Apple Picking! And Guess Who Tried to Eat our Camera.

For club members and newcomers, another crop of apples is on the way to becoming cider!

Farm life follows a comforting rhythm that culminates in harvest — and that time is upon us. A couple of days ago we harvested the early-maturing varieties of our cider apples, so about half of our apple trees are suddenly shorn of their fruit. The apples fill 17 huge bins and will soon be turned into delicious hard cider of various kinds (in this photo, our Pinot Noir vineyard is in the background):

If the apples don’t look exactly like those you see in the grocery store, that’s because they’re not. Grocery store apples are great and cheap, but they’re, er, simple things. Our cider varieties, on the other hand, are rich with tannins and acids and are specifically intended to ferment into complex ciders. Grocery store apples are like table grapes, while these are the equivalent of Pinot Noir grapes meant to create a sophisticated and memorable drink.

Meanwhile, our harvest season will continue for several more weeks. We expect to pick the remaining apples, from later-maturing cider varieties, in about 10 days. Here’s a look at part of the orchard still awaiting harvest (these are dwarf trees supported by wires, and we also have larger free-standing apple trees):

As for the vineyard, we will be harvesting our Chardonnay grapes soon, along with a block of Pinot Noir grapes destined to become Rosé. But most of the Pinot Noir grapes are still more than a week from harvest. Our vineyard is at about 670 feet of elevation, a bit higher than most; that’s a good thing because it reduces the effect of climate change for now, and it also means our harvests are a wee bit later than at some other vineyards.

It’ll be a while before these apples and grapes reach our club members in the form of cider and wine. But if they make you thirsty, you can order our ciders and our wines right now. We’re biased, but they continue to get rave reviews across the country.

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We’re thinking of offering a special fall promotion: a free kitty cat with each new wine club membership or cider club membership. Two catches. First, you’d have to come to Kristof Farms yourself to pick up the kitty cat. And, second, it’s a good-sized cat, as you see in this clip from our wildlife camera:

Don’t put her beside you on the front seat on the way home!

That big mountain lion shows up regularly on our wildlife cameras at Kristof Farms, but she’s still puzzled by the camera. Here she mouths it to see if it’s edible:

This bobcat was also clearly puzzled by the camera but at least didn’t try to eat it.

And for cuteness, hard to beat this fawn’s curiosity about the camera:

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They’re less scary than cougars, but something else constitutes a threat on our farm: birds. When grapes are ripe and sweet right before harvest, vast flocks of starlings sometimes show up and can rip through a vineyard. Crows, robins and cedar waxwings can also rampage through the grapes.

We have quite a few hawks overhead, and that may be why we have less of a problem with bird damage than some other vineyards. But to be on the safe side, we put out a couple of solar-powered loudspeakers that broadcast the sound of a bird in distress. The idea is to have the birds think this is a danger zone, and it seems to work reasonably well.

But we probably owe the most to the hawks overhead, and occasionally to the majestic bald eagles that join them. We prefer not to tinker with nature but just let the raptors do their part.

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For a farewell, here’s a coyote on our place, helping with gopher control. He looks surprisingly thin considering how many gophers, moles, voles and ground squirrels there are. As dog lovers, we find him quite lovely:

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As always, you can learn more about our farm or order our wines and ciders on our website, KristofFarms.com. We’ve been pleased to get orders from around the country, plus new memberships in our wine and cider clubs, and we’re proud that customers seem very happy and are recommending to friends.

So from Kristof Farms in Yamhill, Oregon, we raise a glass to you!