Ashland

As a place that has been named one of the top 5 places in the world to live, we are lucky to consider Ashland as a part of our neighborhood. Land use laws pack 3,000 individuals per square mile, which contributes to the cohesive feel of the town. It seems bigger than a small town of only 20,000 people.

Slow paced life, higher education levels, safe environment=great place to live!

The most outstanding feature of the town is the Shakespeare theater that sells 390,000 tickets a year to to performances that run from February through November. They have three outdoor stages and two indoor stages that feature four Shakespeare plays and seven classic, contemporary, modern ones.

They also offer backstage tours, lectures, workshops and other events.  I even see a youth chamber music group booked for June. Many people stay one week and see as many as 12 plays.

Two Trains Running

This year's line up includes The Taming of the Shrew, My Fair Lady, Cymbeline, The Unfortunates, King Lear, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Heart of Robin Hood, The Liquid Plain, The Tenth Muse, A Streetcar Named Desire and Two Trains Running.

Southern Oregon University hold several cultural events, such as a Chamber Music series. With a little imagination, it's possible to find a number other offerings, such as the OLLI lectures, free to the public on a variety of interesting topics. 

The Ashland music calendar is jam-packed with events featured at the multitude of local bars and restaurants in town. 

Restaurants and stores line Main Street and give it that Georgetown feel

Lithia Park offers many recreational opportunities, but best of all, the 93 acres are laced with hiking trails. Ashland's location affords everyone access to their favorite outdoor activity - even skiing Mount Ashland in the winter. Bikers, hikers, swimmers, boaters and other outdoor enthusiasts can easily get tanked up with fresh air and a dose of fitness before enjoying their favorite culture and culinary delights.

Mount Ashland

It will take some juggling for us living in Williams, an hour away, but if you think of it, many people live an hour away from the Kennedy Center, Georgetown and downtown DC and still think of themselves as living in the nation's capitol. It's just a matter of planning and rethinking -- after all, we will be retired -- a completely new lifestyle with many more freedoms to turn to our advantage!

Berms - Front Yard Landscaping

I dream of having an undulating front yard with a variety of grasses and plants strategically placed to delight the eye and create a feeling of coziness.

From Lynn's Living Designs in Williams, Oregon

Above is an example in our neighborhood, so I am assuming that something of this sort is possible in my yard. You can see the lovely Applegate Valley hills in the background. Ahhhhh......

My first question is ....does she fence this in to keep the deer out?

Our front yard is pretty flat right now, so we will have to create berms.

The view from the porch- often with deer grazing

I will be looking for native plants that thrive in our climate, as well as adding color, and variation to the landscape.








Berms are basically man-made hills. If you use top soil for the entire hill, it gets too expensive, plus it doesn't compact well.

So, you first put in a bottom layer with fill (gravel, rubble, old asphalt)  to retain stability and to have it compact well.

Second, you apply an impervious layer of clay.


Third, a layer of top soil provides a medium in which plants can root and thrive.

Other considerations to take into account are drainage, slope and gradient, microclimate, design and plants.

A variety of plants, grass, and rock adds character to the landscape design.

I suppose, I will have to decide on a style when the time comes, more formal? more wild? based on what is affordable, what grows best with the least maintenance, and fits with the style of our home.

Personally, I like the wild and overgrown look that is actually planned and well-kempt. 

Award Winning Winery -Selected Applegate Vineyards

Troon Vineyards just named by Wine Business Monthly as one of the "Top Ten Hottest Brands" in America!

Over 100 acres, 40th anniversary 2012

Visit them:
http://www.troonvineyard.com


In the last few years, the Applegate Valley went from a handful of wineries to almost 20.  The wines are making a name for themselves.

Here are some teaser notes on a handful of other wineries in no particular order. Enjoy the tour!

Devitt - we visited last September. In contrast to some of the other wineries, this is a no frills place. Some people like a simple, down-to-earth experience. If the presentation is too fancy, you might wonder if the packaging is trying to sell you an image rather than the product just for itself.
http://www.devittwinery.com

Valley View - We had a Valley View "Anna Maria Chardonnay" with our dinner at the Jacksonville Inn. Everyone was quite happy with it. We would have ordered some bottles from them, but they didn't have any from 2007. We will wait until we can go to their tasting room to see if the other years were just as good. Or perhaps you can do it on your next visit and let us know.
http://valleyviewwinery.com

Cowhorn - This is a Jacksonville Vineyard that sells 'Biodynamic' wines, seriously organic. They also sell produce locally from their gardens. I look forward to visiting them.
http://www.cowhornwine.com

Longsword has over 100 acres and says their wine is organic. They promote paragliding on their property. If you land on their property, the owner gives you a free glass of wine.

In the summer there is a 7-day paragliding competition, so even if this is not your sport, you can sit back, sip some wine and watch the fun. That's my idea of enjoying extreme sports!
http://www.fhlv.net

Schmidt Family - We visited this winery during the off-season. From the look of it, the parking lot has room for many buses.  It was our good fortune to be practically the only ones there, because it meant having the grounds to ourselves. The great room is huge and there is a garden in front and in back to wander around. The views are fantastic.
http://www.sfvineyards.com

Ok, there are many more wineries to describe. If you want to know what the wines taste like, you will just have to come try them yourselves. We were after a chardonnay and the Valley View Anna Maria Chardonnay beat the others we tried easily.

The Mail Tribune, a newspaper out of Medford reported 26 February 2013:
"Oregon's wine market is growing faster than Washington, California, Italy and France [...]. The state's 463 wineries sold more than 2 million cases of wine in 2011."

Also, interesting to know that there are 600 vineyards in Oregon and that wine from the region is starting to make a name for itself.

Other vineyards of note include the Red Lilly and Fiasco. These and others will be reviewed in a future blog.

Come visit and explore while you can say that you discovered an up-and-coming region.

Planned Future Topics

Berms - landscaping the front yard with grasses and native plants.

western redbud

Northwest boxer rescue- where we hope to get our happy big dogs.

Pennington farms - raspberries and other berries - family farm project - B and B 
- they make the most awesome strawberry rhubarb pie - settle for that until I 
perfect my recipe.

Making a trail for the back two acres, so we can walk it and get a feel for it.

What to do with it?

Applegate Valley trail Association - restoring old trails in our valley for 
those who enjoy hiking.

Vineyards, of course

Jacksonville, a quaint town that has a music festival in the summer

Ashland, an upscale town with the Shakespeare theater festival - good theater 
all year round

Adobe Backyard Oven

THIS is what I am after.....yum, yum, yum...

I am checking out the ins and outs for making a backyard oven in order to make crispy, chewy and flavorful bread at home.









Cool fact is that there is a sculptor in Oregon who has written a book about these ovens.

His name is Kiko Denzer. 

Kiko Denzer oven

Apparently, it is not too hard to make these things.  You make the foundation, so that it is raised off the ground and you are not breaking your back. In the KD oven, you see granite blocks, but you could use cement blocks.  The blocks are filled with rubble and topped with sand. In the sand, you place firebricks. This will be the bottom of your oven.

To make the clay/mud top, you first make a mound of sand. On top of the sand, you apply mud. Then you apply mud that is mixed with chopped straw. 

After that has dried, you top it with another layer of mud and straw, but the straw is chopped even more finely. This last layer can be made with colored clay for flair, since this is the layer that everyone will see.

Colorful outer layer makes attractive outdoor accessory

Now comes the fun part:  you cut out the door and take out the sand!!! 

The oven has to dry, maybe a few weeks even. But then, you put in your wood and fire it up. 

You are heating the bricks and everything to a very high temperature. It's perfect for making that crispy crust through the triple action of this kind of oven:
-convection
-conduction
-radiation

These actions give it the crust, suck out the moisture from inside to outside, and heat the bread evenly. 

The results are delicious bread with a fluffy center.

Of course the oven is still hot after you have baked the bread, so it is advised that you put in stew pots and pies as a follow up to the bread and pizza. 

Enjoy!!!
Related links:
http://blog.architectureaddiction.com/index.php/a/2010/02/21/kiko_denzer_builder_of_earth_ovens
http://www.grit.com/Tools/Backyard-Bread-Oven.aspx?page=4
http://www.sunset.com/garden/how-to-sunset-classic-adobe-oven-00400000040017/
http://www.breadexperience.com/artisan-bread-recipes.html

Valentine's Day

Today's blog entry was going to be about baking bread in an adobe oven, which you can build in your back yard.

Instead, I want to take this opportunity to give everyone a shout out:

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!!

And the topic will be chocolate, since I am very excited about discovering that Lillie Belle Farms Handmade Chocolates in Central Point, Oregon won a gold medal for it's "Most Awesome Chocolate Bar EVER."

Check it out! There is such a thing as www.candyblog.net!!!

They use only organic chocolate. They recently won the Good Food Award, which "were created to redefine ‘good food’ as being tasty, authentic and responsible."

I am looking forward to what more they have to offer!  If you are heading out to Oregon, be sure to visit the shop. By then, I may have more to say on the topic. Perhaps, I will blog about them more in the future.

Related links: 
http://www.lilliebellefarms.com
http://seedlingprojects.org
http://www.goodfoodawards.org/the-awards/

Lavender festival July 12-14, 2013

HOW COOL IS THIS?

This year, there is an Oregon Lavender Festival with four lavender farms participating from the Applegate (my!) Valley!

The four farms are:

-Applegate Valley Lavender Farm
-Goodwin Creek Lavender Farm (Williams)   !!! My home town!!!
-Lavender Fields Forever (Ruch)
-Two Sisters Lavender Farm (Williams)  !!Again, my home town!!!

Activities include u-pick lavender, lavender distillation demos, crafts, and farm tours.

This is Deborah Thompson - Applegate Valley Lavender Farm owner.  I could imagine me in her shoes (in another life!), but since it was not meant to be, I am glad she lives nearby to visit and see what she has created.

There is also an Oregon State University Lavender Demonstration Garden on the other side of historic Jacksonville that will be open at the same time.

And in 2014, there will be two more lavender farms opening up.


www.OregonLavenderDestinations.com