Today as i passed thru Gap, i was 'stuck' at a red light right beside The Gap Town Clock Cheese Shop, ( or something like that) and my Suburban gave a sharp lurch to the right and there i was, for the first in my life. Dave has gotten gift basket there, i've been given cheeses from there, and i read the sign but this was my first time thru the door.
I wanted to splurge, my taste buds were feeling pricey, so i asked and i sampled. When i commented on his Tillamook, he was surprised that i would know anything about a west coast cheese. Of course i told him of Dave and i's love affair with Tillamook's cheeses. Besides, Mary June had bought us "a piece of Oregon cheese" just before we moved to OR last year. When grocery shopping a month later, we recognized it as the same brand. But today i wanted something new. So i tried some far out cheeses. At least they came from "far out"! Ireland, France, Holland, you name it. Then i asked if he carries any cheese from Seattle. Our family had observed a creamery across from Pike Place Market.....then a light when on in his head, he dug into his cooler and brought out a new purchase of his, not yet cut and priced, never before shown here in Gap. When i saw the Beecher's logo, i said "that's it"!
The kids had peered in the window at this HUGE batch of cheese being stirred. We didn't buy any that day, but i am so excited to try it. I promised 'Cheese Man' that i'd be back. He predicts that his block will last a month, so if you'd fancy trying it, be sure and go soon.
Today i settled for a better-than-Brie Fromager d'Affinois and a wedge of Rembrandt extra aged Gouda from Holland. I purchaed Kalamata olives and dark pretzels. I already have grapes and a special drink at home that will go hand-in-glove with my buy. He thought that my husband and i are going to have a fine evening, but no, my husband is in Oregon on an elk hunt, so i called a friend who i knew would appreciate every morsel with me. She was quick to invite me over ( her husband works late) and we will have a lovely chat with our feet propped up!
So if you're a local and have a notion for cheese, be my guest and try the Breeches.
Let me give a brief account: Dave and Chad flew to OR on Sept 9 where Dave's truck that he'd bought in June was waiting for them. They hunted together until the 21st when Dave took Chad to Spokane airport to meet Phil and Richard who flew in that day. Those 3 guys had plans to hunt in the Bob Marshall in MT. Dave came back to OR until the 25th, then he drove over to MT to join his brothers and friend for their last few days. Dave walked 9 miles back to the guys who'd been taken back with horses by Marion Eash. ( Marion took himself and the horses home again, leaving these guys for the fun of their lives) Richy got his elk one of the first days and Phil got one the last day. They'd called off the horses saying they can walk out with the one elk and an extra guy ( Dave) to help. In the meantime Phil shoots one and they sure had their hands full!! Dave and Chad told Phil and Richard to load themselves with as much meat as they could carry and when they were finished D and C took as much as they themselves could carry. So in the end the meat was split 4 ways! I am grateful.
Dave and Chad then drove home arriving here on Thursday morning, October 1.
The kids got to say hi to Daddy, see the meat, the horns, and the hairy face, then it was time to meet the bus. The men did a fantasic job of keeping the meat cold in the Montana creek and then packed it into coolers for the road trip. We took it to a local Amish butcher shop where it weighed in at 275 lbs!
Phil and Richy's prizes.
We kept meat at home for our big party this evening. Because i know how much fun it is to have the skiers get together for a meal after their trips, i knew that we wives, the hunters,and families needed to have a debriefing. Seperate facts from fiction. Lies from truth.
Josiah watches with wonder. Was this really in the woods last week? Am i really gonna eat this tonight?
What a feast! Besides the 4 hunters, we included parents, a few sisters, and Wayne and Lydia, Richard's brother. It's an all-you-can-eat Elk Fest!
Let the man have the best!!
Looking at pictures was a highlight. Montana is breathtaking.
Most of the pictures were Richards, taken with Beth's pink camera, and he did a super job as narriator. 
Amazingly the meat was finished at 3pm, which worked out wonderfully. It was divided and taken care of this evening.
Counting and sorting.
Hats off! to these two mighty hunters. You're two of the best! We sure appreciate the meat in our freezer. Hopefully next time Dave will be able to give,too. But we do know that he called Phil's in to 10 yd's for the kill!! 
A day or two after coming home from Oregon, Dave tore away our screened porch.
Finishing up for the day.........alot gets accomplished when Dave's here, i'm glad that 3 week elk trip is finished for this season.
The Amish in this area grow alot of tobacco. It creates much hand work and keeps the children busy and out of trouble. They plant it by hand, hand pull the weeds, hand pluck the flower blossoms, and later cut it and spear it all by hand. Acres of the stuff. It then gets hung in the barn to dry. It is necessary to keep the doors and windows open for proper ventilation. In fact the Amish build what they call 'tobacco sheds'. Half of the barn boards, which are running up and down, are made to prop open........oh, i'll just go find one one day and take a picture for you! The tobacco then goes to a local auction where it's sold to cigar makers........i think!
This i would define as a load; the quantity that can be or usually is carried at one time, as in a cart, or in this case, a wagon. Back at the farm, this will probably be fed into a 'chopper' and spit into the silo for winter food for the cows. We call it 'silage'. Remember, i am not a farmer! I'm not even a farmer's daughter or a farmer's wife, I just live in farming country, so some of this information i give is based on what i believe to be true. I stand to be corrected. I'm just trying to entertain Oregonians from afar!
Every Wednesday, beginning in late September thru mid-November, you can take your apples to the local orchard and they will press them into cider for you. We have two apple trees here at 363 and we use them for eating and drinking. I prefer to buy a specific kind for applesauce and baking. Our 'mailbox' ( because the tree is by the mailbox and we do not know what kind they are) apples are so juicy that i've had the juices drip off my elbow while eating one. You cannot just casually eat these guys, you need a bib. The orchard is Amish owned and operated and therefore alot of patrons are Amish,too. All businesses such as this have horse-ties in the parking lot. The lots was full and other buggies were off to the side, waiting their turn, with someone still attending the horse.
BYOJ. You can purchase new jugs on site, but if you save your own, it keeps the costs down. I am thankful for a few friends that save water jugs for me each Fall. This Press charges 60 cents a gallon for cider made from your apples and assuming that you're bringing your own jugs, which i always do. We do pay this same fellow to spray our trees, but otherwise, no hidden fees. Josiah helped me pick apples this day and i also had some of my MIL's apples to combine for a total of 10 gallons. Some of the parties before me were getting 30-40 gallons to take home. Typically we get 10-15 gallons a week for about 6 weeks. Two years ago we totaled over 90 gallons, but the apples tree is not so loaded this year. We take alittle off the top and put the gallon right in the freezer. Apple cider at the Holidays is wonderful!
For the most part we get 4 gallons of juice per bushel of apples. Some varieties such as our Red Delicious are not as juicy and you can expect 3 to 3 and a half per bushel. Any way you cut it, it's cheap and delicious, not to mention healthy!!! I've only begun enjoying apple cider since we make our own. The store bought kinds are too 'thick' and chalky. 
The press is in the background then it comes into the blue barrels and by gravity it is 'piped' into my jugs. The little red and white levers are to open and close the nozzles. Oh, it's so much fun and so yummy. I'm so grateful for my husband who knows how to care for the trees, and for the most part is the one up on the ladder picking.
