Well, here we are at the beginning of a brand new year! I hope and pray that everyone of you had a wonderful Christmas and are looking forward to a fantastic New Year! Ours was pretty quiet. Foot surgery on December 15^th knocked me out of commission for a few weeks. It was a lousy time of year to have the surgery but we had to sneak it in between California Goat School and Vermont Goat School.

California Goat School was great! The weather was truly amazing. I can't believe how lucky the people who live out there are when it comes to fresh veggies and fruit! Our host, Karen Dunst, had amazing fruit trees in her yard that were loaded with oranges, lemons, pomegranates, avocados, and so many more varieties. I had to keep myself from drooling every time I walked by.

The traffic out there, though, was something else. I've never seen so many cars in my life! In Saint Albans, 3 cars at a stop sign is gridlock! In Los Angeles, the freeways have metered on ramps where only a few cars can enter at a time!

Of course, when we got back here to Maine, it was a little colder :) But, traveling down Route 95 reminded me how lucky we are to have little to no traffic to deal with. Then again, our fruit and vegetables have traveled way over 3,000 miles to get here. Oh well.

Vermont Goat School 2012

Vermont Goat School is coming right up! If you are thinking of joining us at Cold Moon Farm in Jamaica, VT, it's not too late! This place is so magnificent, it almost seems like it was cut from a story book. Saturday, January 21^st and Sunday, January 22^nd are the dates for Goat School and Monday, January 23^rd will be a Soap and Cheese Making Class! Our hosts, Ed and Irene Glazer are a lot of fun to be around, so if you can't make it to Maine, come to Vermont! Click here for more information.

Spring Goat School 2012

As most of you know, we have struggled with weather for nearly every one of our spring Goat Schools and had come to the conclusion that we should probably not do a Goat School in the spring.

Well, you guys all thought differently, we've been inundated with requests! So we figured out a new date for Spring Goat School, a date when we hope Maine weather will be a little more calm, sunny, and spring-like. Saturday, June 2^nd and Sunday, June 3^rd are the new Spring Goat School dates with a Soap and Cheese making class to be held on Monday, June 4^th.

We already have registrations coming in, and the Soap and Cheese Class has limited seating, so if you are thinking of coming, don't tarry with those registrations. First come, first serve!

And, yet another reason not to procrastinate: If you are wanting to stay at our recommended Bed and Breakfast, book it now! Goat School will be the same weekend as the graduation of a local academy that hosts many international students, so the B&B may fill up fast. Click here for information on getting your registration in place at a beautiful place to stay!

Guest Speaker

Our guest speaker this spring will be Andrew Beals from Poulin Grain. Folks, this guy is really knowledgeable! We have spent hours picking Andrews brain and now you will be able to also! He will share information on forage, hay, grains and etc.

Andrew will be speaking on goat nutrition. He serves as the Technical Manager for Specialty Feeds for Poulin in Newport VT. Andrew received his Bachelors in Agriculture at the University of Vermont focusing on Nutrition, Economics, Plant and Soil Science.

We've had Andrew come and speak several times and believe me when I say that people hang on to every word he says! He approaches this subject with the know how of making the information interesting with just the right touch of humor. I learn something from him every time he comes here!

Fall 2012 Goat School

Fall Goat School will take place on Saturday, October 6^th and Sunday, October 7^th, with a Soap and Cheese Class scheduled for Monday, October, 8^th (Columbus Day).

We choose this weekend each year, because the weather is normally mild and pleasant, the foliage is spectacular, and Maine is delightful to visit in the Autumn!

For those of you who can't make it this spring, come in the fall! Click here for a link to the Fall Goat School registration form.

Goat School Shop

We've had a lot of visitors lately to our Goat School Shop, it certainly is worth your time to take a peek! T-Shirts, sweat shirts, delicious goat milk soap, and of course my new book! “Goat School: A Master Class in Caprine Care and Cooking”!

Kidding Time is Coming Up Quickly!

Are you prepared? Do you have your kidding kit all put together? If not this is the time to do it! So what do I need, you ask.

Here is a simple list of what we have in ours:

A large canvas bag which holds six bath towels

Bath towels to clean baby up and the bag to weigh the baby in!

K-Y Jelly makes it a lot easier to check progress

Disposable gloves

Pencil (why a pencil? Ink freezes :)

Small pad of paper

Ear Tagger and ear tags or paper collars to identify the babies quickly and easily

Syringes

Bo-Se (we use ½ cc for each baby right at birth)

Scissors

Sharpie for marking on the paper collars

Pretty simple? You bet. There is no need what so ever to drag your whole inventory out with you to the barn!

On hand in the house is anti-biotic in case we had to help mom in any way that would include us inserting a finger or more into her. A jug of molasses, a 2 gallon bucket and a whisk. 2 glugs of molasses into a bucket of nice warm water, stirred up with the whisk is a much appreciated treat for mom after she has worked so hard delivering those babies! Plus it re-hydrates her and adds some much needed sugar and iron at this point!

Our girls love it, usually drinking the whole bucket down in a very short time.