Yesterday we made our first foray into Sonoma to pick apples. We stopped off at Dharma Trading Co the fiber arts supplier of internet and catalog fame on the way up to get blank silk squares. Bea and I will dye these soon to use as playsilks similar to these. We have been wanting them for a long time and are very happy to have obtained them.

It was a gorgeous day and it felt absolutely wonderful to be out of the city. The farm that was our final destination, Gabriel Farm, was very beautiful and friendly, not too big. We picked Rome Beauty, Pink Lady, and Arkansas Black apples. The farm also grows many varieties of asian pears as well as persimmons. Bea had a great time running and crawling among the trees, chasing boys, and nursing in the great outdoors. There were big, billowy clouds fast moving and fluffy. We lay down in the orchard and watched them and felt more than a little sad to have to leave. We can never truly relax like that in the city where privacy and quiet are hard to come by. We had a delicious picnic lunch on our way out. It was a day out of time and one we aren't likely to forget.

When we got home we checked out the website of our friends' new business Spirit Creek Farm in Cornucopia, Wisconsin.