Scenes from the Ranch

Silvopasture in action--cattle under native white oaks. The shade keeps pastures productive months longer.

Summer under the lichen-draped oaks. The cattle can't keep up with the grass in June--it grows faster than they can eat it.

The donkeys finding shade under one of the old oaks. Part of the guardian team--and full of personality.

Feeding time. The herd and the guardian donkey share hay on a blue-sky day.

The herd in spring wildflowers. Buttercups and clover--this is what grass-finished looks like.

The orchard in spring bloom. The whole valley smells like blossoms in April.

Magnolia blossoms and the herd resting below. Spring on the ranch--everything blooming at once.

Cattle under a blooming apple tree. The old orchard and the herd share the same ground.

This is what our cattle eat. Spring grass and wildflowers along the fence line--no grain, just this.

Mollie Christensen was a gardener. The tradition continues.

It's May--glorious May--and everyone is happy on the Ranch.

The lineup. Curious, sociable, and pasture-hardened from day one.

The whole herd on a moody spring day. Black, red, horned, polled--natural selection at work on 340 acres.

Pasture-hardened by experience and natural selection. Through the barn door and out to the valley.

A cow and her calf. We calve about 45–50 each year--born on this ranch, raised on this grass.

The guardian dogs. They live with the livestock full-time--coyotes and cougars know to keep their distance.

Great Pyrenees on watch while the herd feeds. Always on duty.

Guardian donkey on patrol. Social animals, every one of them.

Cattle and donkeys sharing shade under the big oak. The whole herd--guardians included--moves together.

A turkey vulture sunning on a fence post. The ranch hosts hundreds of species--that's the whole point.

A red-tailed hawk hunting over the pastures. One mile from the Cascade Raptor Center--the raptors are already here. Photography by Kenneth R. Robinson.

The view up the valley. 280 acres of pasture divided into nine paddocks--the herd moves constantly.

Mist rising through the oaks at dawn. Forest edge meeting pasture--this is what silvopasture looks like.

The ranch pond in spring. Clouds, pasture, and riparian edge--where water meets grass meets forest.

Edge effect--where forest meets meadow, where most of the species interaction occurs.

Spencer Butte at golden hour. Half a square mile of edge-effect ecosystems, all of it catching the light.

Fall in the valley. A rainbow over the pastures, the herd grazing below. October puts on a show.

The herd on fall pasture. Autumn color on the hills, green grass still growing below.

Double rainbow over the ranch. Oregon rain has its rewards.

Barns are for storing hay--not for sheltering our cattle. Winter feeding by the old barn.

Snow-covered oaks and the old barn. Oregon winters are mild--but when the snow comes, it's something.

Morning fog and the herd near the hay barn. The cattle are out in every kind of weather.

Winter feeding. Valley grass hay and a limited amount of Central Oregon alfalfa--that's it.

The livestock come with fur coats and four-wheel drive. So do the dogs.

The herd at the fence line after a February snow. Fur coats and four-wheel drive--they don't mind a bit.

Doug the Rancher. Nature is our partner always, and our senior partner.

Doug checking on the herd. Know your rancher--you could come out and visit.

Doug and the dog, ready to ride. Every ranch day starts with a trip out to check the herd.

Building a bridge to open new paddocks. A working ranch--there's always a project.

The guest house at dusk. One mile from the Ridgeline trail--wake up to the herd.

Morning mist in the Christensen Valley. We sit on the sunny side of the Butte.

A hidden valley in the shadow of the Butte. The first settlers came here in 1851.

Sunrise through the trees. Twenty miles of edge effect on half a square mile.

Sunset over the valley. Spencer Butte catching the last light.

Sunset from the ranch. Spencer Shadow--named because we sit on the sunny side.

Summer sunset with the moon rising. The kind of evening that makes you forget everything else.

Crescent moon over the Butte at twilight. The quiet end of a ranch day.

The Milky Way over Spencer Shadow Ranch, September 2022. No light pollution out here. Astrophotography by Kenneth R. Robinson.

The Horsehead Nebula, photographed from the ranch. Dark skies are part of the deal out here. Astrophotography by Kenneth R. Robinson.

The Christmas Tree Nebula. Dark skies above the valley are as wild as the land below. Astrophotography by Kenneth R. Robinson.