Hood River apple orchards harvest
— — the week the rows turn red under a white mountain.
Not only on a wall.
“The Hood River Valley runs south from the Columbia toward the foot of Mount Hood, a long stretch of orchards on the lava-loam shelf. Pears go first in late August, then the apples — Galas, Honeycrisp, Fujis — through September and October. The Fruit Loop is a 35-mile drive past stands and barns. The mountain holds its snow all year and reads white above the rows. — from the studio
Hood River apple orchards harvest, on ceramic.
Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.
Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.
The place, in three passes.
The Hood River Valley sits between the Columbia River and the north slope of Mount Hood, a roughly twelve-mile run of orchards on volcanic loam. Hood River County is the largest pear-producing county in Oregon, with apples, cherries, and stone fruit alongside. Most of the orchards are family-held; the valley has been planted continuously for more than a century. The Hood River Fruit Loop, organized in 1992, threads about 35 miles of OR-35 and Dee Highway past farm stands, cideries, and U-pick orchards south of the town of Hood River.
Pear harvest opens the valley in late August with Bartletts, followed by Anjous through September. Apple harvest runs roughly mid-September through late October: Gala first, then Honeycrisp and Jonagold, with Fuji and Pink Lady closing the season. The Fruit Loop's busiest weekend is the Hood River Valley Harvest Fest in mid-October, when most stands sell fresh cider and the maples along OR-35 are red. By early November the picking is done and the valley quiets again.
The Fruit Loop is best driven on a weekday in early October to avoid the harvest-weekend traffic on OR-35. The drive starts in the town of Hood River, runs south on OR-35 through Mt. Hood and Parkdale, and returns north on Dee Highway past Tucker Road farms. Cash and local cards both work at most stands. Mount Hood, 11,249 feet, stays in view for most of the loop. The Mount Hood Railroad runs scheduled excursion trains through the orchards from Hood River station in season.