tall clover farm

Cheesy Fig Bombs Recipe: Figs wrapped in bacon stuffed with goat cheese If there are figs in your fridge or on your tree, do I have a recipe for you: cheesy bacon fig bombs. Simple, salty, sweet, savory and delicious, figs stuffed with goat cheese wrapped in bacon is about as good as a recipe [...]

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The Madrona seems more living sculpture than growing tree.  Gnarled limbs and twisted trunk frame the sky like arms in pose.  Old bark, cinnamon in color, flakes and sheds its skin with each storm; new bark timid in its tender coat of pink, peers skyward only to be caught by a glint of the sun’s last call. 

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By summer’s end, a bramble’s reach knows no boundary. What my eyes witnessed my brain denied. The shadows were not lengthening; the mosaic of honey locust leaves did not litter the ground or create an artful flotilla in the fountain.  The sun did not rise and hang on the horizon complacent that it had reached its roost [...]

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Bramley’s Seedling apple atop a jar of subtle sweetness In the world of making homemade jams and jelllies, apple jelly is the starter kit. It’s your paper airplane, your pencil and paper, your tin roof sundae, your khakis and tees, your clean palate. Simplicity sets it apart; adapability provides its charm.  After I waxed on about its virtures in Jam Up and [...]

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Mt homegrown peaches: mystery peach on the left, apricot-size Oregon Curl Free to the right.    Indian Free Peach; most unusual and very late season Growing peach trees organically can be a real challenge in the Pacific Northwest, but with the renewed interest and recent introduction of varieties that are resistant to the dreaded peach leaf curl, the [...]

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  While my list of favorite things about summer could stretch to Portland and back, I find the BLT (a.k.a. Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato sandwich) is rarely challenged in its top-ten ranking. Homegrown tomatoes or farmers’ market tomatoes know no match, but this year with our cool early summer, they are nowhere to be found outside of a hoop house or [...]

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