As I jump out of the car, I am surprised to sink just above my knees in the snow. Everything all around is white on white, except the beasts before me. Just on the other side of the fence are a herd of buffalo. Their giant bearded heads and humpbacks are a welcome contrast to … Continued
Lonely and hopeful. Sounds like a country music song. It is country all right, just not a song. It’s the wintry scene spilling out in all directions from the backcountry of agriculture right here in the Yakima Valley. On a recent meander through some open space on the Yakama Reservation, I had the chance to … Continued
Two arms full of blue sky. It was that kind of day. Where you walk slowly through the trees and tilt your head up to better feel the sun on your face while inhaling deeply—cool air tinged with evergreen. Who needs a peppermint patty? We’re in the right place. Not a tree peppered mountain slope, … Continued
There’s something about autumn light. After so much rain, seeing it again makes me more compelled to examine its qualities with a critical eye. Weighed and measured, I have to say it feels longer, like that extra bit of stretch mellows the intensity and cools it down some. Driving the Yakima Valley Highway recently on … Continued
One of our top stories at rooted was one of the first handful that we put out. “The Best Apple Pie in the World” reached great heights last fall, partly because it is quite a boast to make about a pie, and mostly because it’s true. With the holiday season quickly approaching, we wanted to … Continued
Snakebite and black. That was the first eye opening experience I had with cider. My Irish friend was living in Edinburgh, Scotland, and visiting her there for several weeks in the mid-1990s, she turned me on to her favorite drink—a snakebite and black. Essentially half lager, half cider, with a hit of blackcurrant cordial, it … Continued
Going to the market to pick up some apples. Pretty straightforward activity that I reckon everyone in America has done at some point or another. But have you ever thought about that in reverse? That is to say, the apple going to market to pick up some buyers? Chances are, unless you are steeped in … Continued
In the last couple years, agriculture here in the Yakima Valley has seen a new crop popping up, typically behind closed doors or a tall fence. Like it or not, voters in 2012 cast their ballot in favor of legalizing marijuana in Washington state, and since then it has been increasingly more visible around us. … Continued
I’m zig-zagging the back roads of Wapato, Washington looking for a sign. There’s all kinds. Off-yellow cut corn stubble; the green on green of swathed alfalfa drying lazily in the sun; hop debris swirling on the roadway. The crops have been coming of age, and their virility is evidenced all over. Today though, I’m looking … Continued
A shoot pops out of a hop root and, looking for light, breaks ground sometime in early April. Curling around a length of twine, the emerging vine circles its way up toward the sun, growing fatter by the day. Many rows of twine strung on a tall trellis make for acres of high, bushy vines … Continued