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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (July 31, 2019)
JOURNEY MyEagleNews.com Wednesday, July 31, 2019 Trail Continued from PageC6 An active hive, with busy bees at work behind glass, can also be found at the honey stand. The bees benefit the orchards by doing what comes natural — pollinating. Other bees are trucked to pollinate almond trees in Cali- fornia and cherries and blueber- ries in the The Dalles, Hermiston and Boardman areas. They also sell bees. “Tomorrow morning some- one is coming to pick up half a dozen queens,” Allen said. “I sell mostly queens this time of year. In the springtime we sell starter colonies.” Allen said he couldn’t oper- ate his business without the men- tors who have helped him over the years, so he likes to give back and in the spring and fall and lead hands-on beekeeper workshops. The business is a part of an “agritourism” movement, which is growing in popularity and involves commercial enterprises at a working farm or ranch allow- ing visitors, in varying degrees, to observe and enjoy. One might just call it friendly folks sharing the work they’re involved in. Activities for those stopping by may include educational experi- ences, on-farm direct sales or out- door recreation. Thomas Orchards’ well-known fruit stand opened on June 25 this season. Located in Kimberly off of Highway 402, they’re open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week, and presently, visitors can buy apricots and cherries, which they can pick themselves, if they’d like. There are also pack- Eagle photos/Angel Carpenter Jeff Thomas of Thomas Orchards works at the business. ages of dried fruit and jams. Near the end of July peaches will also be available, followed by plums, nectarines and Bart- lett pears in August. Early apples, including golden delicious, cam- eos and ambrosia are ready in September with peaches and pears, and through the end of October, apples and pears are still in harvest. Jeff Thomas said his top prior- ity is producing high-quality fruit, but he said the orchards are also a place where people have the opportunity to see how the fruit is grown. “A lot of people have a discon- nect between the city and where your food comes from,” he said. “They can see how it’s grown and what we do. Obviously, you want to sell fruit, and you want to edu- cate people in what you do.” He said the “greatest genera- tion” followed by the Baby Boom- ers grew up canning fruit. “With my generation, ‘the Gen Xers,’ you start to see a little dis- The Happy Hens Egg Farm owners Dan and Grima Horgan, located west of Dayville off of Highway 26, invite visitors to stop in and buy cage-free fresh eggs and seasonal produce. connect,” he said. “We were the first generation with year-round produce — apples, grapes, toma- toes out of Mexico.” Thomas said he’s now seeing millennials, in their 20s and 30s, who are part of the “buy-local movement” and want to pick and even grow their own fruit. He’s planning to host a Camp and Can event with a food pres- ervation specialist to teach people how to can. “It’s a small part, compared to our wholesale, but it may be the most important part because peo- ple get to see where their food comes from,” he said. Happy Hens owners Grima and Dan Horgan have a “fresh eggs” sign at their driveway off of High- way 26 west of Dayville. Grima keeps 70 cage-free chickens and grows a large gar- den, selling eggs and produce at her door and at the John Day Farmers Market on Saturdays through the summer months. She said she enjoys eating fresh fruit and vegetables she grows, including watermelon, tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber, cilantro, toma- tillos and more. “It’s fresh and the best taste,” she said. “The things we grow are tasty.” She added, “I know what I put into the ground — no chemicals in the ground — I enjoy feeding peo- ple good stuff and no chemicals.” Rose and Darrell Howe offer a look at life on the ranch for their visitors at Triple H Homestead ranch in Monument. They rent a five-bed bunk- house, which looks like a barn from the outside, and guests can tag along as they work on the ranch, gathering eggs, feeding cows and pigs and making milk- based soaps and lotions. Rose said she started eques- trian clinics 10 years ago, and that’s how the bunkhouse started. She no longer hosts the clin- ics, but about five years ago, they made the bunkhouse a vacation rental and it is now listed as an Airbnb. The rental includes four twin beds and a double bed with hand- made quilts as well as a kitchen so visitors can do their own cooking. “It seems to appeal to folks with young children, because they get to see me milk in the morning, they get to ‘have a go’ at milking,” said Rose in her English accent. “They get to help feed the cows and feed the pigs, gather eggs from the hen house and, such as today — a cheese and butter-mak- ing day for me — they are wel- come to come in and watch the process.” “When we know we’re going to have the younger children here, I’ll let them come down to the chicken house and gather the eggs from the chicken boxes,” she said. “It’s amazing how many chil- dren don’t know where their food comes from.” Experiences such as these, and more, can be found along the John Day River Food Trail and beyond. 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