About

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Salmon Brook Farms took root in December of 2003 when Rick and Lavinia Ross arrived from Connecticut to take ownership of the property.  Our 4.25 acres located in the Cascade foothills came pre-planted with apples, blueberries, cherries plums, pears, grapes, persimmons and hazelnuts, and presented plenty of work for us.  A hive of bees and roughly an 1/8th of an acre of pinot noir was added in the spring 2004, and we began the slow process learning how to work with the climate and soils and our own limitations.  Deer fencing was implemented around the garden and the pinot not long afterwards! The farm is a continual work in progress.

The story of our journey west to our farm in Oregon was published in the January, 2007 edition of Countryside and Small Stock Journal. See the article “Oregon bound! In search of a small farm we could call our own”.
http://www.countrysidemag.com/issues/91-1/

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46 thoughts on “About”

  2. glad to have come across your awesome blog, Mrs Ross… it seems to me that you’re living in an earthly heaven: wonderful countryside, cats, grapes, bluberries… que désire le peuple?… 🙂 my very best, lots of inspiration and friendly thoughts from Toulouse, France, “old Europe”… respectful regards, Mélanie

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    • Thanks for stopping by, Mélanie! Rick and I visited Provence back in 2000, the only part of your country I have had the pleasure of visiting so far. The area was beautiful, the food and wine were outstanding, and the hospitality made us feel right at home. Someday we may be able to travel again, and see more of your beautiful country.

      Thank you for your kind comments on our blog site. We post once a month, generally within the first 2 weeks.

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  5. Hello Lavinia, I just dropped in to thank you for the like on my post on the Lake Boga Flying Boat museum. Your feedback was greatly appreciated. Your cats look delightful. I have never recovered from having to euthanise my Siamese twenty years ago. I could never bring myself to own another pet. So sad. GG

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    • Thanks for stopping by, Gwendoline! My father was a WWII vet over in the Pacific theatre, and I have been enjoying the history GPCOX posts, as well as the guest blogs such as yours, over on his Pacific Paratrooper site.

      It is very difficult to have an old friend like that euthanized. I’ve had many animal companions over my life, and know this part of the cycle all too well. Hopefully you will heal enough over time to adopt another someday. By filling the void in your own heart, you will honor your old companion and give hope and a new life to another in need.

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  13. Hello fellow Oregonians. Thanks so much for the visit and follow, and how fun to find a neighbor. I loved learning about your farm and farm practices. We also moved from New England after having spent quite a number of years in CT and VT. The weather takes something to get used to but it’s a great place to live. Stay cool, happy growing, and keep making music. 😀

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  14. Mike c. says:

    Hi Lavinia & Rick.I’m Pete’s friend Mike.I’ve been trying to email Rick,not sure if it went through. Just wanted to say hello, I love your blog. Peace, Mike.

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    • Thank you for stopping by and the very kind comments, Pat! Welcome to Salmon Brook Farms! Andrea has a wonderful blog at Harvesting Hecate, and I thank you for taking a look over here. 🙂

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      • I agree about Andrea’s Blog. Thanks to her generosity and sharing, I have read some great blogs and made some new blogging friends. Looking forward to reading your monthly updates. I love wineries and was curious to see where you are based. From your blog I know you are in Oregon. We used to live in CA and now live in VA. One of our favorite hobbies is visiting local wineries.

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      • We are not a commercial winery, but still in the process of learning to work the vines, and making wine in small test batches. Between recovering from cancer back in 2010 and then taking on my elderly mother-in-law 2 years later, I was not able to do much. I like to view this year as finally starting to see the potential in myself, and the farm. My goal here with the winemaking is to learn what the vineyard is capable of producing, and then let that guide me. There is an old saying regarding taking care of the vineyard, and the wine will make itself. If all goes well, someday that may become a business, but I am in no rush. I like the business model of Thomas Winery here in Oregon’s Willamette Valley: no tasting room, limited quantities, dry farmed. He doesn’t even have a website, just a mailing list. A one man operation, his wines are obscure but sought after by the knowledgeable. 🙂
        http://www.princeofpinot.com/winery/399/

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    • Wishing you all the best as you develop your own blog site. WordPress is a lovely community! This site began in June of 2013 as a replacement for an email music newsletter we used to send to a small mailing list. The first post was a memorial to cat we had named Klaatu. The blog developed a life of its own after that, and found its own direction. The intention was not to amass thousands of followers, but just put the information out there for anyone who is interested; it is a place where I can send people wishing to know more about us, the farm and the music. 🙂

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