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May
2013 Newsletter Stony Knolls Farm Ken & janice Spaulding PO Box 322, 49 Maple Lane Saint Albans, Maine 04971 207-938-3714
What Happened to Spring?
What absolutely crappy, nasty weather we've had this winter. Notice I said winter and not spring. Why you ask? Well, most of us in North America haven't had spring yet! It's been in the teens and twenties at night and not a whole lot warmer during the daytime. And, what about snow? Wow, have we seen a lot of it. Every time it seems to be on the verge of melting, more falls from the sky. There seems to be a never ending supply!
This extreme cold can bring with it some problems for kidding! The use of heat lamps has been a must in some situations. And, of course, heat lamps are a necessary evil. Not only do they drive up your electric bill, they are also dangerous! Here in Maine, whenever you see a barn fire on the news, the next words are usually: “a heat lamp/lamps was in use at the time of the fire”. Sometimes all the animals were able to escape, many times, not. When I hear this, the tears start. I never want to see any animals suffer! Please, please be careful when, and where you are using lamps! One thing that folks have had great success with and are not quite as dangerous are pig mats. They heat from below and do not have to heat to such a high degree to keep the babies warm.
Great news folks, Goat School® is coming to Ohio!! It's officially scheduled for Saturday, September 21st, Sunday, September 22nd, and a Soap and Cheese making class for Monday, September 23rd . It is being sponsored by Highland Quality Living in beautiful Hillsboro, Ohio! Come one, come all! Click here for more information!
Minnesota Goat School is on track to be a fantastic and fun Goat School®! The dates are Saturday, June 22nd, Sunday, June 23rd, and a Soap and Cheese making class on Monday, June 24th . This will be held at North Country Farm, in Littlefork, Minnesota. Matthew and Elizabeth Pendergast will be hosting this event. They attended the Spring 2012 Goat School® here in Maine and as a result Elizabeth has started a very successful goat milk soap business! Click here for more information so you too can attend!
And, of course, don't forget Goat School® here in Maine! Stony Knolls, will be holding a Goat School here in Saint Albans, Maine on Saturday, June 8th, Sunday, June 9th, with a Soap making class on Monday, June 10th. We'll have both meat goats and dairy goats here for demonstration. To sign up, click here for the registration form. We will once again have Andrew Beals, an animal nutritionist from Poulin Grain in Vermont as our guest speaker. Any of you who have heard Andrew speak will attest to the fact that this is one knowledgeable guy who loves to share all he knows on this subject!
As many of you know, we have our farm up for sale and also our tractor, and though we are not moving very far (just up the road) we are looking forward to a little easier life style. On May 17th I will be having my 9th foot surgery and find that I am truly looking towards having an easier property to maintain. All of the beautiful gardens and lawns here do not take care of themselves! So, all that being said, we will continue and are excited to do Goat Schools® on the Road, but we won't be doing any more here (after June of 2013). So, anyone who is thinking about hosting a Goat School®, don't hesitate to contact us about setting one up! We'll help you every step of the way to have a successful Goat School® for your family, friends, and anyone who lives in your part of the country!
More news! I finally completed a Goat Milk Soap and Goat Cheese Making Manual! If you have attended one of my Soap and Cheese Making Classes you were given what I would call a handout with recipes and some basic info on them. Well....I've taken all those recipes and the basic directions, expanded them, and put them in booklet form! Click here to order one!
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Follow us on Facebook! Goat School® has a Facebook page, just “like” us and you will get a notice of each and every new post to the Mother Earth News Blog, and anything else going on with Goat School®!
Speaking of Mother Earth News, if you follow my blog there, please be patient. MEN is re-doing their website and right now it's a mess. Sometimes my blog is there and sometimes...not. If you find spelling mistakes, half sentences or missing photos or links, please bear with it. Every time a post needs to be done on any of the blogs, one poor girl has to re-type it all, put in the links and the photos and publish it from their offices. Again, be patient, it will change soon, I promise!
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