Autumnal Greetings!  I'm Lynn Thomas and I'm the Office Manager here at Oak Hill Farm of Sonoma in Glen Ellen, CA.  I had one of the most amazing experiences here on the farm yesterday and thought it perfect for our first blog entry.  Our flower farmer, Jesus "Chuy" Soto and his worker, Alfredo Soto, came by on the tractor pulling a small trailer made out of the back end of an old blue truck long since used as a vehicle.  They hailed me with a wave out of my trailer office and asked if I wanted to go with them up into the hills to harvest some of the early winter woods that they make wreaths out of. 

I jumped at the opportunity (literally) and hopped into the trailer.  Slowly the three of us made our way across the farm to the North and then headed East along one of the fields that yields a mixture of Magnolia, Quince, Myrtle, Eucalyptus and a few other plants.  (No one has yet to explain why it was interplanted the way it is, but I'll save that for another blog entry.)

We then started up the mountain - we sit at the southern end of the Mayacamas Mountains - at which time Chuy and Alfredo instructed me to now stand on the tongue of the trailer and to hang on to the roll bar on the tractor as Alfredo had been doing from the beginning of our trip.  We crept our way up a winding road that had not seen a vehicle for quite some time dodging branches with Chuy who was driving the tractor clipping off some branches as we made our way.  Several times we had to stop and using the small chain saw that they brought along, Chuy and Alfredo cut down and threw off to the side the trees that had either grown over the road or had fallen due to the recent rain we just had or just from old age.

After 20 minutes we stopped at the top of a ridge where the Greasewood bushes were that they wanted to harvest.   Looking down and off to the West we had the most magnificent view of the Valley of the Moon.  The truly spectacular day we had weather wise just made my heart swell and I felt truly thankful - for the opportunity, for the new found optimism that many people are now feeling due to the election of our new President, for these co-workers that were willing to share this experience with me.

I'm grateful EVERY day that I get to come to work here at Oak Hill Farm of Sonoma but yesterday my heart felt especially full and grateful and thankful and it inspired me to start a blog here on Local Harvest's website today at their offering.  I look forward to sharing with all of you and will often ask the other wonderful people that work here, artists all, to submit their musings.  I also look forward to reading the other blogs that you all create!

Happy Thanksgiving to you all, I hope it finds you well and happy and with family and friends.