Maple Lane Farm - New and Exciting Goings On

New and Exciting Goings On
		There is something new and exciting going on every season on a small, diversified farm in the country. In the spring, wild baby creatures are born and will show themselves from time to time. All the wild animals return to Maine from away or they wake up from their winter slumber. The sheep need shearing before they are put out on spring pastures. The summer brings new farm creatures such as baby chicks, new born foals and brand new calfs. Fall brings garden harvests and the hay has to be stored for the winter. And the lambs come in January and February. There are always activities for every season, but of course there are many more cultural activities, fairs and events between spring and fall. There are agricultural fairs and events, art shows and local extravaganzas such as Old Hallowell Days, The Great Kennebec Whatever Week in Augusta, the Waterville Film Festival and the Moxie Festival in Lisbon Falls to name just a few. There is also the Fiber Frolic at the Windsor Fairgrounds, the Common Ground Country Fair in Unity and there are always many festivals happening in the towns and cities along the midcoast area of Maine.
	Hasta in Bloom - Summer 2009 The perennial gardens take a lot of work. But they provide a cascade of color and scents throughout the growing year. They also attract butterflies and humming birds who are always welcome guests.
	Yoda Takes a Break - Summer 2009 Yoda is our "bad boy". He actually has a heart of gold but is playful and has just never really grown up. He helps with all projects and loves following you up ladders. He is a master of the blinding fast ambush and once he rolls over on his back....then the wise stop patting him!
	This Farm Equipment is Paid For! - August 2009 No revolving credit here. The baler is a New Holland 66 from 1954. It is powered from an 18 horse Wisconsin twin engine. The tractor is a 1952 Farmall H, four cylinder. Both were used in this year's haying operations.
	Mo - Our Angora Bunny - June 2009 Mo is our Angora bunny. He is extremely friendly and gets along splendidly with the barn cats, especially Yoda.
	Our Newest Draft Horse Filly - May 2009 Laure is our newest Belgian - Percheron cross filly. She is a bit of a sorrel but has darker mane and tail hairs as well like a bay. Her name means golden color.
	New Siding and Windows for the Barn - Spring 2009 If rumors are correct, in the 60s, the wooden lower level of the barn rotted due to excessive insulation and the presence of a full milking herd of Jerseys.(and all the moisture they produce). So finally, a period cedar shingle siding is covering the replacement concrete cinder block walls.
	Malina -This Year's Filly - May 2008 Here is our three week old filly, Malina Nar (Blue Fire). From the time she is born, each day someone will spend quality time rubbing her, combing her, lifting up her legs and generally kissing and schmoozing her so she ends up thinking that humans are just some sort of amiable but chicken-legged and homely type of companion breed.
	Charm School - April 2008 Rhubarb is in "Charm School". She is not quite as friendly as we would prefer. So we will tie her out, hand feed her grain , take her on walks and generally fuss over her to see if she will come over and get some sense into her.
	Are Spring Lambs Cute or What? - April 2008 At Maple Lane Farm, we are in a continual quest for the friendliest creatures that we can produce. After all, what good are pedigrees and lineages if your creatures aren't lovable? Willow, our ram lamb is exceptionally good natured so we will hold on to him for a year or so to see if he maintains his good nature.
	Kennebec Valley Business to Business - October 2007 Robbi (wo) mans the booth at the K.V. Business to Business expo at the Augusta Civic Center.
	Jenna and Natalyia - October 2007 Our Belted Galloway Jenna and our Jersey Natalyia take a break to enjoy the afternoon sun after a hard day..... of being fat and sassy.
	Mordecai - October 2007 Mordecai is one of our Romney cross rams enjoying the lush fall pasture.
	Common Ground Country Fair- September 2007 Robbi had a booth at the Common Ground fair in Unity this year. It was a very good three days and the weather was pleasantly mild.
	Fiber Frolic- June 2007 Sharing our sales area with the Llamas at the Fiber Frolic at the Windsor fairgrounds.
	New B&B Dormer - May 2007 The bathroom in the bed and breakfast gets a major makeover with a new dormer.
	Pumpkin and Mordecai - April 2007 Two of our new lambs forage on the freshly greening grass in the orchard.
	They Don't Make Em like This - March 2007 Robbi takes out the 50 year old Gravely "walk behind" tractor to throw some snow. This 8 HP tractor starts right up and is very dependable if not the most efficient snow throwing device.
	Mother and Son - February 2007 Teryn and Arwen relax during one of the milder days this February.
	Meeting Room - October 2006 The new meeting room is finished and ready for seminars, classes and small conferences.
	Everyone Helps with Projects - September 2006 Fall always brings projects on a small, diversified farm. And everybody is expected to help in any way that they can. Here, Yoda assists with putting new shingles up on the milkhouse. His job is to take the shingles out of the bag and pass them to Robbi.
	Lunch Out with the Boys - September 2006 Teryn and Midnight share some hand fed grass. Beneath his 2,000 pound, rough and tumble stallion exterior, Midnight is just a push over letting Teryn eat right out of his mouth.
	Best New Demonstration Vendor - August 2006 Robbi's booth gets a blue ribbon for best demonstration vendor at this year's Windsor Fair.
	Windsor Fair - August 2006 Robbi and Camrin man the Maple Lane Gallery booth at this year's Windsor Fair.
	Fiber Frolic - June 2006 The Windsor fairgrounds hosts the Fiber Frolic which revels in all things and creatures which produce fibers. Llamas, alpacas, sheep, goats, bunnies and anything else whose coat you can turn into a sweater are found in great abundance at this entertaining spring event.
	Chicken Turning - July 2006 Very few people realize that you can calm domestic fowl by turning them upside down and covering their eyes. This ancient art has been passed down to agrarian holders for millennia and we are proud to continue with this great tradition. Skilled turners can calm the most feisty adult poultry. As you can see, chicks will often conk right out, often within a matter of seconds.
	Sable Our Flying Squirrel- July 2006 Sable was our first orphan flying squirrel. She gave us a number of scares, but ended up doing marvelously. She needed a heating pad for her first few weeks with us. She was quite docile and tame at first, but ended up being extremely slippery and hard to catch (which is good). She was released into a nearby nature preserve in the fall.
	Teryn - May 2006 Teryn our brand new Belgian - Percheron cross colt frolics in the spring pasture with our barn cat Phoebe.
	Wisteria - May 2006 The wisteria is in full bloom on the garden fence. .
	Kiln Opening - May 2006 Some of the "still warm" pottery gets taken out of the kiln for friends and customers to admire.
	Kiln Opening - May 2006 Robbi opens up her gas fired kiln during her spring, Mother's day sale.
	Twin Ram Lambs - March 2006 Here are two more ram twins and our marble lamb growing horns.
	This Little Ram Makes It - February 2006 Not only did this ram do OK, but he ends up being quite friendly due to all the attention and bottle feeding. Here he is chewing on Alexandra's nose.
	The Ewes are Lambing ! - January 2006 The lambs are arriving. This little ram lamb was not doing well and was brought inside to be put under heat lamps for a few hours. We needed to get this little guy bottle feeding as quickly as possible. Brigit, our Corgi monitors the situation very closely with Camrin.