Here she is!!

We are pleased to announce that Cinnamon had her calf this morning at about 6:55 a.m.

 Many of our recent visitors and Facebook followers have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of our newest addition! Well, here she is!! Be warned that she is wet, naked and slimy in these photos. She is only moments old in these photos; before she even stood up for the first time. They were taken before our photographer got on the bus this morning!

 Cinnamon is one of our oldest dairy cows. If you've visited the farm, chances are you've met her. She is a Jersey cow. She comes in the barn every night. You've likely even milked her!

The calf  is a heifer (girl).  Both she and her mama are doing well. She will need a name. We've one suggestion so far; "Nutmeg".

A new baby!

We have a new bull calf. He was born yesterday, September 2, 2012, at about 4:05p.m. (Of course he was, we were supposed to be at a dinner party at 4:00.)
Cupcake, the mama cow, and the new calf are both doing well. She had an easy delivery assisted by Heidi (since we were both dressed to leave).
He had his first bottle last night and loved it.
He is a nice big calf, dark in color.
Visiting hours are daily 6-7 p.m. , by appointment or by chance.

*For those of you who don't know; this is Cupcake's first calf. She will now be a milking cow in our little herd. She is a Jersey cow.

Farm kids have responsibility

Just some random woman made me write this morning.

If you stop by a farm looking to buy something, often you'll be greeted by a farm kid. Treat them with respect; chances are they have more responsibilities than your child ever did. They are left back at the farm to deal with you while the rest of the family is out fixing fence or making hay. If you ask them to buy a dozen eggs, why would you doubt how much they are? Have you ever raised a hen? Have you any idea the cost of feed? Bet the farm kid does!

First off, the woman who just stopped wanted to buy 12 dozen eggs. Would have to have quite a few hens to squeeze out that many eggs a day. 2nd off she wanted 'a deal' since she wanted so many. Then she didn't believe our daughter when she told her how much they were and wanted to talk to someone else about how much she had to pay. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

I simply went outside told the woman that they were our daughter's responsibility and whatever she said was how it was. Ok, maybe I babbled a on a little about the cost of grain these days....... probably just to keep my mouth from saying what I really wanted to say.

Trust the kids! Don't ignore them! They just as much run this place as we do!

What do your kids do when they need money?

When our son needs a few more bucks than what he makes at work, his gears start spinning and he starts creating..... Here is a glimpse at what he created today!

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.

Do you really want to work??

Last night during chore time it hit me. Maybe our guests really do want to work when they visit. Maybe they really would like to be more involved and get a better sense of what it would be like to live on a farm. Granted when you visit it would be an option, not at all mandatory. What do you think? Do you want to shovel manure? Do you want to push the sawdust cart up the hill to the upstairs of the barn and shovel shavings to throw under the cows? How about getting dirty? Do you want to grease the farm machinery? Clean the chicken coop? Carry the slop up to the pigs? How it generally works now is visitors come to stay in our guest house and they come out to the barn in the evenings at chore time and help a little bit. They do the fun stuff. They feed grain to the cows, pet the bunnies, etc. They aren't scraping the cow flops off the walkway or spending an hour shoveling soiled bedding out of goat pens.


Are we not offering enough of a glimpse into the real workings of how things get done?

We really don't want to scare people off. Our guest house is separate from the farm. It's neat and clean and easily will accommodate your whole family. When we first started this business, one of the things that I had written was you could go for hikes with the goats. Well, word got back to us that people had no interest in hiking with goats so they steered clear of us! We are looking for more visitors, not less! And please remember, once again, you can stay here in a nice quiet place out in the country and never ever have to step foot in the barn. It's your choice. Many of our guests stay here when there is a wedding or family event in the area. It's simply a great spot.

We are really interested in your input on this. Please feel free to leave your comments here or e-mail us direct.
Thanks a bunch!
The Ambrozaitis Family
Falkenbury Farm
http://www.falkenburyfarm.com/
jojoerobert@yahoo.com

They have no idea.....

Today we had visitors that asked our daughter what we did w/ the eggs after we got them out of the chicken coop. "Do you wax them or something?" she was asked. NO!!!!!!!!!!!! We don't wax them!!
I keep saying you need to bring your families and children to the farm. Any farm! TEACH THEM WHERE FOOD COMES FROM!!! THEY HAVE NO IDEA!!!!! You may think or assume that they do but they don't! Even adults that visit have no idea! "You're going to eat that?!" they ask. "Heck ya, we're gonna eat that! We're going to eat that over there too!" We try to explain to them that we like to know where our food comes from. We like to know where it lived and how it was treated. We like to know what it ate and what hormones it wasn't shot full of. The meat we eat does not come from a grocery store where they seem to think it magically appears. It is not shot full of red dye so it "looks good".
Please, I'm begging you, meet a farmer. Talk to him. Spend some time with him and learn to appreciate what he does. LEARN something!!! Bring your kids. Make believe it's them that you're teaching if you have to.
Our daughter was asked by an adult today if we waxed our eggs after we got them out of the chicken coop.........

Milk a REAL cow, gather REAL eggs

Many folks on Facebook play or do this Farmville thing. Do you?
If you really want to shovel manure or see how many baby bunnies your rabbit has in her nest, why not come to a real farm and smell, I mean, do the real thing?!
At Falkenbury Farm Guest House you can do just that. You'll have your own house right on the farm. You'll have a chicken coop in your dooryard, right out behind the house and you'll be able to see the barn out your bedroom window!
You want to milk a cow? Ride on a tractor? Throw bales of hay into the barn?
Well, you've come to the right place! http://www.falkenburyfarm.com/
We offer nightly rentals and are open all year round!
Give us a shout, book a few days and come and enjoy farm life!!

Stay on a Farm

Farm vacations are becoming increasingly popular in Vermont and the U.S. We own Falkenbury Farm Guest House in Benson, VT. We welcome visitors from all over the world, but the majority are from the Boston or NYC areas. The parents who plan the trips often plan all kinds of day trips and want to drive all over creation thinking that is what their kids want. It isn't. I've had parent after parent tell me they've changed their plans because their children beg to stay on the farm. The kids themselves know they need to take a break from it all and just be kids. It takes the parents a bit longer. It is wonderful to see folks unwind after they've been here about 3 days. They are often so high strung that it actually takes them that long to feel the relaxation set in. When they hit that point, something just comes over them. We'll just see them sitting in a chair out back sipping a glass of wine, reading a book or simply staring at the sunset. People don't realize how stressed their lives are until they take the time to unwind in the peaceful, relaxing, quiet country setting.

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.

Fresh Turkeys

Our son raises about a dozen turkeys for Thanksgiving every year. He is a senior in high school this year. Anyway, these are some of the best turkeys you'll ever roast. They are delicious!
He charges $2.75 per pound. You can reserve yours today by calling 802-537-2979.

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.

Welcoming Families w/ Special Needs

This morning a Facebook friend mentioned it was "Special Education week, and this is in honor... of all the kids who need a little extra help & understanding".
At Falkenbury Farm we welcome families w/ special needs. They find the private 3 bedroom guest house works wonderful for them. Many show their children our website before arriving to make the transition of being away from home easier for them and they have an idea of what to expect. They find that the house vs. a hotel allows them an easier way to relax and do their own thing. Always a good time for us as well as the families! We are lucky to meet so many wonderful people.
If you are a family of a special needs child and would like to visit, give me a call and we can discuss any specific things you may like to know about our farm or guest house.
I am happy to say making the house downstairs handicap accessible is one of my goals. Unfortunately we do not have a ramp to enter the house yet. If anyone knows of any possible funding that may be available for such a project PLEASE get in touch.
Let's hope this week helps shine some light on these great children and their families.

Milk pump

"Farmer Bob", my husband, told the guests last night that if the milking machine broke they could milk by hand. Can you guess? Yeah. He came in the house this morning w/ a broken belt for the milk pump in his hand and a frown on his face.
He must've found another belt somewhere because he got the thing running again. Good thing. Too hot for any close bonding w/ a cow this morning!

So HOT in Vermont

It is unbelievably hot and it's on 7:30 in the morning! I sure hope I can talk everyone into heading to the lake.
We have a new baby calf that is 2 days old today. It's a baby bull calf. He's a Jersey. His mom is a black Jersey. He is a dark brown. He is bottle fed and is out there waiting for his breakfast now.
We've made hay for the past few days and have all of our first cut hay in the barn. There was a nice stretch of dry weather and we were able to hustle and get it all done.
If anyone is looking for a fun place to stay this summer we have some open days. Give a holler and make your reservations.
We are close to several wonderful lakes that are great for swimming. Lake Bomoseen, Sunset Lake, Lake Sunrise, Glen Lake, just to name a few.
Our private 3 bedroom guest house you rent by the night and have all to yourselves.

Land

We are babysitting for a goose. Her name is Lane. We just took her swimming. She took off Heidi's necklace and then while swimming next to her still, she stole her earring and ate it. Do you think she'll be ok? We sure hope so. This crazy gosling is pretty special to her owner.

Raw Milk

Raw milk

“Fresh from our Jerseys”

Falkenbury Farm

$5 per gallon ($1.25 qt.)

Please bring your own clean glass containers.
Please call ahead to arrange for pick-up.
802-537-2979

1520 Park Hill Rd.
Benson, VT

jojoerobert@yahoo.com

www.falkenburyfarm.com

Falkenbury

We've been contacted by another Falkenbury. We bought this farm and it was named Falkenbury Farm when we arrived. On our big barn roof "Falkenbury Farm" is written in red slate. Many roofs are made of slate here in Vermont. There are a few other farms with their names written, huge, in slate on their barn roof.
Occasionally we get calls or e-mails from people w/ the last name of Falkenbury. They are chasing their roots and trying to put their puzzles together. I wonder how many Falkenbury's are really out there? I also wonder if we should host a Falkenbury family reunion of sorts? That would be a little different since it wouldn't be our family. Do you think people would come? It seems like the people who have contacted us do have a common bond.
Send me you thought if you're a Falkenbury please!
jojoerobert@yahoo.com

New additions

Ken and Barbie. Barbie-Q that is. That is what I was calling her when we were spending hours chasing her round and round this morning.
Our new piglets are naughty. Usually we name our piglets Pork and Chop. This year it's time for a change. Barbie is pink with black spots. Ken is white/pink.
We got them last night, and this morning we could catch an occasional glimpse of Barbie, but no Ken in sight. We just spotted him and caught him about 15 minutes ago at about 6 p.m.
Now we need to decide what to do with them next. They do not like their fence.