Every spring, the cherry orchards in the Mission Bottom awaken before the fruit ever appears. Thousands of blossoms blanket the trees in white, promising the harvest still to come. Unlike the ornamental cherries that brighten city streets, these blossoms are the beginning of another growing season in the Willamette Valley.

A Canopy of White

Before cherries ever ripen, the orchard spends a few short weeks dressed almost entirely in white. Every branch is covered with blossoms, and the sunlight filters through them like stained glass. Bees drift from flower to flower while the orchard quietly goes about the business of making summer possible.

It's a brief season. Wind and rain will eventually carry the petals to the ground, leaving behind tiny green cherries that will slowly grow through the warmth of spring.

Standing beneath the blossoms, it's easy to forget that this beautiful display isn't the harvest. It's the promise of one.

Valley Field Notes

Location
A working cherry orchard in Mission Bottom, north of Salem

Color of the Season
Cherry-blossom white

Bloom
Late March through early April, depending on the weather

Harvest
Oregon sweet cherries are generally harvested in early summer.

Valley Fact
The Bing cherry was developed near Milwaukie, Oregon, in the late 1800s. Decades later, Oregon State University horticulturist Ernest Wiegand perfected the modern maraschino cherry using Oregon-grown Queen Anne cherries.

Listen For
The steady hum of bees moving through the blossoms.

Look For
Tiny green fruit beginning to form after the petals fall.

A Forever Home

If you met Diesel today, you'd never guess his story began with uncertainty.

His mom shared that Diesel and his sister came into the care of 4 All Muttkind after the owner of their mother went to jail and could no longer care for them. The puppies needed a safe place to land, and what began as foster care soon became forever.

Around home, Diesel is affectionately known as Donkey, a nickname that perfectly matches his cheerful grin and playful personality.

Diesel is one of several dogs featured in this calendar whose story includes 4 All Muttkind. Their work helped turn a difficult beginning into the happy dog standing beneath these cherry trees today.

Standing beneath the cherry blossoms, Diesel isn't thinking about where he started. He's simply enjoying another beautiful Oregon spring with the family who chose him.

By early summer, these trees will be heavy with cherries. On this spring evening, they belonged to Diesel.

Every Story Begins Somewhere

Every dog featured in the Colors of the Valley 2027 Calendar has a story.

Many of those stories found a new beginning through 4 All Muttkind Rescue. Because someone opened their home. Someone opened their heart. Someone believed every dog deserved the chance to belong.

Today, those second chances are exploring orchards, forests, rivers, gardens, and fields across the Willamette Valley, discovering its colors one season at a time.

That's the story we're celebrating.

Next in the Valley → Meet the next 4 All Muttkind alumni as Colors of the Valley continues through another season, another place, and another unforgettable dog.

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Diesel in the Cherry Orchard

A Canopy of White

Valley Field Notes

A Forever Home

Every Story Begins Somewhere

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