when's the last time you went skinny dipping?

Coincidentally the same day I was working for a friend in Sonoma, another friend asked me to come spend the night with her at her family's house in Napa. Timing was perfect, and so was the weather. We spent the evening chatting and drinking rose on the porch and after coffee this morning (a total treat since I'm trying to lay off the caffeine) we headed out to harvest plums. It's been a long time since I was in an orchard and it reminds of my childhood. I grew up with about 30 fruit trees and summers were spent picking and eating fruit and occasionally sleeping out under the stars to protect the ripening fruit from nighttime thieves. Why you send your kids out to scare away foxes and bears I don't know, but it seemed to work. Then again, we were teens at the time and my parents are hardly to blame for being willing to take that risk.
I must have come home with about 70 pounds of Santa Rosa plums. Jam is inevitable, but I'm thinking a nice bucket full of fruit will look perfect with our booth this weekend. It's going to be a hell of a week prepping, so I'm sorry if posting doesn't happen.

june

It's such a lovely time of year for wedding flowers. I helped out yesterday in the 102 degree weather. We had to keep the arrangements in the shade until the absolute last minute, but thankfully we were sitting under apple trees in gorgeous Guerneville. It was really one of the lovelier weddings I've seen in a long time. The perfect garden party with a touch of The Great Gatsby. I would have loved to be a guest at this wedding, drinking lemonade and playing croquet. Dancing under strings of lights in an orchard on a warm summer night.