Dear Friends - Our Loyal Customers,

Greetings from Parkdale, Oregon and Mt. View Orchards Fruitstand. After 35 years of farming, we are grateful to still be here - alive and well and in pretty good health. We decided to sell our other 40 acres which was located a few miles east. But not to worry. We have kept our "home place" which is 50 acres and leaves us plenty to do. It was a difficult decision to make, but at age 63 and 64 we felt it would be good to lower our stress load and pay everything off. It also affords us more time to be grandparents, golf and just to 'be."

The crop is a good average and we're thankful for all the apples and pears we do see. The peaches are mostly in the tops of the trees, so we are NOT going to allow U-Pick in our peach trees. We will offer U-Pick in our apples and pears, but we are going to limit customers to no more than 10 boxes per family. We were sad when one customer picked 33 boxes last year and then many of our faithful customers were not able to find fruit to pick after that. Also, we would appreciate it if no one would drive their vehicle into our orchard for U-Pick.

We thank you again for coming to see us every year and buying local fruit from us. Ryan is a junior at the U of O and your support helps us pay our bills, as well as, pay his college. PS - We're spending about $2000 on boxes and sacks. Please bring whatever you have to recycle and cut costs. Thanks!

Farm News: Even though we had several freezing temperatures in April and May, we still have a good, average crop of apples and pears. Peaches and D'Anjou pears are about 50%. We've planted lots of corn, pumpkins, sunflower plants, beets and carrots too.

We are still offering the mileage apples, three pound of free pears (see coupons in our newsletter) and 1/2 gallon of cider with a $50 purchase. Ruthie has made some spectacular jams, which are quite tasty and make nice gifts for the holidays. And don't forget about shipping one of our holiday gifts - simple, but delicious. We realize gas is high, but we look forward to seeing your smiling faces every year and it's a beautiful road trip in the gorge and around Mount Hood.

Sincerely,

Ruthie, Lyle and Family