Hello All! It's been a few days since I've written. Of course, I had to have some internet problems...what would a busy season be without that happening! Luckily it's back up and working... and I have a few new stories to update you with!

Pat Fischbeck, from the Speckled Hen Inn Bed & Breakfast in Madison, WI, visited our orchard this past week. She took some beautiful pictures of the orchard, picking and some of the fun things we offer. She uses our apples regularly at her Bed & Breakfast for snacks and in the breakfasts'. She was kind enough to bring us a few apple scone things she made...they were delicious! Diane and I had two before Frank even got home from picking! Thanks, Pat, it was a great pick-me-up for a long, busy day! To see more information about her bed and breakfast check out her website: http://www.speckledheninn.com/

I also do realize that I have not posted a 'Quilt of the Week' this week. I should really put one of Diane's up but I haven't had anytime to re-type her stories yet. So, instead of featuring a quilt I'm going to feature the upcoming quilt retreat! Diane and her sister, Barb, are holding a quilt retreat this November at Camp Wawbeek in the Wisconsin Dells. They still have some openings for the weekend of November 14, 15, and 16th, 2008. It's an overnight retreat and every year, one or two of the attendee's do stay up all night quilting! It's a really fun time, Diane and Barb are experienced and knowledgable teachers who also like to have a good time. I have gone to three retreats and have enjoyed myself. To learn more about the project for this year check out the details at http://www.quiltsbybarb.com/quiltretreats.htm. Hope to see you there!

And last but not least...a bit of sad news. The gala's are quickly running low in supply. We underestimated the age of some of our gala trees and did not replant quickly enough to avoid a dip in our supply. Our older trees produced tiny, tiny apples. Our newer trees produced big, beautiful, delicious apples...just not enough to satisfy the high demand (it is my favorite apple!). What this means is that we will be running out of gala's soon, probably this weekend, but hopefully, if everything goes well, we will have a continually increasing supply in years to come.

New apple out this week: Fireside! A yummy, sweet apple alternative to the gala. Also known as a Connel Red!

Hope you stop out and see all the new fall decorations we've been putting up around the orchard.