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

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.

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.