Spring has officially arrived and the farm is jumpin' with lambs and kids and bunnies! The daffodils are blooming and the tulips are soon to open. It is also an exhausting time of year as I find myself sleep deprived and resources-stretched. There are joys and sorrows, successes and failures and lots of surprises...in other words, pretty much of an emotional roller-coaster. The grass is growing (thank goodness, I am about out of hay) and the pastures are greening up. With the price of gasoline at almost $2.50/gallon , I am glad I will have sheep to "cut the grass" around the ole farmstead. And with the price of lamb and goat at an all time high , this is a great time to be in the sheep and goat business.

Spring Cleaning - I am doing some serious de-stashing of booth inventory and processed fibers. Most of these items are going into my ebay store or to auction... so if you are an ebayer, you might want to check out my ebay store: Herbal Maid Gallery at

http://stores.ebay.com/Herbal-Maid-Gallery_W0QQsspagenameZMEQ3aFQ3aSTQQtZkm .

New items are being added weekly! Lots of blended roving, batting and craft supplies.

FIBER RETREAT Each spring, we fiber-holics kick off the season with Fiber Retreat held in Jefferson City each March. It is a wonderful experience and it gets the creative juices flowing . This year was no exception, with Sharon Costello (internationally known felter) as the keynote speaker and workshop presenter.

This is Beverly who is knitting a pair of socks out of HMFF wool/mohair yarn, on her antique sock knitter. Beverly has been making socks for me for several years now. She lost her husband about the same time I lost mine and has since remarried. Congratulations Beverly!

and this is Joyce who made this beautiful and lustrous shawl out of HMFF mohair! Her shawl was displayed at the Fiber Retreat Gallery 2006 and I was attracted to it right away! Later in the day, she found me and told me that it was made from my mohair. Thanks Joyce for making something so lovely . THIS is what it's all about!

And then there is Arthur Hernandez who shears my sheep each year. Where would the fiber world be without the sheep shearers who are the first step in the process? Arthur has been shearing for over 50 years and has recently announced his intent to cut back (ie "retire"). Fortunately he likes shearing for the spinners and we enjoy seeing him each spring and catching up on all the sheep biz gossip. He will be a tough act to follow. See the wool fleeces page for a list of available fleeces.

Sheep , Goat, and Rabbit Salelists are also presented in this newsletter. If you don't see what you are looking for, stay tuned... because there will be additional animals listed each month as I make the tough decisions of who stays and who goes. I need to cut back a bit (alot) this year.

General Information on Sales: Prices are guaranteed through the month of April . A 50% deposit will hold an animal for 30 days if necessary. I can take (and appreciate) PayPal payment. All fleeces are raw and skirted and come with a moneyback guarantee if not delighted. All animals are vaccinated, wormed, feet trimmed, and come with a 5 generation pedigree.

So with that bit of business out of the way, let me say WELCOME to all you new folks and GREETINGS to all my old friends! I hope you enjoy this months newsletter.