberry plants, peach trees, bald eagles and rainbows. Just another day on Sauvie Island.

We dug up one of our berry fields and planted pumpkins this past season. There was so much root rot, the berry plants were no longer viable. Now, after a season of pumpkins in the field, we are excited to put the posts and wires back in, and see if we can successful get the berry plants to grow.

They are all so gorgeous, I think we all have permanent smiles right now. Thank you Megan!!!

For the record, first we dug up the raspberry plants. Then after bringing them to the farm, we dug a hole and added some of the mulch we had scraped our of the parking lot. We added approximately three plants in each hole, added the dirt, added some more mulch, then tied each plant to the wires in two spots. Then repeated. We repeated approximately 90 times per row x 10 rows.

We visited the Kunkles this week too — to borrow a baby glider (cross your fingers, our granddaughter will be able to visit soon. we’re getting ready and once we find a crib, we should have all the essentials). Dave and Dianne Kunkle own Columbia Farms U-Pick on Sauvie Island. They are known for their amazing berries. Dave and Dianne came over shortly after we bought the farm and walked our berries with us, giving us their insight. I can’t wait for them to come back and see how far things have progressed. They offered to lend us their hiller in the spring, to hill dirt around our raspberries. Raspberries don’t like wet roots, so hopefully if we hill them, they will survive longer and thrive.

With all the negative stuff we are ALL dealing with, I love to pass on how amazing our community has been and all the love we feel. Yesterday at the farm, a mom stopped by who had come out often over the summer, to drop off holiday gifts. She wanted to say thanks for giving her kids a place “to breathe.” We had no idea in our wildest dreams that taking on this farm, would have such high dividends.

Thanks Julia! And look, your ornament was the first one we put on our tree!!!

Last Sunday afternoon we took a break from raspberries and planted hundreds of strawberry plants, then covered them with mint mulch (hopefully it will help the plants and deter the deer).

Maybe Bob finds a lap.

While taking a break, we added some more stumps for the goats to stand on and a pair of stairs for them to all fight over who gets to sit on top. And we took apart one of our brooms and hung the brush up (see video).

Baby Juniper on the left, mama Jet Puff on the right.

And Clyde is full grown now - and is a hen, not a rooster. She continues to hang out on top of Rolo. The two of them have a sweet friendship.

Sun has been an issue in the animal area, so has mud. So we’ve been working on improving the pens, and preparing for our newest members of the family who will hopefully move in before Christmas.

We reused our black and white maze entrance sign as the inside of the new structure. I love this!

Maggie painting between raindrops, hoping to get the painting done so our newest minis can move in.

The view from above.

For an entire day, the turkeys mirrored each other. An. Entire. Day.

You can’t tell from the following photo, but it was a rainy day. But while it was raining, we snuck off the farm to get our tree. Two miles down Sauvie Island Road, we found the perfect tree at Sauvie Island Farms.

We felt like we had the entire farm to ourselves. With the trees to our back, we had the most majestic view of Mt. Hood.

Thank you Vicki and Dave!

Back to work, and the rain returned. Jim and Peter dug holes to put in a new front gate.

Here is one last video by the Sauvie Island Center. Who knew making carrot chips was this easy.

Below is an ad we ran to promote our holiday meal boxes. The Thanksgiving boxes we such a hit, that we added three holiday dinners, New Year’s Eve boxes and gift certificates. A meal is donated for every holiday box sold. Check them out, they make great gifts!

xo,

Kat & Jim