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.

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

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.

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.

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).

Little guests help with chores

Friday night we had guests from New York that helped with chores. The littlest boy was the biggest helper! He filled water pail after water pail and carried them to the milking cows. The family enjoyed watching the cows come in and feeding them their grain for dinner. They helped feed the goats, pet the bunnies and get the eggs.

We have 4 batches of bunnies at the moment and 5 baby (kid) goats. We even had a calf born during the night when our guests from New York were here.

Tonight we are expecting visitors from MA. They are hoping to arrive on time to help w/ chores too!

Still winter but someone else is getting our snow.

Happy Valentine's Day.

The kids are on vacation this week from school.

It's pizza night. We are redoing our kitchen and have ordered new ovens. In the meantime, our old oven burned out and for the past 2 weeks Jake has been making our pizza on the grill. It's pretty good stuff. It's a bit tricky to flip though. I think I'll either offer to help him flip it tonight or suggest he make 4 small pies instead of 2 big ones.

We had a new Jersey heifer calf born 2 days ago. She is little and really cute. She has dark features and looks as though she is wearing eye liner and dark make-up. She is being bottle fed still. Her mother's name is Cookie. She doesn't have a name yet.

Our grandson came to visit for the first time last week. That was fun. He will be one month old on the 18th. My how time flies!

Our renovations are still moving forward. Yesterday the new drywall got put on the kitchen ceiling. It's been quite a while since we've had a ceiling.
We need to make decisions on counter tops. If we go w/ Formica, I think I'd like one counter area that is a stone surface for dough and pie making. We also have to decide on what we're going to do w/ the floor. We put slate in the mudroom and bathroom. I think it's a tad too cold to do the whole kitchen w/ but I'm not positive.

We have very little snow down here by the house and barn. Up the hill it's still pretty covered. It's strange how it's like 2 different worlds.

Last week we got 5 pick-up trucks full of firewood out of the woods. It was 22ºF and it seemed so warm. It was beautiful in the snow covered woods. Our 3 sons and one of their friends along w/ 2 of our daughters made light of a lot of work. Everyone got along and the work went quickly. Just a nice day in the woods. Almost all of the wood fit in the cellar. There is a little still outside the cellar door on the lawn.

I'm about to head outside to check on the goats.

Happy New Year!

I had big plans to show everyone some photos I took for Christmas. My computer had other ideas.....
On Christmas Eve we had a new baby calf born. He is adorable. He is big and strong and blocky, yet still adorable. He is also very friendly. He's black with a white face. His name is "Nick" after St. Nicholas for Christmas, get it?
There are also some of the cutest bunnies ever in the barn right now. The littlest ones are a light red with some patches of other colors on them, like calico. Actually there is one grey one in that litter too. Kind of strange, but what can you do?
We had all of our kids here for Christmas. That was the best part of the holiday!!
On New Year's Eve we had a few friends over and had tons of food. At midnight we were in the hot tub as planned. Several tubbers made snow angels and then jumped back in. I really wish you could see those photos!
We hope everyone celebrated their holidays happily and we wish everyone a very happy, healthy New Year!
Oh! And we have snow!! Come on up and play!!!

Full of Beans!

Did you ever hear someone tell somebody they were "full of beans"? Well! Let me tell you : I am FULL of beans!!! I bartered a friend for some of her fillet beans tonight. They are sooooooo good!!! We ate so many!
The work continues on our new deck. They are working on another set of stairs and a ramp now. We also went looking for some pickets today.
I played phone tag w/ someone at an orchard looking for a goat. Hopefully tomorrow I can catch up w/ them.
Bob smoked some bacon today.
It is lightning-ing in the distance but the stars are out here. Odd.

Construction Underway

The construction is moving along on our house's addition. We are moving things around a bit inside and making a new deck, etc. It is crazy. I spend more time moving things around than anything else. What I really need to do it throw stuff away. I'm not good at that!

The guest house is open for business. The baby goats are getting bigger but we still have some friendly and fun ones that like attention. We are close to a few great lakes and ponds that are wonderful for swimming, boating and fishing.

Hay!

Finally made some hay today! I need to ask what the count was. We were rushing the clock when the clouds started moving in. It's pouring now. There was a rainbow earlier.

We have guests arriving any time now. I hope they get here before dark. I don't want to leave lights on for the bugs.

They started ripping and tearing on our house today. They made a few test holes yesterday but today they really got into it. The boys took 2 truckloads to the dump and there are 2 trailers full of wood for a fire. Oh, what a mess we are in for! There is a blue tarp trying to keep the rain out of the kitchen and bathroom right now.

Our 12 year old milked the cows tonight all by herself! She really had no choice, we were all busy. Dad was baling, mom was raking hay and the boys were unloading wagons. At least it got her out of unloading a couple of them.

Our 10 year old has been spending a lot of time with my camera lately. She has taken tons of photos. Some are pretty good. I keep telling her it will make a good hobby. Something to do on the side....She really loves taking pictures.

Summer vacation

The boys have their last exams today. The girls got out of school Monday. Now if it ever stops raining we can make some hay!
We've got oatmeal cookies in the oven. Boy, do they smell great. Taste even better.
The girls are walking their calf to where their dad is working this morning. It's quite the hike. Over 3 miles one way! I'm off to meet them there with a picnic lunch.

Naughty Pig

We have just one pig these days. She is a girl pig and I want to get her bred. Trouble is finding her a husband. I've been looking. Trouble is, she has decided she does not wish to be single any longer and would like to help me look! That would involve her getting loose! Have you ever tried to catch a pig? A big pig? This is NOT a fun thing to do! Let me tell you, she is fast and sneaky and she can cover a lot of ground! It took 6 of us to get her back in last night. There isn't even any sense to me going to check on her now because I don't have the manpower until everyone gets home from work and school to get her even if she is out!

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.

New baby calf!

Black Jersey had a heifer calf this morning. She is a really neat dark red color. The girls are in love with her already. Looks like a beautiful day. There is some freshly smoked bacon in the pan in the kitchen. Have to run. I'll try to post a photo of our new addition soon.

Spring Planting

We had a busy weekend. We planted 5 out of the 6 new apple trees that we bought. Our youngest and I also planted 25 new strawberry plants. Those somehow took up more space than I anticipated. I bought some new asparagus roots too. Jake helped me start digging for that project. We'll put them over by the other asparagus we already have. The peas I planted are up and so are the radishes. The flower beds need constant attention. I don't know if they will ever be done. Good news on the raspberries. Finally, they have caught on. It looks like they all made it thru the winter and there are many new plants. Oh, and the lawn got mowed. Jake did that w/ his own tractor. The manure pile is mostly spread. Bob put it on our hay field. The grass was really growing well and now it looks kind of beat down since they had to drag the field after spreading because the spreader was not working right. Anyway, we avoided the rain (knock on wood) and had a very productive weekend.

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!

The time change

Boy, this springing ahead isn't working for us in the morning. I wake up at about 5:30 a.m. and then can't fall back asleep. Then I do fall asleep, for way too long. The kids are having an even worse time of it. They are getting up way too late to get their chores done and get to school on time w/out missing the bus. We really need to get into the new spring routine. Going to bed earlier doesn't seem to be the answer since no one is tired at bedtime.
Don't suggest alarm clocks. We have our fill of those. We have those lovely animal sound ones along with the traditionals. It's like wild kingdom in here in the morning. We have roosters crowing, a few cows mooing and a quacking duck! And they just moo and crow and quack until they are horse. The kids sleep thru them!