TravelJill - City & Country Tours

06/30/2025

100 years!

Multnomah County seals Central Courthouse time capsule until 2120 | Multnomah County https://share.google/SCICN3c8IYp8j6n4a

06/11/2025

04/20/2025

Hm. Early 90s is not really very old and many true old vines produce wonderful wines. Less quantity but unique quality.

https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/local/2025/04/20/why-is-a-vineyard-in-south-salem-being-removed/83127017007/

03/07/2025

01/02/2025

Just a reminder that Colorado isn’t an actual square (nor rectangle), it’s a really a hexahectaenneacontakaiheptagon, which means Colorado has 697 sides, and I love ❤️ every one of them. Colorado’s state lines have a number of angles and bends, and our southern border with New Mexico and Oklahoma is actually 22 miles longer than the northern border with Wyoming and Nebraska!

12/26/2024

https://robbreport.com/food-drink/wine/francs-de-pied-winemakers-ungrafted-grapevines-1236116658/

10/27/2024

https://www.oregonlive.com/living/2024/10/99-of-us-hazelnuts-are-grown-in-these-eight-oregon-counties.html?gift=a981e7fc-7c1d-4b59-aa44-b19d06b8b322&fbclid=IwY2xjawGLYPlleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHedfVX5m-3jthfxJV1EOFtUgoofznjT-WGqD5yL7zpz8EwQt7DYT0lLPlQ_aem_kyLSt9cPSE8dDpuRFOao5Q

“Is it ‘hazelnut’? Is it ‘filbert’? It doesn’t matter, as long as you support your local Oregon farmer.”

09/18/2024

Why were Oxen used more than mules on the Oregon Trail? Have you ever wondered why settlers mostly used oxen for the 2000 mile trek? The main reason was they were the strongest and easiest to control. Mules were stubborn and had a mind of their own, making it harder to manage them. Oxen were less expensive compared to mules. You could buy an ox between $25-$50. A mule would cost approximately $75. For every ox, you would need two mules to pull a wagon. Oxen weren't picky eaters and would eat almost all vegetation along the trail. Mules on the other hand, required hay and grain which would need to be packed in the already crowded wagon. Which would you choose to pull your wagon? I'd choose the Oxen!

09/14/2024

Why are some wineries picking grapes sooner than others?

Various reasons include the grape variety (some ripen sooner than others), the vineyard's micro-climate, elevation, and soils, and the winemaker's style and purpose. As grapes ripen, their sugar levels (measured in brix) increase and acidity decreases.

Grapes like our Pinot Meunier will be picked earlier (when the sugar levels are lower and acidity is higher) for sparkling. We wait for the sugars to rise and acids to decrease for still Pinot Meunier.

For the same reason that red wines are picked earlier for Sparkling, reds are also picked earlier for Rose resulting in crisp, refreshing low-alcohol wine.

Some winemakers also pick reds for still wines at lower sugar levels because they want to make lighter, lower-alcohol wines.

At Bjornson, our winemaker Scott is carefully evaluating all aspects to pick our grapes at the perfect time.

08/10/2024

https://phys.org/news/2024-07-fish-columbia-river-doesnt-mind.html

There is a new king of the Columbia. Each spring, a chrome tide of fish native to the East Coast floods the Northwest's mightiest river by the millions. Shad, not salmon, are thriving in the warm, still water created by hydroelectric dams throughout the Columbia River Basin.