Live Oregon

Enviro-Breweries for a better world

written by Jeremy Storton I sat typing away at my keyboard one wintry day at a local brewery. A beautiful, brilliantly clear pale ale with a rich head kept me company and served as my muse. My calendar said January, but the sunny, 60-degree temperature outside suggested late spring. “If this is climate change,” I thought, “I could get used to this.” I discovered the world of beer in college. Despite my best efforts, I also graduated with a degree in environmental studies, examining the intricate, web-like relationship of all things that make up an ecosystem. For me, the two were completely unrelated, until I had an epiphany last October. A flurry of reports came out warning that climate change will affect barley production, thus driving beer prices higher. All the old college lectures, visits to farms and time spent learning about beer were a jigsaw puzzle, and these warnings…

Best places for a bountiful brunch

BEST PLACES FOR BOUNTIFUL BRUNCHING HUNNYMILK With both a West Burnside brick and mortar and an eastside weekends-only pop-up, this pretty prix fixe brunch cafe makes it easy to treat mom to something a little unexpected this Mother’s Day. Chef Brandon Weeks’ $23 menus rotate regularly, but the format stays the same—first, choose a drink (obviously the caramel hot chocolate with toasted milk marshmallows), then something from both the sweet and savory sections, perhaps the smoky bacon Dutch baby and key lime curd-filled poppy seed crêpe, or the crispy pork ribs and cheesy garlic grits with a honey butter-dipped fortune cookie waffle. 1981 W BURNSIDE ST. PORTLAND www.hunnymilk.com FOXTAIL BAKESHOP AND KITCHEN Part of Bend’s exciting and ever-evolving Box Factory project near the Old Mill, pastry chef-owner Nickol Hayden-Cady’s comely bakery and cafe promises an artful experience, from the gorgeous wall mural to the dazzling pastry case to the plates…

Modern Outdoor Finds—Make your patio pop with these products

    If you need an update for a decrepit picnic table, try the Aviara Aluminum Rectangular Dining Table from Restoration Hardware. Made of rust-proof tubular aluminum and available in three sizes, its strong, graphic lines will stand out on your patio. www.restorationhardware.com       The Tolix Marais A Chair may have been created in 1934, but it still looks fresh today. Fabricated from powder-coated steel or galvanized steel, the chair that once sat on the deck of the S.S. Normandie, not to mention numerous French cafés in the decades since, will lend your backyard a certain joie de vivre. www.dwr.com             Barn Light Electric looks to vintage silhouettes for design inspiration. Take the Frontier LED Angle Shade sconce. It riffs off of classic gas station lamps, but the LED technology, which lasts up to 50,000 hours, is all new. www.barnlight.com    

DIY Concrete Planter

illustrated by Esther Loopstra AS ANYONE WHO HAS EVER STROLLED through the nursery knows, outdoor pots can add up. Try this straightforward method for making a concrete outdoor planter to spruce up your stoop. 1. Make a mold A concrete mold or formwork is used to hold the concrete in place while the material hardens to the desired shape. For this project, the mold will have two parts: the exterior vessel, which will dictate the planter’s overall shape, and an interior vessel, which will fit inside the first to create the cavity needed for the plant’s root ball and dirt. The mold doesn’t have to be complicated. You can reuse objects, like cardboard boxes, or two different-sized plastic buckets. 2. Add Drainage If you want a drainage hole at the bottom of the planter, glue or tape a 1- to 2-inch piece of plastic tubing to the inside center of…

A timber-frame outdoor pavilion draws a West Linn family outside

written by Melissa Dalton An Outdoor Pavilion, rustic and accommodating When Daniel Harkavy and his wife bought their West Linn house in 2013, its 5-acre plot included woodland, pasture and lovely valley views, but the deck off the back door overlooked a swing set. On warm weather days, you might sit on the deck’s built-in bench while waiting for the barbecue to fire up, but there was little else to beckon anyone outdoors. Yet the prospect of enjoying all that acreage was just what had attracted the family to buy in the first place. “We moved from three-quarters of an acre to 5 acres,” said Harkavy, an executive coach. “I always had a dream of living out on a bit more land and having more to play with.” The classic timber-frame home that came with the land had excellent bones, including vaulted ceilings and exposed beams, but the worn fixtures…

Oregon Granges continue to connect rural communities

written by Katie Chamberlain photography by Thomas Boyd ON A DRIZZLY OCTOBER MORNING, Jay Sexton dug through the archives of Marys River Grange with a quiet enthusiasm to show me the roster and photos of the grange’s original members, and poems describing the tightly knit grange community. Founding members of this grange, located in Philomath, heaved logs donated from nearby mills to construct the log cabin hall over several years in the early 1930s. The grange is tightly woven into the community’s landscape: Many of the nearby roads were named for families who were active in the grange during its early years. These historic halls, dotting Oregon’s back roads from Sixes to Enterprise, offer a window into Oregon’s agrarian past—and a glimpse into modern rural life. “People think of us as the building, but it’s more than the building,” said Sexton, steward of Marys River and state grange overseer. Sexton,…

Strawberry Alarm Clock

written by Thor Erickson photography by Charlotte Dupont LIKE CLOCKWORK, every year in early May, I start to hear a voice in my head. No matter where I am or what I am doing, it stops me in my tracks. A deep, faint, mildly pleasant whisper. “Strawberries,” it gently says, like a game-show host leading a yoga class in The Twilight Zone. “Strawberries,” it tells me, more frequently as days pass. This voice is telling me that Oregon strawberry season is looming, and I had better be ready. The haunting refrain “Strawberries …” is warning that there might not be enough time to fully capture the fleeting ripeness of these sweet little Northwest gems. “Strawberries …” underscoring that no time machine would allow me to live in Oregon strawberry season for eternity. If I don’t heed the call, I might not have enough time to enjoy the Totem, Hood, Tillamook,…

Columbia Farms on Sauvie Island bring the berries to the people

written by Sophia McDonald photography by David L. Reamer Come May, the rows of calf-high plants at Sauvie Island’s Columbia Farms have reached their full size and seem to stretch endlessly toward the horizon. Hidden beneath waterfalls of sawtooth-edged leaves are one of spring’s biggest treats—strawberries, some big, some small, all bright red and promising sublime sweetness. Maybe it’s just that strawberries are the first fruit to come on the market after a long winter full of earthy storage crops and bitter greens. Maybe it’s that unparalleled flavor, coupled with their charming heart shape and striking color. There’s something special about this berry—especially for Oregonians, who live in one of the best berry-growing regions in the world and, as a result, have access to premium fruit during the short growing season. So many people don’t know where their food comes from, and u-pick is a great way to bridge that…

A guide’s list of Oregon’s best climbing destinations

written by Peter Madsen Ancient seismic upheaval and and the erosive work of bygone lakes and rivers have carved many of Oregon’s striking landscapes. As a result, pockets of great climbing opportunities abound, according to Cliff Agocs, a rock guide certified by the American Mountain Guides Association. Also the co-owner of Timberline Mountain Guides, Agocs, a Bend resident, has traveled Oregon extensively in search of new climbing opportunities. And he’s yet to climb everything. Here, Agocs provides readers with some of Oregon’s best climbing destinations, including route varieties, rock type and other considerations. Most of Oregon’s climbing destinations are home to local climbing communities that set and maintain interesting routes. Respecting the local climbing ethics is one of the keys to enjoying an area without “blowing it up,” Agocs said. A great place to begin research is www.mountainproject.com, an REI-funded online climbing guide. As a general rule, Oregon’s wealth of…