In the Valley

The Willamette Valley is my homeland. When we visit I love to have Tom drive me around while I look at the crops growing in the fields. As times change, so does what grows here. There are still hop fields with vines climbing up lines strung on tall poles. Grass seed fiends are still prominent. I wonder if they still burn them off after harvest. 

We saw fields of other seed crops, both vegetable and flower seeds. There are still bean fields, but now they are bush beans, picked by machine. No more pole bean fields, where I spent so many weeks of my summers picking beans in the August heat. 

What we noticed most was the increase of filbert ( hazelnut) orchards, huge blackberry fields, and vineyards. I guess Oregon hazelnuts, blackberries and wine are doing well. Count me in on the hazelnuts and blackberries!

In fact it was blackberry time and I had to find myself some to eat, now! I knew I could find them at the small French Prairie Farm and Nursery.

Yep! I bought a single carton. 

 They also had ice cream! Umpqua ice cream, blackberry flavor! 

I sat at one of their picnic tables, surrounded by flowers, and added berries to each bite of ice cream. Yum! I ate half of the box that way. Tom had a few, but mostly I ate them. I finished them off with cereal at the hotel the next morning. 

Then of course we looked at all of the plants the nursery had to offer. I even bought a begonia I had been looking for that I could't find around here. 

This was all after spending the morning through a late lunch with my sisters and cousins doing our "Roots" tour, that I posted previously, and on our second day in Oregon, after touring Portland gardens the day before. 

The day was winding down, but we still had time before heading to a late dinner near our hotel in Woodburn, so we went to Al's. 

 Yep. More flowers and plants. We are incurable. The funny thing is we thought we had said goodbye to sister Laurie and Arnold, when across the display floor I hear her say "Hi". She can't resist Al's either, stops there whenever she is in the area. She lives in Winlock, Washington. 

 Look at this curly plant! Weird. 

 Then I saw these face pots. I recognized then as from an artisan from Sherwood, Oregon whose work I have purchased before. Sadly, he passed on, and there will be no more of his creations, so I bought one. 

 Maybe I can keep his tillandsia "hair" alive this time. 

We said goodbye, again, to Laurie and Arnold, and were on our way to the hotel and then dinner. 

Near the hotel is an Elmer's Restaurant, where they make German pancakes. That's what I had, with berries!

And thus ended our second day in the valley.