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| An epic mid-January double rainbow! |
One of the things that I love most about Oregon are the four distinct seasons - and especially the transitions between them. Sometime in January-February, we get a little break from the normally long, dark and wet Winters. The storms move to the North or South of us, and we enjoy a few weeks of clear, sunny skies and unseasonably warm weather. We begin to see buds swell, the pasture thickens green and an army of robins return to forage.
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Heavy December rains caught in between our sleeping food forest beds.
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This Winter was especially wonderful (and wet!). Our region was pounded with heavy rains from cold storms leaving thick blankets of snow in the mountains. After several years of extreme drought, this 'normal' Winter was a welcome change. We're currently sitting at above-average snowpack and we can only hope that this pattern continues for several years to help replenish our weakened water table.
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| The ducks enjoying a seasonal pond in the pasture. |
But now that we have received a slight break from the rains, we get to think ahead to the coming growing season. This year, we plan to grow more herbs for Wild Rose formulas including Burdock and (hopefully) Arnica. We had much success with our essential oil still last year and plan to extract more Apple Mint and Catnip oils from our lush herb beds.
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| Romanesco Broccoli harvested in January |
We're excited to see what this Spring and Summer will bring for both Wild Rose and our little homestead!
