St Brigid's Day recently reminded us of the importance of the hospitality and generosity this Irish Saint is famous for. Her namesake sheep at our farm is a daily reminder. Our Brigid is STILL sharing delicious,creamy milk regularly after 3 years!! Generous indeed! In the family, Tobias' first birthday celebration included 2 toddler freinds who found many of his packages more interesting than he did!!He walked tentatively, enjoyed a local basketball game and waved at everyone.God blessed this short but wonderful visit to Highwood. Valley Spinners Guild has a new webpage and email address for info:valleyspinnersguild@gmail.com ; valleyspinnersguild.wordpress.com . Check out the new Washington Wool www.washingtonwool.net . A super co-op featuring small farms and fiber producers from WA state. Country Living Expo was bigger than ever! Popularity of this teaching event grows each year.Thanks to everyone who took my woolmarketing class!The vendor show was better than ever. On the farm, pregnant ewes are getting big,are crutched and receiving more concentrated feeds.Record setting warm and dry weather brings the earth back to life earlier than ever.Forsythia blooms,bulbs are several inches up,grass is greening. But....internal parasites and pneumonia lurk as well. Venus, the retired ewe, survived pneumonia last week; all sheep had and early case of worms and Mayday awaits treatment for foot absess.Rob finally finished one of fall's lost chores as he mucked the last sheep shed. Showgirl, the naked neck silkie, is suddenly public enemy #1 with the hen flock.So she spends time in her "private coopmobile" for protection. I hope to set some rare Bantam Buttercup eggs soon. In the mill,the new doffer is performing well, producing smoother batts and the first roving in 4 years!! 7 sessions with the rolling felter and we are up to 5x8 sheets. I am immensely blessed to have Amy Wolf of the Pines Farm help weekly with felt-product development for EcoBalanza Furniture. Check out the new "photo gallery" link from the "About Us Page" on our website for seasonal pictures from the farm.