Almost kidding season

May 11th our goats are due to start kidding. I'm really hoping the weather is decent so they can kid outside. We raise percentage Boer goats. The does were all bred to a fantastic buck that looked as good in person as he does on paper. We're really looking forward to seeing what kind of kids he throws. He is a fullblood Boer buck. He was with us for only a short time. We drove for hours to meet and buy him. Then he bred mostly all of our does and I got a phone call asking if I had a buck for sale. After hesitating for a second I decided that yes, I guess I did have a buck for sale even though I didn't even know I did. So, a couple came, fell in love w/ him and away he went. Off to another farm to sire yet another group of kids.

The babies are arriving

Our baby goats started to arrive the day before Valentine's Day. The are the cutest little buggers. They dance and jump all over the place. Delila had her calf. It's a heifer. A nice little Jersey heifer. The girls haven't decided on a name yet. They have a couple in mind. For the first time in a long time, all the baby goats have names so far. I'm not sure how we're going to spell them all yet so I guess I won't post them yet. We still have enough snow to play in. We're expecting ice in the morning. We'll see what that does for the school commutes. Since it's Sunday, it was pizza night. Jake made us 2 fabulous pizzas. Homemade mozzarella, ricotta, and pepperoni. Pretty cool to use all your own toppings. Bob has bacon in the smoker that we'll finish smoking tomorrow.

Ice Fishing

It's been so long since I've logged in!!
Baby goats should start arriving this month. They are the cutest little things ever!
We've got enough snow to play in but we're expecting more today!
If you're looking for some fun this weekend, The Down Home Derby is headquartered here in Benson, VT. If you're into ice fishing or have never tried, this is your chance! There are even prizes! This derby is held on Lake Champlain.
Looking for a great spot for you and your buddies to stay the night so you can get up bright and early and try your luck again tomorrow? Give us a holler. 802-537-2979 or our cell since our phone service is having issues 802-683-0858.

A Thank You for a Farm Visit

I wanted to share with you an e-mail I received recently. We had a family stay on the farm from the city.

"Thank you for a great stay! My family really loved spending time at the farm over this past weekend. We all learned a ton from your children and enjoyed some playtime outdoors. We even made it to the Rodeo not too far away. The kids are still squeamish of animals but a little less now that they met your friendly tomato eating goats!"

This is what it's all about. We love sharing our farm with our guests.

Guests Leaving

We said good-bye to some great people this morning. They helped with chores last night and again this morning. One of the children overcame their fear of cows quite quickly with Heidi's help last night. The baby goats were a hit as usual too. And I think they wanted to fill their pockets with cute baby bunnies before they left.
We sent them to the Wheel Inn for dinner last night. That's the place to eat in Benson. It's right in the village and has something for everyone and their dessert..........the best!
The sun is out this morning. The goats went outside. They're on their daily hike up the mountain (hill).

School vacation

Our kids have a 5 day weekend. They are so excited. Now if we weren't tied down with these house renovations, we could actually go somewhere and do something. But, the plumber is downstairs plumbing in our bathroom renovations as I type. I kind of need to be here to answer questions, etc. Our son is helping him this morning.
We have part of our hay field fenced in with what I call stretchy fence. So the cows are where they usually aren't and when you look out the window you think they are loose. The field was too wet this season and we weren't able to mow a second time for hay or we would've made big ruts and ruined the field.
Our new BIG Boer buck has been busy. If it's baby goats you're crazy about, make a reservation for the middle of March!

Feels like winter

Wow is it chilly! We have both of our wood stoves going. It's a good thing we spent some time on Sunday getting wood.
The girls have their calves outside. They are taking them for a walk right now as I type. I can see them out of the window.
We have a new fullblood Boer buck. 150 days from now we should have some really cute babies running around. That will be the beginning of March. If you'd like to come and play with them when they're tiny and cuddly, that would be a great time to plan a visit.

10 Year Old Tour Guide

When you visit our farm you will be greeted by our 10 year old at some point. You will instantly take to her, and her to you. She is our tour guide. She is a natural. She chats away while leading you all around the barn. She is outside doing just that right now and it is so cute! She tells interesting facts and answers questions about every animal in sight. She knows birth dates, names and all about any calves, kids or bunnies that have been born. You'll get to pet the animals, brush them or maybe even help give her calf a bath. It all depends on what she has in store for you. If you are little, she will find something little and gentle for you to visit. If you look ambitious or outgoing, she may offer to let you lead something a bit more frisky around. Come see for yourself. You will be amazed and entertained.

Fun Day on the Farm!

Falkenbury Farm Open House
“Fun on the Farm Day”

June 13, 2009
(Raindate June 14th)
2-10 pm
Falkenbury Farm & Guest House
1520 Park Hill Road
Benson, VT 05731
www.falkenburyfarm.com

2:00 Meet our baby goats
2:30 Making (Shaking)

3:00 Egg Toss
3:15 Kid’s Games
Sack Races
3 legged race
Untie yourselves
Hay bale throw
4:00 Hike/Scavenger Hunt
5:00 Frog Catching & Frog Race
Prize for biggest frog caught
Prize for the fastest frog
5:45 Barn chores
Feed the cows, goats, rabbits, chickens, pigs
Watch the cows get milked
7:30 Potluck Dinner
8:30 Silent Auction closes

Bonfire, Lightning Bugs & Stargazing

CHILDREN MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY AN ADULT
NO DROP-OFFS
NO DOGS!
Schedule subject to change.

Beautiful Day!!

Supposed to be near 75º today.
The baby goats are out on the lawn enjoying the sunshine.
Almost all of the mama goats are outside searching for those sweet green tidbits too.
I've got some peas planted and need to get the spinach seeds in the ground. Should probably plant some carrots too. I've been busy trying to get all the flower beds in order. We're supposed to get 4 new apple trees so I need to figure out where to put those.

The first kid of the season at a couple hours old.

We are now up to 14. We had twin does born this morning and have several more on the way but they're not coming for a while yet.

Today's mother is named Belle. I think she's going to name the twins Liberty and _______??

They're keeping us busy.

Bottle babies

Anyone have any spare time and care to bound with some really cute babies? Baby goats, that is. We have 6 bottle babies at the moment. They are sooooo cute and funny to watch too. If anyone was planning a visit and couldn't decide when to come? The time is now. Especially if you wanted to help with barn chores!

2 New Kids

Kidding season has begun! Yesterday we had one little buck and one little doe. They are both white with reddish brown heads with floppy ears. Kinda cute!
I started cleaning up the flower beds the other day and worked a bit more on that today.
The temp got up around 50ºF.

Kid's February vacation almost over

Our kids have been off all week. A long weekend probably would've been enough for them. I'd rather they have a longer summer break. I guess if we were going on some fabulous trip somewhere then it would be different.

Baby goats aren't scheduled to start arriving until the 3rd week in March. That is really late for us to be kidding. Our buck goat had a mishap and we were lucky enough to borrow one from a friend. Let's just say our babies should be like opening Christmas gifts this year. All different colors. They should be super adorable.

We've got quite a few bunnies in the barn. Anyone looking for a bunny for Easter should give us a holler.

Our son is working on a house that is off the grid. I've never seen it. If the directions he left me are any good at all, hopefully I'll see it today. I would love to be off the grid and not be dependant on the power company. We receive 3 bills every month and I never look forward to it.